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CITY OF CODY RAW WATER ORDINANCE & WATERING GUIDELINES Summer Watering Schedule If your property address ends in an Odd Number you are scheduled to water on: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday If your property address ends in an Even Number you are scheduled to water on: Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday There will be no watering on Mondays. The watering schedule encourages proper watering, ensures proper working pressure for everyone who is watering, and allows for the cost effective operation of the system. 1338 Rumsey Avenue P.O. Box 2200 Cody, Wyoming 82414 Phone (307) 527-7511 Fax (307) 527-6532 City of Cody WATERING GUIDELINES ---PAGE BREAK--- This brochure is designed to provide you with information on the Water Policy for Raw Water and watering with City treated water for creating and maintaining a healthy landscape that will survive Cody’s climate. MAINTAINING A HEALTHY LAWN Maintaining a healthy lawn is a year-round process that is most intense during the summer growing season. One of the most important parts of a total lawn management program is proper watering. Over-watering is not only bad for your lawn but is also a waste of water. When you develop a deep and extensive root system in your lawn your lawn will be more drought resistant in periods of hot dry weather. Deeper roots are better able to tap into a larger volume of soil moisture. Shallow roots are not able to reach water deep in the soil and which will cause the grass to scorch and die in hot dry weather. In order to develop a deep and extensive root system, you want to water deep and less often. Shallow and frequent watering encourages shallow root development so remember it is better to water longer but less often. Let your lawn dry out some to make the root structure have to search deeper for water. During the summer months (June, July and August) the amount of water required to maintain a healthy lawn depends on the type of soil. In general, bentonitic soils require approximately 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week and rocky or sandy soils require approximately 2 to 2 ½ inches of water per week. You can determine the amount of water being put on the lawn by placing small cans (no more than 3 inches high) at varying distances from your sprinklers. Water for an hour and measure the water in the can. You can then determine how long to water to achieve the appropriate amount of water required for a week. You should conduct the can test for each different type of sprinkler as different sprinklers apply water at different rates. NEW LAWNS New sod or a lawn being started from seed should be watered 3 times per day at 20 to 30 minute intervals for 14 days. If the lawn is over-seed or seed is added to an existing lawn, there is no real need to water more frequently than the 3 days allowed by ordinance. UNDER GROUND SPRINKLER SYSTEMS If you have an underground sprinkler system you can use the following as a guide to help you determine the length of time you need to water. Spray Head Sprinklers- Water each area about 1 hour a week Impact Sprinklers- Water each area about 3 to 4 hours a week Rotor Sprinklers- Water each area about 3 to 4 hours a week These times are an approximation only. Each system will vary. OTHER LAWN CARE TIPS There are a number of other things you can do to help your lawn. Plug aeration will help water and air move more readily into the soil, encouraging deeper root development. Once the weather starts getting hot raise your mowing height to 2½ to 3 inches. This reduces soil temperature and reduces water loss to evaporation. For other information on lawn care you can visit the University of Wyoming Extension Office or talk to a local lawn care specialist.