With drought conditions predicted to continue for the foreseeable future, we’re likely to water more often this spring and summer. Make every drop count – and keep us on track to meet our conservation goals – by performing routine maintenance to maximize your sprinkler system’s efficiency.
Monthly
Check for leaks by inspecting water lines, sprinklers, emitters, and other components. Look for wet spots in the landscape and listen for hissing to help locate issues.
Your irrigation system is only as good as its aim. Adjust sprinklers and emitters to make sure they’re delivering water to the landscape and not onto rocks, bare earth, or pavement.
Replace damaged parts immediately with identical or equivalent parts. This ensures uniform coverage and optimal system efficiency.
Locate and clean any clogged equipment.
Use water meter and historical data to help reveal hidden leaks.
Check to make sure irrigation controller is set appropriately for the season
Spring
As the watering season gets underway, check your irrigation system for leaks and clogged, broken, or missing sprinkler heads and emitters.
An outdated irrigation system can waste time, water, and money. Consider installing a new WaterSense-labeled, “smart” irrigation controller to take the guesswork out of scheduling (rebates available).
Set the controller for watering frequency, start times, and duration per zone per program.
Replace the back-up battery in the controller.
Test the manual shut-off or isolation valve.
Check the water pressure in each irrigation zone.
Check and clean filters, wherever they are in the system.
Check and clean the filter screen in each sprinkler body. Adjust the rotor arc or spray pattern to eliminate water waste.
Test heads to make sure they are delivering consistently and efficiently.
Inspect all drip emitters (look for wet zones after running a complete cycle). Unclog or replace any that are malfunctioning.
Early Summer
Adjust controller for the appropriate seasonal setting.
Adjust sprinklers and emitters to make sure they’re delivering water to the landscape and not onto rocks, bare earth, or pavement.
Check and clean filters, wherever they are in the system.
Inspect all drip emitters (look for wet zones after running a complete cycle). Unclog or replace any that are malfunctioning.
As plants grow bigger, move the emitters to the edge of each plant’s root ball or drip line to encourage further root development.
Fall
Adjust controller for the appropriate seasonal setting.
Test the manual shut-off or isolation valve.
Check and clean filters, wherever they are in the system.
Inspect all drip emitters (look for wet zones after running a complete cycle). Unclog or replace any that are malfunctioning.
Winter
Guard your irrigation system against freezing temperatures by draining pipes and tubing and properly winterizing your system.
When temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, discontinue automatic watering and turn on systems manually or hand water as needed.
In an arid city like Albuquerque, trees and the urban forest are even more important than in places with more moisture. Trees provide shade and habitat, and help cool the urban landscape. To sustain a healthy canopy trees require special care given the arid climate, ongoing drought, and warming temperatures. This year’s hot, dry conditions highlight the need for New Mexicans to take even more care of their trees – and to plan for which species will grow best in increasingly warm conditions. This was especially true this past September when a windstorm wreaked havoc on trees throughout the city.
In collaboration with Our Land New Mexico, a local environmental show on NMPBS, we are sharing a short (7 minute) episode they did about the urban forest in Albuquerque.
The episode discusses how the vitality of a city can be measured in part by the health of its trees and plant life. There is also evidence that tells us how exposure to nature provides emotional and social benefits, lowers stress levels and encourages more community engagement in residential settings.
We encourage you to take care of your trees to support our urban forest and if you are adding a new tree email AskAnExpert@abcwua.org with questions. Local tree experts around the Southwest, including conservation staff from the Water Authority, with the guidance of the Nature Conservancy, have put together a climate-ready tree list that includes trees that will thrive in our current and future climate.
Author: Water Authority in collaboration with correspondent Laura Paskus of Our Land New Mexico and guest Joran Viers, City Forester, CABQ Parks Management Division. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
Just as we take shelter when the weather turns colder, so do your plants. This time of year, plants store most of their nutrients in the roots and find shelter in the ground. We can support this transition to help plants thrive during the entire winter season.
Also, it is time to give your irrigation system a rest. The recent storm brought much-needed precipitation and along with the snow came freezing temperatures. To avoid damage to your irrigation system we recommend setting it to the OFF position. Your next step will be to wait for a warm day, to deeply water one more time and then take steps to winterize your irrigation system.
Follow this advice to ensure landscape success:
How much should I water this November?
1-2 more times this month
Give individual trees 100 gallons to a depth of 24”
Skip watering if it rains or snows
Water turf to ½ inch, 7-10 minutes
Your outdoor water usage should be 80% less than in the summer season
How can I keep my landscape healthy this winter season?
Turf
Mow your lawn to 2-2.5 inches. Grass left too long over the winter can develop brown patches.
Aerate next time it is warm. Aerating your lawn will give it a chance to breathe before the grass goes completely dormant. This also provides relief of any compaction that has built up during the warmer months.
Rake or blow off the leaves that have fallen on your lawn. Leaves that are left on the lawn could become moldy, which invites disease.
Top dress with compost. Compost acts as a fertilizer, adds moisture retention capacity, and improves overall turf health.
Trees
Apply a thin layer of compost, about ½ inch, to provide nutrients.
Add mulch away from the trunk base, about 2 inches thick. Mulch helps maintain your ground at a constant temperature and helps retain moisture.
