Ag commissioner urges conservation

AUSTIN (KXAN) - This week’s drought monitor shows parts of Texas in better shape than just a week ago, but despite the recent rain, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples is still urging Texans to conserve water.

He spoke publicly in Austin on Thursday on the issue, bringing attention to the Texas Water Smart program. The effort is aimed at encouraging Texans to take some easy steps to conserve.

At Trey Wyatt's home in Southwest Austin, he showed how he’s got a handle on water conservation.

“This is a bubbler,” he said, crawling under some landscaping in his front yard. “We use this on all our trees. It's adjustable."

The watering device is one of many conservation techniques the nursery- and tree-farm owner uses. He has some other simple practices to save water around his home.

"Plants in the shade all do better. They survive without water for the longest," Wyatt said.

Staples spoke Thursday afternoon at a Home Depot in Austin promoting such habits

"Water conservation,” Staples said, “is a message that needs to be spoken year-round and practiced daily."

The Texas Water Smart Program suggests some common sense methods.

• Watering when it's dark.
• Checking for leaks.
• And adjusting sprinklers so water's not wasted on sidewalks and streets.

Another practical way to conserve water around your home is using mulch the right way. In Wyatt's yard, he lays the mulch down thick—about three inches deep. That helps retain moisture, meaning he waters less.

“That depth of mulch basically keeps the soil from drying up and overheating,” Wyatt said.

He has an array of water-saving devices. He pulled out a box from his truck bed.

“This is a rain shut-off device. This is used if you have an automatic irrigation system," he said as he showed off the equipment.

He said that will automatically turn off an irrigation system when it starts raining. He also suggests using a drip line—or drip tubing—in gardens to keep water where it's intended.

“The main advantage to using drip irrigation is it doesn't spray water up into the air, so you have almost no evaporation,” Wyatt said.

Despite recent rainfall, and regardless of watering restrictions, Staples' message remains: keep conserving.

“It doesn't even matter which particular water restrictions your community may be recommending at the time. If you practice the good common sense tips from Texas Water Smart, it's something that you can do all year long," Staples said.