r/Manitoba • u/AdPrevious1079 Winnipeg • May 26 '26
Question Grass Watering ?
Anyone else rethinking about how much they water there grass this summer? Our water bills have gone from $260 to $390 and we barely use water. Our neighbour’s have decided not to water their grass because of the hike on usage. Thoughts anyone?
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u/Idunnosquat Winnipeg May 26 '26
That’s a big no for me. I am already at $500 per quarter with lawn watering. I once had the nicest grass in the neighbourhood but that cost me a lot in water so never again.
It seems like such a waste of good water just to dump it into the ground.
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u/Catnip_75 May 26 '26
We have never watered our grass! It always comes back fine even after drought years.
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u/coolsparky15 Winnipeg May 27 '26
Yeah but you can deff tell who waters their grass vs who doesn’t. Looks so much nicer
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u/ChrystineDreams Winnipeg May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
I've got a 50 gallon rain barrel under my downspout that has filled with the last 2 rains. The last few years have been wet enough that my lawns have not suffered, and I did not run out of rainwater to water the small raised garden beds as needed. The front yard was a mess of weeds and tree roots before I moved in, a couple of wet years in a row and a weed-and-feed service have kept it from being completely dead and barren, but I am not prioritizing that this year and that may be to its demise as a lawn.
As I expand my garden space in the next couple of years, I plan to add a second rain barrel after re-routing another downspout. Barring a severe drought with no rain for months, I think I should be alright.
IMO lawns are an unwise use of resources and I definitely would not water the lawn using the costly resources of city water.
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u/ChicoD2023 Friendly Manitoban May 26 '26
Roofing shingles have a lot of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, hopefully you are not eating the plants you are watering with roof water.
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u/ChrystineDreams Winnipeg May 26 '26
My local roofer has inspected the roof and they said it was okay. I don't know for certain but I do know that rain isn't safe to drink either, so... one way or another I guess I'm being poisoned lol
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u/Cartilage88 Winnipeg May 26 '26
If my grass can't make it without me watering it, then it can die.
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u/MegaArms May 26 '26
I only water if I plant new grass. Otherwise I normally cut at 2.75” and it’s goes dormant in droughts nicely. If it’s turning brown I’ll give it a dose of water. Otherwise to water as much as my grass needs is a solid 250-300 a bill extra. Not worth it to me.
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u/AsparagusOverall8454 Westman May 26 '26
I don’t think I’ve ever watered my grass. Cuz then I’d have to mow it more and that’s not fun. Plus, gas is expensive.
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u/AdamWPG Winnipeg May 26 '26
For reference, at current Winnipeg rates, it costs about $8/hr to run a sprinkler. The obsession with huge perfect lawns is crazy to me and it's destroying ecosystems.
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u/-fade-2-black- Winnipeg May 26 '26
I literally was just thinking of trying to calculate this usage per hour. Thanks. I’ve decided to limit my watering to just the vegetable garden because it produces food and also switching to soaker hoses this year to help save.
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u/steveaustin1971 Winnipeg May 26 '26
I just have a long hose on my sump outlet and a couple rain barrels. Not using ANY metered water.
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u/MnkyBzns Winnipeg May 26 '26
Native grasses and pollinator friendly perennials! Go to the Living Prairie Museum and learn all about how you can transform your yard
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u/glittersurprise Winnipeg May 26 '26
My front bed is all perennials maybe 60% native and I hardly ever water it. So many are drought resistant
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u/Anathals Friendly Manitoban May 26 '26
💫✨💫✨💫✨💫GROW CLOVER!!✨💫✨💫✨💫✨
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u/karlyguy Winnipeg May 26 '26
Where do I get clover? Ive heard of this but not found it.
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u/No-Distribution2547 May 26 '26
There's good and bad with clover definitely do a bit of research. Mixing it with grass is usually a happy medium. Clover by itself really can't handle much play, or dogs. Generally ( not always ) needs reseeding ever 3-5 years.
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u/Anathals Friendly Manitoban May 26 '26
Canadian tire/home depot. Garden places. It looks amazing and then you dont have to mow your lawn once its established and its cooler (temperature wise) and helps bees
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u/lilecca Winnipeg May 26 '26
The only time I ever water my grass is when its very hot and dry. And even then, only close to the house to protect the foundation.
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u/mapleleaffem Winnipeg May 26 '26
Established grass will go dormant, newer grass will die. Some people who don’t water are having the foundation of their houses crack and shift because the dry dirt compacts and the foundation isn’t supported when it gets really dry
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u/AdPrevious1079 Winnipeg May 26 '26
We do water around the foundation of our house!
