Avoiding Water Waste Violations: Runoff, Broken Heads and Watering in the Rain

Following Fort Worth’s twice-a-week schedule is only part of staying within the city’s watering rules. The rules also prohibit water waste, even on your assigned day and within allowed hours. Most water waste comes from sprinkler systems that need repair or adjustment. This article explains what the city counts as waste and how to fix each cause.

What Fort Worth Counts as Water Waste

The city’s year-round outdoor watering requirements include:

• No water waste through runoff.
• No water waste through missing, misaligned or broken sprinkler heads.
• No watering during precipitation.

Along with the rules on watering days and hours, these apply to every property.

Runoff

Runoff happens when water leaves your property and flows onto streets, sidewalks, driveways or into storm drains. It is one of the most visible signs of waste.

Common causes

• Clay soil that absorbs water slowly
• Slopes where water flows downhill before soaking in
• Spray heads that apply water faster than the soil can take it
• Long run times that keep watering after the soil is saturated
• Heads that spray concrete directly

Fixes

• Split run times into shorter cycles with soak time in between. Our guide to cycle and soak scheduling explains how.
• Replace spray nozzles with lower-rate rotary nozzles.
• Adjust heads so they stop at the edge of the lawn.
• Aerate compacted soil.
• Shorten run times that are longer than needed.

Our article on stopping runoff on clay and slopes covers more options.

Broken Sprinkler Heads

A broken head can gush water, send a geyser into the air or flood the area around it. Beyond the waste, it lowers pressure for the rest of the zone.

Fixes

Replace broken heads promptly. Turn the zone off at the controller until it is repaired. Our guide to sprinkler head repair walks through it.

Missing Heads

A missing head leaves an open fitting that pours water every time the zone runs. This often happens after a mower or vehicle knocks a head off and it gets carried away.

Fixes

Install a new head or cap the fitting if the head is no longer needed.

Misaligned Heads

Heads that spray the street, sidewalk, driveway, fence or house count as misaligned. They are one of the easiest problems to fix.

Fixes

Turn the head, change the nozzle arc or shorten the throw. Our article on heads spraying the street, driveway or house explains how.

Watering During Rain

Running sprinklers while it is raining is prohibited.

Fixes

• Install or repair a rain sensor. Fort Worth requires rain and freeze sensors on residential systems installed on or after June 1, 2007. Test it by pressing its test button or wetting it while a zone runs.
• Make sure the controller’s sensor setting is active, not bypassed.
• Use a rain delay after significant rain.
• Consider a smart controller that skips watering based on weather.

Leaks That Surface

A leaking pipe or valve that sends water into the street is also runoff. Mainline leaks can do this at any hour. Our guide to signs of a hidden sprinkler leak explains how to find them.

Low-Head Drainage

Water draining from the lowest head after a zone stops can flow across a walk or into the gutter. Check valves in the low heads stop it.

Parkway Strips and Corners

The narrow strip between the sidewalk and the street is where most runoff and overspray violations start. It is surrounded by concrete, it heats up fast, and standard spray nozzles almost always hit the pavement. Strip nozzles made for narrow areas help a great deal. So do rotary nozzles designed for strips, which apply water slowly enough for clay to absorb it. Some homeowners replace grass in very narrow strips with mulch or low plants on drip, which removes the problem.

Neighbors and Shared Lines

If you see water in the street in front of your house and your system is off, it may be coming from a neighbor’s yard or from a city line. Trace it back before assuming it is yours. A quick meter test, with all water use off at your house, tells you whether water is flowing through your meter. If it is not, the water is coming from somewhere else, and a neighbor or the city water department may need to know.

A Simple Monthly Habit

Once a month during the growing season, watch your system run on a watering day for a few minutes. Look for runoff, broken heads and overspray. It takes little time and catches most waste problems early. A yearly full inspection, like our zone-by-zone check, covers the rest.

After Repairs

Each time a head is replaced or a zone is changed, run the zone and watch it. New heads are often installed pointing the wrong way, or with a nozzle that throws farther than the old one. A quick check right after the repair catches it before the next watering day.

Why the City Enforces It

The city has stated that failing to follow its watering rules may result in financial penalties, and that high-violation areas are under increased monitoring. Water that runs down the street also carries fertilizer and debris into storm drains. Fixing waste protects the water supply, saves you money and keeps more water in your lawn.

When to Call a Technician

If you have runoff you cannot control, heads that keep breaking, or a sensor that does not work, our sprinkler repair service can repair and adjust the system. Our guide to Fort Worth’s watering schedule covers the day and time rules.