Q. How come I see watering occurring at certain parks and schools during the day?
A. Some parks and schools receive water from on-site private wells or have irrigation water rights from a pond, the Deschutes River or it is delivered by some other provider, so our regulations do not apply. Because of evening and varying use of fields (football games to festivals), watering must occur at off times. At other times, irrigation variances are granted for rehabilitation work, for using sophisticated weather-based watering systems, re-seeding and other reasons as necessary. Variances will be granted to those installing certified smart watering controller technology.
Call Ric at 317-3040 for more information on obtaining a variance for your new controller.
Q. Every time a month has a 31st day, I have to reset my irrigation timer. Is there any way around this?
A. Yes, for example several manufacturers make timers that allow for even or odd days and automatically will not water on the 31st. These units are sold by many landscape professionals and cost a bit more but make watering easy.
Q. Water runs off my property when I water, what should I do?
A. Most irrigation run-off is caused by improperly set run times (too long), poorly adjusted sprinkler heads, compacted or sloped soil. The other big culprit is watering in the windy afternoons. To stop the problem, try to water in the morning, adjust sprinklers regularly and know your soil conditions. Buy a timer with a "cycle" and "soak" feature that can split up your run time to adjust for your site conditions. Concrete and asphalt will not grow no matter how much they are watered!
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