Irrigation in Sarasota now has one job: put the right depth of water on the whole lawn, evenly, inside one narrow window a week. We inspect, repair and re-set existing sprinkler systems so they can do it. Call (941) 422-7599 or request a free quote and we will book an assessment.
Below you will find the current watering rules, the arithmetic that decides whether your system can finish in time, what a repair visit involves, what pushes the cost around, and the free county-level evaluation you can use alongside ours. Everything here is written for Sarasota County sand, salt air and a once-a-week allowance.
Gulf Coast sand, salt in the air and a long wet season are what irrigation service faces around Sarasota, so Sarasota Landscaping Services brings lawn mowing and commercial landscaping crews that work in those conditions; call (941) 422-7599 or request a free estimate.
What does irrigation service in Sarasota include?
We inspect each zone, measure what it delivers, repair or replace failed heads and nozzles, correct pressure and spacing problems, restore rain shut-off devices, and program the controller to your assigned day and window. The goal is even coverage in the time the order allows, not longer run times.
Most Sarasota properties do not need a new system. They need heads realigned or replaced, mismatched nozzles corrected on a zone, a rain sensor restored, beds moved onto drip, and a controller set to the right day, hours and depth. That combination usually captures most of the improvement available. This page covers that work on existing systems. A full system install or major trenching job is a different kind of project with its own rules about who may perform it, so we scope that separately.
What are the current Sarasota watering rules?
The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Modified Phase III order, extended through March 31, 2027, limits lawn and landscape watering to once a week. Your day follows the last digit of your address, and properties under an acre may use only one overnight or late-evening window on that day.
Addresses ending in 0 or 1 water on Monday, 2 or 3 on Tuesday, 4 or 5 on Wednesday, 6 or 7 on Thursday, and 8 or 9 on Friday. Sarasota County’s own page adds that addresses ending in a letter, and common-area landscaping with no assigned address, such as entranceways, medians and areas around clubhouses, water only on Fridays. Properties under one acre choose either 12:01 to 4 a.m. or 8 to 11:59 p.m.; properties of one acre or more may water in the early hours before 4 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
Hand watering and microirrigation of flower beds, shrubs and other plant material that is not lawn may take place on any day, but only before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Enforcement is citation first, so a system running on the wrong day is not given a second chance.
Can my sprinkler system finish all its zones inside the watering window?
Only if the total run time of every zone fits in 239 minutes. Each permitted window is 12:01 to 4 a.m. or 8 to 11:59 p.m., which is just under four hours. Whether a given system fits depends on how fast it applies water, and that number is rarely known.
The check is arithmetic. UF/IFAS guidance for St. Augustinegrass is one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water per irrigation. Set straight-sided containers across a zone, run it for 15 minutes, average the depth, and multiply by four to get inches per hour. Run time equals depth needed divided by rate. A zone that measures 0.5 inches per hour needs 60 minutes to deliver half an inch, so six such zones need 360 minutes, which is 121 minutes more than the window has.
If your total does not fit, the honest answer is that the system cannot water the whole property legally as it is configured. The options are to raise the application rate with better nozzles or corrected pressure, to reduce irrigated turf area, or to move beds onto microirrigation so they come off the lawn’s clock. Our watering restrictions page lays out the same method with more examples.
Why is part of my lawn dying when the system runs every week?
Almost always because coverage is uneven. A misaligned head, a clogged nozzle, mismatched heads on one zone or pressure that is too high or too low leaves dry arcs. With only one watering day, an underperforming area has no chance to recover before the next cycle, so the damage shows up within a couple of weeks.
Pressure is the sneaky one. Excessive pressure atomizes water into drifting mist that never reaches the grass, and it lengthens the run time needed on every zone. Mismatched head types on one zone are the other common fault: spray heads and rotors apply water at different rates, so the run time is always right for one and wrong for the other. We find those faults by running each zone and watching, in daylight.
