Santa Fe Irrigation District asks customers to reset their irrigation controllers
The Santa Fe Irrigation District is asking its customers in Rancho Santa Fe and Solana Beach to check and, if needed, reset their automatic irrigation systems. Following the countywide power outage last week, many customers’ automatic sprinkler and irrigation systems may have reverted to their default setting once the power was restored.
Most irrigation timers have a battery that will store watering settings in case of a power outage and download the settings when the power is restored. However, if the battery is old or no battery is installed, your controller could default to a schedule of 10 minutes a day – every day – for every station. This may affect customers’ water bill, and result in water waste, as the irrigation system may be on longer and more frequently than before the power outage.
The district suggests customers check their automatic irrigation timers to find out if theirs has defaulted. To tell if the controller has defaulted, the display on many controllers will “blink” on and off as a warning. Customers should check the controller’s day and time settings, and reset them to the normal irrigation settings. In addition, Santa Fe Irrigation District suggests that customers replace the back-up batteries as a precaution.
As a reminder, September is a good time to inspect your irrigation controller and decrease the amount of water use as the autumn days become shorter and temperatures cooler.
For additional information on water conservation, visit the district’s website at
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Individuals with questions can call the district office at (858) 756-2424.