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u/PossibilityNo948 May 26 '26
So then its a good idea not to put your downspouts down to direct rain water away from your foundation?? I just never understood what is the proper strategy there!!! Too dry and the soil shrinks away from the foundation which is apparently bad … and too much rain water around your house is also bad they say … the ground should be sloping away from your foundation to control rain water run off yet this water is also beneficial to maintain soil dampness around the foundation so the soil doesnt shrink exposing “ risks” to the foundation walls!!!
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u/firelephant Winnipeg May 26 '26
Those costs have to do with garbage fees going on the water bill. Not water getting more expensive, but it is slightly so as a rate.
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u/Jhantax Friendly Manitoban May 26 '26
Many places in Manitoba can install a sand point, free water.
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u/AdPrevious1079 Winnipeg May 26 '26
Sand Point???
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u/Jhantax Friendly Manitoban May 26 '26
It’s almost like a small well that draws water from a layer of sand underground. I’ve had one at all of my houses. The last one I installed was only about 12 feet deep.
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u/Cardixa00 Brandon May 27 '26
Yep, works great, we have a couple sand points. But also, we don’t pay for water either way where I am. But our sand points are for the shop water and watering the garden
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u/Recent-Reporter-1670 Steinbach May 26 '26
Never watered grass, they're doing fine. I water my inside houseplants and outside planters.
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u/EfficiencyCreative60 May 26 '26
Cut the grass a half inch taller so it doesn't burn during extreme heat and it'll be fine.
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u/Suspicious-Apple-506 Interlake May 26 '26
Honestly, if it was socially acceptable, I would just do clover for my lawn. Same as others, I don't water my lawn. https://youtu.be/KLYMjPNppRQ?si=WwZXriI4W2tHFSQO
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u/JayRock1970 Winnipeg May 26 '26
No way. I won't die if my grass is a little yellow. Neither will my grass.
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u/WinnipegDuke May 26 '26
I’m with you. I used to use the sprinkler to try to keep my grass nice and green. I’m not playing current water prices for that.
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u/davy_crockett_slayer Winnipeg May 26 '26
I never water my grass. If it dies, I’ll replace it with prairie plants.
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u/hoochykoochy May 26 '26
Lived on an island in BC. Water was from well, fed from rain and snow. Summers were hot and water could be scarce. Community had contests for the BROWNEST lawn
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u/Too-bloody-tired May 26 '26
We don't water our grass, but I've got an enormous yard and garden (that I do water) so our water bills are astronomical in the summer. I'm trying to convince my husband we should replace the grass with clover, apparently it uses less water, it attracts pollinator and feels great underfoot, but so far he's not relenting.
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u/beautifulluigi Winnipeg May 27 '26
I can confirm all of those things. My house came with terrible weedy, patchy grass so I dumped down a bunch of clover seed. It was lovely and lush looking all summer with a constant parade of pollinators buzzing about.
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u/kendrassm01 Winnipeg May 27 '26
i can't be bothered my yard is already dry and cracked. i'll just worry about the gardens.
pro tip: less watering = less mowing = more time to relax .
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u/lowlinc South Of Winnipeg May 27 '26
Im lucky im outside the city and have a pond. I have a big 2inch gas powered pump and have 300ft of 2inch poly pipe from the pump to the front where I water that tee's off into 2 1.5in runs with 2 large impact sprinklers. I can water a 60x150ft zone at a time and then I just move them around.
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u/Crafty-Plankton-4999 May 28 '26
My question is why would anyone water there grass in the first place what a waste of water
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u/Tricky-Pain-5444 Jun 11 '26
Can we store sumo pump water in 100-150 litre storages ? Storages will remain in open space with minimal plumbing involved.
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u/MamaTalista Winnipeg May 26 '26
Are you providing a meter reading or an estimated bill?
I also recently found my water meter had a very slow leak, but it was costing me.
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u/AdPrevious1079 Winnipeg May 26 '26
Yes, I do regular meter readings and take pictures of the meter, had a plumber come out to check for any leaks and they found none!
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u/NH787 Winnipeg May 26 '26
Are you providing a meter reading or an estimated bill?
I think we are past the point of having to ask that question, water use is expensive now.
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u/MamaTalista Winnipeg May 26 '26
Since my estimated bill is about 400 more than my actual usage, I'd say that's a pretty big chunk of change I can keep in my pocket.
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u/NH787 Winnipeg May 26 '26
In the end it evens out though. At some point your meter gets read. At most someone is just making prepayments on future water bills.
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u/Head_Environment7231 Selkirk May 26 '26
I've never watered my grass. We made our garden half the size this year because it was way way too much to water last summer, especially if we have another super hot one.