North Marin Water Irrigation Schedules

Days per week:

  • Spring: 2-3 days per week
  • Summer: 3-4 days per week
  • Fall: 2 days per week

Watering Run Times:

Lawns: This lawn schedule is for pop-up spray sprinklers. Divide your irrigation run times into multiple start cycles, one hour apart, in the pre-dawn. Instead of watering one 15-minute cycle, program your irrigation controller to water two 7-minute cycles at 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM, or three 5-minute cycles at 5:00 AM, 6:00 AM, and 7:00AM. This prevents runoff by allowing the water to efficiently soak in to the soil with each cycle. Remember, if your lawn is drying out or if your lawn is soggy, adjust the minutes per run time slightly or take a day off per week.

Lawns with pop-up rotors or impact sprinklers may need more time per run cycle because the sprinklers don’t put out as much water as pop-up spray heads.

Shrubs: Drip systems that water low-water-use shrubs should be scheduled for 15-25 minute start times and will require 1-3 days per week on average. Spray sprinklers that water established shrubs could be watered in the same fashion as the lawns above, with less days per week. Always remember that existing shrubs will usually need less water per week.

Note: On hot spells in the summer, do not turn your irrigation system on during the daylight hours or in the evening. Existing lawns and shrubs that are watered with the recommended schedules above should be able to withstand the hot weather; If extra water is needed, add minutes to your run cycles or add and extra day for that week.