Since the Albuquerque area receives about 9” of rain on average per year and grass lawns can use up to 50” of water per year, the proper design of an irrigation system for a grass lawn is of utmost importance when it comes to water efficiency. Irrigation efficiency can save up to 30% of the water you use by avoiding water waste.
While the Water Authority does not encourage grass lawns, we understand that some homeowners may want to install new lawns or reduce the size of their existing lawns. If you are going to have a turfgrass lawn, we recommend that it’s a lawn you use and not just maintain for curb appeal. Proper irrigation layout and design are key to having a healthy and water-efficient lawn.
When designing your lawn, keep these tips in mind:
1) Lawns smaller than 10’x 10’ are hard to water with a spray irrigation system.
2) To get the most efficient irrigation coverage, design square and rectangular lawns since sprinkler heads spray in fixed patterns-such as a quarter circle, half circle or full circle-but not curves. If curves are necessary, broad curves have the best chance of being irrigated without over spraying, while zigzag narrow curves are the toughest to irrigate effectively.
3) We recommend using WaterSense Pressure Regulating Spray Sprinkler Bodies.
WaterSense labeled spray sprinkler bodies with internal pressure regulation can reduce water waste by providing a consistent flow at the sprinkler nozzle. When the sprinkler body maintains pressure near its optimal operating pressure, the connected nozzle is better able to generate the right amount of water spray and coverage for a more uniform distribution of water across the landscape. Customers can choose from a list of pre-qualified spray sprinkler bodies.
4) We also recommend using High-Efficiency Rotating Sprinkler Nozzles (multi-stream). These nozzles minimize water waste and feature a unique multi-trajectory rotating stream that delivers water at a steady rate. This slower application allows water to gently soak in at rates that soils can absorb. Use these nozzles to replace the sprinkler head on any conventional spray head body or pop up sprinkler. For more information on these nozzles read this post.
5) Irrigation sprinkler nozzles are designed for 100% overlap of watered areas, which means each sprinkle nozzle throws water to the next sprinkler in all directions. If a system is not built this way, there will be dry spots (see the below image).
Designing, reducing and changing the shape of your lawn doesn’t have to be an expensive project but it can save a lot of water. Visit your favorite local irrigation supply store for professional equipment and expert advice.
Learn more by checking out these other useful irrigation articles:
Author: Jill Brown, ASLA, is a Landscape Architect and owner of My Landscape Coach in Albuquerque, NM. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
If you’ve hiked around the foothills in the Albuquerque area, chances are you’ve come across this cheerful native flower. Paperflower offers several seasons of interest. Masses of yellow flowers bloom from April through September and then fade back to a papery appearance that lasts through the winter. An excellent choice for gardens that rely mostly on rainwater, paperflower will thrive in sandy and gravelly soils.
We are living in a time when our climate is going through rapid changes. Winter days have gotten warmer, and very cold nights are decreasing in number. The decrease in snowpack and early snowmelt that volatilizes before it soaks into the soil are creating drier watersheds, which are vulnerable to fires that can affect our water quality. Reduced snowpack affects streamflow. In order to take care of our Albuquerque landscapes, we need to rely on groundwater. When there’s a lack of precipitation, groundwater recharge is adversely affected. Less precipitation also means drier soils with little reserve moisture to maintain existing vegetation. Even if precipitation amounts don’t diminish, warmer temperatures affect evaporation rates from plant leaves and add to water stress. Supplemental irrigation demand is going to surge to maintain healthy landscapes. We need to implement adaptation strategies, like proper plant selection and smart watering methods, to make climate-ready landscapes a reality in Albuquerque.
We can prepare our landscapes for hotter summer daytime temperatures and warmer winters by following these strategies:
Shade surfaces: Plant trees and large shrubs against walls and near concrete to buffer sunbaked paving and cool walls that absorb heat during the day. By doing this, temperatures can be reduced by five degrees in urban areas.
Plant climate-ready trees: Check out the Climate Ready Tree list. This science-based list of trees that are most likely to survive our changing climate was put together by a diverse group of plant professionals. In mid-century, Albuquerque is projected to become as hot as El Paso, Texas. By the end of this century, our climate will become like present-day Tucson, Arizona.
Mulch everything:Mulchinsulates plant roots from both heat and cold, reducing moisture loss from the soil by evaporation, feeding beneficial soil microorganisms that enhance plant growth and improving soil health. Install 3-4” of mulch over bare dirt to reduce weeds, to enrich the soil and around all new plants to retain the moisture.
Remove or reduce turfgrass lawns: Lawns require 40 inches of water a year, compared with the 8 inches that Albuquerque gets. The greatest value of a cool- season turf is its resilience as a play surface, so if you aren’t regularly using it, consider removing it or installing a low-water grass or meadow.
Incorporate smart irrigation practices: Smart irrigation devices like smart controllers adjust the watering times based on local weather, thus saving water. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plants. Efficient rotary spray heads reduce water use by 30% or more compared with regular spray heads.
By using these climate-ready practices, it will take less water to create a greener city, support wildlife and keep our community cooler.
Learn more by checking out these other useful drought articles:
Author: Judith Phillips, owner of Design Oasis, landscape designer, and garden writer with 30 years of experience designing arid-adapted and native gardens in the high desert. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
One of the biggest obstacles holding homeowners back from removing their high-water turfgrass and installing xeriscape is believing that setting up the irrigation system is difficult. Luckily, it is not as hard as you may think.
If you have an automatic irrigation spray system, you already have an existing valve and, most likely, an AVB backflow preventer. It may look something like this.
Desert Friendly Xeriscape with spray to drip conversion.
The first thing to do before converting to drip is to get the valves checked out by a professional to make sure they are in working order. When you know they’re fine, add a pressure regulator filter combo just past the existing valve and backflow preventer. Then attach ¾”polyline, snaking it around the yard to the new plants and inserting flag emitters at each plant.
The existing underground piping and spray heads are no longer needed. Simply remove all the existing spray heads. There is no need to dig up any existing pipe.
You may have seen the spray-to-drip retrofit kits locally available and wonder if this is a good approach. We don’t recommend this approach because studies show that nearly half of the water saved from converting a lawn to a healthy xeriscape comes from abandoning leaky underground piping and fittings. A Sprinkler system’s lifespan is less than 20 years. If you are not sure how old your system is, or if it is older than 10 years, it’s best to not rely on old underground piping. Since sprinklers typically run for 8-12 minutes and drip often runs for 45-60 minutes, if you have a leak in your old sprinkler piping and it is now part of the drip system you could be wasting a ton of water – negating the savings from getting rid of your thirsty lawn.
Drip irrigation tubing is very inexpensive per foot and only needs to be in a shallow trench. Properly converting to drip irrigation is not as expensive as many people think, while converting your sprinklers to drip the cheap and easy way with a retrofit kit is likely to cost more in the long run.Contact AskAnExpert@abcwua.org to learn more.
Learn more by checking out these other useful drip irrigation articles:
Author: Amos Arber, Xeriscape Rebate Inspector with the Water Resources Conservation Department for the Water Authority. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
The flowering quince is a winter showstopper, producing spectacular blooms well before anything else starts to green up for spring. This shrub’s apple-like blossoms, ranging in color from pink to coral to red, grace elegant arching branches that make beautiful cut flower arrangements. Long oblong leaves fill in after bloom time is over. Be sure to give it some space in your garden, as the stems are thorny.
Flowering quince is surprisingly easy to grow and will thrive on a modest water budget once established.
