Water Conservation FAQ

Drinking water is perishable. That is why the City of Corvallis takes steps to prevent water quality degradation from the time the water leaves the treatment plant until it gets to your tap. Laboratory professionals take routine samples from sampling stations strategically located in the distribution system. Routine sampling lets the staff confirm that our water is free from harmful bacteria and that there is sufficient chlorine for continued disinfection throughout the system. Automated, continuous water quality monitoring stations also take real-time samples from the distribution system throughout the entire day, every day, all year long. The data are continuously relayed to water system staff to assist them in optimizing water quality. See the annual Consumer Confidence Report for more information about our water quality and testing.

It's true! In the early spring, the soil has all the water it can hold. As the temperatures warm and the daylight hours lengthen, plants increase the amount of water they remove from the soil, and the amount of water that evaporates from the soil also increases. The amount of water that you apply to your lawn or landscape should equal the amount of water lost through evaporation and transpiration, often called evapotranspiration, or simply ET. Corvallis averages about 34 inches of rain and 34 inches of ET each year. Theoretically, nobody should ever have to water their lawn at all! Of course the rain comes when plants are not growing as rapidly, so many people irrigate. While one inch per week is a good average for the growing season, the amount of irrigation you apply should change from week to week. Your plants need more water in July than in May or September. Check out the Smart Irrigation and A Golden Landscape and Water Efficient Plant Guide for more information about irrigation, lawns, and conserving water.