Time to spruce up sprinklers

Americans use 9 billion gallons of water outdoors every day, mainly for watering residential lawns and landscapes. Incorrectly programmed irrigation systems, sprinkler heads pointed in the wrong direction, or leaks could cause a home with an automatic system to waste as much as 30,000 gallons of water each year. As warmer weather approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) WaterSense program asks utilities, retailers, and irrigation professionals to remind customers to check for damage and ensure that their systems are operating efficiently.

During the first weekend in May (or whenever residents start ramping up landscape watering in their region), WaterSense and its partners are encouraging homeowners to give their irrigation systems a water-saving wake-up call, as part of its second annual Sprinkler Spruce-Up. Homeowners can maintain healthy landscapes and save water through four simple steps – inspect, connect, direct, and select:

• Inspect your system for clogged, broken, or missing sprinkler heads and replace where necessary.
• Connect sprinkler heads tightly to prevent water from pooling in puddles and harming plants.
• Direct sprinklers away from driveways and sidewalks to water only where needed.
• Select a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller to replace your clock timer; they use local weather data to water only when needed.     


Visit www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor/watering_tips.html for more information about Sprinkler Spruce-Up. To learn more about joining WaterSense to help promote Sprinkler Spruce-Up or to receive a copy of this infographic for publication, contact the WaterSense Helpline at watersense@epa.gov or (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367).