Changes in Landscape Irrigation Regulations

Below is an exert from the 1/23/2009 Denton Record-Chronicle

Aren't you glad you don't live in a Texas city of 20,000?

Installing lawn sprinklers in Denton and other Texas cities costs more this year thanks to new state-mandated regulations aimed at saving water.

Denton nearly tripled its irrigation permit fee to recoup the cost of newly required inspections, joining other cities that have increased fees in recent months.

The state required cities with populations of 20,000 or more to pass landscape irrigation rules by Jan. 1 that are at least as strict as Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standards. Among the changes, people installing sprinkler systems must present plans for city approval, and cities must inspect systems to make sure they comply with the rules.

“In the past, we have never asked for plans for sprinkler systems,” said Kurt Hansen, Denton’s building official. “Our biggest concern was that the irrigators install the backflow prevention device correctly. Now the irrigators, before they start a job, need to come and bring us a plan.”

Also, beginning next year a licensed irrigator or irrigation technician must be present when a system is installed or repaired. Homeowners still will be able to perform the work on their own property without a license.

Norman Werback, who runs a Corinth-based irrigation business, called the regulations “the biggest changes in the industry since state-mandated licensing.” He supports the state’s overall goals but shares the fears of many in the industry that the changes will drastically increase the cost of new systems.

“There’s a lot of unknowns, including how it affects repairs,” said Werback, who owns Wet Dog Irrigation. “I want homeowners to understand that we didn’t triple our prices just because the economy went bad.”

With the rules, irrigation systems join the ranks of electrical, plumbing and other systems in homes and commercial buildings that must be inspected and held to specific design standards.

The plan reviews and inspections are forcing some cities, including Dallas, to hire additional staff. Some are hiking their permit fees significantly — in some cases tripling or quadrupling their fees to $175 or more.