System Life

Expected life of a system is influenced by the type and quality of system components.  Systems may last well over 10 or even 20 years if high quality components are used and the system is well maintained.

System Uniformity

Expected system uniformity is also influenced by the type and quality of system components.  Drip irrigation systems routinely operate at over 90% uniformity if high quality components are chosen and well maintained.

Water Analysis

Find out what is in the water before the system is designed and built.  Water quality will dictate filtration, emission device selection and chemigation.

Soil Analysis

Find out the soil type so that an emission device with the right flow rate, spacing and application rate may be chosen, and so that any soil (physical or chemical) problems may be addressed at the design stage.

Crop Information

The designer should know the cost and quantity of water and fertilizer that will be needed to grow the crop(s), as well as cultural practices and planting dimensions.

Pump Test

If a pump is already present, get a pump performance curve to make sure that it runs efficiently at the desired system flow and pressure.

Site Information

The designer should have access to topographic, weather, water, fuel and other infrastructure information.

Labor

Cost and availability of labor is an important element of equipment selection and decision-making regarding automation.

Chemigation

The designer should make provisions for the safe and effective injection of all chemicals that will be used including fertilizers, acid and chlorine.

Expansion

Small adjustments in the current design will ease future system expansions, if any are needed.

Automation

If system automation is desired initially, or even later, it should be known at the time of design.

Monitoring

Basic flow and pressure monitoring equipment should always be specified, but if additional soil, weather or plant monitoring equipment will be used, integration with the irrigation control equipment should be considered.