How Much Water Does Your Yard Need?
Determine How Much Water Your Sprinkler System Applies To Each Watering Zone
1. Place small containers or cans on your lawn in each watering zone. Tuna cans work great for this but you can use other similar-sized containers.
2. Run your sprinkler system for 15 minutes in each watering zone.
3. Measure the depth of the water in each container using a ruler. Write down the measurements.
Ex.
- Zone 1 = 1.5 inches
- Zone 2 = 2 inches
- Zone 3 = 1.25 inches
4. Multiply each measurement by 4 to get the hourly precipitation rate
Ex.
- Zone 1 = 1.5 inches x 4 = 6 inches per hour
- Zone 2 = 2 inches x 4 = 8 inches per hour
- Zone 3 = 1.25 inches x 4 = 5 inches per hour
Use Weather ET Data to Determine Sprinkler Zone Run Times
1. Go to: http://texaset.tamu.edu
2. On the homepage, select a station nearest to you from the Current Stations drop down list.
3. On the next screen, open the Home Owner calculator.
4. Use the calculator to calculate the sprinkler run time and frequency for each watering zone.
- First, choose a level of sunlight exposure (full sun, part shade, full shade). Then select your turf grass species. The calculator will recommend you a water requirement based on recent weather data in the area.
- The next section, labelled Precipitation Parameters, should automatically be inputted for you. If not, then click the Detailed Weather Data and Heat Units link above the form and input the total Rain value.
- Next, input the hourly precipitation rate of your sprinklers.
- Press the calculate button to get values for Total Run Time, Irrigations/Week, and Run Time/Irrigation.
- Record the values and the date, and check back at http://texaset.tamu.edu regularly to recalculate.