Lawn Irrigation Volume
 

I have seen other Villages CDD bills...

My Irrigation Use is no where even close to similar.

Here are my numbers for Irrigation Use for 2020:

May 25,360
June 26,130
July 34,060
August 40,510
September 41,750

I do have a corner lot so there is a little more lawn compared to homes that are all in a row.
I do not live here full time so I can't keep control of turning off the System when it is raining for several days.

But, Gee Whiz !! ........this doesn't seem like it should account for tens of thousands of gallons difference.

I have had them come out and check to see if there is a leak and they say no.

At the end of June, I had our Lawn care place come out and set the System.
(In June, even with 26 thousand gallons the lawn was looking burned out)
He changed it to 3 days a week. Added time in some areas. Took a lot of time off in other areas.
So, this is why the # of gallons increased after June.

How many sprinkler heads do you have in your yard? (I think I have about 36)

So, does this sound like the normal amount for a larger lot (not HUGE lot) ?
Or, is something wrong somewhere?

If you have a corner or larger lot, give me an estimate on how much water you are using. Thanks !

I seems like you are using way too much water. I would try cutting the watering time in half for each zone. I don't have a corner lot, but, when I reduced the watering times from 30 minutes per zone to 5 minutes, I didn't notice any difference in the lawn.

WOW you use a lot of irrigation water. We have an average size lawn here in TV and average 3,000-4,000 a month. Our highest month this past year was 6,000 gallons. Zoysia grass here. Perhaps you have another grass type that requires much more.

Your water use sounds like a lot! I have an average size lot smaller than corner lot but I used 6,000 gals last month in irrigation. About the same each month. The Villages Home Management care minder checks on my irrigation system once a week when I am not at home. I have St Augustine grass at the back and Zoysia at the front.

My bill says next month there will be a 2.5% increase.

We have a corner lot, water three times a week for the lawn, approx 1 hour per zone. We have a lot of palms, plants and shrubs and also water them three times a week (not the same days) for 20 minutes per zone. All watering times and frequency are determined by our lawn care company....which is why they were hired. My wife is very happy :). Average usage this summer was about 30,000 gal/mo.

I have not used the sprinklers this year. Too much rain.

Rain Sensor
 

You should have a rain sensor that is mounted to your fascia or gutter . It will be close to where your controller is on the inside. Make sure the sensor is switched to active. The outside sensor has wafers in it that swell when you get rain and prevents the system from running. That may need replacing if not functioning properly. Basically in August and September you should have used little or no irrigation water at all

You probably didn't need to use your system at all this summer with all of the rain we had.
Pop up sprinklers often start to leak around the gasket when they get older. Corner lots have a lot more turf.
The problem with wafer rain sensors in Florida is that 2 hrs. after a downpour, the intense heat dries out the wafers and the system is ready to water again. If you don't live her full time, you can't turn off your system manually for a day or two.

You may have a broken head (s). Have you checked when your system is running? We had several high water bills and then discovered a broken head in the side yard, also a corner lot. Water was spouting out of the broken head.

We have a corner lot and use between 10 and 15 thousand gallons per month depending on conditions. Our yard is great. We have the the sprinklers checked and aligned every three months. This works for us.

Installed Rachio system in late August and now saving water and $. Slightly larger than average (pie shaped) lot. Used to have similar usage as OP. Rain sensor was not reliable. Phone app allows full control of system from anywhere.

Who do you use for Lawn care?

Our soil is sand which does not hold water just runs through. You should go to everyday watering for 10 to 15 minutes. Check that your rain sensor is working it will shut off the water when it rains c

Twice a week . 30 minutes. A zone .get a phone system . save $$$$.

We have a corner lot and for May to August we averaged 11500 gallons. In Sept, the same as the person above, we had landscaping done with palm trees that all needed additional watering. While it did rain quite a bit and we cut back on some of that required watering, we also filled a new hot tub and used 45940 gallons. So for this past month our usage went down to 6820. Sounds like you should cut back especially since the weather will be cooler. And if you are watering during the hottest part of the day it could be that the grass is burning.

I hope you didn't fill the hot tub with reclaimed irrigation water.

I was an irrigation contractor. Do a consumption analysis. Ask how much each head uses.find out if it does a 360 rotation or 90 or 180. Multiply that by minigolf operation per zone times how many days a week.that will give you approximately the usage.

:bigbow:

Rachio is the way to go. Google it. An app goes on your phone and you have total control wherever you are. Easy installation in the garage. We also have a larger pie shaped yard. Our larger bills are maybe 3,000 recently.

I have a 5,450 sf lot, but not on a corner. The sticker in the irrigation controller says to water twice a week and the recommended time for each zone. I think 3 times a week is better, so I took the times, multiplied by 2, and divided by 3 and reset my system to 3 times a week at the resulting reduced time. I use 8,000 to 9,000 gallons per month and everything looks great. However, in June, 2019 we had a lightning strike nearby that screwed up my system and used about 87,000 gallons that month! They replaced the meter and I reset the controller.

You could have a hidden setting that's causing the system to run longer than what you think is set.
If it's a Hunter, go online and view videos on how to set it. If you don't want to spend the time going through as many as twelve
program settings (some systems have 4 sub programs under each A, B & C program), I would reset to factory settings and go from there.

I have a corner property also. Irrigation Prices went through the roof suddenly but I still maintained the same amount of water. Had the system checked and the told me there was nothing wrong with it. I use about 15,000 . I turned the system off and haven’t had it on for about 2 months now. I sporadically turn it on when I think it needs it. Even so I still only watered 2x week for 20 min while the system is on. You might want to have a friend or neighbor check the system monthly like I do. It’s not hard to do

Rain sensors are required by law, so TV installs the cheapest on the market. Get a new/better sensor. I think as some said there are some that can be adjusted by app.

