The irrigation water budget
Check a landscape design against the local maximum water allowance to plan irrigation and support MWELO compliance before you install anything.
The irrigation water budget checks how much water a design is expected to use against the maximum the site is allowed. It's a quick way to see whether a landscape plan is likely to meet local water rules before you install anything.
The water budget is part of Takeoffs, which are available on Professional workspaces. See How do I access Takeoffs from the dashboard?.
Beta Feature Notice
The water budget is in early Beta. Numbers are estimates for planning and may change as we refine the tool. Always confirm against your local water district's official requirements.
What it does
For a given property, the water budget compares two numbers:
- Maximum Applied Water Allowed (MAWA) - the annual water limit for the site. This is your budget cap. It's based on the local climate, the total landscape square footage you've measured, and the project type.
- Estimated Total Water Use (ETWU) - the water your current design is expected to use each year, based on the areas you've drawn.
If your estimated use is at or under the allowance, the design passes. If it's over, the design fails and you'll see by how much, so you can adjust before installation. This is the same idea behind MWELO and many local water-district standards, which cap how much water a landscape is allowed to use.
Before you start
The water budget reads the lawn areas in your Takeoff, so you'll get the most useful result once you've measured them.
- Create or open a Takeoff for the property (see How do I create a new Takeoff?)
- Draw your lawn areas with the Spaces tool (see How do I draw and measure areas?)
- Name each lawn area with the word "turf" so the water budget includes it
How to use the water budget
- Inside your Takeoff, open the Irrigation tab
- Go to Water Budget
- Review the result at the top of the panel:
- A green Passed banner means the design is within the allowance
- A red Failed banner means it's over, and shows the percentage over budget
- Scroll down to see the details:
- The Maximum Applied Water Allowed (MAWA) section shows the site's annual water cap and the values used to calculate it
- The Estimated Total Water Use (ETWU) section shows the projected annual use, broken down by area
- If the design fails, adjust it (for example, reduce lawn area) and check again
Tips
- The allowance depends on the property's location and climate, so start your Takeoff from the correct address for the most accurate result
- Reducing lawn area is usually the fastest way to bring a design under budget
- Use the water budget early in planning so you can adjust the design before you order materials or start work
The water budget is a planning estimate. For permits or rebates, always confirm the final numbers against your local water district's official worksheet and requirements.
How do I draw and measure areas?
Draw shapes around lawns, beds, and hardscape to calculate square footage automatically, with pen, freehand, rectangle, and ellipse tools in a Takeoff.
How do I export a Takeoff?
Share a Takeoff with clients or teammates in seconds by copying a public link, or download it as a high-quality SVG image to print or keep.