Landscape Irrigation Design Process

“How do you eat an elephant?: One bite at a time.”  Irrigation design can be an intimidating task, but it doesn’t need to be.  Explore the design process through a logical set of steps written to simplify irrigation design for beginners and experienced designers alike.  The key to the popularity of this course is its hands-on approach; Participants are given opportunities to perform practical exercises in irrigation design using an in-class site plan. (Note: A Rain Bird product catalog is provided in class, but students may bring any manufacturer’s catalog they wish to use)

Course Outline


Unit 1 Course introduction and classroom safety

Unit 2 Gather site information

Unit 3 Determine water supply

Unit 4 Measure Hydrozones

Unit 5 Select and place emission components

Unit 6 Total flow per hydrozone

Unit 7 Lateral pipe selection and placement

Unit 8 Valve selection and placement

Unit 9 Mainline pipe selection and placement

Unit 10 Pipe sizing

Unit 11 Electrical system component selection and placement

Unit 12 System function verification (Hydraulics calculations)

Unit 13 Final irrigation plan

Learning Objectives


Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Obtain accurate site information

2. Identify and lay out hydrozones

3. Select and lay out irrigation system components

4. Use hydraulic principals to establish zones and pipe layouts

5. Prepare a final irrigation design plan

Suggested Prerequisites


  • Working knowledge of basic irrigation system hydraulics
  • Understanding of basic irrigation system components