Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer

The Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer program was initiated in 2016 and finalized in 2019. The program had three phases: foundational research on water conservation (2016); program design and pilot testing (2017); and additional pilot testing and refinement (2018 and 2019). Learn more about the research and pilot testing.

Goals

• Reduce outdoor summer water use
• Help meet Water Management Act Permit requirements
  • Minimization Plan for August net groundwater depleted areas, or;
  • Compliance Plan for those not meeting the residential gallons per capita day performance standard
• Reach to Duane LeVangie duane.levangie@state.ma.us with questions

Overview - Full Implementation

• Program Announcement Postcard
• First Round of Outreach
  • First cover letter
  • Flyer
  • Feedback sheet
• Second Round of Outreach
  • Second cover letter
  • Flyer
  • Feedback sheet

Alternative Implementation

• Letter from water supplier

How to Get the Toolkit

• Download toolkit
• Includes detailed instructions, FAQ, the science behind the work, and the summary 2018 pilot results
• If you downloaded it prior to March 9th, the program has been updated to default to top 15%, not the top 30%

Resources and Downloads

• Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer Toolkit Summary - The Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer toolkit provides water suppliers with educational materials customized to individual households and communities to help reduce summer water use
• Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer Presentation by Water Smart Shouth Shore

• Water Conservation Pilot - MassDEP, DER, and DCR are working together to reduce lawn watering to conserve water