diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index f40b51b..b958e32 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -101,9 +101,15 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "✓ Database credentials fetched successfully"
 
-          # Install PostgreSQL client
-          sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y postgresql-client
+          # The runner image already ships PostgreSQL (only the service is disabled), so
+          # psql is normally on PATH. Install only if that stops being true.
+          if command -v psql > /dev/null; then
+            psql --version
+          else
+            echo "psql not on the runner image; installing"
+            sudo apt-get update
+            sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-client
+          fi
 
           echo 'loading North American ecoregions into database'
           psql -c "CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS features; DROP TABLE IF EXISTS features.ecoregions;"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/reset-data.yml b/.github/workflows/reset-data.yml
index 985aefc..56dafa8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/reset-data.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/reset-data.yml
@@ -59,10 +59,19 @@ jobs:
           fi
           echo "Confirmed: deleting non-fixture collections from '$PROJECT'."
 
-      - name: Install PostgreSQL client
+      # The ubuntu-24.04 runner image already ships PostgreSQL (only the *service* is
+      # disabled), so psql is normally on PATH and installing it cost ~9s of `apt-get
+      # update` for nothing. Kept as a fallback rather than deleted, so this still works
+      # if a future image drops it.
+      - name: Ensure psql
         run: |
-          sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y postgresql-client
+          if command -v psql > /dev/null; then
+            psql --version
+          else
+            echo "psql not on the runner image; installing"
+            sudo apt-get update
+            sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends postgresql-client
+          fi
 
       - name: Reset collections
         env: