When should I run my lawn sprinkler system?
By Austin Green
Updated: February 8, 2026
The Complete Guide to lawn sprinkler system scheduling in Utah: runtimes, Turn on, Water bills, and regulations
Table of Contents
Introduction
Utah is a hard place to keep a lawn green. We have dry air, strong summer sun, and big swings between hot days and cool nights. Many yards also have clay-heavy soil, which soaks water slowly and causes runoff fast. That is why sprinkler timing matters here more than almost anywhere else, and why “generic” schedules often fail. City watering rules are important, and you should follow them, but city rules are not the same thing as a good schedule for your yard. Cities make rules to manage demand and protect the water system, not to match your soil, slope, shade, and sprinkler hardware. You can be fully legal and still waste a lot of water, or still have dry spots. This guide helps you follow city regulations and water efficiently at the same time.
This article covers Utah County and Salt Lake County specifically, because that is where we operate and what we know best. You will learn when to turn your system on and off, when sprinklers are allowed to run, and how long to run each type of zone. You will also learn how to spot waste early, because most expensive sprinkler problems start small. At the end, there will be tools and tables that make this even easier.
Lawn Sprinkler Watering Rules in Utah County and Salt Lake County
When to turn on/off your sprinklers
Every city has its own watering schedule. Some cities use odd/even rules based on your address, and some assign certain days of the week. Many cities also limit the hours you can water, because midday watering wastes water and creates peak demand. These rules can change during drought years, so it is smart to check each spring and summer. The tool below is the easiest way to follow the rules without guessing. These dates are typical, not guaranteed. If you turn on too early, you can break pipes and fittings without even realizing it until water starts coming out of the ground. Secondary water systems also depend on the city or district turning them on (and dates can change each year), so pay attention to city correspondence to ensure you turn things on at the right time. It's also important to winterize your sprinkler system before freezing temperatures appear in order to protect it from freeze breaks.
What time of day can I run my sprinklers?
In most of Utah, sprinklers should be run early in the morning, and in many cities they are only allowed to run outside of daytime hours, typically before 10:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. The best window is usually the early morning, finishing watering right around sunrise. At that time, wind is lowest, evaporation is minimal, and your system has better water pressure because people inside the home aren’t using water yet. Evening watering is legal in many cities, but it increases the risk of fungus because grass stays wet overnight. Midday watering is almost always inefficient and, in many cities, illegal due to evaporation and water waste. In short, if you want to follow city rules and water efficiently in Utah, early morning watering is the clear best choice.
In a handful of Utah cities, watering is limited by odd–even address rules, meaning which days you can water depend on your house number, not just the time of day. In Highland, Alpine, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, and Payson, even-numbered addresses water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, while odd-numbered addresses water on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sundays are either prohibited or limited to spot watering only, depending on the city. These rules are enforced to protect water pressure and reduce waste, so if you live in one of these cities, you must follow both the allowed days and the allowed hours when running your sprinklers.
How long to run your sprinklers
How long you should run your lawn sprinklers depends on the type of system you have and how evenly it was designed to water your yard. As a simple starting point in Utah, drip zones often do well around 30 minutes three times per week, rotating heads usually need about 45 to 60 minutes three times per week, and fixed spray heads are commonly in the 15 to 30 minute range three times per week. These are guidelines, not guarantees. The design of your system matters just as much as the runtime itself. It is very common for homeowners to water longer as a way to compensate for poor coverage, low pressure, or mixed sun and shade on the same zone. While that may make the lawn look better in the short term, it often increases water bills, hides underlying problems, and can cause pooling, runoff, or mushroom growth that actually harms the grass. The goal is to water deeply and evenly, not simply to water longer.
The Cycle-Soak Method of Watering
Many homeowners are not familiar with the cycle-soak method of watering, but it is one of the most effective ways to water lawns in Utah, especially in areas with clay-heavy soil. Cycle-soak simply means breaking your total watering time into shorter runs with rest periods in between. Instead of running a zone for a long stretch all at once, you let the water soak into the soil, pause to allow it to absorb, and then run it again. This approach is strongly recommended by government agencies like the Utah Department of Natural Resources because it helps water soak into the ground rather than running off into the street, gutters, or storm drains.
Cycle-soak is especially important for properties with clay-like soil, which is common in many parts of northern Utah. Clay absorbs water slowly, so when sprinklers run too long at once, water tends to pool or flow downhill before it can reach plant roots. That runoff is wasted water and can cause erosion, flooding near sidewalks or foundations, and uneven lawn health. By using cycle-soak, you reduce runoff, improve penetration, and get more benefit from the same amount of water. In most cases, this method allows lawns to stay healthy while using less water overall, which is exactly the goal behind state and local watering recommendations.
