Curious about how much water you can save by converting your lawn? Use this calculator to see potential water savings and benefits of sheet mulching!
Water Efficient Landscape Design Calculator
A square foot lawn is estimated to use gallons of water per year, based on your location.1
To replace your lawn with a new water efficient landscape, use the drop down menus below to select landscape type, then enter square footage, water use, and irrigation and landscape type. If you are unsure about the water use of specific plants you have in mind, consult this plant water use resource.
Once you complete your selections, a graph will appear below to compare the water needs of your new design to conventional water use for a lawn of the same size.
Note: The total square footage of your new design should equal the total lawn area to be converted.
Estimated Annual Water Use for Square Feet:
Congratulations!
Your new landscape saves 1234 gallons per year compared to your existing lawn.
The vertical green line displayed in the graph above indicates the recommended water use of 1234 gallons annually, based on the location and size of your project.1 Your water use is even lower than this target-- by 1234 gallons/year!
Here are some tips to reduce your water needs further:
- Sheet mulch your lawn in place--compost and mulch help soil hold more water.3
- Place plants with the same water needs together. For instance, place low water-use plants and moderate water-use plants on separate valves. This is called hydrozoning.
- Space plants to accommodate their size at maturity--fewer plants need less water.
- Plant 1 gallon or less size plants--smaller plants need less water to establish.
- Opt for drip irrigation--less water is lost to evaporation and runoff.
- Make sure to cover drip lines with mulch to save water and protect the tubing.
Getting there!
You'll save 1234 gallons per year compared to your existing lawn.
To save even more water, experiment with your design and try to reach the target for a water efficient landscape. The vertical green line displayed in the graph above indicates the recommended maximum water use of 1234 gallons annually, based on the location and size of your project.1
Here are some tips to further reduce your water use:
- Sheet mulch your lawn in place and save gallons of water per year. Compost and mulch help soil hold more water.3
- Place plants with the same water needs together. For instance, place low water-use plants and moderate water-use plants on separate valves. This is called hydrozoning.
- Space plants to accommodate their size at maturity--fewer plants need less water.
- Plant 1 gallon or less size plants--smaller plants need less water to establish.
- Opt for drip irrigation--less water is lost to evaporation and runoff.
- Make sure to cover drip lines with mulch to save water and protect the tubing.
Oops!
Estimated water use for your new design is 1234 gallons more than your existing lawn. Add more low water use plants, drip irrigation, and sheet mulch to see the water use go down.
Additional benefits from sheet mulching:
- You'll prevent pounds of sod from being sent to the landfull: sod can't be processed by composters because of the rocks and grit.
- You'll sequester pounds of carbon into the soil every year: adding compost to soil helps plants draw more carbon dioxide from the air and store it deep in the soil.
- You'll prevent pounds of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: sheet mulching avoids methane emissions from anaerobic decomposition of sod in the landfull. GHG's are reduced by minimizing soil erosion and use of fertilizer.
Click for References
| 1 | This calculator uses the estimated water use formula from the State of California’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO). This formula assumes existing lawn has a plant factor of 1.0 and an irrigation efficiency of 0.75. | 2 | This ordinance applies to new construction projects over 500 sf and rehabilitated landscapes over 2,500 sf that require a plan check or permit. Though the ordinance likely does not apply to your project, the water use target is a good goal to reach for a water efficient landscape. |
| 3 |
The assumptions for water savings from sheet mulching include: cardboard is used as a weed barrier, no fertilizers or herbicides are applied, mulch is included in the plant factor determination, and compost is applied at a rate of 4 cubic yards/1000 square feet.
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| Disclaimer: This calculator was created by East Bay Municipal Utility District and StopWaste to provide an estimate of water savings and is intended for informational use only. | |