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How to set your sprinklers for the rainy season

Updated . By the OakTend team.

Lawn sprinkler spraying water over green grass on a sunny day

In colder places, winterizing means draining the lines before they freeze. In most of Orange County it means something simpler: fixing broken heads while the plants still need water, then turning the controller down or off for the wet months.

How often
Twice a year: in fall before the rains, and again in spring when you turn it back up. Pause it after every real rain.
What you need
Small flags or tape, Replacement spray heads or nozzles, Your controller's manual

Why it matters

Most of the year's rain falls from December through March, and a timer set for August will keep watering through a storm. California's water board has long asked people to pause irrigation during rain and for two days after. The Irvine Ranch Water District publishes a month by month watering schedule you can follow. Setting the timer is one of the October jobs on our fall checklist for Southern California homes.

Steps

  1. Run each zone by hand in daylight and watch every head.
  2. Flag any head that is broken, missing, tilted or buried in the grass.
  3. Look for pooling or a soggy patch where the head meets the pipe. That is a leaking joint.
  4. Turn any head that sprays the driveway, sidewalk or a wall back toward the plants.
  5. Fix or replace the flagged heads.
  6. Lower the run times for fall, then switch the controller to off or rain mode for the wettest months.
  7. After a rain, leave it paused for at least two days.

When to call a pro

Call an irrigation contractor if a zone will not shut off, a valve leaks, or you cannot find a leak you suspect. If you are replacing the controller anyway, a WaterSense labeled smart controller adjusts to the weather by itself, and our rebates guide lists local rebates.

Safety

Shallow hand digging around a sprinkler head is normally fine. Before digging deeper to reach a buried pipe, call 811. The service is free and marks where gas and electric lines run; state law asks for at least two working days' notice.

Go deeper

General information, not professional advice. Your equipment's manual comes first when it says something different.

Sources

More outside, roof and yard