By Sean Hubbard, DASNR communications specialist

STILLWATER, Okla. – The entire state was bone dry for several years. Oklahoma had reached historical lows in rainfall totals and cities were threatened with depleted water supplies.

Prior to May and June 2015, when the state finally started getting wet again, communities were running out of water. Oklahoma City was pumping water in from southeastern Oklahoma and channeling resources from the northwest part of the state.

It had become evident that water was essential, something that had been on the minds of researchers from Oklahoma State University for many years.

“Water is a nonrenewable resource that we tend to undervalue,” said Justin Moss, associate professor and Huffine Endowed Professor of Turfgrass Science in OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

To help highlight the importance of water conservation, Moss teamed up with the city of Oklahoma City Utilities Department and starting thinking about water.

“We needed to quickly become knowledgeable in water conservation,” said Debbie Ragan, public information and marketing manager for the OKC Utilities Department. “Instead of just telling people what they can and can’t do, and what days they can water their lawns, we needed to show them better ways to manage their landscapes and water use.”

Those thoughts and this partnership resulted in the creation of ThinkWater, a program within the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, designed to educate Oklahoma residents about water conservation, horticulture and smart irrigation in the home landscape.

The collaboration began in 2013 with the early emphasis on educating Oklahoma City residents on how to save water, and essentially their own money. Much of the program’s energy and efforts are geared toward reducing outdoor water usage.

“This is a permanent plan to help us prepare for the long-term, and I wanted to involve OSU,” said Malarie Gotcher, OKC water conservation specialist. “We needed some research-based information to help tell our customers about water conservation and how they could save water without ruining their landscapes.”

For 2013, Oklahoma City residents were using 5,450 gallons of water per capita per month. In 2014, that number dropped to 5,200 gallons. 2015 saw an even greater decrease to 4,700 gallons of water, before the rains came in May.

“Seven hundred fifty gallons of water per person each month adds up to quite a bit of savings,” Moss said. “It’s good to see people making an effort to conserve water.”

Not only is the website available for the public to learn from, the ThinkWater program has reached thousands of others through several partnerships.

OSU-OKC jumped onboard for a water conservation demonstration area on their campus. The Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City designated some space for water tolerant plants and signage about conservation. Even the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden wanted a piece of the action.

Patrons of the Zoo and Botanical Garden can now see more than 30,000 plant varieties and learn about water conservation and drought-tolerant plants in the Drought Tolerant Garden.

“Here at the zoo we’re always looking for different ways to conserve water, both in the gardens and with the animals,” Swearengin said. “The garden, which highlights nearly 70 different plant varieties, features signage promoting the principles of landscape design, as well as an opportunity for passive learning. In addition, the signs feature a QR Code to provide visitors additional information with their smart phone or tablet.”

Swearengin said another goal for the garden is to show people how attractive the drought-tolerant plant selections in Oklahoma can be. Many species bloom in vibrant hues of reds and yellows and serve as a colorful addition to the foliage and are hardier and use less water than many other plant species.

“When people think ‘drought-tolerant’, they think of a desert landscape—cactus and rock,” Swearengin said. “We want them to look at the garden here and realize drought-tolerant can mean green, too.”

A fourth water conservation demonstration garden is scheduled to open later this spring at Bluff Creek Park in Oklahoma City.

The underlying idea is to get the people who see the beauty of the plants, and the conservation benefits they bring to the table, to implement them into their own landscapes. The ThinkWater program has all the information a landowner could ever want concerning home landscapes pertaining to water conservation.

The OSU Fact Sheet, A Guide to Saving Water in the Home Landscape, E-1038, provides information about soil quality, landscape planning and design, plant selection, turgrass management, irrigation and the benefits of mulch.

“That document really highlights the science behind how water conservation works and why it should be implemented,” said Moss. “It can help home owners design their landscapes in such a way that provides beauty and conserves water."

As far as landscapes are concerned, the squeezeeverydrop.com/ website, which is part of the partnership between the OKC Utilities Department and OSU Cooperative Extension, has tips on water saving techniques such as repairing sprinkler heads and monitoring water inputs during certain times of the year.

“It has been a very successful partnership. In fact, we just renewed the partnership,” Ragan said. “The whole effort has been successful and a lot of people have gotten on board and been asking questions about how they can conserve water, and there has been a lot of traffic on our website.”

Oklahoma City hosts several hands-on workshops throughout the year to learn about water smart landscape design, getting green lawns while saving water, water conservation basics and using sprinkler systems for lawn watering.

According to the OKC Utilities Department website, outdoor watering uses 5 to 10 gallons per minute. That adds up quickly if people water their lawns for any length of time.

Oklahoma City advises its customers on the seven principles of a water smart landscape; appropriate planning and design; soil improvement; right plant, right place; use of mulch; efficient irrigation; proper use of turfgrass; and landscape maintenance.

Judging by these principles, Oklahoma City hosts the H2Outstanding Landscape Award contests each year. The winning landscapes showcase different ways to reduce water requirements in the yard and still have an attractive yard. Applicants demonstrate their commitment to water conservation through use of low maintenance plants, efficient irrigation and soil improvement.

“The first change in my landscape was removing the lawn. I replaced that with gravel driveways, a large deck and gravel walkways in the back garden,” said Robert Heartsill, 1^st place winner of the 2015 H2Outstanding Landscape Award. “Drought-resistant plantings and the hardscape hopefully have conserved lots of water compared to maintaining a nice grass lawn.”

OSU’s Simple Irrigation Plan, a product of the Oklahoma Mesonet, also helps address these issues for water-savvy people. With July being “Smart Irrigation Month,” the information provided on this website goes hand-in-hand with the mission of ThinkWater, and the state’s plan to consume no more fresh water in 2060 than was consumed in 2010, as defined by House Bill 3055.

“The Bill is an important step to put water in the forefront of the minds of Oklahomans,” said Garey Fox, director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Center at OSU. “There are some giant hurdles in terms of research, education and outreach to overcome to make this a reality for 2060, but the first of many necessary steps have started.”