Irrigation Efficiency Tune-Ups

What’s an efficiency tune up? For irrigations systems it is the action of repairing, adjusting or improving how efficiently and accurately your system applies the water to the intended area.  For example, on turf the goal is to have the sprinklers spray water uniformly over the lawn. The more evenly the water coverage is applied the more evenly green the turf will look.  

During an irrigation tune up, the system is first observed under operation and inspected for operational issues that affect the performance of water being applied. Sprinkler problems such as sunken, tilted, clogged, unbalanced water pressure, overspray, and unevenly spaced heads are just a few problematic issues that can be identified. 

When these issues remained unfixed, they waste more water and affect lawn and landscape health. Like any other system in your home, it needs periodic service to verify and maintain proper function. When not maintained it can become your home’s most wasteful system of water.

According to the EPA water statistics 

• Outdoor water use accounts for more than 30 percent of total household water use, on average, but can be as much as 60 percent of total household water use in arid regions.
• If the average sized lawn in the United States is watered for 20 minutes every day for 7 days, it’s like running the shower constantly for 4 days or taking more than 800 showers. That’s equivalent to the amount of water needed for the average family to take 1 year’s worth of showers.
• As much as 50 percent of the water we use outdoors is lost due to wind, evaporation, and runoff caused by inefficient irrigation methods and systems. A household with an automatic landscape irrigation system that isn’t properly maintained and operated can waste up to 25,000 gallons of water annually.

A few reasons why you need your irrigation system tuned up

• It’s been more than a year of last irrigation service
• To conserve water
• Problems with lawn or landscape diseases
• Increasing water costs
• Notice too much water run off 
• Over spray onto structures
• Heavily wet areas
• Leaks