Maintenance Tips
Low-maintenance landscapes are great, but there’s no such thing as a “no-maintenance” irrigation system. A single broken sprinkler head flowing at 15 gallons per minute will waste 900 gallons in one hour of use. So service your system regularly, and check it often for leaks and malfunctions.
5 in 5: Our 5 most read articles in our 5 years!
In celebration of five years of bringing you 505Outside, we’d like to share our most popular articles from the website. 505Outside is your resource for beautiful, desert friendly landscapes. Desert friendly landscapes are resilient, sustainable, enjoyable and...
How to Research and Hire the Right Landscape Contractor for Your Project
Sometimes you need help to create your perfect desert friendly landscape. Many times, this involves hiring a landscape contractor. The Water Utility Authority is committed to helping its customers. Below we share some tips to help you choose a landscape contractor....
Albuquerque Soils
Albuquerque has a variety of soil types. Learning what type of soil is in your yard is a critical step to understanding how water will infiltrate the soil and how long specific plants need to be watered to get the water to the correct depth. VALLEY SOILS Valley soils...
Rain Garden Landscape Type
The Albuquerque metro area has a wide variety of landscape types, which include desert-friendly landscapes, lush pollinator-friendly xeriscapes and wildscapes or prairie plantings where native grasses and wildflowers bring the feel of a prairie to a yard. Rain gardens...
Drip System in Raised Beds or Veggie Rows
Edible garden landscapes need to have dedicated valves so they can be watered more frequently than our average desert-friendly landscapes. These landscapes should not be watered at the same time as the rest of the drip zones. The key to growing the best quality...
Steps for Improving Your Irrigation Efficiency
Most irrigation work can be done by the homeowner, except for one component. Tapping into your home's main water line needs to be done by a licensed contractor to ensure it is completed safely. To help homeowners know how to select and work with a contractor, we have...
Tree Pruning: Seven Things to Know Before Making a Cut
There are misconceptions about how to prune a tree. Here are seven things you need to know before you begin. 1. Always have a reason for each cut you make on a tree. A beautiful day and hearing you need to prune now are not the right reasons. The main reasons we trim...
Plants That Thrive Under Shade Trees
We all love the feeling of cool shade on a hot summer day, whether it comes from a dense tree canopy growing above the yard or from our home as it shades different areas throughout the day. Quite a few plants appreciate that cool space. There are many options for...
Maintaining and cleaning spray nozzles
It’s irrigation season. If you have a grass lawn with spray heads, it’s time to check out your system to make sure it is running smoothly. Run a one-minute test program on the controller and visually examine each zone. Look for broken, leaning, or clogged sprinkler...
Knowing Your Watering Depth is Key to Growing Healthy Plants
The most important part of watering is figuring out how deep you need to water your plants. Once you figure that out, you can easily follow our chart that tells you how often to water. Here are six simple steps to figuring out your watering depth: Step...
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Our monthly newsletter covers topics on efficient horticultural practices, landscape maintenance, irrigation principles, and seasonal tips.
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Contact Information
Water Conservation Program
P.O. Box 568
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568
505-842-WATR Option 4
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P.O. Box 568
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568
505-842-WATR