Making Sense of Water-Saving Nozzles

When talking to customers about nozzles, the first thing I do is to help them understand precipitation rates by talking about rainfall.

Most customers understand that two inches of rain is a lot, but many will run their spray sprinklers for an hour, unaware that with a water application rate of 1.8 inches per hour or more for most fan-spray sprinklers, they are putting down a rainstorm!

Many would wait a week or more after a rainstorm, but they will automatically run their sprinklers three or more times each week, effectively raining on their landscape every other day! It’s no wonder that urban gutters run like streams in the middle of a dry summer.

There are many types of nozzles on the market today. In this case we would look for brands that use lower flows than traditional spray nozzles and provide more uniform coverage. Nozzles that use fewer gallons per minute can also help reduce the pressure loss on overextended systems.

Lower flows also mean lower precipitation rates, which means milder ‘rainstorms’, allowing the soil to soak up the water more effectively and reducing runoff into sidewalks and gutters. And when the nozzles are truly matched in precipitation rates, the coverage for the landscape becomes more uniform, reducing brown or saturated spots in the lawn and improving the health of the landscape.

Efficient nozzles are a great way to reduce water waste, promote healthier landscapes. AND feel good about running your sprinklers!