Southwest Florida Management District (SFWMD) Skip a Week of Irrigation promotion received an “F” because the non-elected government policy making board, SFWMD, deceived the public with the skip a week of irrigation public service announcement.

SFWMD Public Service AnnouncementThe skip a week of irrigation fails to provide the general public with accurate information about maintaining a lawn, watering a lawn or water conservation. This tax payer funded promotion does little for the tax payer, their lawn and landscapes or water conservation. It promotes weak, weedy lawns, soil erosion, dust and pollen production, water runoff and pollution of our water – the opposite of water conservation.

This promotion is by far the worse type of government communication that can be produced – lying as a means to control the general public – and the provider deserves less than an F, they deserve to be expelled from government policy making.

Breaking Down the Promotion

SFWMD PSA: False and MisleadingThis is false for many reasons. It is true that during cooler months metabolism of turf is less but there are other factors that increase water requirements of your turf in cooler months. First is fall and winter months have lower humidity, higher winds and cloudless skies – these combine to increase the evaporation of water from soil and leaf surfaces. Also regardless of the temperature, the porous sandy soils of Pinellas County drain at the same rate. The Pinellas County sandy soils drain at approximately 4”per hour, season after season (our soils are like a bucket with holes in the bottom, a leaking bucket leaks at the same rate all year long) Therefore if once a week is not enough in the summer it will not be enough in the winter and skipping a week of irrigation makes no sense.

This is not only false but a variation of the old lawn myth – “deep infrequent watering promotes deeper roots”. What promotes deep root growth is healthy, vigorous well watered turf – not weak, stressed, wilting turf. I am shocked that SFWMD revamped, reworked and republished this urban myth about lawns. Training your lawn by withholding water is like training for a marathon by not eating.

Too Much irrigation?

According to the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts Skip a Week of Irrigation promotion, too much irrigation causes drought intolerance, pests and disease and wastes water. Overwatering is a “squishy” lawn or you see water weeping from the edges onto curbs and streets. This indicates the soil is saturated. With time the soil will drain and become what is called “field capacity” - perfect moisture content for turf. With our sandy soils, only when you run your irrigation daily or during days of heavy rainfall do our soils become saturated – and when they do, they drain quickly and return to field capacity. Over irrigating is a MINOR problem in sandy soils.

Pests and disease attack weak, stressed or dying turf. Stating that pests and disease will be encouraged by too much irrigation is misrepresenting the problem. With our sandy soils, too much irrigation is rarely the problem, but the opposite – too little water causes weak, stressed or dying turf to be attacked by pests and disease. For the homeowner, the biggest threat to his lawn is not over watering but under watering – and once per week or less encourages more pests and disease than too much irrigation in Pinellas County.

Water Cycle not Water WastingWasted Water?

Water is in a perpetual cycle – therefore the water you irrigate your lawn with is not wasted, it is moved along in the water cycle. Water is not like gasoline where once it is burned it is changed into “not gasoline”. But water that is used for irrigation remains water – wasting nothing!

How Much is Enough?

According to the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts Skip a Week of Irrigation promotion, grass doesn’t need as much water in the cooler months and apply ½” to ¾” of water every 10 to 14 days. This may be a good advice for some place in the USA but not for Pinellas County, USA. It is our soils – not the turf – that is the major limiting factor. Pinellas County sandy soils drain water - think of a bucket with holes in the bottom – at the rate of about 4” per hour. Therefore the ½” to ¾” of water will have drained out of the bottom of the soil in one hour – what remains is a small amount of water clinging to surfaces and a small amount of trapped water. That water is used up very quickly and the grass goes from healthy to wilting to dead in a very short period of time.

It is unlikely that after 10 days the turf is healthy vigorous turf capable of withstanding pests, disease, drought, or even produce any root growth as this promotion indicates. Light watering every 10 to 14 days does not develop healthy turf but rather weak, dead and dying weed infested turf that is of little value. Whereas turf that is water 3 times per week is healthy, reducing weeds, dust, pollen, cooling the environment and reducing CO2 levels.

Your Lawn needs Watering When?

According to the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts Skip a Week of Irrigation promotion, your lawn needs watering when the leaf blades are folded, blue-gray and cannot withstand foot traffic. Sympoms of folded leaves, blue-gray and foot prints remain is grass at the “wilting point” - or near death. Our sandy soils in Pinellas County go from field capacity (adequate moisture) to wilting point (not enough water) to death in a matter of hours. When turf reaches the wilting point – blue-grey, folded and footprints remain - the turf needs water immediately and delay will kill the turf (waiting until your next watering day is not the solution).

Keep in mind that turf that has reached wilting point – blue-grey, folded and footprints remain - has been severely water stressed and cannot produce roots, leaves, withstand pests or disease, recover from foot or mower traffic or absorb CO2. The plant is dying – it is gasping for water and doing everything it can to survive. Your lawn needed water long before it reached the wilting point. SFWMD has done more harm to your turf and home than good by encouraging this type of turf management.Skip a Week makes No-Sense!

Summary

SFWMD is a non-elected government policy board that has deceived the public – albeit in a small way. After all, no one dies when you pass out bad information about turf. But this is a sign of trouble ahead, for if SFWMD cannot be trusted with a little, they cannot be trusted with a lot. And as a non-elected government policy making board that is making policy for everything from wells to new construction, they are trusted with a lot. As to the turf owner, SFWMD has done a great disservice with this promotion that will harm you and the environment.

Water as much and as often as law permits and call your County Commissioner and ask that they no longer follow SFWMD policies.

Suggested articles: Once per Week is not Enough, How Green is Turf, There is No Water Shortage