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How Much? How Long?
Your outdoor monthly water budget is based on the square footage of your irrigated landscape and the amount of water necessary to maintain a healthy landscape that is comprised of 60% warm season turf and 40% drought tolerant landscape.
If most of your landscape is lawn and you maintain a regular watering schedule with inefficient sprinklers, you will likely be over your allocation and your water bill will go up.
The schedules below are a suggested weekly watering schedule for drip irrigation for drought-tolerant landscape, as well as for traditional spray-head irrigation.
Start with this schedule and adjust the times only if your plants show signs of stress.
Irrigation Schedules
Drip Schedule: English/Spanish PDF »
Spray Schedule: English/Spanish PDF »
| Drip Irrigation Schedules - Rainbird | ||
| Rainbird XFD | Emmiter Spacing 18'' Row Spacing 18'' 0.6 GPH/PR=0.43'' |
Emmiter Spacing 12'' Row Spacing 18'' 0.9 GPH/PR=0.96'' |
| Month | Drought Tolerant Plants (Moderate Water Use Kc-.5) |
Drought Tolerant Plants (Moderate Water Use Kc=.5) |
| Jan | 1 day, 1 cycle of 50 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 22 min |
| Feb | 1 day, 1 cycle of 56 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 25 min |
| Mar | 2 days, 1 cycle of 39 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 17 min |
| Apr | 2 days, 1 cycle of 47 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 21 min |
| May | 2 days, 1 cycle of 56 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 25 min |
| Jun | 3 days, 1 cycle of 37 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 16 min |
| Jul | 3 days, 1 cycle of 38 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 17 min |
| Aug | 3 days, 1 cycle of 39 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 17 min |
| Sep** | 2 days, 1 cycle of 48 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 22 min |
| Oct** | 2 days, 1 cycle of 27 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 16 min |
| Nov | 1 day, 1 cycle of 54 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 24 min |
| Dec | 1 day, 1 cycle of 44 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 20 min |
| Drip Irrigation Schedules - NETAFIM | ||
| NETAFIM Techline CV |
Emmiter Spacing 18'' Row Spacing 18'' 0.4 GPH/PR=0.3'' |
Emmiter Spacing 12'' Row Spacing 18'' 0.6 GPH/PR=0.65'' |
| Month | Drought Tolerant Plants (Moderate Water Use Kc-.5) |
Drought Tolerant Plants (Moderate Water Use Kc=.5) |
| Jan | 1 day, 1 cycle of 72 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 33 min |
| Feb | 1 day, 1 cycle of 80 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 37 min |
| Mar | 2 days, 1 cycle of 56 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 26 min |
| Apr | 2 days, 1 cycle of 67 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 31 min |
| May | 2 days, 1 cycle of 81 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 37 min |
| Jun | 3 days, 1 cycle of 53 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 24 min |
| Jul | 3 days, 1 cycle of 55 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 25 min |
| Aug | 3 days, 1 cycle of 56 min | 3 days, 1 cycle of 26 min |
| Sep** | 2 days, 1 cycle of 69 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 32 min |
| Oct** | 2 days, 1 cycle of 52 min | 2 days, 1 cycle of 24 min |
| Nov | 1 day, 1 cycle of 78 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 36 min |
| Dec | 1 day, 1 cycle of 63 min | 1 day, 1 cycle of 29 min |
| Sprinkler System Schedules | ||||
| Month | Turfgrass | Drought Tolerant Plants | % Option*** | |
| Jan | 2 days, 2 cycles of 2 minutes | 1 day, 2 cycles of 3 min | 30% | |
| Feb | 2 days, 2 cycles of 2 minutes | 1 day, 2 cycles of 3 min | 30% | |
| Mar | 3 days, 2 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 2 cycles of 3 min | 50% | |
| Apr | 3 days, 2 cycles of 4 minutes | 2 days, 2 cycles of 4 min | 70% | |
| May | 3 days, 3 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 3 cycles of 3 min | 80% | |
| Jun | 3 days, 2 cycles of 5 minutes | 2 days, 3 cycles of 3 min | 90% | |
| Jul | 4 days, 3 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 3 cycles of 4 min | 100% | |
| Aug | 4 days, 3 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 3 cycles of 4 min | 100% | |
| Sep** | 4 days, 2 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 2 cycles of 4 min | 70% | |
| Oct** | 3 days, 2 cycles of 3 minutes | 2 days, 2 cycles of 3 min | 50% | |
| Nov | 2 days, 2 cycles of 3 minutes | 1 day, 2 cycles of 4 min | 40% | |
| Dec | 2 days, 2 cycles of 2 minutes | 1 day, 2 cycles of 3 min | 30% | |
Schedules assume heavy clay soils common to most of IRWD's service area. Generally, these are the MAXIMUM times you will need for full sun areas. Start with this schedule and adjust the times only if your plants show signs of stress. If stress occurs only in isolated areas, check the operation of your irrigation system before adjusting the times.
*By "cycling" the irrigation controller to turn on for the recommended number of minutes an hour apart, deeper watering and healthier root growth are gained, while runoff is reduced.
** In September, plants' water needs drop by approximately 30 percent even if the temperature is hotter, because the days are shorter, so evaporation decreases. Also plants begin to go into a dormant phase where they need less water. In some years, humidity is also higher, increasing your level of discomfort, but decreasing plants' water needs as it slows the rate of evaporation. This rapid drop in water needs will continue in October and November.
***Some irrigation controllers have a feature by which the watering times can be set by changing the percentages instead of specifically entering the days, cycles and minutes.