You may want to change your controller. If it is the Hunter, I have seen electrical storms add watering programs. I recently replaced mine for $100 at Lowes, new one by Orbit, called B-Hyve, and it is completely controllable by smart phone anywhere in the world, and I am extremely pleased.
You also may want to have your connection to some computer driven program disconnected. Many adjust water based on some average reading of rain in a huge part of Florida, and we all know rain can change drastically over a 10 mile distance, let alone 200 miles.
I have a huge lot with no pool, no birdcage, and my water is less than yours, and I have all zoysia. Clemson Univ has a good discussion on water for zoysia. check that and then put out some pans to see what your sprinkles are putting out. Takes a bit of time but worth it.
Best guy I know of for quality and reasonable adjustment is Chip Parish, Action irrigation, 352-516-2281. He is independent. I have had 3 big name landscape/lawn service companies, and none of them really knew their stuff. chip does, and he has done many of the lawns in our area.

I have a large corner lot and average 10,000 gals per month. Run system twice a week for 40 minutes at each zone and have 55 sprinkler heads

Agreed
 

We also installed a b-hyve (controller) by Orbit 3 months ago ($99 @ Amazon). Very simple DIY installation. Based on our preliminary calculations the system has paid for itself. The system will automatically delay watering if local weather services forecast 1/4" of rain as well as the rain sensor. You can also control it remotely with the app (if your lawn service company applies lawn treatments).

Post #21, multiple hidden watering programs may be right on the money, I had this happen to my hunter system, usage tripled! Called the water company to check meter reading which they had already done and they told me that in the 3 days between readings I had used 3500 gallons. I manually ran the 7 zones 1 at a time and checked all 36 spray heads. Found one rotator that was not rotating correctly. Had my landscaping come out and they found the multiple watering programs running ALL under the A program, B and C were empty. Had the system reset, and usage back to normal.

Not sure about that hot tub....
 

Not sure about the water usage for the hot tub mentioned above. Normal hot tubs are only 300-600 gallons and most swimming pools are not 46000 gallons.

Anyways, I have a corner lot and average 10,000 to 14,000 gallons when run full time and lately only 5,000 gallons since I only run if it hasn’t rained in a week. Grass looks great. Overwatering will cause lawn problems so should re-adjust your schedule....

I suspect you have a valve stuck partially open which would cause your system to run continuously. Wouldn't necessarily be obvious but would cause it to continuously leak out of the heads on that zone. Look for areas that remain wet or soggy. We have a large corner lot and have never seen usage exceed 5000-6000 gal during the driest periods.

rule of thumb used to be: misters use 15 min., rotators use 45 min.

I'm hoping they didn't just set all zones the same for all 3 days instead of customizing zones based on what was is in those zones;if all bushes you require less time, grass more time;another saving technique is to water grass zones twice on water days (cut time in half) ;come back around a 2nd time and water again;set time to start 2nd watering about 10 minutes after first watering;this allows the water to soak in instead of running down the street;I run grass zones twice and bushes once;bushes 10 mins twice a week is good, winter 7 or 8 mins;also cut grass areas during fall & winter;I do my own landscaping and irrigation set up;I replaced all original hunter sprinklers (myself) with different Hunter rotors for better coverage in grass areas (Hunter PGP or I-20 for large areas (22 to 52 ft) overlapping coverage;(Hunter PGJ 18 to 25 ft areas);due to size of yard, I suspect you already have rotors;I use only hunter sprays because they work better than others and are easier to swap out and adjust if needed;also using hunter sprays C5530 5ftX30FT on sides between yards which uses less water as they spray 5ft out and 15ft each side so you are not watering neighbor's yard;I replaced my Acclaim controller with a new Hunter PRO-C along with a wireless water sensor (installed myself);also wrote up easy to follow instructions for my neighbors so they can set up their own times so I don't have to keep doing it;have you turned on each zone and walked around to make sure you don't have a busted sprinkler head (look under bushes for hidden ones). If you have a Hunter PRO-C no matter old or new I can send you a PDF copy which will explain how to test zones and set up times etc...email me at wilbbb@msn.com and I will send you a copy;good luck

+1 on the B-Hyve, very smart system, reduced my consumption significantly

Many of us were told there were rain sensors in the sprinkler heads which is not true. There has no been a rainy season this year in many parts and we have no say so in the water bill. Villages bought water company and have a monopoly on everything.

How is it possible to do that? Outside spigots are potable water, not irrigation water to the best of my knowledge.

I have a corner lot use about 11k monthly. My lawn is deep green. However, I do my own lawn maintenance. Years ago I was in the business.

Just wondering...

I have a Courtyard villa on a corner lot. I have 84 (yes 84) sprinkler heads spread out over 7 zones. I use between 5k-12k gallons / mo. I am a snow bird but keep eye on yard with camera and yard care person. Grass is doing fine. Get yourself a B-Hybe sprinkler controller. Very easy DYI install. Then u can control from anywhere.

I also have a larger than average (pie shaped) lot. Installed the Rachio system with a water meter a year ago and it works great. It lets me know how much water I use at any time and will automatically turn off a zone if a head breaks and send me a text and email to let me know. It is very easy to install and has saved me a lot of water. If you would like to see how it works you can send me a private message.

I’ve got the same issue but my bills are even higher. Pls let me know what ends up working for you. Thanks

I turn mine off
 

I am a snow bird and when I leave for the summer I turn my sprinklers off. I ask my neighbor if my lawn looks dry, turn them on for a week. I don't think he has ever turned them on. By the way, moisture sensors don't work. Like someone else posted, 2 hrs after a down pour or a week of constant rain, they dry out and turn your system on again.