As daily temperatures rise, water usage is rising as well, as homeowners strive to keep their lawns healthy.

Don’t be taken by surprise when you get your next water bill; sign up for customized watering recommendations through Water My Yard, a free program of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service conducted in partnership with water districts, cities and public utilities.

Even when parched, your yard may not need the drenching you think it does—Water My Yard tells you how long to run your sprinkler system at each watering based on ZIP code, type of system and amount of recent rainfall.

(Helpful hint: if you’ve lost your sprinkler system’s instruction guide on how to set it to “manual” or how to reset the automatic zones, guides for many systems may be found online at manufacturers’ websites.)

To sign up for Water My Yard’s free, weekly e-mail reminders, go to www.watermyyard.org. To view a PSA video produced by CITV about “use more, pay more,” click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg5bp5dFo5c.