Ask the Expert webinar

Wednesday, June 16, 6-7 p.m.

Your yard doesn’t come with instructions and most of us learn by trial and error. We end up with water waste, brown spots in the lawn and dying plants despite our best efforts. Rick Schultz, Castle Rock Water Efficiency Supervisor, is this month’s expert and here to answer specific questions from you. His goal is to help you build a healthy landscape so you use water more efficiently!

Register for this free, informal webinar. Be prepared with questions and feel free to submit any prior to the event. Here are a few questions that Rick will address:

I’m installing a new landscape and lawn. How do I properly schedule watering times?
Can I mix sprinklers with different reach to fit my irregular-shaped lawn?
Do I need to water the tree in the lawn beyond what my sprinklers provide?

Creating a healthier lawn

You water; you mow; you fertilize; but your lawn doesn’t look like the neighbors…. Here are a few tips to have that envious lawn and reduce the headaches!

Cycle and soak. Build deeper roots by taking the total amount of time you usually irrigate and break it up into 3 separate times. If you water for 15 minutes, water for 5 minutes, wait 30 minutes, water for another 5 minutes, wait 30 minutes and water for a final 5 minutes. This allows the water to better penetrate into the root zone. Be sure to water no more than every third day as this helps roots dig deeper too. See how with this video.
Keep the grass blade long. Set your mower for 3 inches (or the highest setting.) Longer blades retain more moisture within the plant and they also shade the soil, helping prevent evaporation. Tall grass also helps choke out the weeds.
Mulch the grass clippings. A season of grass clippings will provide as much nutrients as that application of fertilizer! Be sure to cut only 1/3 or less of the grass blade at a time to help prevent thatch build up.

Capture that rain

Using a rain barrel to capture rain water is a great way to easily and efficiently supplement irrigation for your vegetable garden, outdoor plants or small lawn. In Colorado, two 55-gallon rain barrels are permitted at your home or townhome. It is estimated that a 500 square foot roof can fill a properly installed 55-gallon rain barrel in about an hour given 1/8” of rain per hour. Installing a rain barrel is as easy as attaching it to a rain gutter with a flexible gutter extension. Be sure to install it on a platform to create appropriate pressure when attaching a hose to the spigot. Our friends at ConservationCo.org have some tips on setting it up, maintaining it and winterizing.

Castle Rock Water is more than water

WALT SCHWARZ, CIP Project Manager

Walt is what it looks like when someone enjoys their job. As a young adult, he started in construction and decided on a civil engineering degree to keep his hands in building. Walt joined a private engineering company where he attained his Professional Engineering license. It was here that he got pointed toward water treatment work and saw how these projects were integral to how an entire community functions. A water project engineer position at Castle Rock Water came available and Walt eagerly made the move from Pennsylvania to Colorado. A couple years later he moved to a project manager position and almost twenty years later, Walt is still as excited about his job as ever. The diversity of projects in a growing community has kept him interested and challenged. As a project manager, Walt coordinates the project and people from concept to construction. His engineering background helps him to better collaborate and problem solve with the designers and contractors. He loves the details of each project, whether that be a small odor control facility, a 6-million-gallon potable water storage tank or a state-of-the-art drinking water treatment plant serving 75,000 customers. Permitting and paperwork can be headaches that come with the job, but are overshadowed by the sense of accomplishment and pride he gets from each contribution to his community.