EBrazosAg said:

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Wickson and Wellborn don't do water treatment- assuming you mean sewage treatment, not the addition of chlorine or fluoride to the water supply.

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I think it really means water treatment. There is more to it than just adding chlorine and fluoride.

Can't just pump the water out of the ground and into pipes and expect to meet water quality standards.

Yeah. But it doesn't cost more to do that in the summertime…. That was the original argument he was making. Which is untrue. And - has nothing to do with charging more for your last gallon of water than your first each month.

EBrazosAg said:

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Yeah. But it doesn't cost more to do that in the summertime…. That was the original argument he was making. Which is untrue. And - has nothing to do with charging more for your last gallon of water than your first each month.

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It actually does. Summer tends to have less rainfall, meaning the minerals in the water are more potent than in rainy months, which in turn means the cost of treating the water to a potable point is more expensive.

Xeriscaping is going to be a money maker around these parts in the near future, if it isn't already. The era of lawns is coming to an end.

FlyRod said:

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Xeriscaping is going to be a money maker around these parts in the near future, if it isn't already. The era of lawns is coming to an end.

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I enjoy having a lawn and grass. I hate weed eating, so anything I can do to reduce the edging would be welcome. I just can't imagine not having a yard without a lawn. I hate the look of properties in New Mexico / Utah / El Paso landscaping.

We're in a drought cycle right now but with annual rainfall of around 40 inches, I don't think we are in a zone where zeroscaping will be common unless the weather patterns change drastically in the long term. On the other hand, if San Antonio and Austin don't stop buying up water rights around this area and piping millions of gallons of water to the semi-arid South Central Texas area, we could have an issue of depleted aquifers in the next 5 to 20 years if they can't recharge faster than what is being removed, just like is happening with the Ogallala Aquifer that spans from the Texas Panhandle to Nebraska.

Also, as was mentioned earlier, it really doesn't cost more to produce the water in the summer but there is only so much supply available from the different wells that the municipalities use for our water supply. With the drought conditions, usage has to be curbed and the first step in doing that is asking for voluntary reduction. If that doesn't work they move to the next stage and penalties start to be enforced to reduce demand for non essential use. At some point, lawns, washing your car and sidewalks etc become non essential and the penalties are enforced to ensure we all have adequate water for our essential needs.

wareagle044 said:

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FlyRod said:

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Xeriscaping is going to be a money maker around these parts in the near future, if it isn't already. The era of lawns is coming to an end.

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I enjoy having a lawn and grass. I hate weed eating, so anything I can do to reduce the edging would be welcome. I just can't imagine not having a yard without a lawn. I hate the look of properties in New Mexico / Utah / El Paso landscaping.

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Xeriscaping ain't gonna fly around these parts anytime soon, if ever.

FlyRod said:

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Xeriscaping is going to be a money maker around these parts in the near future, if it isn't already. The era of lawns is coming to an end.

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disagree 100%

Ribbed Paultz said:

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FlyRod said:

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Xeriscaping is going to be a money maker around these parts in the near future, if it isn't already. The era of lawns is coming to an end.

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disagree 100%

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Of course not. Xeriscaping around here is a ridiculous notion.

Looking forward to bumping this thread a bit down the road.

In the meantime, the big school has put out some informative stuff on xeriscaping for your enjoyment and education.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/xeriscape/xeriscape.html

Absolutely correct! We get way too much rain in average year and water is way too cheap to xeriscape. It's actually difficult to do here. Just try to keep a pure Buffalograss lawn for 5 years here and report back to me. Neil Sperry and the county extension agent will back me up on that ….none of this means drip irrigation and consideration of water needs is a bad idea. But xeriscape won't work. You will use more herbicide or weeding than a good plan that takes our climate into consideration ever would.

FlyRod said:

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Looking forward to bumping this thread a bit down the road.

In the meantime, the big school has put out some informative stuff on xeriscaping for your enjoyment and education.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/xeriscape/xeriscape.html

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I hope you bump away. Their definition of Xeriscaping is exactly what I do now and have St. Augustine grass, trees and shrubs. Not what we generally think of as xeriscaping around here.

xeriscape
/zirskp/
noun
a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation or other maintenance, used in arid regions.

