- Be sure to check the watering schedule for the right time and day to water for your address.
- Thoroughly check your system each spring when you first turn it on and repair any leaks as soon as possible.
- Check your controller settings to avoid excessive watering.
- Start with low times and add additional time if areas of stress appear in your yard.
- Water during the early morning hours when temperatures and wind speed are lowest to reduce evaporation and waste.
- Even in the hottest months, your lawn needs no more than one inch of water weekly. Don't forget to take rainfall into account.
- Cooler temperatures in spring and fall let you water less often- once every two weeks compared to once a week in summer.
- Don't forget to turn your system off for the winter.
- Adjust sprinklers so that only your lawn is being watered.
- Realign heads that spray too high in the air, onto pavement or structures, or into tall grass or shrubs.
- After mowing, make sure sprinkler heads haven’t been broken or knocked out of alignment.
- Use drip irrigation for bedded plants, shrubs, and trees to apply water directly to the roots where it’s needed.
- Schedule a free irrigation system evaluation from Austin Water (for customers using 20,000 gallons in two consecutive months or 25,000 gallons in one month of the current irrigation season) or do a self-audit of your system.
- Rebates may be available for improving your irrigation system's water-efficiency.
