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Shouldn’t all irrigated lawns be green? Yes and no. Take the pictures above. The picture on the left is the entire lawn and the picture on the right is a small piece of the same lawn. This is typical of almost all lawns, especially those with established trees.
In a perfect world, irrigation would provide a 100% green, blemish free lawn. The problem is that different parts of a lawn have different soil profiles and water needs. Gravel buried under the soil, tree roots, slopes, and reflected sun and shade can all vary the irrigation need and create wet and dry spots on the same lawn with the same irrigation program. Adjusting the sprinklers can help but often times, it is unavoidable.
Historically, we watered more to compensate for those hard to water areas. As water costs have increased, we have worked to lower irrigation to save our customers money. The bad news is that the results are a few dry spots on most properties. The good news is that allowing a few dry spots can reduce water costs 20-40%. This is where Weather based irrigation comes into play. Weather based irrigation adjusts the controller daily based on the weather. However, tree roots, inconsistent soil, hidden construction debris and gravel in the soil below all create differential water needs and make some areas difficult to water regardless of how much is applied. Weather based irrigation is great for reducing water usage, but quickly points out the place where the landscape or system is flawed.
http://www.pacscape.com/sustainable/weather-based-irrigation.php
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