The purpose of irrigation systems is clear: plants need water, and people aren’t always there to provide it. I realized this when a wildfire consumed my rural California neighborhood in August 2020. During the three-week evacuation, no one was around except for a few brave individuals who stayed behind to fight spot fires and protect homes. They couldn’t tend to gardens, so I expected my garden to be ruined after three weeks of thick smoke that made daylight look like dusk.
To my surprise, my garden not only survived but thrived. Thanks to our battery-powered, gravity-fed drip system that draws from a storage tank on a hill, the garden received two 20-minute watering sessions daily. The tank, which wasn’t needed for fire suppression, remained full enough to sustain the plants. Once power returned, the tank refilled quickly, and we had a bountiful harvest that year.
What Is an Irrigation System?
An irrigation system delivers water where it's needed. Since ancient times, people have used techniques like furrows or terraces to manage rainwater. These low-tech methods are still common in many parts of the world, relying on natural rainfall.
Modern gardeners and landscapers use electricity and advanced methods such as valves, pipes, and emitters. Whether for small gardens or large-scale farming, irrigation systems operate on similar principles, differing mainly in size and complexity. As water becomes scarcer globally, efficiency is just as important as scale when choosing a system for your home or garden.
Types of Irrigation Systems
There are at least eight types of irrigation systems, but some are suited only for large farms. For homeowners and small-scale gardeners, the following systems are most relevant:
- Surface irrigation: This involves reshaping the land to direct surface water to crops and gardens. It’s efficient but labor-intensive and works best in areas with sufficient rainfall.
- Manual irrigation: You can carry buckets of water or use a garden hose. Depending on how you do it, this can be an efficient method.
- Sprinkler irrigation: Sprinklers spray water into the air, mimicking rain. They can be manual or automatic. While common, they aren’t very efficient due to evaporation.
- Drip irrigation: One of the most efficient systems, drip irrigation originated in arid Israel. It uses above-ground tubing to deliver water directly to plant roots through emitters or soaker hoses. It loses little water to evaporation but requires regular maintenance due to clogged emitters.
Irrigation System Cost
Manual and surface irrigation are the cheapest options, costing little more than labor. For a home or garden, you’ll typically choose between a sprinkler or drip system. A sprinkler system is generally more expensive.
- Sprinkler system: This is the most practical choice for residential use, costing $0.20 to $1 per square foot of lawn. The average installation cost nationwide ranges from $1,700 to $3,500, depending on:
- Size of the property: Larger areas require more pipes and sprinklers.
- Terrain and soil conditions: Installation is harder on slopes or in rocky soil.
- Layout: Some areas may need more water (and thus more sprinklers).
- Number of zones: Each zone has its own valve connected to the same water supply.
- Labor: DIY installation is possible with hoses and above-ground pipes, but burying pipes requires professional help.
- Brand: More expensive brands often last longer.
- Permit: Some communities require permits, adding to the cost.
- Drip system: The average cost to install a drip system is about $80 to $100 per 100 feet of tubing, with most people paying between $225 and $415 for a complete system. Factors influencing cost include:
- DIY or professional installation: Drip systems don’t require digging, making them easy to install yourself.
- No permit required: This eliminates an added expense.
- Quality of components: Off-the-shelf components are cheaper but less durable.
- Layout: A drip system waters each plant individually, so more plants mean more tubing and emitters.
Expert tips for choosing irrigation systems
Jimmy Hiller, founder of Happy Hiller and a veteran in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services, offers this advice:
“The right system depends less on yard size and more on your plants, soil, and water pressure. If you have flower beds or shallow-rooted plants, choose a drip system with longer run times — it keeps the water at the base where it counts. Lawns usually need sprinklers with spray or rotor heads.”
Irrigation System Installation
Installing a sprinkler system involves digging trenches for pipes, placing valves next to the house or in the yard, running water pipes and electrical wires, and connecting each valve to a network of pipes. Tees connect individual sprinklers to branch pipes, and trenches are backfilled, leaving sprinklers at ground level or sticking out of the ground. Sprinkler valves can control a drip system, but it’s common to connect one to an existing outdoor faucet.
In a simple installation, add a filter, backflow preventer, and timer to the faucet. Run 1/2- or 5/8-inch poly tubing from the faucet, snake it through the area to be watered, and connect an emitter or a length of 1/4-inch soaker tubing in each place where a plant needs water. Tubing fittings and emitters all have push-together connectors, requiring no glue and few tools.
General maintenance tips for irrigation systems
“Once a month,” says Hiller, “run each zone while you’re outside and actually watch. Look for bubbling at the base, which could mean a cracked head, dry patches next to sprinklers, which means poor coverage, green slime on walls or fences due to overspray, and sprinkler heads that are spraying sideways or barely popping up.”
Flush your filters at least once a season — and once a month if you’re on well water. The whole system can lose pressure or spray unevenly if no one bothers to clean a $5 screen.
FAQ
How often should I water my lawn or garden?
Lawns and gardens typically need about one inch of water per week. In arid regions, you may have to water every day, while in areas with heavy rainfall, you may need to water once a week or not at all. Watering frequency also depends on the types of grasses and plants and their specific needs. If you see browning or other signs of disease, you may be watering too much or not enough. Check with a local landscaper or garden center if you’re unsure about your watering schedule.
Can I install an irrigation system myself?
You can easily DIY a drip system, but a sprinkler system is a lot of work, so you might not want to install that yourself. “Digging trenches sounds fine until you hit clay, roots, or your old tree stump, and if you misjudge the slope or water pressure, you’ll spend more fixing it than you would hiring someone,” says Hiller. If you decide to do it solo, he recommends planning everything on paper first. “Mistakes are hard to fix once everything’s buried.”
About the Expert
Jimmy Hiller founded Happy Hiller in 1990 and now employs more than 700 associates. It boasts a fleet of over 500 “Happy Face” trucks across 14 locations and has responded to over 1.5 million service calls.