The restricted hours also mean nobody sees the system run. Faults that would be obvious in the afternoon go unnoticed for weeks when watering happens at 2 a.m. That is why we treat an annual inspection as part of the system, not an extra.
Is a rain sensor required in Sarasota County?
Yes. Sarasota County Ordinance 2006-053 requires rain sensor shut-off devices on automated irrigation systems. The county also asks owners to check timers after daylight saving changes and power outages, and to confirm the sensor is still intact and working after a storm event.
Wet-season storms can dump enough water to make a scheduled cycle pointless, and a failed sensor will happily run a full overnight program on top of a flooded bed. Sensors also get knocked loose, clogged with debris or wired wrong after other work. We test the sensor on every inspection and replace or rewire it when it is dead.
Timers deserve the same attention. A controller that reset after a brownout may default to a daily schedule, and under the current order a daily schedule is a citation waiting to happen. Checking the day, start time and run times is the cheapest repair a system will ever get.
How does our irrigation repair visit work, step by step?
A visit moves through six steps: confirm your assigned day and window, run every zone, measure coverage, fix what is failing, set the controller and sensor, and write down what we found. You decide which repairs to approve before we change anything beyond a simple adjustment.
- Confirm the rules for the address. We note your watering day from the address digit, your window, and whether your property sits under or over an acre. You tell us what you have noticed: dry stripes, soggy spots, a zone that never seems to run.
- Run every zone. We watch each zone operate, look for geysers, broken heads, clogged nozzles and overspray onto walks, and note which zones run into one another. This is usually done in a single visit.
- Measure coverage. Catch containers go down on representative zones. We run the zone for a fixed time, read the depth and calculate the application rate, so run times are based on measured numbers.
- Repair and correct. Heads are aligned or replaced, nozzles matched on each zone, pressure problems addressed, leaks located and fixed. You approve anything beyond routine adjustment before it is done.
- Set the controller and sensor. Day, start time and run times are programmed to your assigned day and window, with run times based on measured rates. The rain sensor is tested and replaced if it fails.
- Write it down. You get a plain list of each zone, what it delivers, what we changed and what we recommend next, so you can see whether the system fits the window.
How much does Sarasota irrigation repair cost?
We do not publish a flat number because the cost depends on how many zones and heads are involved, what is failing, whether trenching is needed, and what the controller and sensor require. Small corrections are naturally far cheaper than a full system, and we quote after the inspection.
Four things move the price. Zone count, because every zone must be checked. Head count and type, since mismatched heads on a zone take longer to correct. Access, such as pavers or mature roots over a line. And the condition of the controller, valves and backflow protection. A bed moved to drip is a smaller job than a lawn zone rebuilt.
Water rates also changed. Sarasota County set new water and wastewater rates effective October 1, 2026 under Resolution 2026-211. The county publishes the tables only inside scanned resolution documents, so we do not quote a tariff, but the direction matters: a system that wastes water costs more to run than it did last year. See our pricing guide for the county’s own wording on rules and thresholds.
Should I use the free UF/IFAS irrigation evaluation too?
It is worth considering. UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County’s Water Resources Program offers free irrigation evaluations to residents, neighborhood associations and businesses in the county. An evaluation checks overall irrigation system efficiency and tells you where water is being wasted, which is a useful baseline before any repair.
We are glad to work alongside it. The evaluation can give you an independent read on your zones. If it points to misaligned heads, mismatched nozzles or controller settings, those are exactly the repairs we do. If you would rather start with a repair visit, we measure the same things. Either way, keep the written findings with your watering-day record so you can show what was found and fixed.
Does drip irrigation make sense for Sarasota beds?
For most planting beds, yes. Drip puts water at the root zone, loses little to evaporation and does not overspray walks and drives. Under the current order, microirrigation of beds and shrubs can run any day before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m., which frees window minutes for the lawn.