Watering Time Calculator
Since programming just the right time on your irrigation system can be tricky, we've provided a resource here for you to use. This allows you to input the type of sprinklers or drip irrigation you have and your city, and will correctly follow along with city regulations in producing a program for you. This calculator works based on the month of the year and average historical temperatures expected. It follows the advice of Conserve Water Utah (Utah's Department of Natural Resources) while going deeper and more specific based on your property's circumstances.
Why your lawn still looks bad
If your lawn still looks uneven, soggy, or stressed after you have set what should be the correct run times, the problem is usually not how long you are watering, but how evenly the water is being applied. Many sprinkler zones are trying to water areas with very different needs at the same time, such as sunny sections, shaded areas, and slopes. Shaded grass holds moisture much longer, while sunny areas dry out quickly, so one part of the lawn can end up overwatered while another stays dry. Slopes make this even harder, because water naturally moves downhill before it has time to soak in. When that happens, turning up the run time often leads to pooling and runoff without actually fixing the dry spots.
Another common issue is small mechanical or setup problems that are hard to notice unless you watch the system run. Sprinkler heads can be tilted, clogged, sunk too low, or mismatched, which creates weak coverage that homeowners often try to fix by watering longer. Leaks, cracked fittings, or valves that do not fully close can also waste a surprising amount of water while still leaving parts of the lawn under-watered. Over time, these issues can cause mushrooms, soggy soil, or thinning grass, even though the system is running on schedule. If you have adjusted run times and things still do not look right, that is usually a sign the system itself needs attention, and at that point it makes sense to call a professional irrigation company like us to diagnose and fix the root of the problem. There could also be underlying issues with your sprinkler system that need to be repaired, and we handle that too! Visit our sprinkler repair page for more information.
How to water less without dry spots
Overwatering is one of the most common reasons lawns struggle in Utah, even when sprinklers are running regularly. Signs that you may be watering too much include water pooling on the surface, runoff flowing into the street or sidewalk, soil that stays soggy for days, mushroom growth, or grass that feels soft and spongy underfoot. Shaded areas are especially prone to this, because they dry out much more slowly than sunny areas. If you notice these issues, watering longer will not help. In most cases, it actually makes the problem worse by starving roots of oxygen and encouraging disease instead of healthy growth.
The best way to water less without creating dry spots is to improve how efficiently water is applied. Sometimes this is as simple as moving or adding a few sprinkler heads so coverage is more even, or adjusting spray patterns so water is not wasted on pavement. In other cases, splitting one large zone into multiple zones allows sunny and shaded areas to be watered differently, which can dramatically reduce water use while improving results. Water-wise irrigation methods also make a big difference. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots instead of spraying it into the air, high-efficiency nozzles like MP Rotators apply water more slowly so it can soak in, and regular system inspections help catch small issues before they turn into major water waste. When a system is designed and maintained properly, most lawns can stay healthy with less water than homeowners expect.
Conclusion
Watering a lawn in Utah is not about following a single schedule or copying what a neighbor does. It is about understanding when water is available, when it can legally and efficiently be used, and how your specific system applies that water to your landscape. By timing irrigation correctly, setting reasonable run times, using methods like cycle-soak, and watching for signs of waste or poor coverage, most homeowners can keep their lawns healthy while using less water overall. Small adjustments often make a bigger difference than watering longer, and paying attention to how your lawn responds is the best way to fine-tune your schedule over time.
Professional Sprinkler Tune-up Service
If you want help dialing everything in, a professional sprinkler tune-up can save time, water, and frustration. During a tune-up, we inspect your entire irrigation system, including sprinkler heads, valves, pressure, coverage, and controller settings, and then give you clear, practical recommendations to improve efficiency. This often includes adjusting heads, fixing small issues, optimizing run times, and identifying upgrades that can reduce water use while keeping your lawn and plants green and thriving. If you would rather not guess or experiment, a tune-up is an easy way to make sure your system is working the way it should.
About the Author
Austin Green is the founder and owner of Storm Sprinklers, an irrigation system repair and installation company based in Orem, UT. With 4 years of experience in the business of irrigation, he has learned the ins and outs of the technical side of lawn sprinkler systems as well as the economics of water efficiency. Austin knows what Utah homeowners are looking for in their lawn sprinkler systems, and writes guides to help them get what they need.