Rest assured, I will. Maybe around September.

FlyRod said:

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Rest assured, I will. Maybe around September.

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What will you say then? I can't wait. Something about cactus and rocks?

Oh I don't know. It depends on what the Aggiedome does between now and then. Maybe less cactus and rocks and more desert willows and other nice looking drought resistant flora.

FlyRod said:

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Oh I don't know. It depends on what the Aggiedome does between now and then. Maybe less cactus and rocks and more desert willows and other nice looking drought resistant flora.

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Disappointing response.

I'm with you FlyRod. Looking for my new yard to have much less lawn, and certainly not the thirsty St. Augustine I have now. And definitely looking to harvest rainwater during the "floody" season to save it for use into July/August. Or I guess June/July/August now. We get too much water followed by not enough water. Then we have to water with salty city water. The plants are shocked. I have to find something more resilient - between the two freezes and the almost-drought I have lost so many plants and so much $$$ and my lawn looks crummy despite watering three times a week.

Xeriscaping does not have to mean cactus. I'm just looking for something that can live without being babied and fed a daily gallon of water. Who wants to be a slave to that?

I have not found anyone in town that claims to know how to do anything but a giant swath of grass with some crepe myrtles and a goofy looking line of bushes at the front of the house, though.

Fine, halibut. As the drought continues, and the so-called Aggiedome continues to keep rain at bay, a fun cactus local BCS gardeners might want to try is dragon fruit. Yes it's actually a cactus, and a fast growing one. It looks nice in a rock garden too. And you might get fruit if you're lucky.

You sure about that?
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/landscaping/xeriscape-landscape-water-conservation/

Xeriscape has 7 steps:
1. Planning & design < don't buy all the plants without knowing where they're going to go
2. Soil analysis and preparation < you cannot put "too much" organic matter in the soil here.
3. Practical turf areas < see? You can still have a lawn!
4. Appropriate plant selection < doesn't have to be cactus. Also steer clear of azaleas.
5. Efficient irrigation < don't water the street, don't flood the landscape
6. Use of mulch < keeps the soil cool, adds organic matter
7. Appropriate maintenance < pruning here and there

Zeroscape is cactus and rocks. Or, if you're in AZ or NM, it's Xeriscape if you follow the principles above.

A typical backyard swimming pool holds around 15,000 gallons. Residential irrigation systems will use between 3,000 and 8,000 gallons per cycle (maybe less, maybe more).

Edit: I linked the same info already posted here. Oops.

The Extension Service and our Master Gardener group have great resources. For plants that don't need much maintenance once established, check out the list of EarthKind plants.

There is some Xeriscape H2O and some excessive use penalties……BTW I watched Wickson Creek leak enough water to form a 1 acre wetland for over a year on their interconnect with acquired water supplies in Grimes Co - all the while charging more for excessive use that was way less per user/ per month.

https://www.kbtx.com/2022/07/01/broken-pipe-shuts-down-parts-westbound-onramp-near-university-drive/

Oh, well that totally excuses your desire to grow a rainforest in your yard.

Why St Augustine is still used is beyond me. Should be Bermuda or xeriscape.

BCS went from 70% chance of getting 2-5" to, according the Shel, probably nada.
Except if you live in the eastern part of the Brazos Valley. You know, around Coldspring.

Harvey effectively cracked the myth of the Aggiedome...or so it should have.

Worked with a guy that grew up in Odessa.

When they moved to another house in town, the last thing they did was pick up the rocks in the yard, in a bunch of buckets for the new place.

When weather nerds and Trekkies collide.

trouble said:

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But that wasn't the Aggiedome. That's was just the system in the Gulf shifting east. It happens.

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Don't really care if it was the Dome or not, but this was the last good chance for run for the next two weeks (oh wait, there's a 20% chance next Saturday, get out the flood gear everyone). Not only are we getting whacked this summer with rising gas and electric bills, but water now as well.

Going to be a lot of dead trees and wrecked foundations before this is all over.

It definitely sucks all around

Looks like the dome will hold again.

the damn system is just fanning out and disappearing right as it gets to us. noooooooooooo. half my yard is baked worse than Catherine's turkey at Christmas dinner.

Here is a fun visual.