Effective irrigation design require an understanding of how water move through the air and how water reaches the soil. Many homeowners experiences uneven watering, where some areas of a lawn recieve too much water and other area receive too little water. This unevenly watering occurs because the irrigation system dont provide uniform coverage across the entire lawn.
An irrigation system isnt merely a method for spraying water, but an irrigation system is a method for managing a geometry of water distribution. Different irrigation heads are design for different tasks, and you must select the correct irrigation head for the specific area you want to water. For example, a drip emitter is a tool that delivers water slow to a single plant, so a drip emitter is appropriate for a rose bush but a drip emitter is not appropriate for a lawn.
How to Water Your Lawn Evenly
An impact head is a tool that throws water across a large distance, so an impact head is appropriate for large fields or large acreages. If you use a large rotor in a small corner, you will create too much water in that corner, and if you use small spray heads in a large yard, you will need too many connection. The most important rule in irrigation design is a concept called head-to-head coverage.
Head-to-head coverage mean that you must position each irrigation head so that the spray from one irrigation head reaches the base of the next irrigation head. You should not place irrigation heads at the maximum distance of their spray, because if you place irrigation heads at the maximum distance, you will create blind spots. Blind spots are areas where no water reaches the soil.
When you use head-to-head coverage, the spray patterns from the irrigation heads intersects, and this intersection create a continuous blanket of moisture across the lawn. You can design irrigation patterns using square patterns or triangular patterns. A square pattern is a common design for rectangular lawn, but a triangular grid is often a better design if you want to ensure uniform water distribution.
A triangular grid is better because a triangular grid minimize the gaps that occur when circular spray patterns touch. Ensuring uniform water distribution is necessary because uniform water distribution prevents a lawn from looking patchy. Water pressure is a critical factor in how an irrigation system function.
If the water pressure is too low, the irrigation nozzles will create a mist, and this mist is problematic because the wind will carry the mist away before the mist reaches the soil. If the water pressure is too high, the water will create runoff and the water will create puddles on the surface of the soil. You may need to install a pressure regulator if you need to maintain an optimal level of water pressure.
The physical installation of the irrigation heads is also important for the performance of the irrigation system. You should ensure that the irrigation heads are at the correct height above the soil. If an irrigation head is too low, the grass will cover the irrigation head, and if an irrigation head is too high, the irrigation head will spray water onto sidewalk or houses.
You should also use proper fitting, such as swing joints, so that the swing joints prevents the pipes from breaking. Finally, you must avoid mixing different type of irrigation heads on the same valve. You should not mix rotors and spray heads on the same valve because rotors and spray heads release water at different rate.
Because rotors and spray heads release water at different rates, one type of head will finish watering while the other type of head is still watering. This difference in water rates will cause some areas to have too much water and other area to have too little water. A successful irrigation system ensures that every inch of soil receive a fair amount of water.