Lawn sprinkler systems are very important for the routine maintenance of a high quality lawn. During periods of prolonged drought, turfgrass will go into a dormant state in an effort to protect itself. This dormant state is very un-attractive.(Dead) Regular watering will prevent the grass from turning brown. This is a very misunderstood subject, so I will try to answer the FAQ's about it. Also some information about design and installation. Possibly I can help with the design of your system. Some basic information you need to know about watering:

As the temperatures rise in summer, the grass will need water.

Watering should be done during early morning hours- Most lawns will respond better to early morning watering. (1) Watering at night induces fungus to grow on the grass plants causing injury or death to the plants. Diseases such as summer patch, dollar spot, brown patch are encouraged by moisture on the leaves for prolonged periods of time. If you water at night for example, the grass plant will stay wet all through the night making the problem worse. If you water during early morning, the plant has a chance to dry off by early morning reducing the problem. Fungus can wipe out an entire lawn in under a week so be careful!

(2) Watering should be done on infrequent, but deep watering cycles Depending on the type of grass and time of year, you will need to put down aprox. 1" at a time during watering. An ideal way to determine how much water has been put down is to use a "catch can test". This amounts to no more than placing a coffee can in the path of your sprinkler and measuring how much water it catches in an hour, or 30 minutes. This will tell you your sprinkler or system's "precipitation rate". This will be very important in determining how long to water. If watering manually, you will have to time your water cycles to know when to move your sprinkler. An automatic system will turn the water off on each section of the lawn after a pre-determined amount of water has been applied. Then the system will turn on the next section and off as described before, until the entire lawn has been watered. These systems are great for people who are trying to have a top notch lawn.

How Much Water Will An Automatic System Use?

An automatic system will actually use less water than if you use a single sprinkler and move it over the lawn. The reason for this is that too many times you will forget to move the sprinkler when it's time, causing puddles and water run off and waste. Automatic systems are more efficient, and provide the proper moisture that your plant material needs.

Aren't Automatic Systems Expensive?

Yes, but well worth the investment if you plan to have a nice lawn. Practically no matter where you live, if you are to have an above average lawn it will require watering. There's really no sense in spending thousands of dollars on landscape and lawn installation if you do not plan to properly maintain it. And watering is just one of several items under the heading of Maintenance. If you have an automatic system you are not as likely to let plants and grass die due to lack of water, thus decreasing the overall amount of money you will spend on your lawn and landscape.