Irrigation

“Smart water policy and careful planning, investment, and management have enabled AMWUA’s members to build robust, reliable water supplies that support our communities and economy. It is imperative that we continue to address the issues in front of us to ensure the future viability of those supplies.”

The Colorado River system, which provides 45 percent of the AMWUA members’ collective water supplies, has also experienced extensive drought conditions for the past 18 years. Due to over-allocation exacerbated by the prolonged drought, Lake Mead has dropped to historically low reservoir levels, and a Tier 1 Shortage has been declared for 2022.

Who has looked at your community’s water bill? Since water is the most important commodity for any living thing, it is not surprising the cost goes up as the demand goes up. Since water is so expensive, why is it that most communities don’t have a watering guide?  

At different pressures, the sprinkler head and nozzle will consume different amounts of water. For example, at 35 pounds per square inch (PSI) the 5000 Series Rotor using the 3.0 nozzle will use 3.11 gallons per minute (GPM). If your home’s water capacity was 10 GPM, you could place 3 heads per zone. 

If you had 10 – 3.0 nozzle heads spraying in an area for 15 minutes the estimated amount of water being sprayed would be approximately 466.5 gallons of water in a session. Where in the watering schedule or guide does your community justify the amount of water being used? 

Spray heads pop up out of the ground between 2 and 12 inches. They have a constant stream of water between 2 to 20 feet. These heads put out about three times as much water as a rotary head, and for this reason it is usually not a good idea to put these heads in the same zone. Rotary heads have the ability to cover greater distances and are more beneficial to large areas of lawn.