SAVE $ ON IRRIGATION WATER BILL

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi Everyone,

We just received our first water bill - we used 30,000 gallons of water for irrigation for our lawn. We should have only used 4,000 gallons.

We bought a resale.

We called the Water Department and was informed that each zone should only be on once a week and for only 15 minutes.

To determine if your water system is on to long check your meter or see if there is water drainoff going into the gutters on the street. If there is water there, your irrigation system is on to long.

The irrigation system was set by who ever in The Villages has this responsibility, previous owners assumed it was set properly and never checked out their water bill. They felt that the irrigation system was set properly.

Hope this info helps someone.

Hyacinth Bucket

[784caroline]

Just curious how many zones are you watering and how long were your zones set for? Some need to be longer than 15 minutes for they cover more area especially where run off is not a problem. I find it highly improbable that you will reduce a 30,000 galllon useage to only 4,000 gallons and still provide sufficient water to your grass especialy in the heat of the season. I think I am running about 6 or 7 zones and my low irrigation water useage has been 12,000 with a peak of 22,000...the difference being it rained some months just before the sprinker system was set to run.

[Sidney Lanier]

I understand that the problem is that there is a major leak in one of the five zones of the water system, and that that leak has been there virtually from day one of the house. Apparently the original owners never questioned it, since it was incredibly high from the very beginning, that is, no sudden change. No matter how many zones, we are restricted to running the sprinklers to once a week on a day specified in our water bills for a maximum of 20 minutes. The AVERAGE usage of a house in TV is about 4,000 gallons a month, according to the water department; it could be more or less. If the settings on the sprinkler control panel are out of whack, this could certainly account for a larger than usual bill; however, if there's a leak and that gets fixed, it will make a considerable difference in the water bill, particularly if the settings were higher than that allowed by water restrictions and THIS is adjusted at the same time as the leak is repaired.

[chuckinca]

Why would the size of the zone determine the time of watering. I would think that larger zones have more heads and the heads have a set flow rate that would be the same in each zone.

I was running 17K gallons a month and discovered one zone was on for 40 minutes also the system was running twice a week. All used in irrigation

Changed it to all 15 minute run times and once a week - haven't got a new bill yet to see what effect the changes did to the consumption.

I did note that the water per gallon cost in Fla is about 1/2 what we pay in our area of Cali; however, the sewer is double the Cali rate - - - so it is about even for the two.

[Barefoot]

If anyone knows how to reprogram a watering system, please come to my house immediately. ;D

[Sidney Lanier]

Me again. From our experience, even without the issue of the leak, it seems to me to be worthwhile for EVERY Villages homeowner to check the settings on the irrigation system (the box in on the outside wall of the garage) not only to conform to the water restriction requirements but also to see if the way it's currently programmed is resulting in irrigation water bills higher than necessary!

[chuckster]

Hi Everyone,

We just received our first water bill - we used 30,000 gallons of water for irrigation for our lawn. We should have only used 4,000 gallons.

We bought a resale.


The irrigation system was set by who ever in The Villages has this responsibility, previous owners assumed it was set properly and never checked out their water bill. They felt that the irrigation system was set properly.



Not sure of the size of you home but hope this helps..

We bought our Gardenia new 3+ years ago south of 466. After closing the installer of the irrigation (Tri County Landscape) stopped to check the system and show us how to change the times for the 6 zones.

Winter requires less water as most vegetation is dormant and therefore 15 minutes per zone is adequate once per week. We average 6500 gal. per month (winter). During growing season the zones are reset to 40 - 45 minutes and useage obviously increases.

We had Tri County return for service (2 years ago) as a lightning strike in the area ruined the circuit board in the timer. We also recently had one of the many irrigation installer/service companies available in the area, adjust and replace heads broken by our lawn service. System does require adjustments and periodic checks that the homeowner can do to check proper spray patterns and zone times.

Hope this helps.

