It's not so much about when you can water, but whether you need to water. Seasonal weather changes and local rainfall greatly affect your lawn's watering requirement. Making seasonal adjustments and turning off your sprinkler system when rainfall is adequate can save you an average 2,000 gallons of water. That's the typical amount of water a sprinkler system applies each time it operates. And, more often than not, sprinkler systems are set to operate at 50% more than the amount necessary.
Make Your Lawn Thrive
Regional turf species like Bermuda and St. Augustine can thrive off of a once-per-week watering schedule. If you think of your lawn as a reservoir or bucket, imagine only applying water once the watering need approaches the maximum allowable depletion point. Applying water only when it's needed and using the Cycle and Soak Method promotes a deeper, heartier root system. Lawns with a deep root system, anywhere from 2 to 4 inches deep or more, are inherently more drought-tolerant since the root zone can reach moisture locked in lower layers of our region's predominantly clay soil.
WaterWise Emails
Frisco's Waterwise Newsletter provides weekly lawn watering advice based on data collected from the city's weather station and rain gauges. Following the weekly advice keeps you, the smartest sprinkler controller, more aware of your lawn's actual watering needs. Leaving your system in the off mode and only watering the right amount when necessary will increase the health of your lawn and make it far less reliant upon a regular, frequent watering schedule.
Compare Program Settings With Allowed Watering Day & Times
Currently Frisco allows residents to water one day per week, on their trash pick-up day. If you need programming assistance with your controller, schedule a free sprinkler system checkup with the city's licensed irrigation specialist. Call 972-292-5800 or use the myFRISCO app.
Water Your Lawn Using the Weekly Lawn Watering Advice
The 3 most common methods for watering and their approximate application rate:
Spray head – 1.5 inches per hour
Rotor head - .5 inches per hour
Drip tubing - .4 inches per hour
*design factors can vary the application rate, and Frisco has high water pressure. To make sure you are getting the most accurate run times, schedule a free sprinkler system check up by calling 972-292-5800 or use the myFRISCO app.
How does this translate into run times?
For example: the WaterWise Newsletter recommends 0.5 inches of water:
Drip zone - 0.5 divided by 0.4 = 1.25 hour or 75 minutes
Remember:
our region has clay soil, so be sure to water using the cycle and soak method. The approximate amount of time for water to run in 1 cycle is:
Spray – 5 to 8 minutes (run 3 to 4 cycles to meet the recommended 20 minute total on your trash day).
Rotor – 12 to 16 minutes (run 3 to 4 cycles to meet the recommended 1 hour total on your trash day).
Drip – 10 to 25 minutes (run 3 to 4 cycles to meet the recommended 75 minute total. For drip this can be accomplished by watering more than one day a week).