Irrigation Conservation of Florida-Friendly Landscaping Based on Water Billing Data

Supplemental irrigation is often required to maintain residential landscapes in Florida, but existing and projected water shortages have led to an increased focus on reducing the amount of publically supplied potable water used for irrigation. Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) has been promoted as a method to reduce irrigation, but the actual water savings has not been previously quantified. Analysis of monthly combined (indoor and outdoor) potable water billing records and parcel data for 125 FFL and 736 traditionally landscaped comparison homes in southwest Florida indicated that FFL homes used 50% less irrigation. Irrigation savings increased to 76% when considering only good examples of FFL and comparison landscapes with high-quality turfgrass. The FFL customers reduced their irrigation use (279 mm/year) after their landscapes became recognized (202 mm/year). Prior to recognition, these customers were already using less irrigation than their neighbors (279 versus 464 mm/year, respectively), indicating that those most concerned with water use were more likely to choose Florida-Friendly Landscaping. The results of this study demonstrate the ability of alternative landscapes in a hot, humid climate to conserve potable water used for irrigation; however, mechanisms for irrigation reduction in these landscapes are still unknown.