According to the World Population Review, Tarrant County currently has a population of 2,237,549 people, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and 15

^th

in the United States. Tarrant County averages 59 new residents a day, and approximately 50 acres of land is developed weekly.

Editor’s note:

Welcome to the Fort Worth Report’s new gardening column by horticulturist Jay Caddel. Every month, Caddel will bring you tips and tricks for your green space. Have a suggestion for a topic? Email

[email protected]

.

The Texas Water Development Board projects that by 2070, Texas’ estimated population will reach 51.4 million people (currently 32.451 million), who will require 19.2 million acre-feet of water. The state water development board also projects that given our current infrastructure, there will be an annual shortfall of 7 million acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is defined as the amount of water needed to cover a football field with a foot of water, or 325,851 gallons. That equals a shortfall of 2.3 trillion gallons of water.

Up to 25% of potable water consumption is attributed to outdoor use, mostly in the form of landscape irrigation, and an estimated 50% is wasted as runoff.

One way to mitigate the waste of irrigation water is to switch to native Texas plants. Native plants are generally thought of as plants that have been endemic to a certain locale since at least the 1600s, before European colonization.

Why natives? They conserve water and reduce mowing costs. They protect the soil while providing habitats for birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife. Native plants clean our air and reduce temperatures in urban areas. Finally, they reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which saves the homeowner money and reduces the chance of groundwater contamination.

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Another way of controlling runoff is the cycle-and-soak sprinkler method. This is an irrigation method that waters your landscape with several short watering cycles on the same day with approximately 30 minutes between each watering. This allows the water to soak the soil approximately 6 inches to 8 inches, which promotes deeper root development and reduces runoff. Most sprinkler system controllers have an option to program the system to run the cycle-and-soak method.

The Tarrant Regional Water Board, or TRWD, has an incentive program to transform your landscape by replacing thirsty turf with a water-wise native flower bed. Tarrant County residents who remove 125 square feet of grass and plant the provided native plants will receive an $85 rebate to cover the cost of the plants. You can head to TRWD’s

website

for more information about the incentives. Applications are being accepted now, but hurry — they usually sell out!

Another incentive that TRWD has is their Residential Sprinkler Evaluation Program. This is a free service for Tarrant County residents that provides a comprehensive look at your sprinkler system. A licensed irrigator inspects your components, the controller and the current watering schedule, and will make recommendations. The link to sign up is

here

. And finally, you can sign up for weekly updates for recommended watering amounts based on precipitation forecasts. This service called Weekly Watering Advice is found

here

.

Water is awesome, and every resident in Texas should be mindful of their water consumption. As water suppliers are forced to create new ways to capture and store water, the cost of the new infrastructure could be passed on to the homeowner. Finding new ways to use less water not only helps the environment — it will also help your wallet.

Jay Caddel studied horticulture at Texas A&M University, where he took his passion for plants to new heights. After a stint at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Jay has come home to Fort Worth to serve as the Tarrant County extension agent for home horticulture for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and talking to everyone about the benefits of native Texas plants.

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