Background, Importance, and Benefits. Water conservation is important for municipalities throughout Oklahoma. This is especially true for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma’s largest municipality. Researchers have reported that Oklahoma is currently in a trend of increased average air temperatures which could result in increased drought occurrence, intensity and duration over the next century (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2012). In fact, Oklahomans have recently experienced these factors during the droughts and record high temperatures that occurred in 2010, 2011, and 2012 with 2011 being the warmest summer in recorded history (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2012). The result has been increased need and use of supplemental irrigation water for outdoor water use and landscape management, mostly from municipal water sources. As urban and suburban sprawl increases in Oklahoma City, large areas of previously non-irrigated pasture and/or croplands are being converted to irrigated homeowner and commercial landscapes. The consequential increase in irrigated turfgrass and landscaped areas across Oklahoma City will result in increased outdoor water use. There is a need to assess current landscape irrigation watering practices in Oklahoma City and to educate citizens of proper outdoor water use and water conservation techniques. Furthermore, there is a need to assess the willingness to adopt and pay for irrigation systems and management practices that increase efficiency and conserve Oklahoma’s water resources. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that Water Utilities across the United States will need to invest nearly $335 billion from 2007 to 2027 to install, upgrade, and replace water infrastructure in order to properly and safely provide drinking water to customers (U.S. EPA, 2009). While the primary usage of municipal waters is for human consumption and use, these waters are also used outdoors to irrigate turfgrass and landscape plants. In fact, landscape watering has been estimated to use up to 50-70% of city water production during the summer months in the United States (Xxxxx et al., 1999; Xxxxxxxx et al., 2000). Many citizens would consider landscape water use a low priority when compared with human consumption, health, safety, industrial, agricultural, and environmental quality uses. Yet, when citizens are asked to describe an ideal home, the majority will mention the importance of maintaining a nicely landscaped yard (Xxxxxxx, 2001). Xxxxxxxx et al. (2002) noted in a stu...
