Colorado Springs Turfgrass Irrigation Budget and Sprinkler System Scheduling Tool

Please, fill out the green highlighted cells only - each must be completed for the calculator to function.
This calculator is based on historical weather conditions in Colorado Springs and does not account for actual weather,
including rainfall, or site specific conditions such as slopes, microclimates, exposure to wind, or other factors that may impact
effective irrigation practices. It is intended to provide basic information to allow users to more effectively estimate irrigation
costs and manage schedules, but adjustments for actual weather and site conditions are critical and should be made
frequently. A rain sensor should be installed to account for rain events - these device may qualify for a rebate.
Desired Turf Quality (Rank from 1 to 3, 1 being most lush and green)
Total Irrigated Turf Area (square feet)
Soil Texture (click green box at right and choose from the list)
Estimated Average Root Depth (Inches - Generally 1 to 8)
Sprinkler Type (Pop-up Spray or Rotating Stream(s))
Annual Irrigation Budget (inches of water applied per season)

0.00

Annual Irrigation Budget (gallons of water per season)

Estimated Annual Irrigation Budget ($)

$0

Recommended Monthly Irrigation Budget - Click here for more information on these budgets
Total Monthly Water
Budget (gallons)

Total Monthly Water

Budget (CF)

Total Monthly Water

Budget (Inches)

Total Monthly Cost of

Irrigation Water

January

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$0

February
March
April

0
0
0

0
0
0

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$0
$0
$0

May
June

0
0

0
0

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$0
$0

July
August

0
0

0
0

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$0
$0

September
October

0
0

0
0

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$0
$0

November
December

0
0

0
0

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$0
$0

Total Monthly Water Budget (gallons)

1
1
1
1
0
0
0

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

Gallons

Decem

Novem

Octo

Septem

Aug

Ju

Ma

Febru

Janu

Recommended Monthly Irrigation Schedule

A critical component of this schedule is the precipitation rate (inches of water applied per hour) of your irrigation system.
Assumptions have been made based on the type of sprinkler you stated having, but it is best to measure the rate of each zone.
Precipitation rates can vary widely between irrigation zones, so it is a good idea to check each zone.
To measure precipitation rates, place four identical, straight-sided cans between irrigation heads in a zone. Operate the zone
for 15 minutes. Pour water from three of the cans into the fourth. Use a ruler and measure, in inches, the depth of water
collected in can four. Because each can represents 15 minutes or one-quarter hour of collection time, the total water in the
fourth can represents one hour of collection. Therefore, the water measured in can four is the sprinkler precipitation rate in
inches per hour for that zone.
If you have a measured precipitation rate, you may enter it below. Otherwise, use the default rates shown.
Precipitation Rate
Rate(inches/hour)
Spray
1.6
Rotary
0.6
Recommended Time
Recommended Total
per Watering Cycle # of Watering Cycles Run Time per Week
(minutes)
per Watering Day
(minutes)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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0
0
0
0
0
0

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

# of Watering Days
per Week
0
0
0
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0
0

Re com m e nde d Total Run Tim e pe r We e k (m inute s )

Minutes

1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0

April

May

June

July

March

August

September

October

Nov ember

December

February

January

August

September

October

Nov ember

December

# of Wate ring Days pe r We e k

1
1

1
1
1
0
0
0

Days

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

January

Nov ember

December

Assumptions
Gallons per Square Foot
19.95 High Priority

Total Gallons
0 High Priority

Total Inches
32.00 High Priority

15.16 Moderate Priority

0 Moderate Priority

24.32 Moderate Priority

11.52 Low Priority

0 Low Priority

18.48 Low Priority

AW
BIR
MAD
0.00
0.00
0.00
PAW Cycle Time (min) AD
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0
Soil 0
Texture
Class
AW
BIR
Clay
0.17
0.10
Silty Clay
0.17
0.15
Clay Loam
0.18
0.20
Loam
0.17
0.35
Sandy Loa
0.12
0.40
Loamy San
0.08
0.50
Sand
0.06
0.60
1
2
3
Clay
Silty Clay
Clay Loam
Loam
Sandy Loam
Loamy Sand
Sand
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Spray
Rotary

PR
0
DU
0.65

K
0.8

over 2499
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

MAD
30%
40%
40%
50%
50%
50%
60%

ET per month
% of Total
ET
0.00%
0.00
0.00%
0.00
0.00%
0.00
10.27%
0.00
14.83%
0.00
18.10%
0.00
19.30%
0.00
16.74%
0.00
12.89%
0.00
7.87%
0.00
0.00%
0.00
0.00%
0.00

PWR
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00

Rates
Up to 999 1000 to 2499> 2500
0.0224
0.0418
0.0617

IrrDays/Mo
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over 999 under 999

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

IrrDays/Wk RunTime/MoRunTime/WkMonth
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Days/Mo
31
28
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31

RunTime/WaterDay
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Cycles/Day
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