Water Conservation Program Offers Homeowner Rebates for 'Smart' Sprinkler System Upgrades

Round Rock’s Water Spot blog is reminding residents that a city conservation program is offering homeowner rebates on irrigation upgrades to sprinkler systems.

One great water-conserving device is a smart, weather-based controller for sprinkler systems. The controller takes into account the weather, weather forecast, type of sprinkler head, type of plant material, and slope of the yard to come up with a perfect, personalized watering schedule. The controller also estimates the gallons of water used during each watering.

“Really, it’s ideal to water when the plants actually NEED the water, not just because it’s a Wednesday (or whatever day of the week your controller is set for). AND, since we’re not in water restrictions, this is the ideal time to try out one of these controllers,” Jessica Woods, who tried the smart controller herself, wrote on the blog.

Woods admitted the device was not perfect, and required several tweaks through a phone application, but the benefits of using it were clear.

“The controller will determine when it’s best to water and for how long, although they all have options to select specific days to water if/when we are under water restrictions. Maybe all the zones won’t be watered on the same day, that’s the beauty of these controllers. It’s watering to the plant, not to a schedule,” Woods wrote.

Find a list of approved controllers HERE and apply for your irrigation rebate HERE.