New conservation district program offers sprinkler system analysis

MOSES LAKE — Residents of Grant and Adams counties who want to reduce their water use but who may not want to completely change their landscape — or do want to make changes — can get some help from the Columbia Basin Conservation District.  

The district’s new “urban water efficiency program” provides an assessment of sprinkler systems, public and private. Griffin Hansen, CBCD conservation planner, said it’s available to government entities, business and private property owners who have sprinkler systems they want analyzed.  

It’s free of charge.  

Hansen said the goal is to show property owners how to use and improve their sprinkler systems to reduce water use while maintaining a landscape they like. 

“(The landscaping) is an investment,” he said, and the assessment helps landowners maintain it. 

Hansen said he looks at three separate parts of the system, starting with its age and the existing landscaping, checks for broken parts and leaks and determines if it’s properly pressurized and sprinkling where it should. 

“Are there broken (sprinkler) heads? Are there heads that are clogged (or) staying open? (An evaluation of) general efficiency and health of the sprinkler system,” he said. “It involves actually turning on the sprinkler system, zone by zone, walking through, checking it out, seeing how it’s doing, and from there, developing a report that shows the health of the system.”  

The audit also evaluates whether or not the design makes the best use of the space. 

“If you have a pop-up head, and it’s (half a circle) but you have it on corner, half of that water is not watering grass. It might be going on a sidewalk. And if you water the sidewalk, it’s just water wasted,” Hansen said.  

The evaluation also includes “catch cups,” where special plastic measuring cups are set up in a grid on the property and the sprinklers are turned on for a specified time.  

“It allows you to get your inches per hour, things like that,” he said. 

An evaluation can be valuable for an older system, Hansen said. 

“You’re talking about plastic moving parts that are exposed to the elements year-round, so they kind of break down,” he said. “It requires that maintenance.”  

Sprinkler heads also get damaged, sometimes run over by a lawn mower or something else, he said. People change their landscape, and the old sprinkler system may not be the most efficient for the yard’s new look, he said. 

The analysis also helps detect leaking sprinkler heads or lines. 

“That’s one of the reasons why we turn on the sprinkler system when we walk through, is to catch (possible leaks). ‘Okay, there’s water flowing out here. This is definitely not where it should be. Maybe we should check that out,’” he said. 

A lush spot of grass also can be a sign of a leak, he said. 

The analysis comes with a map of the system, suggested repairs and possible alternatives for landscaping. People who want to set up an appointment can contact Hansen at griffin-hansen@columbiabasincd.org, or by calling the CBCD office, 509-765-9618. 

Columbia Basin Conservation District 

Urban Water Efficiency Program 

Free analysis of sprinkler system 

Griffin Hansen, 509-765-9618 

Griffin-hansen@columbiabasincd.org