[villager99]

i've found it best to have the heads and controller checked by someone knowledgeable at least once a year.
power surges have blown my fuses twice in 8 years and those resets put the system back to factory settings. lawn mowers damage sprinkler head even with donut holes around them, etc.

[zcaveman]

I would advise you to check with your Weed care person to see what the watering cycles should be. NOT your lawn mower person but your weed care person. Mine told me that the spray sprinklers (left to right) need more time than the local spray (up and down) sprinklers because they have to cover a larger area and need more time to water the same area as an up and down sprinkler would need.

However, when the morning dew or the rain god is doing the watering, I turn the entire system off.

Do not depend on the rain sensor to turn off the system as I have seen plenty of yards being watered when it is raining.

[Muncle]

If anyone knows how to reprogram a watering system, please come to my house immediately. ;D

If it's a Hunter, I've got the manual in adobe format that I'd be glad to send you. I didn't get one with my system, so I found it and downloaded. Really helped.

Send me your email address (I promise I will not sell it or send spam, much.)

[chuckinca]

I would advise you to check with your Weed care person to see what the watering cycles should be. NOT your lawn mower person but your weed care person. Mine told me that the spray sprinklers (left to right) need more time than the local spray (up and down) sprinklers because they have to cover a larger area and need more time to water the same area as an up and down sprinkler would need.

However, when the morning dew or the rain god is doing the watering, I turn the entire system off.

Do not depend on the rain sensor to turn off the system as I have seen plenty of yards being watered when it is raining.



Thanks zc - that would explain the longer time on larger zones.

[784caroline]

One easy maintenance item is that you should all have "Doughnut pods" around your sprinker heads. This will minimize...not prevent...damage to your sprinkler heads from a lawn mower and riding mowers are heavy and can cause some damage that will result in leaks.
Even if you have dougnuts installed they require maintenance. Due to lawn mowers riding over the dougnuts they can sink and your sprinkler head may not be dropping as deep as they were when first installed. Every 6 months or so the donughuts should be lifted and repositioned over the sprinker head. This can easily be done by a homeowner. SImply dig the doughut up, clear all grass around the head, you may have ot add some sand, and replace the doughnut ...believe me this maintenace will take care of most of your sprinkler head problems especially preventing broken heads.

[captain1202]

Our lawn is quite brown at the moment and our weed guy said to water at 60 min/zone (7 zones) for the next month before he fertilizes.

I have gone around and checked all heads for leaks and spray patterns. Noted several loose collars on the rotary heads which not only caused the spray pattern to be generously covering my neighbors lawn as well, but also causing a good deal of leakage.
Next step is to examine more closely for leaks from the base.

Also, on the rotary heads, the size of the red,blue,green nozzle insert determines the gpm output of the head. Check your manual for details.

I believe the best way to test for proper watering amounts is this: Put some flat tins or tuna cans around the lawn. Run the zone for a pre-determined amount of time, say 15 minutes. Check the depth of water in the cans,average them out and multiply by 4 for your hourly rate.
Most St. Aug. experts seem to recommend either 3/4" or 1" of water per week. It is best to water infrequently and deep. Get a rain gauge so you can take into account any rainfall for the week.

1" of water per sq. foot = .6234 gals so it's easy to estimate your usage and needs from there and calculate your needs and usage.

By doing the math you can also determine if you should be looking for leaks.

Also having maintained over 3 acres of "putting green" lawn for several years I can attest that longer is better, 3"-4" at least. Helps keep the lawn moist in the dry spells and captures and better utilizes rainfall.

Hope this helps.

[784caroline]

Captain1202

Can I ask what is your water bill if you are doing 7 zones at 60 minutes each. It has to be in the $200-300 range!!

