The City transitioned Kentucky bluegrass to a water-wise wheatgrass blend at the Longmont Service Center and along Hover Street between 12th and Mountain View avenues.
The purpose of this project was to determine if a water-wise turf grass could be successful along right-of-ways, medians, and low-traffic areas. If successful, this project is expected to save water, maintenance costs, and will help guide the City on future projects.
Sustainability Benefits
Primary benefits: Water and Air Quality
Project Costs
Total Project Cost: $24,377.27 for turf removal, reseeding, irrigation upgrades and signage
- Northern Water: $12,188.64
- City of Longmont: $12,188.64 plus 25 hours of staff time for coordination
Ongoing Costs: 50 percent reduction in ongoing maintenance costs.
Expected Benefits
- Water*: Estimated 30-50 percent of water reduction per year for both sites.
- Cost*: Estimated $4,000 per year from water savings in total from both sites (using 2020 inside City irrigation rate of $5.22 per 1,000 gallons) and $600 per year from reduced maintenance (Service Center only).
- Air Quality: This project will reduce the amount of mowing by 50 percent, decreasing the negative emissions produced by the mower.
- Education: This site will serve as an example for businesses, residents and HOAs of low-water turf options.
- Future Projects: This project will guide the City in how it plans to transition high-water to low-water sustainable landscapes to meet the goals of the Water Efficiency Master Plan.
Project Timeline
Project Planning: August 2019 – February 2020
August 2019:
- Longmont City staff met with City of Colorado Springs staff to learn more about their transition projects.
September 2019:
- Staff identified three locations for a turf transition
October 2019:
- Staff walked through the projects with Northern Water staff
November 2019:
- Staff receives bids for the turf transition
- Staff applied for a turf transition for two of the three project locations
February 2020:
- City of Longmont awarded the Northern Water Water-Efficient Landscape Matching Grant.
Construction: May – September 2020
May 2020:
- Intergovernmental Agreement signed between the City of Longmont and Northern Water
Contract finalized with L&M Enterprises, Inc. for landscape work
June 2020:
- Educational signs on the turf transition were set up
- Shut-off water to both sites
- Began the first of two rounds of spraying to kill the existing grass
July 2020:
- Second round of spraying to make sure all original grass had been killed and will not compete with new seeding
- Aerated entire area with hollow tine core aerator to pull 2-3” plugs. Made 4-5 passes
- Applied seed using both a broadcaster into the new aeration holes and a drill seeder at a depth of 0.25 – 0.5 inches. Rate of application was 350 pounds per acre
- Used a drag mat to make sure all seed had good contact with soil
- Identified a need for an additional irrigation upgrade, released bids
August-September 2020:
- Weeded the sites
- Finalized the additional irrigation upgrades
Maintenance: Summer 2021
- Continuing to weed and check the transition sites
Key Take-aways
- Water the trees during the transition. We worked with Forestry to make sure trees would have enough water after we made the transition, but found that the transition period of no watering while we removed the old turf was hard on the trees present.
- If a site has a lot of weeds to begin with, it requires more work to establish a new site with water-wise turf that is weed-free.
- Do not till the site after spraying is complete. Aerate and seed right over the dead grass. Tilling will only allow further germination of weed seeds that are dormant in the soil.
- No complaints – during or after the transition!
