Irrigation guides

Start with the water supply. Available flow and pressure at the point of connection determine how many heads can run at once, which determines zone count, which determines cost — LatestCost puts installation at roughly $200 to $700 per zone. A contractor who doesn't measure your flow and pressure before designing is guessing.

Then zone by need, not by geography. Sun and shade, turf and beds, slopes and flats all want different amounts of water. Putting them together guarantees one of them is wrong. WaterSense's landscaping guidance frames this as hydrozoning and treats turf-versus-shrub separation as non-negotiable.

Choose emission devices per zone: sprays or rotors for turf, drip for beds and edible plants, which WaterSense recommends because it delivers water to the root zone rather than into the air. Match precipitation rates within each zone so a single runtime is correct for the whole thing.

Program from data. Do the can test — WaterSense suggests empty tuna cans and timing how long to reach half an inch — and set runtimes from that. Use cycle-and-soak on clay and slopes, avoid midday watering, and adjust monthly through the season or let a WaterSense labeled weather-based controller do it, which EPA estimates can save an average home up to 15,000 gallons a year.

How to choose

Measure flow and pressure before designing

Zone count follows from supply. A design that ignores it produces low-pressure zones and dry spots.

Hydrozone properly

Turf and shrubs on separate zones, sun and shade separated, slopes on their own. WaterSense treats turf-shrub separation as a rule.

Match precipitation rates in each zone

One runtime has to be right for every device on the valve. Mixed rates make that impossible.

Program from the can test

Real output data from your own heads, not a default schedule someone typed in.

Automate the seasonal adjustment

A WaterSense labeled weather- or soil-moisture-based controller does the monthly retuning you'll otherwise forget.