Reduce your area of lawn. Avoid having turfed areas which are hard to water and mow, such as isolated strips along pathways and driveways, or areas with a steep slope. Fill these areas with porous materials, such as colourful gravel, or with water conservative shrubs and ground covers. You may even want to make a feature in your garden and undertake some landscaping with rock.

Aerate your lawn. Punch holes in your lawn about six inches apart, so water can reach the roots, instead of running off the surface. This reduces the water wasted and reduces the time you spend watering. Only water when you need to. Proper lawn watering can save thousands of litres of water annually. There are several ways to test to see when you need to water:

1. Use an old screwdriver to as a probe to test soil moisture. If it goes in easily, you don't need to water
OR
2. Simply walk across your lawn. If you leave footprints or the lawn stays flat - then it's time to water.

Allow for seasonality in your watering schedule. Winter lawns require less watering than summer lawns.