What is Average Cost of City Water For Irrigation System?
In certain areas today, many residential irrigation systems are hooked up to a city water supply which is metered and the water has to be paid for. If you are lucky enough to have a well and pump then you don't have to worry about this. The downside to having a well and pump are the maintenance costs associated with it, but normally the cost of maintaining a well and pump will still be lower than the cost of running a sprinkler system on city water.
Some people have no choice but to go to city water because the area they live in will not allow wells drilled below a certain depth or there is just no good strata layer to be able to get the water from. Systems that are connected to city water need a back-flow prevention device to protect our potable water from being contaminated with dirt and containment such as fertilizers applied to the lawn that can creep back in the system when the pop-up heads retract.
So, how much does running an irrigation system on city water cost? Well it really depends on several different things. First of all, how large is your yard? How large is the system? How many heads, what's their flow rate? Also, how often do you run the sprinklers? How does your city or county charge you for the water used? Is there a separate meter for the system?
All the above factors will determine how much it's going to cost you. For example, in our city and county they no longer have separate meters for irrigation systems. The older houses that do are grand-fathered in. Those systems connected to city water that are on the same meter as the house will get charged for sewer fees on top of water fees (except houses with septic tanks). The yards that have a separate meter will get charged for water consumption, but not sewer. Getting charged extra for sewer really doesn't seem fair when you are applying it to the lawn, not flushing it down the toilet, but that is how it works in some places. What makes it even worse here is that sewer is charged at 110% of the water usage!
So, sorry to answer a question with a bunch of questions, but all of those things are important in determining the cost. Just to give you an average, I would say that having a lawn sprinkler system hooked up to city water can cost you about an extra $120 per month during the summer. Like I said, that is just an average or ball-park based on an average sized yard and system. Your price could vary up or down obviously.
Those are the prices some must pay in order to maintain a healthy lawn and beautiful landscape. You can save money in the Fall & Winter by cutting down the cycle run-time on your system. In many areas you can completely shut it off in certain months because of freezing conditions. In warmer climates it is good to run the sprinklers at least once per week because even though the grass and shrubs may go dormant, they still have a root system that needs water. If your system is on a well and pump, another benefit of running your sprinklers at least once per week would be to keep the parts moving and working. With systems connected to wells with a lot of debris, especially iron, the insides of the pump, pipes, and heads tend to dry out and cake up with 'crud' which can cause multiple problems when you turn the sprinklers back on in the Spring.
Is the cost of using city water worth it for you? Well, that depends on how badly you want to have and maintain a good lawn and nice landscape. If you can get a well in your area, then I would recommend doing so, especially if you have a large yard. Well water has more nutrients and not all that chlorine like city water. However you may have no choice but to use city water and if that's the case then just consider it one of the maintenance costs associated with maintaining a beautiful home.
Scott Young
Irrigation Systems
Some people have no choice but to go to city water because the area they live in will not allow wells drilled below a certain depth or there is just no good strata layer to be able to get the water from. Systems that are connected to city water need a back-flow prevention device to protect our potable water from being contaminated with dirt and containment such as fertilizers applied to the lawn that can creep back in the system when the pop-up heads retract.
So, how much does running an irrigation system on city water cost? Well it really depends on several different things. First of all, how large is your yard? How large is the system? How many heads, what's their flow rate? Also, how often do you run the sprinklers? How does your city or county charge you for the water used? Is there a separate meter for the system?
All the above factors will determine how much it's going to cost you. For example, in our city and county they no longer have separate meters for irrigation systems. The older houses that do are grand-fathered in. Those systems connected to city water that are on the same meter as the house will get charged for sewer fees on top of water fees (except houses with septic tanks). The yards that have a separate meter will get charged for water consumption, but not sewer. Getting charged extra for sewer really doesn't seem fair when you are applying it to the lawn, not flushing it down the toilet, but that is how it works in some places. What makes it even worse here is that sewer is charged at 110% of the water usage!
So, sorry to answer a question with a bunch of questions, but all of those things are important in determining the cost. Just to give you an average, I would say that having a lawn sprinkler system hooked up to city water can cost you about an extra $120 per month during the summer. Like I said, that is just an average or ball-park based on an average sized yard and system. Your price could vary up or down obviously.
Those are the prices some must pay in order to maintain a healthy lawn and beautiful landscape. You can save money in the Fall & Winter by cutting down the cycle run-time on your system. In many areas you can completely shut it off in certain months because of freezing conditions. In warmer climates it is good to run the sprinklers at least once per week because even though the grass and shrubs may go dormant, they still have a root system that needs water. If your system is on a well and pump, another benefit of running your sprinklers at least once per week would be to keep the parts moving and working. With systems connected to wells with a lot of debris, especially iron, the insides of the pump, pipes, and heads tend to dry out and cake up with 'crud' which can cause multiple problems when you turn the sprinklers back on in the Spring.
Is the cost of using city water worth it for you? Well, that depends on how badly you want to have and maintain a good lawn and nice landscape. If you can get a well in your area, then I would recommend doing so, especially if you have a large yard. Well water has more nutrients and not all that chlorine like city water. However you may have no choice but to use city water and if that's the case then just consider it one of the maintenance costs associated with maintaining a beautiful home.
Scott Young
Irrigation Systems
posted by Irrigationman at
6:38 AM
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