Watering limits end, conservation doesn't

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - With the annual time-of-day limits on outdoor watering coming to an end, the city-county water utility is still encouraging residents to take it easy on watering yards and landscaping.

“As part of our Water by the Numbers Program , we encourage everyone to reduce their watering to just once a week in November and to stop watering altogether after the first hard freeze,” Water Conservation Officer Katherine Yuhas said. “We are in a severe drought, so every drop of water counts.

"Also, we are at the very end of the growth season, so over-watering won’t do your landscape any good.”

Yuhas, who is with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority , also said because temperatures and evaporation are down, water stays in the ground longer and less watering is needed.

And even though time-of-day limits are ending, citations still can be issued for wasting water or creating ice hazards, she added.

By ordinance sprinkler watering is banned between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. from April 1 through Oct. 31 when heat and winds drive up evaporation rates.