Electronic controllers make your irrigation scheduling easy to manage.
Island Waterwise Irrigation will:
- program your Controller upon installation of your system
- provide a written schedule for your future reference
We do not recommend that customers alter their programs, as they are designed to provide optimal irrigation for your yard, while remaining within the requirements of CRD bylaws. The exception to this rule is the "Seasonal Adjustment" feature on most controllers,
which allows easy incremental adjustments to the entire schedule. We strongly encourage the use of this feature, and send out Seasonal Adjustment recommendations every 1-2 months for for our customers. We also strongly recommend the Hunter Solar Sync weather sensor, which makes these adjustments for you on a daily basis.
General Watering Guidelines
Don't over water:
The general rule of thumb in our region is to apply 1 inch of water per week to lawns during the peak season (usually late July to early August). For the rest of the season, .5 to .8 inches per week is optimal, depending on conditions. Empty tuna cans work well as catch basins to measure the amount of water being applied. However, the average sprinkler system only applies water with between 50-70% uniformity, so some areas may only be getting half as much water as others! At Island Waterwise, we maximize system efficiencies by using proper design methods and great products such as Hunter's MP Rotators.
Time of day is important:
Generally speaking, early morning (4-10 am) is considered the best time to water. During the day evaporation rates are at their peak, which means you are wasting money on vapor. Watering at night, particularly for lawns, can lead to problems with fungi and various diseases, and wind is usually strongest at these times, which can drastically alter water distribution.