City of Regina provides watering tips in midst of extreme dry conditions

With the extremely dry conditions, the City of Regina is reminding residents to keep their trees watered to prevent them from dying.

The city says the key is deep root watering, which means watering slowly under the tree and its outer edges.

Using a pitchfork to puncture through the grass to help water get to the roots also helps, the city says.

The city encourages residents to water their larger trees about once a month.

As for the city, it’s also taking steps to keep the trees hydrated.

“We try to water all our newly planted trees up to three years following planting and in a really bad year like we’ve seen the past three years we extended that into years four and five,” said Russell Eirich, City of Regina Forestry and Pest Control.

“We’re trying to get around to those trees every two-to-three weeks.”

The drought also has the city reminding residents to limit their overall water use, which would help keep the reservoirs full.

“Say in July when it gets really hot, we might see several days in a row that are very high and if we see a lot use on those days we will start to draw those reservoirs down,” said Pat Wilson, the City of Regina’s director of water.

Regina Fire Marshal Randy Ryba is also urging residents to take precautionary steps when it comes to using fire pits.

For those with dry grass, Ryba says it’s important to water your yard to prevent fire from rapidly spreading if in contact with the grass.

“The grass in most people’s back yards is not being watered as much, for whatever reason, and thus the vegetation is dry – that is a combination that could accelerate a fire if you’re not careful,” Ryba said.

Ryba says residents need to make sure they limit their fuel use, have small fires and use only seasoned clean wood, fire logs or charcoal briquettes when using fire pits.