Our summer rains have been routinely generous. You lawn requires about an inch of water per week during the growing season, less during fall and winter. Our summer rainfall patterns have been providing the water your landscape and lawn needs to make a good summer show of healthy green growth.

Your rain sensor should be keeping your irrigation system off when your yard receives significant rainfall. If you haven’t seen a reduction in your irrigation use, please check your rain sensor and controller settings to take advantage of easy water savings now.

Here are five resources from the City of Tampa Water Department to help you to “save water save cash” during this season of plentiful rain:

1. Don’t know how to test your rain sensor? Use the Rain Sensor Checkup link to learn to check your rain sensor in 4 easy steps.
2. Still running your irrigation system without a functional rain sensor? Eligible customers can receive a free rain sensor. Use the FREE Rain Sensors link to order it online.
3. Wondering how much money your irrigation use adds to your water bill? Use our simple online Irrigation Calculator to estimate irrigation costs. Just plug in the number of minutes you plan to run each zone.
4. Experiencing high irrigation use? Can’t figure out why? Request a free irrigation evaluation by emailing: SaveWater@tampagov.net. Give your name, number and best time to reach you.
5. Installing new sod or landscape? Read “8 Things to know about Irrigating New Lawns and Landscape” before you order your sod. Consider using the 30-day establishment plan developed by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS.)

Looking ahead, weather experts are predicting a wetter than normal winter with higher than average rainfall through the start of 2016. Don’t miss out on the easy water savings. Get ready to dial back the run times on your irrigation controller using these seasonal settings from UF/IFAS:

Table 1.Seasonal irrigation run times for spray and rotor zones.