Irrigation, Landscape, Waterfalls, Fountains

    There is more to a sprinkler system than just sprinklers!

Sources of water for irrigation systems could vary depending on what geographic area you are in. What is available to most is some source of municipal water, but other sources include wells, ponds, lakes and rivers. Each may have advantages and drawbacks though.

Wells in coastal areas may or may not be suitable for irrigation over an extended period of time due to salt contents in the water. Wells with these conditions can often be utilized periodically or even all the time depending on the rainfall since it leaches the salts out. It just requires a good management program to be implemented. Wells in other areas may have high concentrations of iron which, when exposed to air, oxidizes into a solid form. This solid form usually doesn't produce a large problem for irrigation, but still can have an affect on a finished system unless considered during design and installation. The iron in the water causes a reddish brown stain and would not be a desirable effect when on that new and nice white home. Also where drip systems or even micro systems are used, it can cause problems with blockages.

Municipal water systems are usually excellent sources of water and are the main supplier of residential and business irrigation systems. They are used because of the availability and because there are often restrictions that doesn't even allow alternatives such as drilling a well. A drawback of course is the cost of the water which in most areas not only has the cost of the water billed, but also taxes and charges added for sewage that must be paid when the sprinkler water never is returned in way of sewage waste water. You should consider having a separate meter installed if you are going to use municipal water as a source of water for you sprinkler. The waste water charges will add up and you may pay for the additional meter quicker than you think. In some areas though, meter costs are much higher than one would expect to be a reasonable charge. If the meter costs are high, you can do a simple costs analysis to determine the payback period and see if it is still worth setting a separate meter.

Ponds or "stock tanks" and lakes also work quite well as irrigation sources. You should be cautioned though and consider the source of the water to a pond or stock tank. Depending on the size of the pond or stock tank, it could be pumped down rather quickly. An example was given that showed that a half-acre pond is used to irrigate a 1 acre area would make the pond will drop 2 inches for every inch of water pumped on the area. Given that, if the area was irrigated with 1 inch per week for a period of 10 weeks, the pond would drop by about 18 to 20 inches. This still may be readily acceptable though if the pond were large enough and depending on the annual or expected rainfall.

Also, if you plan to use drip irrigation, a good filtration for the pond water is not only desirable but is a MUST. Drip systems have extremely small openings and require filters of 150 mesh opening size (150 openings per linear inch) or even less and should be used even with municipal supplied water.