[Bernie]

For more helpful tips check the following:

http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/

[drdodge]

I live south of 466 and have the greenest lawn in my area and my water bill and trash combined was $52.99 last month. I used 5000 gals of water on lawn. non believers send me an email and I will send copy of bill
drd

[chuckinca]

Captain 1202 said:

"1" of water per sq. foot = .6234 gals so it's easy to estimate your usage and needs from there and calculate your needs and usage."

I agree with his math (seemed high until I checked it out)

With 5000 SF of lawn watered 4 times a month to 1" each time would amount to about 12,500 gals a month @ .002/Gal = $25 for water and maybe twice that for sewer.

[captain1202]

784caroline,

re: bill.....I dare not find out. I am going to do it for 1 month only then re-assess. We did very little watering in Dec & Jan due to damp weather. I really think our problem is cutting too short and have instructed the lawn guy to cut at 4", and not to cut 'til it gets there.

I am watering to humor the fertilizer man but I'm not convinced the water is the problem, particularly in view of the rain we have had the last 2 months.

[opbob77]

My sprinklers were set by the installer right after closing. Then I signed up for Fertigater, which is fabulous. They fertilize, do weed control, and bug control right through the sprinker system. They also readjusted my sprinkler heads and changed my watering time from 30 to 40 minutes once a day to 15 minutes twice a day, early in the AM and late at night, but still only the one day per week. If your sprinklers are on for more than 15 minutes and you see gallons of water running off your lawn and down the street, then get the system corrected. You are paying for all that water that is going into the storm drains!!

[jjdees]

One way to determine if you have a leak is to check your meter. A lot of meters have a small triangular red pointer that should be at a standstill if no water is being used. Make sure all your water is off and make sure no water use is taking place while you visually check the pointer and if you see movement, you have a leak. 30000 gallons is an awful lot to use on TV size lots.

[Sidney Lanier]

No matter how out of whack the settings were on the control panel (and they were REALLY out of whack!), as the man from the water department pointed out after resetting them, it still could NOT possibly account for the 30,000 gallon usage, meaning there is definitely a leak. Checked the water department records to discover that the previous owners were paying astronomical water bills from day one (when the house was new), so they had no idea that anything was wrong because nothing WENT wrong while they lived here (that is, a dramatic change). Tomorrow we're getting in a man from the company that actually installed the system when the house was built, he will locate and fix the leak, and then we'll see what he has to say. The man from the water department did lift the cover on the irrigation gauge to show me that the little red triangle stood stock still, but we realized that when the system was irrigating, apparently enough of it was running out through the leak that the usage was enormous--but only when the system was actually on, not 24/7. Will post again when we find out the story tomorrow....

[784caroline]

Captain 1201
I suggest you take your "nitro pill" when you read your bill for based on what you previously posted...your water bill is going to be BIG....I mean HUGE. Just take a DEEP breath and let us know the outcome.
I would say the he__ with the fertilizer man!!! Also be careful not to cut your grass tooooo short for Zozia requires regular cuts at a higher lever than what we are used to up north

[drdodge]

HB
I fertilize about every 3 months

drd

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi DRD,

What type of fertilizer and brand do you use?

Since you are having such good results would want to use the same one. I have no idea when and if this grass has ever been fertilized. Do I need to know what they put down before I put the fertilizer on?

Thanks,

HB

[drdodge]

HB
I do not use any particular brand. I use a brand that is for my particular grass and spread it on lawn according to the instructions on bag. I do my own lawn maintenance so I get a fertilizer that will take care of weeds and certain bugs.I get my supplies from Home Depot
or Lowes
drd

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi DRD,

We have St. Augustine grass. Do you have this type of grass?

HB

[Sidney Lanier]

The leak is fixed! Turned out that when our neighbor had some edging put in around his beds, the fellow who did it for him broke off one sprinkler completely, leaving the end in the ground (meaning that every time it was on, it was like leaving a hose running with full pressure...). In addition, the dolt buried a second sprinkler to the point that it could not pop up to water, leaving a large segment of lawn unwatered. Our neighbor felt bad and insisted on paying for the repair.

