<h1>Measuring Your Sprinkler&#39;s Water Use</h1>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/resources/guides/gauge-in-grass2.jpg" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; width: 150px; float: left; height: 201px" />You may have heard the phrase &quot;water lawns 1 inch a week.&quot; While this is a good rule of thumb, it is based on your lawn&rsquo;s water needs as averaged throughout the year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Our typical Pacific Northwest summers tend to be long, hot, and dry with rainfall at a minimum.&nbsp; Therefore, it is likely that your landscape may require more water during the summer months and less water during the spring and fall months when the weather tends to be rainier and cooler.</p>
<p>The key to watering efficiently is to frequently adjust the amount you water throughout the growing season as the weather and your plant&rsquo;s water needs change.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>To Do This You Will First Need To Know</h2>
<ul>
	<li>how quickly your sprinkler distributes 1 inch of water<a href="#footnote1">&sup1;</a></li>
	<li>set a <a href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/program-your-sprinkler-system">base schedule</a></li>
	<li>and adjust the watering schedule on a weekly basis using the Consortium&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/weekly-watering-number">Weekly Watering Number</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Four Easy Steps To See How Long It Takes Your Sprinkler To Water An Inch:</h2>
<ol>
	<li>Place two Consortium watering gauges at two different places within your sprinkler&rsquo;s spray range.&nbsp; Then run your sprinkler for 15 minutes<a href="#footnote2">&sup2;</a>. (You may also use a tuna can and a ruler to conduct this test)</li>
	<li>Find the average amount of water (in inches) collected in your gauges.&nbsp; To do this, measure the amount of water in each gauge.&nbsp; Add these amounts together and divide by two.&nbsp;&nbsp; This is the average&nbsp; amount of water your sprinkler puts out in 15 minutes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
		<br />
		(This will provide you with a good guideline amount.&nbsp; For increased accuracy, repeat steps 1 &amp; 2 several times, placing the gauges at different distances from your sprinkler.)</li>
	<li>Use this chart to see how much time it will take you to water one inch.<br />
		<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="graph">
			<thead>
				<tr>
					<th class="first open"><span class="th">Average water<br />
						depth after<br />
						<strong>15 minutes</strong></span></th>
					<th class="open" style="text-align: center"><img alt="" src="/images/table-graph-line.gif" /></th>
					<th class="last"><span class="th">Total time needed<br />
						to water<br />
						<strong>1 inch</strong></span></th>
				</tr>
			</thead>
			<tbody>
				<tr class="first open">
					<td class="first">1/8&quot;</td>
					<td>=</td>
					<td class="last">120</td>
				</tr>
				<tr class="open">
					<td class="first">1/4&quot;</td>
					<td>=</td>
					<td class="last">60</td>
				</tr>
				<tr class="open">
					<td class="first">1/2&quot;</td>
					<td>=</td>
					<td class="last">30</td>
				</tr>
				<tr class="open">
					<td class="first">3/4&quot;</td>
					<td>=</td>
					<td class="last">20</td>
				</tr>
				<tr class="open last">
					<td class="first">1&quot;</td>
					<td>=</td>
					<td class="last">15</td>
				</tr>
			</tbody>
		</table>
	</li>
	<li>Set your <a href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/program-your-sprinkler-system">base schedule</a>. We recommend watering 2 times per week, either before 10 a.m or after 6 p.m when temperatures are cooler.<br />
		<br />
		For example, if after 15 minutes your gauges have 1/2 an inch of water in them, you will need to water a total of 30 minutes per week to get the recommended 1 inch.<br />
		<table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" class="graph">
			<thead>
				<tr>
					<th class="first">&nbsp;</th>
					<th>M</th>
					<th>T</th>
					<th>W</th>
					<th>T</th>
					<th>F</th>
					<th>S</th>
					<th class="last">S</th>
				</tr>
			</thead>
			<tbody>
				<tr class="last">
					<td class="first">Minutes</td>
					<td>&nbsp;</td>
					<td>15</td>
					<td>&nbsp;</td>
					<td>&nbsp;</td>
					<td>15</td>
					<td>&nbsp;</td>
					<td class="last">&nbsp;</td>
				</tr>
			</tbody>
		</table>
	</li>
</ol>
<h2>Take The Next Step:</h2>
<p>If you have an automatic sprinkler system, you will need to program this <a href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/program-your-sprinkler-system">base schedule</a>&nbsp;into your sprinkler&rsquo;s controller.&nbsp; Then you can use the <a href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/weekly-watering-number">Weekly Watering Number</a> to fine tune your system&rsquo;s settings to water your landscape as efficiently.</p>
<h3>Notes:&nbsp;</h3>
<p><a name="footnote1"></a><span class="notes">&sup1;&nbsp;&nbsp; An established lawn needs about 1 inch of water each week and more during hot, dry spells.&nbsp; However, water needs vary from </span><a class="notes" href="http://www.conserveh2o.org/using-water-efficient-plants">plant to plant</a><span class="notes">, so it is best to check with your local garden center or landscape professional on your plant&rsquo;s specific watering needs.</span><br />
	<a name="footnote2"></a><span class="notes">&sup2;&nbsp; If run-off occurs, you will need to run your sprinkler for a shorter time&nbsp;period so that you are applying only the amount of water that your soil can </span>absorb<span class="notes">.&nbsp;Use watering gauges to figure out how much water your system distributes during this time, and then figure out&nbsp;how many times you will have water each week to put down the recommended 1 inch per week.</span></p>
