Water Saving Tips For Your Irrigation System

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Managing water usage is important, especially if you live somewhere that suffers or is in danger of suffering from water shortages and drought. The following are a few tips to further help ensure your sprinkler system is not wasting any water unnecessarily:

Tip #1: Skip misting emitters

Evaporation is a major cause of water waste with a sprinkler system. To avoid this problem, choose the right emitters. If you opt for spray style emitters, then check that they spray larger water droplets as opposed to a fine mist. Misting sprayers lose a lot of water to evaporation and wind drift, simply because the small, lightweight water droplets don't fall onto your lawn quickly enough.

Tip #2: Switch to drip emitters

You may not be able to switch over your entire lawn, but garden beds and shrubbery zones can usually be retrofitted with drip emitters for minimal fuss and expense. Drip emitters lay on the soil and the water drips directly into the soil instead of spraying over it. This reduces the amount of water that is lost to evaporation or overspray.

Tip #3: Schedule weekly inspections

It doesn't take much for a sprinkler emitter to get knocked off kilter. When this occurs, you may end up water the street or the sidewalk instead of your lawn. Run the sprinkler when you are available to check on them at least once a week so you can readjust any that have gone astray. If an emitter is overspraying the lawn area, then switch it out for one with a smaller range.

Tip #4: Use your zone settings

Most systems allow you to set up sprinkler zones, which means you can run the system for a shorter period in specific zones. As a general rule, most ground covers, trees, and shrubs require less frequent irrigation. Setting these zones to only be watered once or twice a week, instead of daily, can save a great deal of water.

Tip #5: Add a rain sensor

This ingenious device is connected to your sprinkler system. A probe is placed in the soil. The probe detects soil moisture and only runs the sprinkler system when moisture readings fall below a certain level. This means your lawn only gets the water it needs. Some systems allow you to hook up multiple probes so each zone is operating off of its own sensor.

For more help, talk to a landscape company in your area, like Noble Tree Service Inc. 


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