Eight common irrigation design mistakes (and how to avoid them)
From unmeasured pressure to mixed technologies, these mistakes cause poor performance and water waste.
1) Designing without measuring pressure
Always measure pressure and flow first. Guessing these values leads to incorrect radius and zone sizing.
2) Mixing pop-up and drip in one zone
Different operating pressure and output profiles make combined zones unstable and inefficient.
3) Ignoring head-to-head overlap
Poor overlap causes dry areas quickly, even when total run time is increased.
4) Overloading a zone
Too many heads on one valve drops pressure across the zone and reduces all throw distances.
5) Ignoring slope effects
Elevation and drainage behavior can create low-point pooling and high-point drought unless addressed in design.
6) Same schedule for every exposure
Full sun and shaded areas evaporate differently and should not run with identical timing.
7) No rain sensor
Without a rain shutoff, systems keep running after storms and waste significant water.
8) No drain planning for winter
Drain points and winterization provisions are cheap during installation and expensive to add later.