By Boone Holladay, County Extension Agent-Horticulture

A water crisis looms in Texas, driven by population and economic growth, drought, and competition among users for an increasingly scarce supply.
The crisis is affecting Texas residents today and it may take decades for the supply and demand equation to achieve balance. All of us who live in Texas have a stake in this problem, and there is something everyone can do to conserve an increasingly scarce and yet vital resource.
In response to this issue, Fort Bend Extension teamed up in June with Richmond Rotary Club, the City of Richmond, the Historic Richmond Association, and Pepsi-Co to put on a residential water conservation workshop.
Attended by 50 local residents, the workshop covered many practical steps that homeowners can take to reduce water use in the landscape and main-tain a healthy landscape with plenty of curb appeal.
Participants enjoyed hands-on learning opportunities focused on irrigation system components (including converting to a low volume drip system) and assistance in assembling their own take-home 50-gallon rainwater collection barrels.
Fort Bend County Master Gardener spe-cialists in irrigation, rainwater harvesting and Earth-Kind landscaping assisted with the program, addressing such topics as landscaping to conserve water, irrigation efficiency, managing water supplies, and rainwater harvesting methods.
We hope that everyone will help to spread the word to their neighbors, friends and family on how easy it is to maintain a beautiful home land-scape using less water while experiencing the financial savings on their water bills!
For more information on home water savings, please visit our state water resources website at http://texaswater.tamu.edu.