Is there a correlation between plant water need and homeowner water use?
Haley et al. (2007) showed that homeowners did use significantly less water in the winter than other seasons. However, overall homeowners over-watered as much as 2–3 times the amount needed by the plants, based on estimates of climate demand. Thus, there is some indication that homeowners reduce irrigation during periods when less is needed; however, it appears that over-irrigation may still occur.
