How the Town of Gypsum Is Conserving Water in Our Parks

The Town of Gypsum is reducing outdoor water use across all parks while keeping our public spaces healthy and welcoming. Here’s how:

• Shorter irrigation run times
  Many parks now run for fewer hours each night, lowering total water use without compromising plant health.
   
• Odd/even watering schedule
  All parks follow alternating‑day irrigation to reduce peak demand and spread out system usage.
   
• Overnight watering only
  Shifting irrigation to late‑night and early‑morning hours helps minimize evaporation and use water more efficiently.
   
•  Increased use of non‑potable water
  Where available, parks and roundabouts are irrigated with non‑potable (raw) water to preserve treated drinking water for homes and essential needs.
   
• Smarter zone-by-zone management
  Each park’s irrigation zones are adjusted individually to avoid over‑watering and match the needs of different landscapes.
   
• Ongoing monitoring
  Staff routinely adjusts schedules based on weather, soil moisture, and plant condition to prevent waste. Together, these steps help protect our community’s water supply while maintaining safe, enjoyable parks for everyone.

20206 Parks Watering Schedule

How the Town of Gypsum Is Conserving Water at the Gypsum Creek Golf Course

The golf course will conserve water by focusing irrigation on high‑priority playing areas and minimizing or eliminating watering in out‑of‑play sections. Real‑time data from weather stations, soil‑moisture sensors, and ET rates will guide precise, efficient watering. Deep, infrequent cycles and targeted hand‑watering will reduce waste, while regular audits, maintenance, and leak detection keep the system performing efficiently. Adjusted turf‑care practices, such as higher mowing heights, reduced fertilizer use, and traffic limits will further lower water demand. High‑water‑use projects will be postponed to support an overall strategy that maintains playability while significantly reducing water use.

• Prioritize irrigation only for highest‑value turf such as greens, tees, and fairways, while removing or significantly reducing watering in lower‑priority or out‑of‑play native areas.
   
• Use advanced, data‑driven irrigation scheduling including ET‑based watering, on‑site weather stations, soil‑moisture sensors, rain sensors, and predictive models to apply only the water the turf actually needs.
   
• Adopt deep and infrequent watering practices along with hand‑watering of hotspots to reduce overall water use and improve root depth and turf resilience.
   
• Conduct regular irrigation audits and system maintenance such as catch‑can tests, equipment calibration, leak detection, nozzle replacement, and pump station monitoring to ensure maximum irrigation efficiency.
   
• Reduce turf growth and stress by raising mowing heights, scaling back fertilizer to limit top growth, restricting golf cart traffic in stressed areas, and utilizing wetting agents to improve infiltration and retention.
   
• Postpone high‑water‑demand projects including renovations requiring sod or seeding, and limit equipment washing with water to once per week. 

2026 GC water reduction.pdfIrrigation BMPs.pdf2026 GC Water Conservation.pdf