Healthy Lawn, Happy Summer
WaterSmartSouthShore.org
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