Irrigation Programming to Conserve Water
Program your controller to save water
Many controllers have a ‘Seasonal Adjust’ or ‘Water Budget’ feature that is an easy way to adjust run times. The feature is available on most controllers and will increase or decrease the run time based on a percentage (Example: 20 minute runtime at 50% would operate instead for 10 minutes). This makes run time adjustments simple and eliminates confusion of adjusting start times or watering days. The hottest time of the year is the biggest water demand at 100% and the greatest potential of water savings is early and late season. Make sure to check seasonal adjust settings before setting run times to avoid programming mistakes.
Even the best and most efficient irrigation system can still waste water if it is programmed incorrectly.
Seasonal Adjust % is at the seven o’clock position and the left side of the display screen shows that the seasonal adjust is set at about 70%.
Average seasonal adjustment settings:
April: 54%
May: 74%
June: 96%
July: 100%
August: 88%
September: 67%
October: 43%
Other programming considerations to save water:
Cycle and soak lawns: instead of running for 30 minutes continuously, program two run time for 15 minutes with 20 minutes in between to allow time for the water to be absorbed and prevent run off or pooling.
Irrigate at night and finish irrigation cycles before sunrise during extreme heat.
Avoid irrigating when winds are greater than 5 mph.
Do not increase run times if dry spots appear in lawn, a clogged nozzle or low pressure are more likely the issue and need to be addressed first.
This 30+ year old irrigation controller doesn’t have any features to save water or allow odd/even watering days which is required by some water purveyors. Perhaps it’s time to upgrade?
Water Whys Plant of the Month
Desert Sweet, Chamaebatiaria millefollium
Desert Sweet is also referred to as Fernbush sometimes because the foliage is fern-like in appearance, however is called Desert Sweet after it’s sweet aroma. Native to Oregon, Desert Sweet is a small to medium sized shrub that will grow large if given more water, however it prefers to stay small and thrive in very low water use situations.