Where a regular lawn is fine, and the one thing still worth doing
Who this is for
947 counties land on this plan, 71 of them without a single drought year since 2000, such as Albany County, NY, Chenango County, NY and Delaware County, NY. Replacing a healthy lawn here spends money on a problem the record says you rarely have.
The odd dry year
Even in these counties, years like 2012 and 2022 pushed many places into drought. A controller that skips watering after rain, or adjusts to local weather, saves the most water in exactly those years and costs nothing in the wet ones. Check your utility for a rebate on one.
Let it go dormant
Cool-season lawns brown and go dormant in a dry spell rather than die, and most green up again once rain returns. Light watering every couple of weeks keeps the crowns alive. Fighting dormancy with daily watering is where most of a dry summer's water goes.
Related
If your county is getting drier, read is my county getting drier? before assuming the past holds. The counting rules are in how drought is counted.