Irrigation times

Our HOA provides pressurized irrigation water to all of the properties in the neighborhood. The CC&Rs state that pressurized irrigation water will be provided to each lot, and we own the pumps for the system. We've had some problems recently with low pressure due to clogged filters. There's more to it, but that will do for now.

One of the homeowners is now demanding that we implement an irrigation schedule so that we don't have everyone trying to water their lawns at the same time. He claims that our pumps are not big enough to handle that. Technically he is correct: if all pumps are running full-blast, they can provide 4000 galleons/minute, but if everyone has their sprinklers on at the same time, the demand would be for 6000 galleons/minute. However, I doubt if everyone has their sprinklers running at the same time, and other than when we have issues with the filters, we haven't really had problems in the past.

The homeowner wants everyone on a schedule where each property would be assigned a specific two-hour time period during the day when they would be allowed to water. I don't see how we could implement or enforce any type of schedule. For one thing, I don't think our docs give us that authority, and even if they did, I'm sure not going to go prowling the neighborhood at 2:00AM to see who is watering out of turn!

We have thanked the owner for his input, but now he is getting more demanding. Any thoughts on how to tell him to take a hike? Probably the best thing would be to say that we'll put it on the agenda for the annual HOA meeting in November.

Sub-question for our resident Master Gardner Donna - part of this guy's demand is coming from a landscaper telling him that there is no difference between watering at 2:00AM and 2:00PM. I've always been under the impression that it's better to water during the early morning so that the water has a chance to soak in before evaporating in the heat. Any thoughts?

Personally, most of my landscaping is low-water xerescape anyway, and when I do water it, it's through a low-pressure drip system. He can take his schedule and....

Dwight, what Donna wrote is right on. Here in Florida everyone has a "set schedule" as to when they can water their lawns (most counties anyways). If you supply to water to the homes, are you saying that your association dues also pays for the water?

My county has one of the most strict watering schedules. People can water according to the last number of their address. For example, people who's house number ends with a "0" or "1" can water on Monday; those who's house number end with a "2" can water on Tuesday; etc.

It also doesn't matter it they use city water, well water or reclaimed water. They're all required to water on the same schedule---and ONLY between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 4:00 a.m.!

So I can sort of see where that homeowner is coming from.

Dwight,

And another thing, bacteria. mold, mildew and fungus love damp grass and soil and if you have never seen the slugs, they thing the dark is an invitation to a feast on whatever is edible and green.

Anna - yes, our irrigation water (not potable drinking water) is paid for out of HOA dues. It comes out to something like $10/property/year.

Even though our snow pack is a bit under average this year, we aren't really hurting for water. That really isn't the problem. We just occasionally have periods where the pumps can't keep up with the demand - the system wasn't designed for every house to have their sprinklers going at the same time, and I don't think they do. While there are some people who do over-water (probably running every day), I think most are pretty good and only water a couple times/week. There should be enough variation in frequency to keep from having too much demand on the system at any one time.

Donna is reaffirming what I was taught as a kid - don't water in the heat of the day. Shortly before sunup is best, and only water infrequently but deep. As I mentioned most of my yard is xeriscaped, and only gets watered once every couple of weeks when it's really hot, less frequently when it's cool. My little bit of grass gets watered on a four-day schedule. Here is a photo of my garden (hope this works):

Does that look like it's underwatered? If I was restricted to only watering between 4-6 every afternoon, I would probably have all kinds of problems.

When I was a kid the town I grew up in did have water restrictions: houses with an even-number address could water on even-numbered days, houses with an odd-number address could water on odd-numbered days. I might accept a schedule like that since it would still leave the time of day open, but I wouldn't accept the HOA telling me what time I could water.

Plus, I still don't think that the HOA would have that authority.

Thanks for the comments. Especially Donna.

Beautiful! Very pretty!

Dwight,
I'll drink to that.

Dwight,

The systems being proposed by your member is pretty much like the system used here where I live in AZ by property owners who live on "irrigatioin" lots. They are assigned a certain day(s) during the month to turn on the "gates" to allow irrigation water to flow onto their property. When their time is up they must close their "gate" to allow for the next property owner to turn his "gate" on. The system is fraught with problems as some property owners forget to turn their gate on and others forget to turn their gate off. I know this doesn't help with your problem, except but to reinforce your thoughts that it will be very difficult to ensure that everyone does their part to make certain the system works.

Putting this proposal on the agenda for the annual meeting sounds like a good plan. Let the members discuss it and see what happens. They may decide to tar and feather this member for making such a ridiculour proposal and your problems will be over! Or, they may decide it's a good idea and when it doesn't work out the monkey will be on their backs. LOL

I would add that during our last drought we could not water between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The point being that during those hours the water loss was at a max.

But since the problem in your case is more about pressure, I would suggest that perhaps he could shift to a time when the pressure is better. If that fails, then I would move to a voluntary system where those addresses ending in 0-4 water on odd days and 5-9 water on even days. (This prevents all the people on the same side of the street from watering at once.) Keep in mind pressure is not just determined by the pump, but the size of the water line. The thing is that when you tell people when they can water, you could actually make the problem worse.

In many cases the Board actually has a lot of latitude in establishing rules for use of common areas and amenities. You could use the same basis to establish rules regarding the irrigation if needed. I would note that it would be cheaper to have the filters cleaned on a schedule rather then when the system doesn't work properly.