[Chellybean]

They have NO,NO,NO, NO"expert" from Superior Services . Read up and learn the system period. if your rain sensor is shutting off to soon change your corks in the roof sensor, they are drying out and probably have fungus and mold on them. they should be changed once a year ( about 7 bucks. central pump in Leesburg is the hunter rep. its not rocket science and needs to be altered regular due to climate change. I cringe this months bill will be due to the 3 weeks with no rain and 95 degree weather. setting these units even with the solar sync and walking away for 3 months doesn't cut it and they need continuous tweaking depending on certain parts of your lawn not doing well assuming that you have the correct heads and coverage. not to mention the heads need frequent maintenance also. furthermore to turn off your rain sensor without troubleshooting it for problems is a bone head move. good luck.
p.s. if you have Zoyia god help you, it is a endless cycle of treatment and correct watering! all these brown spots are either sod worm(moths all over the place) moll crickets. Fungus etc... take your pick when you have brown and dead spots, including over watering and rotting the root system.

[Toymeister]

Neighbor #1 corner lot, 'water until it is green' total usage 2018, 186,880 gallons. Highest month September 27,140 gallons. June 2018:13,280, 2017; 19,290. Lawn looks great all the time.


Neighbor #2 corner lot, 'I don't care about cost of water' total usage 2018; 248,950 gallons Highest July 42,370 gallons. June 2018; 13,260; 2017; 19,940. Lawn/yard looks overgrown.

Neighbor #3 corner lot, 'water is expensive' total 2018: 22,820; 2017: 36,920. Highest, October: 5,390. June: 3,560. Off four months a year. Lawn looks horrible except for rainy season.

All lots over 8,000 sq ft, zoysia.

[villagetinker]

I have used Joe Tucker and Jim Baumgardener to repair and check the irrigation system and to fine tune, and would recomment both of them.

[DAVES]

Water use depends on, how much you water. When it is hot and dry, little rain, you need to water more to keep your grass green.
Obviously, a larger lawn will need more water to cover than a smaller one. Then run time to apply what you have decided is the needed amount of water depends on the heads you have and the water pressure you have.

You can not worry about all the above. Scatter cans around you lawn. Washed cat food, tuna type cans work great and you can easily measure how much water comes out in a known time as well as how evenly your lawn is covered. Once you know the problems, you can find and correct the issue. You could have blocked heads.
Missing heads-they are often hit by mowers or plants blocking the head pattern.

As to cost. We actually have at least two different systems in The Villages. In the north they are using drinking quality water for lawn irrigation. In the southern sections it is reclaimed water that is not purified enough to drink-a separate system al together.
On the reclaimed system those who use more water actually pay more per gallon. Sort of like a graduated tax. Your price per gallon starts at the least expensive rate and as you use up each block, it goes to the next higher rate per gallon. If, you call your water supplier surely they can explain it, better than I, tailored to your particular bill.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I have used Joe Tucker and Jim Baumgardener to repair and check the irrigation system and to fine tune, and would recomment both of them.

We use Jim (352-504-2317) and have found him responsive and capable

[biker1]

The term "reclaimed water" is often used to describe treated waste water from a sewage treatment plant. If this is what you mean, "reclaimed water" is not used for residential irrigation in The Villages. It is, however, used for golf course irrigation.

Originally Posted by DAVES

Water use depends on, how much you water. When it is hot and dry, little rain, you need to water more to keep your grass green.
Obviously, a larger lawn will need more water to cover than a smaller one. Then run time to apply what you have decided is the needed amount of water depends on the heads you have and the water pressure you have.

You can not worry about all the above. Scatter cans around you lawn. Washed cat food, tuna type cans work great and you can easily measure how much water comes out in a known time as well as how evenly your lawn is covered. Once you know the problems, you can find and correct the issue. You could have blocked heads.
Missing heads-they are often hit by mowers or plants blocking the head pattern.

As to cost. We actually have at least two different systems in The Villages. In the north they are using drinking quality water for lawn irrigation. In the southern sections it is reclaimed water that is not purified enough to drink-a separate system al together.
On the reclaimed system those who use more water actually pay more per gallon. Sort of like a graduated tax. Your price per gallon starts at the least expensive rate and as you use up each block, it goes to the next higher rate per gallon. If, you call your water supplier surely they can explain it, better than I, tailored to your particular bill.

[Velvet]

What is a good substitute native plant for these grasses that does not need watering? The irrigation in TV seems to not only cost a lot of money but also probably contributes to sinkholes. In the city my front lawn is beautifully landscaped no special watering required. A little weeding, a little mulch. Done.

[Chatbrat]

Too, bad we can't use "astro" turf, in most of the postage stamp was in TV , it would be a very economical & eco-friendly way to go, no mowing, no irrigation, no fertilization, no weeds, etc--

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

Too, bad we can't use "astro" turf, in most of the postage stamp was in TV , it would be a very economical & eco-friendly way to go, no mowing, no irrigation, no fertilization, no weeds, etc--

I thought artificial turf was allowed. When I first moved in, I got a quote for it, but it was very expensive.

[Chatbrat]

What would have been break even, subtract irrigation, subtract maintenance & mowing-we have to spend @ least $2000./year in 10 yrs e have spent $20K

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by Velvet

What is a good substitute native plant for these grasses that does not need watering?

We have replaced virtually all of our grass with Asian jasmine. It stays low (there is also a dwarf version) and covers the ground quickly, blocking out the weeds. The Villages uses it a lot around trees. We have been able to drop Massey pest control and green up, and cut watering times in half.

We presented a plan of the garden to Architectural Review, who are very keen on things like this and approved it at their next weekly meeting.

[rjm1cc]

You should not water over two times a week in the summer (and have system off most or all of the rainy season) and one time in the winter months.

[rexxfan]

Originally Posted by Tom52

OP here, to answer a few questions, we have a corner lot but not large, maybe 8,000 sq ft., with a designer home approx. 2000 sq. ft. Last statement said we used 40,000 gallons. No water running down street and no apparent leaks that I can see. System was checked and all heads function properly and are aimed correctly. System set up to water 3 days per week. I am thinking cut back watering to twice per week. I have already turned the water sensor back on.

We have a similar situation (corner lot, not large, designer approximately 2000 sq ft). In May we used 13,500 gallons for irrigation.

That's for four zones, 2 cover large areas of the lawn, one covers a smaller lawn area plus some shrubs and the other covers only shrubs. The first 3 are set to run 45 minutes. The latter 25. We water twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays per the schedule prescribed for our lot on The Villages Water Wisdom site (Am I the only one who follows that?).
--
bc

[Chatbrat]

Most likely, 3 x a weeks 41 minutes for 3 zones, 4 th zone 20 minutes for shrubs

[MorTech]

With Solar Sync active and set at default "3 5" (this will give you typically 50% of your total runtime), set turf to 40 min. and plants to 15 min. Set to run every other day. You can usually just turn off the system from mid-June to mid-Sept. May and October, set it to run everyday.

Try that.