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Irrigation · FAQ

Irrigation FAQ

The four questions homeowners ask most: what it costs (roughly $200 to $700 per zone, with a five-zone suburban system commonly $2,000 to $3,500), how long to water (target about an inch a week including rainfall, measured with the can test), whether smart controllers pay off (EPA estimates up to 15,000 gallons a year saved versus a clock timer), and whether backflow testing is required (that's set by your water utility, and testing typically runs about $75 to $150).

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The most expensive misunderstanding in irrigation is treating runtime as the fix for everything. A dry patch is a coverage problem; adding minutes drowns the rest of the zone and raises your bill. Diagnose the head, not the clock.

The second is skipping winterization to save around a hundred dollars in a freezing climate. A split backflow assembly or cracked valve body costs multiples of that, and insurers can treat it as a maintenance failure.

The third is assuming national rules exist. Watering restrictions, permits, backflow testing frequency and rebates are all local, all changeable, and all verifiable in one phone call to your water provider.

How to choose

Diagnose before you reprogram
Coverage problems don't respond to longer runtimes. They respond to fixing the head.
Winterize every year in a freezing climate
It's the cheapest insurance in the whole system.
Call your water provider once
Restrictions, backflow requirements and rebates in a single conversation.
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Irrigation faq — common questions

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Set runtimes from the can test — time how long your heads take to put half an inch into empty tuna cans — and aim for roughly an inch of water a week including rainfall, adjusted through the season.
About $200–$700 per zone, with a five-zone suburban system commonly $2,000–$3,500 per LatestCost, or roughly $1.04–$1.91 per square foot in Homewyse's May 2026 figures.
In many places yes, but frequency is set by your state and water utility, not nationally. Testing typically runs about $75–$150 for a standard residential device.
For most homes, yes. EPA WaterSense estimates up to 15,000 gallons a year saved versus a standard clock timer, and many utilities offer rebates.
Ask a local contractor what they see. In marginal climates a single hard freeze on an un-drained backflow assembly is enough to crack it.
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