On May 20, employees from Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) came out to the Pikes Peak Habitat construction site at The Ridge at Sand Creek for a special volunteer day.
“Not only did they help us come up with some great alternatives for landscaping,” says Eric Wells, Pikes Peak Habitat’s construction superintendent, “but they want to come out and help install it as well. They love plants!”
CSU has a department devoted to energy and water conservation, the Conservation and Environmental Center, and Wells has been working with them to review Pikes Peak Habitat’s practices.
“Water is just a scarce thing these days, and it’s not going to get much better in the future as we get more and more people needing it,” says Wells. “Plus, if we install really water-thirsty landscaping for our homeowners, their water bill’s going to be very high, and many people are already struggling to pay utility bills.”
Faced with these dilemmas, Wells worked closely with staff at the utilities department to present future homeowners with water-wise options for their yards.
“CSU has been very integral in reworking our concept of landscaping,” says Wells. They provided him with a list of trees, shrubs and plants “that are used to the air conditions that we have here,” he explains. “Most are native and are drought-tolerant and drought-resistant, and they don’t take a whole lot of water.”
CSU staff helped landscape the first two homes to feature the new water-wise plants. They worked alongside other Pikes Peak Habitat volunteers to rake soil, lay fabric ground cover, and plant bushes, flowers, and trees — all donated by SiteOne Landscape Supplies. The volunteers had planned to also lay sod, but because of the rainy conditions during the previous weeks, that part of the project has been delayed until later in June.
The grass going onto these yards will also help with water conservation. The fescue and bluegrass typically used for lawns here tends to require a lot of water — but a new strain, Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass, has recently been developed. Unlike most Bermuda-grasses, it can survive at our elevation, and it needs minimal watering.
“It’ll brown up a little earlier in the fall than some other grasses,” says Wells, “but it’ll green up earlier in the spring. It is a little more expensive, but we’re working with CSU on getting grants to cover some of these costs.”
He adds that Pikes Peak Habitat also uses rocks and mulch in our landscaping to reduce the amount of sod needed. During CSU’s time at the construction site, volunteers helped spread and arrange rocks.
For El Paso County homeowners who are interested in water conservation in their own yards, Wells recommends visiting the Colorado Springs Water-wise xeriscape garden, 2855 Mesa Road, for inspiration.
