Irrigation Cost Calculators
Work out what watering your lawn or landscape actually costs, what a new sprinkler or drip system might run, and whether an upgrade such as drip, a smart controller or turf removal would pay for itself. Each calculator answers one question, shows its formula, and works in US or metric units.
Which cost calculator do you need?
Find your question below. Each calculator does one job, so picking the right one gets you a precise answer.
| Your question | Use this calculator | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| How much does it cost to water my lawn? | Lawn Watering Cost Calculator | Gallons from area and depth, times your water rate and tiers. |
| What does my irrigation water cost per acre? | Irrigation Water Cost Calculator | District rate per acre-foot or 1,000 gallons, times applied depth. |
| What will a new sprinkler system cost to install? | Sprinkler System Cost Calculator | Zones, heads and pipe length, times prices you enter. |
| What will a drip system cost to install? | Drip Irrigation Cost Calculator | Tubing, emitters, fittings and controller, times prices you enter. |
| Would switching from spray to drip pay for itself? | Drip Conversion Savings Calculator | Compares current use to drip's efficiency, against your water rate. |
| Would a smart controller pay for itself? | Smart Controller Savings Calculator | Current use times an editable savings estimate, minus any rebate. |
| How much would removing my turf save? | Turf Removal Savings Calculator | Area, local ETo and the water-use gap versus turf, plus a rebate. |
| What does it cost to pump an acre-inch of water? | Irrigation Energy Cost per Acre-Inch Calculator | Pump head, efficiency, fuel type and price, per acre-inch. |
All cost and savings calculators
Everyday watering costs
System costs
Savings and payback
Irrigation cost basics
A few well-established numbers behind these calculators. Each calculator page goes into more detail and cites its sources.
An acre-inch is 27,154 gallons
Oklahoma State University Extension gives an acre-inch, the depth-times-area unit many water districts bill by, as 27,154 gallons, and an acre-foot, 12 acre-inches, as 325,851 gallons.
Smart controllers can cut outdoor use
The EPA WaterSense program states that replacing a standard clock-based controller with a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller can save an average home up to 15,000 gallons of water a year.
Removing turf can lower water bills
Colorado State University Extension notes that xeriscaping, replacing turf with lower-water plantings, can cut a home's water bill by up to 30 percent when installed correctly.
Pump performance has a published benchmark
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Nebraska Pumping Plant Performance Criteria sets the water horsepower-hours a well-run pump should produce per unit of fuel, for example 12.5 whp-h per gallon of diesel, the benchmark used to judge pumping efficiency.
Local water rates, tiers and rebate rules vary by provider, so treat the figures above as general benchmarks and confirm current rates and offers with your own water utility.
Related calculator categories
- Scheduling and ET calculatorsThe water requirement figures behind these cost estimates
- Sprinkler calculatorsZones, heads and precipitation rates for system cost inputs
- Drip calculatorsTubing, emitters and zone flow for drip cost inputs
- Garden and tree calculatorsWatering amounts for the beds you might convert to drip
- Agriculture calculatorsFlow rates and acre-inches feeding the energy cost calculator
- All calculatorsEvery irrigation calculator by category
Sources and review
This page and its calculators are reviewed by Daniel Reeves, PE, CID. Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy, or report an error.
- Oklahoma State University Extension. Water Measurement Units and Conversion Factors.
- U.S. EPA WaterSense. WaterSense Labeled Controllers.
- Colorado State University Extension, Routt County. Xeriscaping on the Western Slope.
- Dorn, T.W. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Using Your Records to Locate Inefficient Pumping Plants (Nebraska Pumping Plant Performance Criteria).