Designers should take a balanced and thoughtful approach to consider what level of water use is appropriate for each individual project. As described in Oregon Climate, climate change brings our region both increased precipitation and increased drought. Water is precious, but water deficit is not always the case. 

Water use should be considered with care, and should not rob streams, rivers or aquifers of needed moisture. Irrigation systems can be costly, and rely on plastics and other materials that have undoubtedly negative effects on our environment. On the other hand, judicious use of supplemental irrigation can increase bloom season and nectar/pollen resources, create fire-resilient landscape buffers, increase survival chances of new plantings, and can be a part of recharging local aquifers.  

In answering the question of how much to water, consider the entire ecosystem and the entire water cycle. How do these choices impact soil, plants, animals, water bodies, and the atmosphere? 

Aspects to consider:

• Celebrate seasonal variation — Oregon has always been dry in the summer. Designers can help their clients and the public to understand what a summer-dry landscape looks like, and to appreciate summer dryness as part of Oregon’s seasonal character. 

• Store water with landforms —Designing land forms to capture and infiltrate rainwater on site can increase soil moisture and groundwater recharge without the need for irrigation infrastructure.

• Establishment irrigation is a valuable tool — Increasingly erratic patterns of precipitation and temperature leads to an increased need for establishment irrigation. This may be true for urban plantings, and for restoration plantings as well. The desire to conserve water and budget must be balanced with the value of successfully establishing needed plants. 

• Sometimes irrigation is the better option — When water resources are available, choosing to irrigate in order to provide pollinator resources, water for urban wildlife, groundwater recharge, or sustain urban trees that provide needed shade, can provide valuable ecosystem services. 

• Use natural ecological relationships to recharge groundwater — Riverbank restoration and floodplain design can use natural engineering with beavers, logs, and weirs, to slow water velocity and capture water on site.