Fall landscape tips

1. Reduce the number of days of watering, but continue watering deeply. This encourages deeper roots which is especially important for plant survival through the winter. Remember, watering schedules are in place until Sept. 30.
2. Aerate your lawn to relieve compaction and reduce thatch, allowing easier access for air and nutrients to reach the roots.
3. Fertilize with a slow release, low phosphorous fertilizer. Or better, add organic compost to beds and recently aerated lawns.
4. Replenish mulch around trees, shrubs and perennials to help stabilize temperatures, retain moisture, reduce weeds and condition the soil as it decomposes.
5. Fall is a great time to plant, so get those trees and shrubs in the ground. 
6. Wrap trunks of young, smooth-bark trees to protect them from sunscald and ice buildup.
7. Drain and blow out your irrigation system to prevent pipes and backflow devices from freezing. This usually needs to be completed by mid-October before sustained freezing temperatures.  

Customer question: Is it really necessary to use waste water? Aren’t there other options?

Wastewater is 99.9% water and it shouldn’t be wasted.
Reuse water involves producing safe drinking water from water that has been used in our sinks, showers and toilets. Before you say ‘yuck’, keep in mind that all water, no matter its source, must meet highly regulated drinking water standards. Your drinking water has been purified through various treatment processes so it is safe for daily use and drinking. Plus, we are really already reusing water. In most communities, water used in our homes is sent to the wastewater treatment plant where it is treated to environmental standards before being released into the nearby creek. Communities downstream then pump out this water and send it to a drinking water treatment plant for purification.
 
In Castle Rock, instead of letting this water, which we have already paid for, go downstream, we will be recapturing it and treating it, along with our other water supply, to drinking water purity at our recently expanded Plum Creek Water Purification Facility. There, nine different treatment processes purify water from viruses, bacteria, pharmaceuticals and more.
 
Reuse water may be our most cost-effective and environmentally sound water supply. Reuse water is economical because we do not have to purchase new water, nor pump it from great distances. By not mining water from deep underground and pulling excessive amounts from the creek, there are minimal disruptions to the ecosystem. Since we are using water that is already available, reuse water is also a more drought-resistant source of supply. 
 
Reuse water is becoming the norm. Aurora Water already utilizes reuse water and by 2065, one-third of the water supply in all South Metro communities is expected to be reuse water. Castle Rock Water is just leading the industry.