Walk the Line: A mid-summer check of your irrigation system
Up to 50% of outdoor water use is wasted due to lack of service. In just 15 minutes, a broken sprinkler could waste about 225 gallons of water. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the daily water needs for 3 Albuquerque homes. If that broken sprinkler is set…
Keeping Cool This Summer While Saving Water
Over 40% of Albuquerque homeowners use evaporative coolers, while the rest use some type of refrigerated air system. Today’s evaporative coolers (also known as swamp coolers) provide a practical, energy-efficient way to cool air in the low humidity climates found…
2025 Desert Friendly Webinars
Smart Irrigation Controllers
Most Albuquerque homes have an irrigation box below ground in the yard that contains automatic valves, pressure reducers, and filters with backflow preventers next to the box. The automatic valves are wired to an irrigation controller that’s often in the garage,…
Irrigation 101 Tutorials
Water Meter Information How can I find my water meter? Irrigation Valve Information Do I have an irrigation valve on my property? Install Drip Line from Irrigation Valve Learn how to install drip irrigation to your irrigation valves. How to Install Water to a Tree…
Water Authority Educating the Community One Classroom at a Time
Most residents are unaware of the educational resources that the Water Authority (WA) provides to our community. These WA Education Department programs exemplify the WA’s commitment to water conservation and education which reach nearly 20,000 students each year. With…
Track Your Water Use Online
If you have a meter equipped with AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) as shown in the photo above, you can log into your Water Authority account and see your hour-by-hour usage. This may help you locate any issues in your house or yard, such as a continuous water…
I’ve Xeriscaped My Yard, Now What?
Your new xeric plants are in, and everything is looking good. What do you need to do to keep it that way? Start by looking at your irrigation controller. It may be programmed to apply water too frequently and/or for too long in order to get the plants started. If you…
How to Install Irrigation Sprinkler Bodies and Spray Nozzles
Grass lawns in the greater Albuquerque area need supplemental irrigation to survive our high desert climate. Most residential landscapes are watered by pop-up spray heads that include a sprinkler nozzle set into a spray sprinkler body. We recommend switching out your…
Commercial Xeriscape Conversions Save Millions of Gallons
The Water Authority’s xeriscape rebate program, and predecessor programs run by the city of Albuquerque, have seen about 12 million square feet of turf replaced over the past 25 or so years. Since 2009, the top five years for program participation were: This has…