Regional Water Use Restrictions

I have the Rachio 2nd generation and I was wondering if the software is sensitive to regional water usage restrictions. I live in San Diego, California, and we can only water twice a week with a 10 minute per zone maximum. Does the Rachio factor that into the equation? If not, is it being considered in the future? Thanks!

Currently it does not. You need to set the schedule for the appropriate days. Run time,is,either based on the time you set with fixed or the appropriate amount of water if fled. Have no idea what is in store for the future

We’ve thought of different ways to do this and it is something we continue to think about. Will let you know if we start to form something more. Anything is possible with the platform we are building :wink:

:cheers:

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@counterparts, just curious, is that duration restriction applied to all zones? Or does it vary based on the type of nozzle the zone has and/or the vegetation type? (i.e. can you water drip zones longer?).

Given the restrictions you mentioned, I’d highly recommend setting up a Fixed schedule.

Have you applied for your rebate yet? :wink:

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At least in Huntington Beach, the 10 minute restriction is applied to all zones regardless of the nozzle type or crop. A real PTA. I am interpreting the rules as max 10 minutes run time, so I have smart cycle enabled so if there is more than 10 minutes needed it waters in 10 minute shots. Let the water police figure out what zones I have!

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As if residents could even make an impact in reduction. Last I checked residential accounted for 20% of the states water usage. But please continue to bottle it and export it mr. Nestle or mr. Fiji.

Sorry for the rant, I fully endorse your behavior

Agreed. Farmers are responsible for ~80% (I actually thought it was more like 90%) of the state water consumption but they make residents pay and constantly scrutinize in the media. It’s definitely frustrating.

In San Diego, there are some ways to bypass the restrictions. I seem to remember that certain low-flow devices were granted a pass. Since I had none of the items, I blew it off and didn’t really pay attention to the details. I would think drip type falls into this category but I’d have to check and get back to you. If this is something you’d be interested in, let me know.

The reason why I asked is, it kind of looked like it was already factored into the algorithm. My original schedules kind of looked like it was striving to meet that requirement, with just one or two exceptions. So I was wondering if it was implemented in the algorithm (in which case we had a minor bug), or if it’s not, then it’s doing a pretty good job so far. I haven’t had the device a week yet though, and looking forward to seeing how it works. So far the fixed schedule suggestion isn’t really needed.

As for the rebates, yeah I’m going to submit it soon. I’ve been traveling a lot and just need some time to sit down and prepare the paperwork. They don’t make it easy so you’ve got to do it right. :smile:

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Currently, watering restrictions are not baked into the algorithm by location, but that would be pretty slick to have someday :wink:

Yes it would, but adding support for this feature could be significant. I see now my schedule has adjusted a little more in a more frequent watering direction and have switched to a fixed schedule. So much for the prediction of the worst El Nino in history for southern California. :smiley:

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@counterparts, that is a bummer. Sounds like Northern California has at least benefited a bit from El Nino.