Outdoor Audit
Over 50% of the annual water consumption a residential customer uses goes to sustaining the landscape. Performing an audit of your sprinkler system, and fine-tuning its performance can save water. A good rule-of-thumb is to thoroughly check your system in the spring when you first turn it on, and also perform a quick check after every mowing. It is important to check the system after mowing, because mowing can easily knock heads out of alignment and/or break sprinkler heads. Your sprinkler controller needs to be adjusted frequently so you're not applying too much or too little water.
These tips are offered to help Willows Water customers use water wisely on landscapes. The tips are for those who drag hoses and for those with irrigation systems. Some general tips apply to both Please post this list where you'll see it often and follow-up on the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for your yards
Hoses and Hose-End Sprinkler Attachments
There are two basic kinds of hose-end sprinkler attachments: those that move and those that don't.
- Sprinklers that move, especially those that spray vertically from side to side, may lose a lot of water to evaporation.
- Sprinklers that move horizontally from side to side apply water at a slower rate and lose less to evaporation. Tractor-types fall in this category.
- Sprinklers that never move, regardless of the spray pattern, apply water more quickly than some soils can handle. It is necessary to move these sprinklers often to avoid water waste.
BMP's to save water and money
- Apply only the amount of water your landscape needs:
- Calculate the minutes you need to water for each kind of sprinkler.
- Set a timer each time you set the sprinkler in a new place in your yard. A clip-on kitchen timer works well, because it goes with you throughout your home and garden.
- Apply the proper amount to grass, and different amounts to shrubs, flower beds, and vegetable gardens.
Measure the output of your sprinkler heads as follows
Before you can conserve water, you need to know how much water your sprinkler system delivers to your lawn areas. You will need to perform a simple catch can test. This can be done in 5 easy steps.
Step One:
Set three identical cans at various distances from the sprinklers within its spray pattern. Turn on the sprinkler zone for 15 minutes.
Step Two:
Turn off the zone and measure each can with a ruler, and look for differences in the amount of water collected. Note the location of each can on sheet of paper and the amount of water collected. This will tell you how evenly the water is being applied, or how efficient. Sprinkler heads can be moved or renozzled to improve the efficiency of the zone.
Step Three:
Pour the water collected from the three cans into just one can.
Step Four:
With a ruler measure the depth of water in the can. Divide the number by three, and now you know how much water your sprinkler zone delivers in 15 minutes.
Step Five:
To find the amount of water delivered in an hour, simply multiply by four. This is the number to remember when using ET.
Sprinkler Zone
A zone is an area of your landscape that is watered by one valve off the clock.
In-Ground, Clock-Controlled Irrigation System
There are two basic types of sprinkler heads:pop-ups and rotors.
- Pop-ups deliver an average precipitation rate of 1.5 inches of water per hour.
- Rotors deliver an average precipitation rate of 0.5 inches of water per hour
Most soils in the Denver Metro area can only adsorb 0.5 inches of water per hour. If the precipitation rate is more than the absorption rate, water will run off the landscape and be wasted. This costs you water and money!
BMPs for irrigation systems:
- Set the irrigation clock to water only the needed amount on the various types of landscape in each irrigation zone. (See the Run Time Scheduler on www.watersaver.org for correct water times for each type of landscape.)
- Be sure your rain sensor is working correctly, and replace it when it stops functioning.
- Check irrigation heads after mowing to be sure no damage was done.
- Re-align any heads that are spraying too high in the air, across sidewalks or driveways, or into tall grass.
- Check for system leaks and repair them ASAP to avoid damage to building foundations and other landscape features. This will save you money on your water bill too.
- Consider non-spray irrigation for your flower and shrub beds. This includes soaker hoses, sub-surface piping, and drip irrigation.
- Consider installing a wind-sensor that will shut down your irrigation system when winds get too high.
Irrigation efficiency
Irrigation efficiency is a measure of how effectively an irrigation system is operating in terms of the actual application of water.
Both
- Be sure to water growing things only! To date, no benefits have been shown from trying to get concrete to grow!
- Water your landscape in the cool hours of the day: early morning, early evening or during the night when water pressure is best. Watering at night in Colorado does NOT cause disease unless you are watering too much.
- Water only when the wind is calm.
Precipitation rate
The rate water is applied by your sprinkler system. This is expressed in the depth of application of water, such as inches per hour.