Sarasota County’s year-round restrictions also treat low-volume irrigation, spot treatment, residential drip lines and soaker hoses as exceptions to the day-and-time limits, so drip is the practical way to keep beds alive on a once-a-week lawn schedule. UF/IFAS even runs a DIY drip workshop with a free conversion kit for residents who want to do it themselves.
On sandy island soil, drip emitters run on short, frequent cycles while new plants establish work better than long soaks that pass straight through the profile. Our Siesta Key page describes the exposure conditions that make this matter.
How do new plants and sod get watered under the order?
New lawns and plants have a 60-day establishment period. For days 1 to 30 they may be watered any day of the week. For days 31 to 60 they may be watered three days a week. A written schedule of establishment watering must be kept for the full period.
That written record is not busywork. We recommend dating day one on the day the planting is finished and keeping the schedule where you can find it, with the controller program that was used. After day 60 the irrigation moves back to the assigned day and window, so the system has to be able to carry the new plants on one soak a week by then. Our lawn care page explains what the lawn needs after establishment.
How often should a Sarasota irrigation system be inspected?
At least once a year, and again after any storm, power outage or landscaping work near the lines. The county advises checking timers after daylight saving changes and outages, and confirming the rain sensor survived a storm. Under one watering day a week, a hidden fault costs a full week of water.
The practical rhythm is simple. Do a full zone-by-zone run before the dry-season stretch when plants lean hardest on the system. Do a quick check of the controller and sensor after every named storm. And re-check run times any time the order changes, because a schedule built for one set of rules may not fit the next. Keep the findings from each visit together so a change is easy to spot.
Mowing crews and other trades can also shift or crush heads. If a head has been struck, it will often keep running, throwing water onto pavement and starving the turf beside it. A walk through the zones at the start of a season, with the controller set to manual, catches most of it in minutes.
How do wet-season storms change the irrigation plan?
They make the rain sensor and the controller season adjustments matter. Heavy rain means a scheduled overnight cycle can add water to a saturated bed and run off to the street. A working sensor and a seasonal program prevent that and keep run times honest instead of fixed year-round.
Sandy soil is forgiving in one respect: it drains quickly after a downpour. It is unforgiving in another, because it holds almost no reserve between events. That is why the full half to three-quarters of an inch in a single run is usually right on sand, and why water that begins to pool or run is split into shorter cycles inside the same window so it soaks in instead of leaving the lawn.
Summer is also the period when the county prohibits fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus, from June 1 through September 30. A system that is applying even coverage reduces the temptation to push a stressed patch with product the rules do not allow.
Why did my water bill climb even though the lawn looks dry?
A leak or an overspray problem. Broken heads, cracked risers and a stuck valve all pour water out without helping the plants. A bill that rises while the grass browns usually means water is going somewhere other than the root zone, which a zone-by-zone run and a look at the meter will locate.
One quick test is to shut off all indoor use and watch whether the meter still moves with the irrigation off. If it does, the leak may be on the supply side. If it only moves when a zone runs, the problem is inside that zone. We use the same method to separate an irrigation leak from a house leak so you are not paying to chase the wrong one.
What does a typical irrigation job look like?
These are illustrative scopes showing how we structure work, not completed projects. Each is priced only after an inspection, since the number of zones, what is failing and how the lot drains all change the result, and none of that can be judged from a street view.
A typical mainland home with a patchy front lawn: the inspection finds two mismatched nozzles on the front zone, one head tilted into the driveway and a rain sensor that was knocked off the gutter. The fix is nozzle matching, head realignment, a sensor replacement and a controller reset to the assigned day. It is usually one visit.
A typical deed-restricted village lot: six zones, a low measured application rate and a total run time that does not fit the window. The scope is a coverage audit, a pressure correction, higher-output nozzles on the worst zones and shaded beds moved to drip so the controller finishes in time.
