Start Your Daily Watering Guide
CoAgMet Stations
Do you know how much water you are using to irrigate your lawn?
The Eagle and Gypsum area can offer tips on how you can use your sprinkler system more efficiently. Our local watering index, or CoAgMet station, can help guide you to daily watering schedules that are scientifically based on the current weather and evapotranspiration rates.
Operating as a network of agricultural weather stations around the state of Colorado, the data collected lets us calculate evapotranspiration values to model efficient water use for your lawn and various crops. But what is evapotranspiration, exactly?
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the water loss occurring from the processes of both evaporation and transpiration. More than 99% of the water used by an irrigated turf or crop is drawn through the roots and then transpired through the leaves. Through the CoAgMet stations, an initial soil value is estimated by measuring solar radiation, temperature, humidity and wind. These variables, combined with a specific type of crop or lawn, are plugged into equations that accurately predict the daily rate of ET. Measuring evapotranspiration can equivalate to the amount of water consumed by plants over time and can be used to assess daily watering requirements.
So, how do you use this information? Consider the soil water on your landscape as a bank account. Daily ET amounts are being withdrawn from the soil account. Any rainfall or irrigation added, is a deposit. With data collected by the CoAgMet station, the water balance can be estimated by subtracting ET daily or over a period of time. You can then determine how much irrigation is needed, when the soil value is projected to drop below a certain level. To understand this process better, visit CSU Extension's FAQ on ET to help get you ready to take action: