Irrigation Tips

Your irrigation system is the key to creating a healthy, water-efficient landscape. Use the tips in this section to know how to water and when.

Manage your clock

You should have an irrigation clock that has a program A, B and C. Using these programs correctly will save water and money.

Program A — Sprinkler Irrigation
For each assigned day of watering, water your lawn 3 times a day, 4 minutes each watering. Schedule start times at least one hour apart. See the cycle and soak and sprinkler watering tips pages for more information.

Program B — High-water use plants on a drip system
Drip irrigation is usually needed less frequently than sprinkler irrigation. How much you water on your designated drip day(s) depends on the type of drip emitter you use, the types of plants you are watering and the condition of the soil. See the drip emitter page for more information.

Program C — Water-efficient plants on a drip system
If your plants appear stressed, check the soil moisture. If the soil is wet, your plants may be overwatered. If the soil is dry, check that all emitters are working. Flush the drip irrigation lines and filters every time you change your irrigation schedule.

Set your clock

You should change your irrigation clock settings each season, both to comply with mandatory watering restrictions and for the health of your landscape.

How to set sprinklers (Program A):

1. Watering days - Find your "watering days" function and adjust it to ensure it is watering only on your assigned day(s) each season.
2. Start times - Find your "start times" function and adjust it so you run three sprinkler watering cycles, each about an hour apart. In warm weather, run cycles before sunrise.
3. Run time - Find your "run time" function and set it to four minutes per cycle.

How to set drip irrigation (Program B):

1. Watering days - Find your "watering days" function and adjust it to ensure it is watering only on your assigned day(s) for each season and no more than three days a week in the summer.
2. Start times - Find your "start times" function and adjust it so you run just one cycle in the early morning.
3. Run time - Find your "run time" function and set it to a single run time of 30 to 90 minutes.

Know your flow

Knowing the rate of flow of your irrigation system is essential to determining how many emitters can be placed on each valve. Use the Designing Your Irrigation System worksheet to determine the capacity of your irrigation system.

Mandatory watering restrictions

Landscape irrigation is limited to assigned days per week. Watering restrictions also apply to drip irrigation. Sunday is not an optional watering day. Make sure you know your watering group and the mandatory watering restrictions.

Trade in your old clock

Replace your old irrigation clock with a smart controller or add a rain sensor. SNWA offers instant rebate coupons for these water-saving devices.

Fast fixes for irrigation

A quick, weekly check of your irrigation system can help sprinklers make the grade and ensure you don't run into bigger problems later.

• Misaligned heads: Adjust sprinkler heads that have shifted and are watering the street or driveway.
  
  
• Obstructed heads: Taller grass around sprinkler heads will block your intended spray pattern. Make sure you have 3- or 4-inch pop-up sprinklers to fully clear taller grass.
  
  
• Broken parts: Look for parts broken by your mower or foot traffic. Replace with identical parts for peak performance.
  
  
• Head-to-head coverage: Each sprinkler's spray should just reach the next sprinkler head. Under-spray may result in dry spots, while over-spray wastes water.

Supervised testing of your irrigation system is allowed at any time of the day under mandatory watering restrictions.