Irrigation design

5 steps to an excellent irrigation system:

To design an efficient irrigation system, first consider these factors:

Step 1: How’s your soil? Amending poor soil allows water to migrate easily, adds nutrients, and is the single best thing you can do for your landscape. We can’t overstate how important this step is for any new landscape.

Step 2: Do all the plants on a valve have the same water needs? Or are they a mix of various needs? If mixed, add more emitters on the thirstier plants, not extra run time on that valve.

Step 3: Is each valve designed to irrigate only one microclimate? If it irrigates around a sunny side of a building into the shady side, plants on the sunny side may need twice as many emitters as the shady side.

Step 4: Do you have trees on a valve that also irrigates plants? If so, you may need to create a loop or “box” of tubing with extra emitters around the tree to provide it with enough water given the run time of that valve.

Step 5: Do you have large valved areas that exceed the design limits for the emitters? Too many emitters on a valve or run of tubing can limit the amount of water coming out of the emitters near the end, so add a valve.

See ReWater’s Owner’s Operation Manual for all irrigation design criteria including the Hydraulic Operating Parameters Chart on pages 15-16 created by the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT). A CIT chart and manufacturer’s recommendation is required by the code for emitters using untreated greywater.