A properly irrigated lawn has many benefits. It saves on your water bill, increases property values and quality of life, and can even act as a buffer for fire protection since healthy plants will not burn as easily as dry vegetation.
Know When to Water
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It’s best to plan for your irrigation, monitoring, and control system when planning your landscaping.
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Unfortunately, how often to irrigate a lawn is not a simple question. Water requirements vary by grass species, time of year, geographical location, soil conditions, amount of shade, and overall lawn maintenance.
Believing that more is better, most homeowners overwater their lawns by 30 percent with non-automated irrigation systems. This often ends up damaging or killing the lawn. Excess watering causes roots to stay shallow, so the lawn is more prone to stress and damage. It can also increase disease, promote weed or insect infestation, and reduce drought tolerance.
Three key signs will tell you if your lawn needs water are:
• Grass blades are curling.
• Your lawn is blue-gray instead of green.
• Footprints stay visible on your lawn long after they are made.
Experts recommend irrigating lawns when 30 to 50 percent of the lawn shows signs of wilt. However, a lawn can be trained to become more drought tolerant. Water it only when needed and mow regularly at the recommended height for your grass type.
Smart Lawns Are Healthy Lawns
Effective and efficient irrigation is the goal when it comes to lawn and landscape maintenance, according to Tom Kimmell, executive director of the Irrigation Association. He stresses that any landscape management plan should include lawn and plant irrigation.
“Rain shutoff devices and moisture sensors are relatively inexpensive first steps to avoid watering in the rain or when adequate moisture is present,” Kimmell says. “Smart controllers are an excellent way to ensure landscapes get the right amount of water at the right time.”
But, to water effectively you must monitor and control the moisture in the soil. Different plants need varying amounts of water. Different landscapes and soils will retain or drain water more quickly. To avoid waste or overwatering, shut-off systems should respond when rain or increased moisture levels are detected.
“A well-designed irrigation system is a conservation tool,” Kimmell says. Monitoring and controlling water distribution through smart controllers conserves natural resources and can even earn homeowners a rebate in some communities.
Lawn Monitoring Systems
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Dig In
Do your homework before you invest in a soil-moisture monitoring and control system. Find out how easily it installs, how effective it is, and whether additional zones can be added.
Moisture-monitoring and irrigation-control systems are evaluated by the Center for Irrigation Technology on behalf of the Irrigation Association and Smart Water Application Technologies. These tests are aimed at helping installers and consumers find systems that work. Test results are available on their Web site.
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Smart controllers aren’t new. Technologies were developed years ago that would make residential irrigation controllers "smart" by measuring the evapotranspiration rate of plants—not irrigating by the clock. But choosing a technology was confusing, says Kimmell.
Greg Peterson of LawnLogic, an irrigation monitoring and control system, points out the importance of “zone by zone control,” where each distinct vegetation area has its moisture needs determined, monitored, and met. Sensors in each zone take readings from the soil and compute them based on conditions for that zone including whether it has sun or shade, flat or sloped area, and sandy or clay-based soil. “The system’s module includes four sensors and controls four zones,” Peterson says. “It provides an LCD display of the status of each zone, indicating whether a zone will be watered on the next scheduled irrigation cycle.”
Monitoring and control systems are separate from the irrigation systems themselves, although newer irrigation systems are including enhanced controls. A professionally installed LawnLogic four-zone system will typically cost $500 to $750, depending on whether it is a new or existing irrigation system and the distances to the various zones being controlled. A do-it-yourselfer can install the system in a day for about $400 in materials, Peterson says.
Ending Overwatering
The cost of excess watering goes beyond the price of water. Overwatering washes away soil nutrients, creates a poor lawn and, perhaps most importantly, wastes a limited resource. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing a product labeling program to help consumers identify efficient water-use products. It is patterned after the popular Energy Star program.
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