It is now officially the beginning of Michigan’s irrigation season. Many people start to irrigate their lawns as early as May. However, with the unusually wet spring, many people have postponed this task until now.  What you might not know is that it is actually better for you to wait until we get warm and dry weather to irrigate your lawn so that the roots will grow deeper searching for water.

Do you have an irrigation system for your lawn?

Most lawns need an inch to an inch and a half of water each week.  It generally takes 30 minutes to produce a half an inch of water; so 20 minutes, 3 times a week will get you 1 inch of water on your lawn, and 30 minutes 3 times a week will give you 1 ½”.

It’s always best to hire a professional contractor to start up your irrigation system, however, if you choose to do it yourself here are some things you should consider:

• Open the system valve slowly to allow the pipes to fill gradually.
• Manually activate each zone from the controller.
• Walk each zone to check for the proper operation.
• Check for leaks.

Please remember, lawn irrigation is the main contributor to the City’s peak-time demand for water volume. The City pays a higher rate for water during peak times and less during the night. The rates we pay are passed on to you in the form of your monthly water bill.

To minimize water rate increases, Auburn Hills has lawn irrigation restrictions. Lawn irrigation can be done between the hours of 12AM – 5AM. In addition, property owners with even-numbered addresses should water on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.  Odd-numbered addresses should water on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. If we all work together, we can reduce the need for rate increases in the future.

Mark Michling, Manager of Public Utlities