Time for most southern grasses to ‘go dormant until spring.’ Here’s what you need to do
Due to limited availability to treated water in the system, the Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority is asking its 65,000 customers to reduce landscape irrigation.
Treated water accessibility is down in response to replacing essential treatment equipment at the Chelsea water treatment plant, according to an agency news release Tuesday afternoon. It’s expected to take three months.
Not reducing morning irrigation use, the two-county system could lose pressure, which may cause water discoloration and low water pressure. If a major loss of pressure happens, it could trigger boil water advisories, service interruptions and potentially threaten firefighter’s access to adequate flows, the authority noted.
“We planned this important restoration project for the end of the year because irrigation normally decreases in the fall and we want to be complete for spring usage peaks,” Chief of Plant Operations Brian Chemsak said.
However, that’s not been the case, Chemsak added. The authority is seeing higher-than-normal irrigation demands, which he chalked up to a lack of rain recently.
In South Carolina, during the late fall and winter months, warm-season grasses only need about an inch of water every three weeks while dormant, according to Clemson University’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.
“We realize that some people may try to extend the season for their green lawns but it’s time to let most southern grasses go dormant until spring,” Chemsak said. “It’s good for your lawn and for your water system.”
For BJWSA customers who use their irrigation systems, the authority directs them to its Irrigation Management Plan, which requires adjusting irrigation times to water three days each week, on a rotating schedule. No one should be irrigating on Mondays or between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Rotating irrigation schedule
- Customers with odd-numbered addresses: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
- Customers with even-numbered addressed. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Beyond the Chelsea plant upgrades, BJWSA intends to increase water production and system storage capacity, the authority’s release said. However, the $52 million project to double capacity at the Purrysburg Water Treatment Plant in Jasper County will not be complete until 2025.
To learn further about irrigation planning, visit www.bjwsa.org/water-use/.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 12:39 PM.
