Checking your irrigation system regularly ensures your plants and your lawn are getting the most out of your watering, without wasting valuable water. Small improvements can save bucketloads across your home.
Irrigation system can waste water though evaporation, leaks, wind drift or running for too long. Overwatering adds up to bucketloads of water wasted. A few quick checks can make a difference.
The biggest factor is whether your run times match your sprinkler type. Many systems apply more water than gardens need, especially during summer. Setting the right run times ensures your system delivers the recommended 10mm of water per rostered watering day.
If you’re unsure how long to run your sprinklers, start with a simple test.
Did you know?
Watering an extra day outside your rostered watering days can waste around 87 buckets of water. That’s over 348 buckets a month!
As a general rule, your garden only needs 10mm of water on each of your watering days.
A catch cup test is an easy way to check that your run times are set up to supply 10mm of water to your garden, and that water is evenly distributed. Catch cups are designed to catch and measure the amount of water falling in an area over a set period of time. You can purchase catch cups at your local irrigation design shop.
Spread the catch cups or containers evenly around the watering zone you want to test. Make sure they’re at least 1 metre away from the closest sprinkler.
Turn your sprinklers on and time how long it takes to fill the catch cups to a depth of 10mm.
Once you have your reading, adjust the run time on your irrigation controller based on how long it took to fill the cups up to 10mm.
You can get catch cups from any waterwise irrigation design shop. Contact your local waterwise garden irrigator or visit your local design shop to learn more.
Watch the video below for a more assisted guide on testing the efficiency of your irrigation system.
Read a transcript of this video
If some cups collect much less or more than others, your irrigation system may need:
After fixing any issues, run the test again to make sure water is being applied evenly.
Waterwise products can help you reduce the amount of water you use in your garden. With support from Smart Drop Certified, we have developed an endorsement program. The program provides an opportunity for approved products to feature the waterwise logo on their packaging, making it easy for you to find water efficient products for your garden.
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