How to Install Sprinklers on a Hillside

Run a main water line vertically up the slope with branches running horizontally off it at regular intervals. Such an arrangement will give better coverage of water over the hillside than winding a single line across it.

Place sprinkler outlets, where possible, above the plants. As the water flows downhill, it will move over the soil containing the plants.

Build small soil dams on the downward side of plants and trees. The dams catch the water and give it time to soak into the soil, at points where the plants’ roots can reach it.

Determine your water cycle. Turn on the sprinklers and time it until runoff occurs. Runoff is when the water trickles over the surface of the slope rather than soaks in. This gives you your water cycle. A rain gauge can also help with this calculation. For example, a lawn typically needs 1 inch of water per week. If the gauge collects less than an inch over a week, use the sprinkler to increase the amount.

Program or turn on the sprinkler system for several short periods of time, rather than a single longer one to complete the water cycle. If your water cycle is 1 hour, break it up into three periods of 20 minutes each. Each application can then soak into the soil.

Turn on the sprinkler system the required amount (all applications in your water cycle) over a single day. Repeat on the same day each week. Plants and lawns prefer infrequent heavy watering instead of frequent light irrigation.