Water Flow Calculation in Sprinkler Systems

Water Supply

• You will first need to determine your water supply per hour. Take a 5-gallon bucket. Place a hose in it and fill it up with water on full pressure for 30 seconds. Turn off the water and measure the amount. Multiply that amount by two. This is your amount of water per minute. Now multiply it by 60 and you have your amount of water per hour.

Watering Area

• You must then combine two factors to determine your watering area: the square footage of your yard and the diameter of your sprinkler system tubing. As long as your watering area is less than your available water supply, you can run the entire area at once. If not, you will need to divide up the yard and water each area separately.

Slope

• Another factor to consider is the total slope of your yard. If your yard is completely level, then you don’t have to worry about this factor. However, if your yard is slanted and you are placing the pipes to go uphill, you should assume you will have only about half the estimated water pressure due to gravity.

Types of Sprinklers

• Every sprinkler releases a different amount of water and maintains a certain level of pressure. For instance, drippers release less water and maintain greater water pressure than low-range sprinklers. The worst type of sprinkler for water pressure issues is standard high-range sprinklers.