Hydra-Guard: Keep Your Utah Lawn Green on Less Water

Hydra-Guard is a Lawn Doctor soil treatment that helps water soak into and stay in the root zone instead of running off or evaporating. In Utah's dry summers it can cut a lawn's irrigation need by up to half, keeps grass green through July and August heat, and reduces the dry spots that show up on slopes, clay and sandy soil. Applied in late spring, it works all season. Available in Utah County, the Heber Valley and Park City.

Utah is the second driest state in the country, and most of the water a Utah County lawn gets in July never reaches the roots. On compacted clay it beads up and runs into the gutter. On sandy ground near the lake and the river bottoms it drains straight past the root zone. In 95 degree afternoons a lot of what lands on the surface evaporates before the grass can use it. Homeowners respond by watering more, which is exactly what the Jordan Valley and Central Utah water districts, and most city councils along the Wasatch Front, are asking people not to do.

Hydra-Guard changes how the soil takes in water. It is a soil surfactant and moisture manager that we apply once in late spring. It lets water penetrate hard, water-repellent soil, holds it in the top six inches where the roots are, and releases it to the grass between waterings. The lawn stays green on fewer minutes of irrigation, dry spots fill in, and the sprinkler bill goes down.

Dry soil becomes water repellent. The waxy coating that builds up on soil particles during a hot summer makes water bead instead of soak, the same way water beads on a dusty car. Agronomists call it hydrophobic soil, and it is why a lawn can be brown in patches even when the sprinklers run every night.

• Breaks surface tension. so water spreads across the soil and moves down instead of pooling or running off. Sloped lawns and park strips see the biggest change.
• Holds moisture in the root zone. with a humectant that binds water in the top few inches of soil, where bluegrass and fescue roots actually live.
• Evens out wet and dry spots. so the whole lawn gets the same drink from the same sprinkler run, instead of soggy low spots and crispy high spots.
• Lasts the season. from one late-spring application. We apply it in May or early June so it is working before the first week of 90 degree weather.

It is not a fertilizer and it is not a chemical that changes the grass. It changes the soil's relationship with water, which is the bigger problem on most Utah lawns.

Lawn Doctor's field data puts the irrigation reduction at up to 50 percent on treated lawns. We tell Utah County customers to plan on 25 to 40 percent, because the result depends on the soil, the sprinkler system and how the lawn was being watered before. On a 6,000 square foot lawn being watered three times a week at 20 minutes a zone, that is roughly 15,000 to 25,000 gallons over a summer.

Here is what that looks like for the typical lawn in our area.

Most Utah County cities and the Heber Valley now publish summer watering guidance, and several have enforced two or three day schedules in drought years. Hydra-Guard is the simplest way to keep a lawn green inside those limits without replacing it.

• Sloped yards and park strips. where water runs down and off before it soaks in. Common on the east benches of Provo, Orem, Springville and Mapleton.
• Clay soil that cracks and crusts. across the valley floor from Lehi to Payson.
• Sandy or gravelly soil. near Utah Lake, the Spanish Fork and Provo river bottoms, and parts of the Heber Valley, where water drains through too fast.
• Lawns with recurring dry spots. that come back every July no matter how the sprinklers are adjusted.
• Anyone on a city watering schedule. or trying to cut a water bill without letting the lawn go.
• New sod and newly seeded lawns. that need steady moisture to root in during the first summer.

If a dry spot is caused by a broken sprinkler head or poor coverage, Hydra-Guard will not fix that. Our technicians flag sprinkler problems on every visit, and we offer a sprinkler check that finds leaks, broken heads and coverage gaps.

The same Utah County front yard in March and in October on our Lawn Maintainer program. Hydra-Guard is the add-on that keeps a lawn like this green through July and August on fewer watering days.

Hydra-Guard is an add-on to the six-visit Lawn Maintainer program and is applied on the same visit as a regular treatment, usually round two or three. It pairs well with:

• Core aeration. which opens compacted clay so water and Hydra-Guard both get in deeper. Fall aeration plus spring Hydra-Guard is the best one-two for a struggling Utah lawn.
• Soil enrichment. which improves the soil's structure over time so it holds water on its own.
• Grub control. because a lawn that looks dry in August is sometimes a lawn with grubs eating the roots. We check before assuming it is water.

Pricing is by measured lawn size, the same as every other service, and your quote lists it as its own line so you can add or drop it any year. We measure your lawn and give you an exact price before anything is applied.

• Water between 4 and 8 in the morning. Afternoon watering loses a third or more to evaporation and wind; night watering invites fungus.
• Cycle and soak on clay: two or three short cycles 30 minutes apart instead of one long one, so the water goes down instead of across.
• Aim for about one inch a week in spring and fall and up to an inch and a half in July and August. A tuna can on the lawn tells you how long that takes with your system.
• Mow at three to three and a half inches. Taller grass shades the soil and cuts evaporation on its own.
• Check the lawn, not the calendar. If a screwdriver pushes into the soil easily, wait a day.

More on this in our guide to watering a Utah lawn without wasting it.

Every application is covered by the Lawn Doctor Satisfaction Guarantee: if you are not happy, we re-treat at no charge, and if we still cannot fix it we refund your last application. Certain restrictions apply. We are locally owned in Spanish Fork and licensed by the Utah Department of Agriculture (Pesticide Applicator License 4000-18448).

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