pwp watershed wise landscaping series - city of pasadena€¦ · landscaping series retrofitting...

Pasadena Water and PowerPasadena Water and Power

PWP Watershed Wise Landscaping Series

Retrofitting Your Irrigation System

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Pasadena Water and Power

Class Overview

• PWP rebates• Types of irrigation• Irrigation system parts overview• Retrofitting your irrigation system• Irrigation scheduling • Maintenance• PWP Resources

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Residential Landscape Transformation Program

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• $2/ sq. ft. rebate• 250 sq. ft. minimum • 5,000 sq. ft. maximum• Front yard, side yard,

and/or backyard• Must have a rain water

capture featurePWPweb.com/savewater


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Rebates and Resources –Landscape / Irrigation / Pools

PWP Rebates include: • Turf Removal Rebate• Rain Barrel and Cistern Rebate• Sprinkler Rebate• Weather Based Irrigation Controller Rebate• Soil Moisture Sensor Rebate• Pool Pump Rebate• Laundry to Landscape Rebate• Shade Tree Rebate

For a full list of rebates visit PWPweb.com/savewater


Types of Irrigation


Three ways to water your garden

Hand Watering Spray Irrigation

Drip Irrigation


Goals for an irrigation system

• Distribution uniformity – equal coverage of water in each area

• System efficiency – getting water where it is needed, to the root zone without waste

• Reliability – benefits of an automated system• Flexibility – being able to change as plants

grow• Zero run-off• Thriving plants!


Considerations for Hand Watering

• What size is your landscape?

• Do you plan to spend time interacting with your garden?

• Do you travel a lot?

• Create a schedule

• Be sure to check the soil moisture and be mindful how long you are watering


Irrigation systems

Non-efficient & high maintenance spray

Efficient spray Drip Irrigation


Rotors

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Irrigation System Parts Overview


The Irrigation Clock/ Controller

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Types of valves

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The valves talk to Controller

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Pop Up Sprinklers and Nozzles


Pop up Sprinklers come in different heights

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For drip, add a pressure regulator and filter

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Drip Irrigation parts

Pressure Regulator


2 types of drip systems

Tubing comes with different application rates and emitter spacing


Drip Irrigation Fittings

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Retrofitting Your Irrigation System


Lawn Conversions

• You don’t need a whole new irrigation system!

• For spray, use your existing sprinkler locations and replace the nozzles – you may have to adjust the sprinkler spacing and replace old sprinklers

• For a drip system, use the existing underground pipes for the water supply, cap most of the old sprinklers in place, and install a drip conversion kit


Flag your sprinkler locations

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Sprinklers need to cover the area

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Pressure compensating pop up sprays with rotating nozzles


Identify your sprinkler brand

The brand name for a sprinkler head is almost always written on top of it. The sprinkler body is the part that looks like a tire. The nozzle is the part in the middle.

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Change your nozzles

Traditional spray nozzles Rotating nozzles

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Rotating nozzles deliver water slower


Drip Conversion Kits

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Installing a drip conversion kit

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Conversion kits replace the sprinkler

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A conversion kit replaces a 4” pop up

Depending upon the size of your old sprinkler, you may need to adjust the height of your converter

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Ways to raise the converter

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Parts to adjust the converter height

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Capping sprinklers

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Capping Rainbird 1800 Sprinklers

Leaving the sprinkler in the ground, unscrew the sprinkler cap and remove “the guts”—the riser and the spring.

Grab the Teflon tape and a Rain Bird Spray Cap. If the orange “O ring” is not in place, be sure to add it snugly to the cap.

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How to use Teflon tape

Wrap the Teflon tape around the threads on the spray body until all the threads are covered. The layer doesn’t need to be thick, but it does need to be complete. Screw the Rain Bird spray cap on the canister until it is hand tight. Hand-tight means as tight as you can make it with your hand. It does not need to be tightened with a wrench.

If you had to dig out part of the sprinkler to cap it, don’t put the soil back yet. You have to cap them all and test the system first.

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Installing drip tubing

• Never allow your tubing to bend or kink. You will damage the tubing and have to replace any segments where it was bent. To avoid bending tubing, use fittings instead.

• When installing tubing, keep it at least 6 inches away from any hard surfaces and 2 feet away from house footings and the foundation.

• There should be one row on each side of your plants. The rows do not have to be straight. They can follow the curves of your garden

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Existing sprinkler layout

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Sprinklers converted to drip

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Tree rings

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Another Drip Conversion Example

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A Subsurface Grid Layout


Point Source emitters


The end of the line

• A manual flush valve

• A “tattle tale” that lets you ensure water is making it to the end of the line with enough pressure to water everything along the way. You can use a capped sprinkler or a flag that pops up.

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Repairing drip tubing

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Twice a year, flush the system and clean the filters

Drip maintenance


Irrigation Scheduling & Maintenance


Scheduling basics

• Time of day – water early in the morning or late in the evening

• Length of watering – consider time of year, irrigation method, type of soil

• Create a schedule to encourage deep root growth

• Think about the depth of tree root systems


With an automated system…

How much water should be applied?

How long should the system run?


There are many factors in determining run times

• Region (climate or ET)• Type of sprinklers (application rate)• Plant water requirements (low, medium or

high)• Soil type• Square footage of the area• Distribution uniformity and/or efficiency of

irrigation system


Precipitation rates

• 1 gallon per square foot = 1.6” per square foot

• Traditional nozzles deliver water around 1.68” per hour, causing waste and saturation

• Rotating nozzles apply water at around 0.39” per hour, slow enough for soil and plants to use it

• In-line drip tubing applies from 0.19” to 0.87” per hour


Soil type effects the watering schedule

• Sandy soils drain well and dry out quickly, requiring more frequent irrigation

• Clay soils retain moisture longer, needing watering less often

• All soils dry out more rapidly when it’s warm or windy, and if no mulch is applied

• Deep, infrequent soaks is the key to success!

• Typical Pasadena Soil is Sandy Loam


BeWaterWise Calculator

http://www.bewaterwise.com/calculator.html

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http://www.bewaterwise.com/calculator.html


PWP Rebates and Programs

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www.PWPweb.com

Call 626-744-7311

Email: [email protected]

Follow us onwww.facebook.com/PasadenaWaterandPower


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Resources

• www.PWPweb.com/landscapes• www.SocalWaterSmart.com • www.bewaterwise.com• www.Hunterindustries.com• www.netafimusa.com• www.Rainbird.com• www.Toro.com• www.digalert.org• www.clca.org• www.apld.org

http://www.bewaterwise.com/

http://www.hunterindustries.com/

http://www.netafimusa.com/

http://www.rainbird.com/

http://www.toro.com/

pwp watershed wise landscaping series - city of pasadena€¦ · landscaping series retrofitting...

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