Scheduled Service
Seasonal Start Up and Adjustments
Schedule changes matched to the seasonal calendar so the system is never running the wrong month.
On this page
Overview
What seasonal start up and adjustments involves
Landscape water demand in Southern California varies dramatically across the year. A schedule that is correct in August wastes an enormous amount of water in January, and one correct in January will not keep plants alive in August. Seasonal adjustment is the cheapest water saving available on any commercial property.
What is included
- Spring start up with a full system check before demand rises
- Every zone run and observed at each seasonal transition
- Run times adjusted per zone to reflect current demand
- Rain sensor and weather input verified as functioning
- Winter schedule reduction, including full shutoff where appropriate
- Adjustment during unseasonal heat or rain rather than waiting for the next transition
- Record of what the schedule was changed to and when
The spring start up
The spring start up is the most important irrigation visit of the year, and it is the one most often reduced to turning the system on.
A proper start up runs every zone, watched, before demand climbs. Winter is when damage happens without being noticed: freeze damage in inland areas, ground movement after rain, roots into pipe, and heads broken by winter work nobody reported.
Finding those in March, before anything depends on the system, costs a morning. Finding them in July, when planting is stressed and every day matters, costs considerably more.
The other half is the programme. A controller still running a winter schedule into April leaves planting dry during the fastest growth of the year, and the damage does not show until May.
- Open the system slowly to avoid pressure surge damage
- Run every zone individually and observe the full cycle
- Repair breaks, tilts, and blocked nozzles found during the run
- Set the spring programme by zone rather than adjusting a global percentage
- Verify the controller has the correct date, time, and no leftover manual settings
Adjusting through the season
Demand does not step up once in spring and down once in autumn. It climbs through early summer, peaks, and falls, and a schedule set once in April is wrong for most of the year.
The practical minimum is four adjustments: spring start, early summer as demand climbs, peak summer, and autumn as it falls. A weather based controller handles most of this automatically, which is the main reason it pays.
The adjustment that matters most is the one nobody makes: reducing after a rain event or a cool week. Watering a property the day after two inches of rain is pure waste and it happens on most properties every winter.
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| Early spring | Full system check, spring schedule set |
| Early summer | Run times up as demand climbs |
| Peak summer | Verify nothing has failed under maximum use |
| Autumn | Step down, and check for damage from the season |
| After rain | Suspend, which a rain sensor should do automatically |
Winter, and why it is not an off season
Southern California does not need winterisation in the way colder regions do, and that leads to systems being ignored from November to March.
Two things still need doing. The schedule needs stepping down, because a system running summer cycles through winter rain is the largest avoidable waste on most properties. And inland areas do get freezing nights, which can damage exposed backflow devices and above ground pipe.
Winter is also the best time for repair work. The system is not under load, planting is not stressed, and disruption from trenching is at its least visible. Work deferred from summer belongs here.
Who this serves
- Property managers who answer for the water bill
- Facilities directors tracking utility spend across a campus
- HOA managers facing a rising water budget and board questions
- Regional managers who want the same water standard at every site
- Owners with sustainability or ESG targets to report against
How We Work
Our process
System audit
We run every zone and watch what happens: where the water lands, the pressure, the state of each head, any leaks, and how the controller is set. Most systems have not been run and watched in years.
Findings and prioritization
You get a report that splits urgent leaks and breaks from tuning work and longer term upgrades, with a note on what each one is worth in water.
Repair and correction
Breaks get fixed first. No amount of clever scheduling makes up for a snapped head or a leaking line.
Programming and optimization
Controllers are reset to match what each zone actually needs, season by season, instead of the one schedule most systems have run since the day they went in.
Ongoing monitoring and reporting
Zones get checked on the regular maintenance visits. If you want it, we send water use reporting you can hand straight to an owner.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many times a year should schedules change?
At minimum four, aligned to the seasonal transitions. Monthly adjustment is meaningfully better, and a properly configured smart controller effectively does it continuously. The failure mode we see most often is a controller programmed once at installation and never touched again.
Do Southern California systems need winterization?
Not in the freeze protection sense that colder regions require. What they do need is a substantial reduction or full shutoff during the rainy season. Systems running summer schedules through winter rain are watering already saturated soil, which wastes water and drowns roots.
What is included in spring start up?
Running every zone, checking for winter damage, replacing broken and misaligned heads, verifying valve operation, confirming the controller and any weather inputs are working, and setting the schedule for the coming season. Doing this before demand rises is what prevents plant loss in the first heat event.
Looking for the full service area? Back to Commercial Irrigation Services
More irrigation services services
- Commercial Water Use ReportingDocumented consumption trends and zone level records you can hand to ownership unedited.
- Commercial Controller ProgrammingZone level schedules built around real plant demand, soil type, and infiltration rate.
- Zone Balancing and OptimizationCorrecting pressure, nozzle mismatch, and coverage gaps so schedules can finally be accurate.
- Commercial Irrigation RepairHead, valve, line, and controller repairs with each zone re-run to confirm correct operation.
- Commercial Irrigation System AuditsZone by zone evaluation of coverage, pressure, and programming with quantified saving opportunities.
- Commercial Smart Controller UpgradesWeather based scheduling, remote management, and flow alerts that reduce water use measurably.
Get Started
Ready for consistent commercial landscape maintenance?
Work with a team that knows what managing commercial property is like. Clear standards, the same crews, and a record of every visit.
Or call (562) 203-3567. Mon to Fri, 7:00am to 5:00pm.