A typical island or coastal property: salt-exposed beds, fast-draining sand and a controller on a daily schedule left over from before the order. The scope is a controller correction, drip emitters on the beds and an inspection for corroded heads and fittings.
Can you work on a system someone else installed?
Yes. Repairs, head replacement, zone corrections and controller reprogramming are routine regardless of who put the system in. We document what exists on the first visit, so you have a map of zones and controller settings, which is often missing, and we leave it with you.
If your system is on a well or a pond, the same restrictions apply: the county says year-round restrictions cover water from wells, ponds and utility systems for manual and automated irrigation, with reclaimed water excepted. Exclusive reclaimed-water use is subject only to voluntary hours under the district’s order unless the local utility restricts it, so confirm with your utility before changing a schedule.
Where do you work, and how do we get started?
We work across Sarasota County, including Lakewood Ranch, Palmer Ranch, Venice, North Port and Longboat Key. Send your address and what you have noticed, and we will schedule an inspection and give you a written list of findings.
If irrigation is only one piece of a bigger plan, our landscape design page shows how zones and plant groupings are drawn together, and our palm trimming page covers the other thing a coastal yard needs regularly. When you are ready, ask for a free quote.
Thinking about irrigation service near the coast? Salt, sand and storms affect cost, so we visit first and send a written bid afterward: request a free estimate or call (941) 422-7599.
From property walk to written acceptance
- Review Before CommitmentThe property review and estimate do not require the owner to proceed with the project.
- Walkthrough to Written ScopeObserved conditions, included work, and price are written down before a schedule is accepted.
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Get a Free QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
Which day and hours can an irrigation system run in Sarasota County?
Lawn and landscape watering is limited to one day per week under SWFWMD's Modified Phase III order, extended through 1 October 2026. The day comes from the last digit of the street address: 0 or 1 Monday, 2 or 3 Tuesday, 4 or 5 Wednesday, 6 or 7 Thursday, 8 or 9 Friday. Permitted hours are 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., and a property under one acre may use only one of those two windows. City or county rules come first where they are stricter. Source: SWFWMD, checked 3 August 2026.
How much water does one weekly cycle actually have to deliver?
UF/IFAS puts an established lawn at half to three-quarters of an inch per application, which wets roughly the top eight inches of soil where most of the roots sit. Under a one-day rule that full amount has to land inside a single permitted window rather than being spread across the week, so run times are calculated from the zone's measured output instead of a default schedule. Source: UF/IFAS Extension ENH5/LH010.
How can a homeowner measure what a zone delivers?
Put several straight-sided cans across the zone, run it, and time how long it takes to fill them to the half-inch or three-quarter-inch mark. Each zone will take a different length of time, which is why one run time programmed across a whole controller leaves some areas dry and others using water the property is not permitted to use. Wide variation between cans inside a single zone points to a coverage fault. Source: UF/IFAS Extension ENH5/LH010.
Can beds and shrubs still be watered on other days?
Yes. Hand watering and microirrigation of flower beds, shrubs and plant material other than lawn are permitted on any day under the current restrictions, but only before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Separating thirsty ornamental planting onto microirrigation, rather than leaving it dependent on a lawn zone, is what keeps those beds serviceable during a shortage order. Source: SWFWMD, checked 3 August 2026.
What happens to irrigation while a new lawn is establishing?
New lawns and plants have a sixty-day establishment period. On days 1 to 30 they may be watered any day of the week. On days 31 to 60 they may be watered three days a week, even-numbered addresses Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and odd-numbered addresses Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. A written schedule of that establishment watering has to be kept by the user. Source: SWFWMD, checked 3 August 2026.
What should a written irrigation scope name?
It should name the zones being worked and what each one covers, the head or emitter types being installed, the measured output the run times are based on, which assigned watering day and permitted window the controller is programmed to, and what is excluded. Those details are what make two irrigation quotes comparable, because a lower total often reflects a smaller scope rather than a better price.