The repairman (from the company that had installed the system to begin with) then set the controls in accordance with the water restriction requirements and explained that the zones sprinkle in sequence starting at whatever time. We deferred to him, and he suggested starting at five a.m., two of the ones (oscillating heads) needing a half hour each and the other three (strictly sprinklers) needing 15 minutes each. He also explained that the St. Augustine grass that we have tends to grow thicker vertically over time, meaning that the heads may need to be nudged up periodically. (They are on flexible lines.) All other water programs are turned off, and now we'll see how it works. We are VERY pleased with the work this man does and would highly recommend him to anyone needing work done with his or her sprinkler system; he's also a landscaper and I would suspect does quality work.

Now we have to see how future bills look....

[hedoman]

Hi all

We just got our first bill and, holy moly, we used 23,000+ gallons and we aren't even down there yet. So in 2 weeks we will need to do what has been suggested here to figure out why etc. It's a premier resale on a large lot at the end of a cul-de-sac....

My question is how many times a week do you water and does it change during the year. Do you shutoff system december/Jan once a week until May/ 2 times a week in the summer etc......?

Thanks for your help

[Sparky-30]

I always do my water manually, e.g. cut on zone 1 for 10 minutes at a time, always leave yourself a note so you wont forget to cut off.

[Bogie Shooter]

Hi all

We just got our first bill and, holy moly, we used 23,000+ gallons and we aren't even down there yet. So in 2 weeks we will need to do what has been suggested here to figure out why etc. It's a premier resale on a large lot at the end of a cul-de-sac....

My question is how many times a week do you water and does it change during the year. Do you shutoff system december/Jan once a week until May/ 2 times a week in the summer etc......?

Thanks for your help

According to Water Wizard on VCDD web site a premier north of 466 total water usage should average 21200 gal. South of 466 outdoor usage should average 17700/month. More info here:
http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/content/HowMuch1109.pdf

[downeaster]

Our lawn is quite brown at the moment and our weed guy said to water at 60 min/zone (7 zones) for the next month before he fertilizes.

I have gone around and checked all heads for leaks and spray patterns. Noted several loose collars on the rotary heads which not only caused the spray pattern to be generously covering my neighbors lawn as well, but also causing a good deal of leakage.
Next step is to examine more closely for leaks from the base.

Also, on the rotary heads, the size of the red,blue,green nozzle insert determines the gpm output of the head. Check your manual for details.

I believe the best way to test for proper watering amounts is this: Put some flat tins or tuna cans around the lawn. Run the zone for a pre-determined amount of time, say 15 minutes. Check the depth of water in the cans,average them out and multiply by 4 for your hourly rate.
Most St. Aug. experts seem to recommend either 3/4" or 1" of water per week. It is best to water infrequently and deep. Get a rain gauge so you can take into account any rainfall for the week.

1" of water per sq. foot = .6234 gals so it's easy to estimate your usage and needs from there and calculate your needs and usage.

By doing the math you can also determine if you should be looking for leaks.

Also having maintained over 3 acres of "putting green" lawn for several years I can attest that longer is better, 3"-4" at least. Helps keep the lawn moist in the dry spells and captures and better utilizes rainfall.

Hope this helps.

Read the above carefully. Actually measuring the amount of water in water gauges ( as captain mentions, tuna cans will do) is the only practical way to go. The length of time any head should run is determined by the size of the nozzle (GPM, gallons per minute) and the area that head is covering (square feet). The GPM of a nozzle is determined, in part, by the water pressure.

Instead of getting out the measuring tape and inspecting each nozzle for its GPM, just get out those tuna cans and measure the results. If you are getting one half inch and want one inch just double the time on that zone. If you get one half inch in one part of the zone and one inch in another part, you will have to change nozzles to get an even output.

Having said all of that, I just noticed some wilted spots in my St, Augustine grass It is time for me to practice what I, and the captain, preach.