Best Practices & Standards

Turf & Landscape Best Management Practices

The Irrigation Association developed turf and landscape best management practices to provide stakeholders with tools to understand, implement and manage irrigation systems. BMPs include:

  • Assure overall quality of the irrigation system.
  • Design the irrigation system for efficient and uniform water distribution. 
  • Install the irrigation system to meet design criteria.
  • Maintain the irrigation system for optimum performance.
  • Manage the irrigation system to respond to changing water requirements.

Irrigation System Design

Irrigation systems should be designed to be efficient, distribute water uniformly, conserve and protect water resources, and meet state and local code and site requirements. Criteria to consider in system designing include soil type, slope, root depth, plant materials, microclimates, weather conditions and water source.

 

Practice Guideline Summary

(Download the complete Turf & Landscape Irrigation Best Management Practices.)

 

This guideline was created to facilitate development of specifications that address local landscape needs while protecting water supplies. Policymakers and other stakeholders should adopt only those guidelines that apply to local needs.

 

To ensure that the irrigation system is designed to efficiently and uniformly distribute water, and conserve and protect water resources, the irrigation designer should:

  1. Obtain direct knowledge of site conditions rather than relying solely on plot plans to generate a design.

     
  2. Meet all applicable state and local codes, including plumbing and electrical codes.

     
  3. Specify manufacturer, model, type and size of all components to eliminate ambiguity at construction and facilitate management of the system. Component selection should be based on design parameters, environmental conditions and code requirements.

     
  4. Design the irrigation system to minimize installation and maintenance problems. Selection and placement of sprinkler and drip/micro-irrigation components should be guided by larger plants’ expected size.

     
  5. Provide a complete irrigation design package to the owner of the system.

     
  6. Apply accepted rules of maximum safe flow rate for municipal water suppliers with the lowest safe flow rate prevailing as the design guideline.

     
  7. Where applicable, specify a water source that meets peak demands for landscape water with an irrigation duration of no more than 10 hours per day.

     
  8. Specify water source protection in accordance with state and local requirements. Where no requirements exist, assess risk and specify an appropriate backflow prevention device.

     
  9. Specify a metering device that measures the total landscape water use separate from other use (required for commercial installations and recommended for residential installations).

     
  10. For systems on a municipal supply, allow for a reduction in static pressure of up to 10 psi to accommodate possible expansion in the supply network.

     
  11. Specify pressure regulation where variable or excessive static pressure exists.

     
  12. Specify the recommended operating (working) pressure at the maximum design flow rate of the system.

     
  13. For zones with drip/micro-irrigation, specify appropriate equipment and techniques.

     
  14. Select components and design zones to achieve the following minimum operational lower quarter distribution uniformity (DULQ) or emission uniformity (EU).
    Type of Zone  Type of Uniformity  Minimum Uniformity 
    Spray DULQ  .55
    Rotor DULQ  .70
    Drip/Micro-Irrigation EULQ  .80

     
  15. Design the layout of heads and other emission devices for zero overspray across or onto a street, public driveway or sidewalk, parking area, building, fence or adjoining property.

     
  16. Specify any required equipment changes in a way that meets or exceeds the minimum DULQ, EU and overspray criteria.

     
  17. Design sprinkler head spacing with a minimum of "head-to-head" coverage unless needed for wind de-rating.

     
  18. Use separate station/zones (hydrozones) for areas with dissimilar water or scheduling requirements.

     
  19. Selecting system components to avoid surface runoff.

     
  20. Locate sprinkler heads based on a thorough evaluation of physical, environmental and hydraulic site conditions, including typical wind conditions during the normal irrigation period.

     
  21. Use drip/micro-irrigation where appropriate to reduce evaporation losses and surface runoff, and to avoid applying water on hardscapes.

     
  22. Provide a monthly irrigation water budget.

     
  23. In regions where a landscape water allowance applies, include an estimate of the future monthly landscape water allowance.

     
  24. Provide monthly base irrigation schedules with operating recommendations for each station/zone based on appropriate criteria.

     
  25. Recommend appropriate and economically feasible water-saving concepts and equipment.