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Watering restrictions limit how often you can use sprinklers; sprinkler
use is not allowed between
11 a.m. and 7 p.m. from May 1 through Sept. 30, and sprinklers may
not be used more than your assigned
number of watering days.
In the summer, we recommend you water four days per week
and increase the schedule only if your landscape needs more water.
Use these tips to make the most of your sprinkler watering:
- Some lawns require more or less water, depending upon the type
of grass you have. Adding or removing one minute from the watering
time will change the amount of water you use by 25 percent. We
recommend watering your lawn 3 TIMES a day, 4
MINUTES each watering.
- Cut one watering day a week out of your daily sprinkler schedule in the summer to help keep your water bill lower during peak temperatures. Cutting one day from your weekly schedule could reduce your water use by 10 to 15 percent.
-
 Warm
season grasses, such as Bermuda, require about one-third less
water than cool season grasses such as tall fescue.
- Schedule sprinklers to water in three short cycles, each about
one hour apart, instead of using one long cycle. Known as the
cycle
and soak method, this allows more water to absorb into the
soil more deeply.
- If you have rotating sprinklers, water for 12 minutes each
watering, rather than 4 minutes. Click here for more information
about rotating
sprinklers.
- Don't water when it's windy or rainy.
- Make sure you water your lawn on a separate schedule from your
plants, trees and shrubs. Water these with drip
irrigation, which doesn't evaporate as easily as water from
sprinklers.
- Water between midnight and sunrise from May to October to minimize
water lost to evaporation. Water during the warmer part of the
day from November to April to prevent water from freezing on your
landscape.
- Regularly check your irrigation system for broken or misaligned
heads and drip emitters. Check weekly in the summer and monthly
in the winter.
Need landscape ideas? Visit snwa.com.
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