Published: Mar 08, 2016 | 09:00 AM

Spring Ahead for Water Efficiency on March 13

Evenings are about to become lighter beginning Sunday, March 13, as we set our clocks forward one hour in observance of daylight saving time.

Remember to make this adjustment to your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.

The semi-annual time changes coincide with seasonal changes in weather, when irrigation controllers and sprinkler times should change. Water use lowers as the weather cools, and increases as weather warms, so it’s a good idea to check your controller at the same time you change your clocks.

To ensure that your service is not interrupted, change the batteries in your controllers, as well. Most controllers use a 9-volt battery to maintain the programmed schedule in the case of power outage. When the controller battery dies, the schedule automatically resets to the factory default of watering 10 minutes a day, seven days a week.

And while you are changing out your irrigation controller battery, it’s also a good time to change out the batteries in your home smoke detectors.