When you look at a yard with all its sprinklers chugging away, you just see water spraying everywhere. But underground, behind the scenes, a lot of thought and planning went into what sprinkler heads were installed in what precise spots.
We’re talking about irrigation zones, and they help ensure all the diverse plants growing in your yard, from your lawn to flowers, trees and shrubs, all get the exact amount of water they need.
Smart Irrigation Planning: Why Expert Irrigation Design Matters
Regular Irrigation Maintenance Keeps an Eye on Your Irrigation Zones
Ready for Expert Idaho Falls Irrigation System Design? Trust Outback
Should lawns, flower beds, and trees be on separate irrigation zones? Yes, they should. Different areas of your Idaho landscaping have very different watering requirements. You shouldn’t water them all in the same exact way.
Let’s learn more about irrigation system design in Idaho Falls.
Irrigation systems are divided into areas called zones, allowing different parts of your yard with varying needs to receive the right amount of water.
By dividing your property into zones, you can customize watering schedules and amounts to meet the needs of different parts of your landscape.
Each zone can be equipped with different types of sprinkler heads or set to water at different times for customized watering and water-efficient irrigation.
Proper irrigation zoning is one of the most important parts of an efficient irrigation system. Zones are set up so the different areas of your yard get the perfect amount of water for their unique needs, using a variety of sprinkler heads and proper spacing.
Most irrigation systems have 6-9 zones.
Why does this matter? Every growing thing in your landscaping doesn’t need the same amount of water.
Trees and shrubs need less water than your lawn or flower beds. Native plants need less water than your lawn. Sunny areas need more water than plants in the shade.
Zones help make sure every part of your landscaping has just the right coverage, without overspray that wastes water. They’re a key part of Idaho Falls irrigation system design.
It starts by assessing all the plant material on your property and assigning each distinct group a zone so they receive tailored run times that meet their water needs:
Lawns have their own pop-up spray or rotor zones because grass requires frequent, uniform irrigation.
Water-loving plants like hydrangeas get a different zone than drought-tolerant perennials like native plants.
Mature trees might be on separate, deep-root zones that run for longer durations but less frequently.
A key part of irrigation zones is choosing the right sprinkler heads for each zone, designed for what it waters.
Your lawn will use rotary or spray heads. Flower beds and shrubs often benefit from misters or drip irrigation. (More on this in a bit.) Trees might require bubblers or deep root watering systems.
Microclimates are small, localized areas within your yard where conditions differ from those elsewhere. They might need their own irrigation zone for the most water-efficient irrigation.
South-facing areas get more sun and heat, so they need more water than north-facing areas, and deep shade retains soil moisture much longer.
Windy corners or exposed open spaces dry out faster than a protected courtyard.
Slopes play a part here, too. Water naturally runs downhill, so the top of a slope stays much drier than the pooling area at the bottom.
Skilled Idaho Falls irrigation system design takes all of this into account.
Lawns need deep, less frequent watering, while thirsty annual flowers need more frequent watering. Drought-tolerant native plants need less irrigation.
Why waste water by giving some areas of your landscaping more water than they need? Proper irrigation zoning prevents that.
Conserving water matters more now than ever. Water here in Idaho Falls, like in many places, is becoming scarcer.
Idaho Falls gets much of its water from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, a large underground water source in southeastern Idaho. A vast expanse, covering approximately 10,800 square miles, it’s a major water source for southern Idaho.
But groundwater levels in parts of the aquifer have declined since the 1950s, leading to concerns about water availability.
You might have noticed your municipality encouraging homeowners to use water-saving appliances, smart irrigation systems and drought-tolerant landscaping.
Making sure your irrigation system is set up with properly designed zones supports water-efficient irrigation.
Make sure the company you choose to install your irrigation system includes expert design in your installation cost to ensure you have the right number of zones, expertly planned.
This is really important, but not every landscaping company offers it.
Be wary of irrigation companies that skimp on the number of irrigation heads or zones to reduce materials and labor costs, so they can offer a lower price.
They might install two heads where there really should be three. They might install four zones when five would do a better job.
That means your landscaping might not get the water it needs.
Poor design can mean you waste hundreds to thousands of gallons of water each year. It’s not great for your landscaping’s health, either.
So many details go into the best irrigation system design, and details matter.
Here are just a few of the things Outback irrigation pros do:
We love sprinkler misters for annual flower beds. They deliver the right amount of water to annual flowers, without overwatering. The water droplets are larger, which means more water gets to your plants — not carried away by the wind.
Tight spaces are a challenge, like that skinny 20-inch mow strip next to the street. No sprinkler heads are designed for such a tight space. They would overspray, wasting water. So, we bury a soaker hose underground. It delivers the exact amount of water needed with no waste. Bonus: cars parked along the curb don’t get sprayed with excess water. It’s a great example of smart irrigation planning.
High-efficiency rotator sprinkler heads are water-saving wonders, using much less water and water pressure than traditional fan-shaped sprinkler heads. While a typical 10-foot fan nozzle uses four or more gallons of water a minute, a high-efficiency rotator uses just 1/2 gallon of water a minute. If your heads are outdated, we’ll suggest you upgrade.
Let’s talk about your future landscaping plans and get ahead of them. Do you think you might expand your landscaping in the future? Add a garden bed? Plant a few new trees? We can install the valves and pipes for future irrigation zones now, then cap them to activate later. This kind of smart irrigation planning means we won’t have to tear up your yard later in order to add on.
Regular irrigation system inspections bring in irrigation specialists to ensure all your zones are working properly and your Idaho landscaping is getting exactly the right amount of water, with no waste.
Regular irrigation maintenance will also help us catch potential problems before they become big, costly ones.
Q: What's the Difference Between Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler Zones?
A: Instead of spraying large areas like sprinklers do, drip irrigation systems provide water to specific areas of your landscaping. They allow you to target plants rather than covering a wide area all at once.
Some plants and shrubs benefit from small amounts of water delivered right at the plant's root zone.
As the name suggests, this type of irrigation drips water slowly from holes in tubing, which is either installed below ground or on the soil surface.
Drip irrigation uses less water than typical sprinkler systems because it’s applied directly to the plants. There’s no water waste from evaporation because water isn’t spraying into the air.
Outback installs Hunter’s micro-irrigation system, which includes in-line check-valve emitters that prevent debris or plant roots from clogging or disrupting water flow.
If you already have irrigation heads in your plant beds and want to switch to drip irrigation, you don’t have to dig it all up and start from scratch. Irrigation pros can transform your current sprinklers.
Q: How Can Proper Irrigation Zoning Improve Plant Health?
A: Proper irrigation zoning prevents the overwatering or underwatering that happens when entire yards share a single watering schedule.
It stops moisture-loving turf zones from drowning drought-tolerant shrubs or perennials.
Zones with drip irrigation prevent plant foliage from staying too wet. Wet leaves encourage plant diseases, such as fungal diseases.
How do you design an efficient irrigation system for your landscape? Leave it to us.
Whether you’re starting from scratch with a new irrigation system, adding to your existing system or upgrading an older sprinkler system, we have you covered with expert design, installation and maintenance in Idaho Falls and surrounding communities.
Located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, we serve residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Pocatello, Idaho, as well as Bonneville, Madison and Bannock counties and Jackson Hole, WY.
Call us at 208-656-3220, or schedule an onsite consultation. We’d love to hear from you.