Using a pond for landscape irrigation as opposed to a public water system has its own positives and negatives. Pulling water from a pond to irrigate your lawn or garden can be an economical use of water as long as the pond is large enough, and self-sustaining enough through rain or underground springs to satisfy your requirements. You still require a pump and piping, and you will undoubtedly need a plan before you get started.
Planning
If the pond may supply enough water for irrigation, then start with a scale drawing, showing all of your plants, in which the pond is situated and also a rough sketch of either where the piping will be buried or how you plan to get the water in the pond into the plants. After you have a rough sketch, you have to make a list of the materials you will need including the pump, pipe, connecting valves and timers in the event the system will be underground. If the system is over ground, your work has just been cut in half. You also need to provide power to the pump or purchase a solar powered pump with a 24V battery backup program.
Tying Into Your Pond
Normally a irrigation program is tied to a outside faucet, your house’s water supply line or a brown water valve. Drawing water in a pond for irrigation entails incorporating a pump to pull the water in the pond and also a means of splitting the water into where you require it. A general rule of thumb is a one acre pond may irrigate 10 acres of lawn. You can either use a submersible pump, or a person that sits at a pump house to the side of the pond and pulls water and directs it through a appropriately sized pipe and control valves or bend.
Calculating Water Demand
It may be a bit difficult calculating the amount of water you have with how much water you want. While the calculations are very scientific, an Evapotranspiration or ETO irrigation or valve controller can help to make the calculations for you, but it’s generally not so accurate. The formula to find out the number of gallons required daily is: (ETO x PF–plant variable x SF– square feet to be irrigated x 0.62) / IE–irrigation efficiency = gallons of water per day. The local extension service might also supply ETO information for your region.
Pond Irrigation Tips
Never invest in a costly pump, pipe, valves, timers, sprinklers hoses or anything else until you have a design plan and can correctly determine if the pond may really satisfy your wants. You want that information so as to know why type of pump to buy. If you reside in a dry area where you really can not rely on the pond to supply a sufficient water source when you require it, you can also back fill the pond by a well or cistern if needed, but that does require another pump and more pipe.