Connecting Yards to the Bay: A Watersmart Landscaping Partnership

Runoff from residential and commercial landscapes is one of the major causes of pollution in our bayous and bays. In addition, during the summer months, these same landscapes consume fifty per cent of municipal water supplies creating the real possibility of water shortages in the near future. Through a focused effort of outreach and education under the banner of the WaterSmart Landscaping program, citizens can become aware of the effects their own landscape practices have on water quality and quantity. To this end, a partnership was created with the City of Nassau Bay, Texas to install both public and residential demonstration landscapes in order to provide tangible evidence that sustainable landscapes can be beautiful while at the same time are neither water polluting nor resource draining.