Sprinkler guide to saving water this summer
Statewide water restrictions take affect in two weeks, but there are things you can do now to help save water and money during this historic drought.
Isaac Ontiveros with Premier Landscape and Tree Care says changing sprinkler heads can dramatically reduce your water bill.
“We’ve been getting a lot of requests regarding retro fitting older systems in order to increase efficiency, a lot of the time they will have this old brass bodies that don’t point the water where it needs to be pointed. Its very inefficient systems,” said Ontiveros.
For lawns Ontiveros recommends a efficient rotary sprinkler head.
“It’s almost like little fingers that are watering the lawn and they rotate,” said Ontiveros.
A dripper is another option, it uses even less water than a traditional sprinkler head.
“A spray head is putting out water in terms of gallons per minute where a dripper is gallons per hour,” said Ontiveros. “It’s a big difference.”
Each dripper comes pre-set. The one we tried out today releases two gallons per hour, perfect for drought tolerant plants.
“You can point this towards the root zone of the plant and as you can see it’s not spraying water all over the place,” said Ontiveros.
A bubbler, uses less water like a dripper, but it’s adjustable.
“If you have an area that is more of a flower bed instead of desertscape, this is something that is really useful, you can open it quite a bit or you can close it,” said Ontiveros.
You could also get rid of your grass all together, and install artificial turf.
Just turning your system on and taking a look can also make a difference in how much water you are using.
“That will allow you to see if anything is broken, to see if it’s pointed in the wrong direction, if a bubbler is too open or not open enough and you can make adjustment as need,” said Ontiveros.
If you don’t have a smart controller, Ontiveros says change when and how long you water, each month. The Coachella Valley Water District has taken the guess work out of it and posted a guide online.
A special thank you to Smith Pipe Supply for letting us use their facility for this story.
