Richardson's summer ban on daytime sprinkler use ends this weekend. Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, residents may run their irrigation systems at any hour on their two assigned watering days each week, the city announced Friday.
From April 1 through Oct. 31, the city's summer conservation plan keeps sprinkler systems off between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to cut down on water lost to evaporation. The winter change keeps the twice-a-week limit but drops the time window.
When the city put the summer plan in place this spring, it set Tuesdays and Saturdays for even-numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays for odd-numbered ones, with drip lines, soaker hoses and hand-held hoses with shutoff nozzles allowed any day.
The city says the change is meant to help residents avoid watering in freezing temperatures. It puts Richardson's average first frost or light freeze at Nov. 13 and warns that sprinklers left running overnight in freezing weather can coat streets and sidewalks with ice.
For guidance on how much to water, it points residents to watermyyard.org, which sends weekly recommendations based on ZIP code, weather and the type of system.
Free sprinkler check-ups
The city and the North Texas Municipal Water District also offer free evaluations of home sprinkler systems. An inspector checks the system and leaves a report with suggested repairs, recommended controller settings and an estimate of how many gallons a week the household would save by following them. The inspector does not make repairs; residents can hire a licensed irrigator for that.