Water Application Practices and Landscape Attributes Associated with Residential Water Consumption

PURPOSE

The purpose of the project was to identify water application practices associated with residential landscapes. In addition, to measuring the amount of water used by residents with differing types of landscapes, the study was planned to identify some of the elements of landscape design as well as water application practices which were associated with the amount of water used by residents to maintain landscapes. A need existed to obtain information about residential water use, as one alternative for identifying ways of reducing the peak water consumption in a community.

OBJECTIVE

Many different factors influence the amount of water residents apply to their landscapes. Some of the factors include for example, the amount of vegetation in the landscape, the consistency and type of water application practice employed, climate, the design of the landscape, the amount of water needed to maintain the landscape as well as the psychological and esthetic values an individual attaches to his own landscape. Accordingly, in this exploratory project several approaches were taken to study different factors influencing the water applied to residential landscapes. Specifically, the project included the following objectives:

1. Analyze the methods for measuring the water applied to resident i al landscapes.
2. Compare the predicted amount of water needed by the landscape to the amount of water applied to the I landscape.
3. Identify the association among esthetic and design attributes of residential landscapes with the water applied to the landscape.
4. Describe water application practices need by residents as well as professionals to maintain landscapes.

PROJECT NO. C-4060-NMEX