Water your trees thoroughly once a month, if needed, to support your plants' winter hardiness. Withholding water will not aid the plant in acclimating itself to winter.
How do I avoid irrigation and other plumbing system damage? To avoid costly repairs, we recommend that homeowners take the following steps:
Find the master shutoff valve. The master shutoff valve turns off the water to the entire house. If you have one, learn its location. This could be critical if a pipe should burst. Need an emergency turn-off? Call 842-WATR and select Option 1.
Insulate pipes and faucets in unheated areas. Wrap exposed water pipes in unheated areas (such as a garage, basement, crawl space, or space beneath your mobile home) with insulation or heat tape. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Seal off access doors, air vents, and cracks. Winter winds whistling through overlooked openings can quickly freeze exposed water pipes. DO NOT plug air vents used by your furnace or water heater.
Author: Carlos A. Bustos, Water Conservation Program Manager with the Water Resources Division for the Water Authority. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
The balancing act of watering your trees in the fall and winter is important. Established trees should be watered two to three times a month in the fall season and once a month in the winter season. If not watered properly, trees that get too dry during this time can suffer stress and drought injury. This often does not show up until the heat of the following summer, which then makes trees more susceptible to pests and disease. Fall is the time to set your trees up for winter success.
Other important factors to consider when watering trees:
Newly planted trees (trees planted within 1-3 years), are more susceptible to damage from dry conditions and should be watered more frequently than established trees. Try watering them to a depth of 24 inches three times a month in the fall and twice a month in the winter.
Evergreen trees lose water through their needles in the dry winter air. They need more stored-up water going into the winter season to make up for that. Cold, dry winds can strip water from evergreens faster than their roots can absorb it, too. That is why it is especially important to provide enough water in the fall and during dry, warm spells in the winter.
Even though they lose their leaves, deciduous trees should also not get too dry in the fall and winter. Water acts as an insulator for both the tree and soil. Soil that stays moist will be warmer. Likewise, plant cells that are plump with water will be less susceptible to damage from the cold. Water deciduous trees to a depth of 24 inches twice a month during the fall and once a month in the winter.
When watering any tree, remember to apply water out to the edge of the tree’s canopy drip line. Most established trees have a root spread equal to their height and beyond. Water deeply and avoid spraying foliage. Watering to the right depth depends on your specific soils, so you will want to measure how much water it takes your soils to reach 24 inches deep. Read this article for tips on measuring watering depth.
One of the best things you can do for your trees in the coming months is to add mulch. Layering three to four inches of organic mulch protects the soil from moisture loss and helps regulate soil temperature throughout the winter. Treebates for bulk organic mulch is available.
Pro Tip: "Watering to the right depth and managing the frequency of watering are both very important aspects of keeping our plants healthy throughout the year, but especially in the fall and winter months,” says Patrick Chavez, Trees of Corrales Wholesale Nursery.
Author: Amos Arber, Xeriscape Incentive Inspector, and Certified Arborist with the Water Resources Division for the Water Authority. Photography: Wes Brittenham Pro tip:Trees of Corrales Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
September days can have widely varying temperatures, with some days getting into the 90s, but we can count on nights being longer and cooler. This means that plants do not need to be watered as often. Ramping down how often you water your yard is a great way to save money on your water bill and keep plants happy.
After spending the summer putting energy into growing leaves, flowers, and fruit, plants use the fall to store water and energy in their roots for winter survival and spring growth. Proper watering supports this activity.
Ramping down your irrigation does not mean you should stop watering altogether. If you have a lawn, cut back to two days per week. Cut back to two times a month for mature trees (4 times a month for younger trees).
You probably don't pay a lot of attention to sprinkler bodies, those plastic devices that house the sprinkler's spray nozzle. Well, not until one breaks and your yard suddenly looks like the fountain at the Bellagio. But selecting the right sprinkler body can have a big impact on your water bill. Just look for the WaterSense label!
WaterSense-labeled sprinkler bodies, certified by the EPA, are designed to help regulate the water pressure that reaches the nozzle, ensuring efficient watering and aiding in conservation.
Landscape irrigation systems are often installed so the pressure is higher than what is recommended for the nozzles. This can lead to excessive flow rates, misting, fogging, and uneven coverage. Uneven coverage could flood one section of your lawn while you still have dry spots in another area. WaterSense labeled spray sprinkler bodies with integral pressure regulation can reduce water waste by:
Providing a constant flow at the sprinkler nozzle
Generating the right amount of water spray
Creating optimal coverage and uniform distribution
Reducing misting and fogging
The Water Authority now offers a rebate for listed WaterSense pressure regulating spray sprinkler bodies. Check with your local irrigation supplier to make sure you match your spray nozzle with the appropriate WaterSense pressure regulating sprinkler body and take advantage of the rebate. Get $4.00 off each sprinkler body you purchase (no limit per year).
Visit our rebates pageto apply for your rebate today.
Pro Tip:
Leilani Cochran of Just Sprinklers says, “Too much pressure blowing through the heads can cause a mist that evaporates in our dry air. The pressure regulating spray bodies eliminate this mist, so the head operates at the optimum capacity."
Author: Richard Perce, irrigation efficiency specialist with the Water Resources Division for the Water Authority. Pro tip:Just Sprinklers. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
