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Q- I saw a special on TV showing people in Phoenix literally flooding their lawns/gardens with several inches of water. Being from Minnesota, I’d never seen anything like it. Do people really do this and if so, why?
A- joninaz says: Much of Phoenix was founded on a network of canals and most of the early development was agricultural. So back in the day, the easiest way of watering hundreds of acres of organge trees, for example, was to channel some canal water onto your land, deep soaking the roots (which things like citrus still need from time to time). Most of these ranches/groves became modern day neighborhoods – and some of the irrigation systems remain, as do the canals.
It’s becoming more and more rare, but some properties still use the flood method – albeit on a much smaller scale (people flood their own properties – not the whole neighborhood). It seems a bit antiquated to me when it comes to places that are now modern (ie lawns). Grass roots only go so deep. But trees do need a good, deep soaking – so it’s good for them. It would seemingly make more sense these days to run a hose to those trees and not flood the whole yard.
A- nitram says: The above post tells it correctly. The primary areas that get the irrigation are SRP customers in the North Central corridor area. Up central ave and then east and west of central is the general covered area of older homes on large lots.
A- LadmoFan says: It was the standard method of watering and a smart way to way to water as it promotes deep root growth. Where I lived in north Phoenix this was accepted practice and when I was in town last weekend I saw irrigation was still being done.
A- amatrine says: A lot of the schools use this. The thing I hate about it is the smell. When it is done, it smells like 1,000 wet dogs.
A- copilot says: Still do this on my property in central Phoenix…about 1/3 of an acre. Contrary to what has been posted above it doesnt always stink. In fact most times it is fine. Once in a while, you get a swampy/fishy smell.
Can’t back this up, but I have heard it actually uses less water than sprinklers (we only get water once every two weeks in the summer, once a month in the fall and not at all in the winter) and I do know for a fact that the water they use is minimally treated and therefore much less expensive than city tap water you pump through sprinklers. My water bill is around $70 a year for the service and I have 8 large mature tress, front and back lawns and no sprinklers (except in my garden).
I have also noted that irrigated areas can stay 5-10 degrees cooler due to mature vegetation and large grassy areas.
The hardest part about it is that the times you get the water vary. This week I will receive my water at 5:45am Sunday morning (YUK!). I have to go out to the control box between my proprty and my neighbors and open a valve so that the water stops going onto their property and goes onto mine. At the end of my 35 minutes, I then change the valve again so that the water continues down the line to the next control box.
A- observer53 says: There are lots of areas of the Valley that still have this. North Central, as indicated; Arcadia; parts of Scottsdale and Tempe, and some west side areas as well. When my sis lived in Peoria, she had 2 irrigated acres. There were times when the water was literally free from SRP, and it never cost much. I grew up in the Arcadia area, a private company took care of setting up the ditches and valves for delivery to certain streets/ houses at scheduled times. I remember “Mr. Morgan”, the irrigation guy, and his big rubber boots.
A- cyhughes87 says: I’ve seen this in a few places. I actually works better than sprinklers. The water really soaks in and your lawn develops a strong root system; you won’t have to water as often as you do with sprinklers. I don’t know if it saves water, though.
A- rjrcm says: I have it at my neighborhood and home in So. Tempe. Water delivered from SRP canals. Works well, inexpensive. We have a service handle the valve so we don’t have to get up at odd hours.
A- KatrynS says: SRP’s website has a video on it. Queen Creek does it’s own. They all say talk to your HOA and neighbors to get the hang of it. A key point is this is an issue of “water rights” — the reason it is soooo cheap is that they aren’t selling you the water (you own it as water rights), they can just charge the costs of DELIVERING the water to you. If you are looking at a large green lot, having irrigation could save a thousand dollars on watering each year, so it’s not a trivial thing! And environmentally better to not pour drinking water on your lawn (if you aren’t into rocks and cactus,which are both hot and not kid friendly).
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