Programming a Sprinkler Controller for Ripon's Two Schedules
Ripon changes its watering schedule twice a year, and a controller that was set once and forgotten will be wrong for roughly four months of every twelve. Setting it up properly takes about fifteen minutes.
The two schedules you are programming for
From March through October, even-numbered addresses water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Odd-numbered addresses water Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Nobody waters Monday, and nobody waters between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
From November through February the city drops to Saturday only. That is one watering day a week, for every address.
So: three days from March, one day from November, never Mondays, never between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Use two programmes, not one
Almost every controller made in the last two decades supports multiple independent programmes, usually labelled A, B and C. Most households only ever use A.
Set programme A to the summer days for your address, and programme B to Saturday only. Then the seasonal switch becomes selecting a different programme rather than re-entering every day and time, which is where mistakes creep in.
Label them. A strip of tape inside the controller door reading 'A = Mar-Oct, B = Nov-Feb' is worth more than it looks in February.
Set start times to finish before the ban
The banned window is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Your whole cycle, every zone, must be finished before 10 a.m., not started before it.
Add up your zone run times, add the delays between them, and work backwards. A six-zone system at twelve minutes a zone runs over an hour, and a 9:30 start is already a violation.
Early morning is better anyway, both for evaporation and for letting the grass dry before dark.
Add rain shutoff
There is also a rule people miss: no irrigation of ornamental landscape during and for 48 hours after measurable rainfall. A controller without a rain sensor will happily break this one on your behalf.
A rain sensor wired into the controller handles this automatically. Without one, complying means manually disabling the controller after every rainfall and remembering to turn it back on, which nobody reliably does.
Check it after any power interruption
Controllers with weak or dead backup batteries revert to a factory default schedule after an outage, and factory defaults frequently mean daily watering.
That is a fast route up the fine schedule: Fines run $50, then $100, $200 and $400 for further violations inside a one-year period.
Replace the backup battery annually, and glance at the programme after any power cut.
Or let the controller handle it
A weather-connected smart controller keeps the date, holds to your assigned days, skips after rain and adjusts run times as the seasons change.
For Ripon specifically that is a strong case, because the twice-yearly switch is the single most common reason otherwise careful households end up in breach.
Ripon adjusts this schedule seasonally, so check the city’s water conservation page before assuming last year’s settings still apply.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set my sprinkler timer for Ripon's schedule?
Use two programmes: one for March-October on your assigned three days, and one for November-February on Saturday only. Then switching seasons means changing programme rather than re-entering everything.
What time should my sprinklers finish in Ripon?
Before 10 a.m. The banned window runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the whole cycle must be complete by then, not merely started.
Why did my controller start watering every day?
After a power interruption, a controller with a dead backup battery can revert to a factory default schedule, which is often daily. Replace the backup battery annually.
Is a smart controller worth it in Ripon?
It handles the twice-yearly schedule switch and the 48-hour rain rule automatically, which are the two most common causes of violations in Ripon.