Conservation Tips

Langdon Waterworks is committed to water conservation. By taking advantage of new water smart technologies and consuming water wisely, we can all preserve this precious resource for generations to come. Read the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s guide to water conservation.

Indoor Water Conservation

In general, Langdon Waterworks requires that low flow fixtures and equipment be installed in all new residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Langdon Waterworks encourages all subscribers to upgrade to low flow fixtures and equipment in all existing buildings.

Maximum fixture flow Rates & Capacities

Outdoor Water Conservation

Water Less. Give an Inch, Grow a Yard.

A healthy lawn requires about 2.5 centimeters (approximately 1 inch) of water every seven to ten days. Place a bowl or upside down Frisbee on your lawn while you are watering. In most areas, one inch of water would be equivalent of about one hour of watering. If your lawn makes a squishy sound when you walk on it, if puddles start to form, or if water starts to seep onto your driveway or drainage ditch your lawn has had too much water, and its time to give it a break.

Water in the Morning

The best time of day to water is in the morning when it is cool and there is little or no wind. This will give plants the water they need to survive the heat of the day. And it will minimize evaporation from the wind and sun.

Marvelous Mulches

Use natural mulches such as barks, wood chips, stones, or other materials available at your garden centre to reduce the evaporation of water from the soil and to inhibit weed growth.

Water Your Sidewalk? Aim Your Sprinkler at Your Lawn.

Position your sprinkler so that the water hits your lawn and garden. Water that hits the sidewalk or driveway, or that is running down the gutter is simply wasted. Also, if you keep the arc of the water lower to the ground, less water is lost to evaporation or is blown by the wind.

Mow Carefully.

When you cut your grass, leave it at least six centimeters (two inches) long. Longer grass will protect grass roots from the sun’s burning rays, and will prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to increase organic matter and to discourage weeds and moisture loss. Keep your mower blade sharp for clean cutting, rather than tearing the blades of the grass.

A Barrel of Fun.

Collect rain water in a barrel or other large container to water your garden. Plants love rainwater because it doesn’t contain chlorine, is softer, and is at the same temperature as the plants. For the safety of children, pets, and wildlife, make sure your barrel has a lid on the top. A cover will also keep out leaves, debris, and mosquitoes.

Build Up Your Muscles

Use a broom instead of the hose to clean your driveway or sidewalk. You’ll use less water and get some exercise too.

Watering Tips from an Expert

Nearly half the water employed for domestic use ends up on lawns and gardens, and a considerable portion of that is wasted through evaporation and improper watering techniques. Learning how to water wisely will immediately reduce your water bill.

• Incorporate as much organic matter as possible before planting. Organic matter acts like a sponge: peat moss, for example, holds up to 20 times its own weight in water. Compost, peat moss and well-rotted manure are all recommended.
• When practical, group plans according to their water requirements. Keep those that need to soak up more water to their own beds rather than scattering them throughout the landscape. This avoids wasting water on plants that do not really need it.
• Consider mixing relatively water-thirsty ornamentals with vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and eggplants for an attractive display with practical pay-offs.
• As long as you find them satisfying, choose plants suited to hot, dry areas that thrive on a minimum of water.
• Water early in the morning (ideally), on calm, cool evenings, or when there is a light misting of rain. Moisture loss through evaporation is much less at these times.
• Trap rain water in barrels for use in the garden.
• Avoid oscillating sprinklers, because they lose through evaporation as much as 50 per cent of what they disperse, and they often waste water by spraying over paved areas.
• Consider connecting a timer to the hose. This allows watering at off-peak hours – or while you are away, asleep or otherwise occupied – for a pre-set period.
• For container gardens, use pots that hold water the longest. Porous clay and pressed paper dry out most quickly, plastic and glazed ceramic retain water longer. Deep pots need less watering than shallow pots. Light coloured containers need to be watered less often than dark containers. Keep a saucer under pots to collect and hold run-off water.

Drought Tolerant Plants for Your Garden

The following are some suggestions for plants that may be drought tolerant in your garden. Please note that all plants must be given one inch of water per week until they become established. For more specific suggestions and advice ask at your local garden center. Shade tolerant plants are marked with a *.

Annuals

• African Daisy
• Castor Bean
• Celosia
• Clarkia
• Cosmos
• Gazainia
• Gophrena
• Ice Plant
• Lantana
• Nolana
• Poppy
• Portulaca
• Salvia
• Scaevola
• Verbena

Perennials

• Baby’s Breath
• Bishop’s Hat*
• Bitterroot
• Blanketflower
• Blue Fescue
• Blue Sage
• Catmint
• Coneflower
• Cornflower
• Cranesbill
• Daylily
• Dwarf Iris
• Elephant-ears*
• Fleeceflower*
• Foxtail Lily
• Gasplant
• Globe Thistle
• Goatsbeard*
• Goutweed*
• Hens & Chicks
• Lady’s Mantle*
• Lamb’s Ears
• Lavender
• Liatris
• Lily of the Valley*
• Mullein
• Pinks
• Pasqueflower
• Potentilla
• Pulmonaria*
• Rockcress
• Rock Rose
• Russian Sage
• Sage
• Sea Holly
• Snow-in-Summer
• Solomon’s Seal
• Soapwort
• Spurge
• St. John’s Wort
• Stonecrop
• Thyme
• Yarrow
• Yucca

Trees & Shrubs

• Amur Maackia
• Ash
• Buffaloberry
• Caragana
• Cherry Prinsepia
• Dwarf European Cranberry*
• Golden Flowering Currant
• Genista
• Hackberry
• Honeysuckle
• Lilac (larger varieties)
• Juniper
• Ninebark “Tilden Parks”*
• Pincherry
• Pine
• Potentilla
• Russian Olive
• Salt Bush
• Sea Buckthorn
• Snowball*
• Snowberry*
• Spruce
• Sumac*

Plants for Alkaline Soil

Perennials

• Baby’s Breath
• Blue Sage
• Campion
• Elephant Ears*
• Goldenrod
• Hens & Chicks
• Hops
• Lady’s Mantle*
• Lamium*
• Lupin
• Plume Poppy
• Poppy
• Potentilla
• Sage
• Saxifrage
• Soapwort
• Statice
• Stonecrop
• Yarrow
• Yucca

Trees & Shrubs

• Buffaloberry
• Caragana
• Hakberry
• Manitoba Maple
• Potentilla
• Russian Olive
• Salt Bush
• Sea Buckthorn
• Tamarisk