Water Budget Table

A Water Budget is the target amount of water that should be applied during a typical watering season. An example Water Budget table is listed below.

Instructions:

1. Divide the plan into hydrozones, grouping plants with similar water needs together. Check the City of Fort Collins Plant List (PDF 200KB) to determine the appropriate hydrozones for plants in your design.
2. Calculate the area (in square feet) for each hydrozone. Add the square feet together for all the areas in the same hydrozone. For example, if there are three Moderate hydrozone areas, add the areas together for a total.
3. Calculate a total annual water use (in gallons) for each type of hydrozone by multiplying the area by the water need (gallons per square foot). Add the water use for all the hydrozones together to determine a total annual water use for the site.
4. Divide the total annual water use by the total area to determine that the overall site will use no more than 15 gallons per square foot per watering season.