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Water Conservation and Quality

Urban Water Conservation

Water is increasingly scarce across the western United States, and outdoor irrigation is often the largest contributor to household water use. However, removing plants entirely is not the solution. Healthy landscapes provide numerous ecosystem services, including cooling urban areas, improving air quality, and enhancing overall well-being. Effective water conservation is not only about how much water is applied during the week, but also how often and how long irrigation systems are operated throughout the year.

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Additional Sources

Barns et al., 2026, "A comparative evaluation of soil health in american sports fields". https://doi.org/10.1155/aess/5153333

Clark et al., 2026, Environmental sustainability of future fertilizers: tradeoffs between ammonia volatilization and nitrate leaching for 11 enhanced efficiency fertilizers. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2025.2595092

Flint et al., 2023, Variable rate nitrogen in potato cropping systems. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-947-

Hopkins et al., 2026, Waste tires to fertilizer: Carbon black zinc fertilizer for maize in calcareous soils. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59319-8