As in all sustainable design, it is important to balance water use with the benefits it creates (e.g. neighborhood character, recreation, food production, preservation of trees). Irrigation practices included at basic level are not meant to exclude a landscape that requires no irrigation.

#	Cat code	Sub code	Level		Practice
1	WC	DS	B	Water Harvesting	Make use of runoff from roofs, hardscapes, and drainage from neighbors
1.1	WC	DS	M		Grade landscape (using swales, terraces, detention ponds, etc.) to encourage infiltration in desired areas (not next to foundation!)
2	WC	MT	B	Water Budgeting	10-14 gallons/square foot/season supplemental water
2.1	WC	MT	M		5-9 gallons/square foot/season supplemental water
2.2	WC	MT	A		0-4 gallons/square foot/season supplemental water
3	WC	DS	B	Water-conserving Landscape Design	Design lawn areas for efficient water coverage (limit overspray, no slopes, proper size, etc.)
3.1	WC	DS	B		Group plants according to their water needs
3.2	WC	DS	M		Reduce ET rates for higher water use zones (Windbreaks, canopy/understory levels, solar orientation)
3.3	WC	MT	A		Capture snow in windbreaks and use as winter watering
4	WC	DS	B	Irrigation Design	Zone irrigation system according to microclimates
4.1	WC	MP	B		Use low-volume irrigation (drip, soaker, large droplet sprayhead) for planting beds where ongoing irrigation is required
4.2	WC	MP	B		Design and operate system so that all components are operating at proper pressure
4.3	WC	MP	M		Use subsurface irrigation for lawns
4.4	WC	MP	M		Include a master valve
4.5	WC	RQ	M		Minimize use of PVC -- needs more research
4.6	WC	MT	A		Use a temporary/removeable irrigation system for low and very-low water use landscapes
5	WC	MP	B	Operation and Maintenance	Adjust irrigation schedule according to soil and weather conditions (manual adjustment, water budget timers, ET tmers, soil moisture sensors)
5.1	WC	ES	B		Educate customer on proper operation and maintenance of irrigation system including seasonal adjustments
5.2	WC	DS	B		Sprinkler systems achieve a Distribution Uniformity of 60%
5.3	WC	EC	B		Match irrigation schedule to soil type (e.g. soak-n-cycle irrigation for high clay)
5.4	WC	MT	B		Maintain irrigation system
5.5	WC	MT	B		Reduce watering frequency as plants become established over first season and for several years.
5.6	WC	MT	A		Don't water (or limit watering) cool-season grasses in heat of summer (KBG & Perennial Rye will go dormant)
5.7	WC	ES	A		Check actual water use of established landscape against designed water budget
6	WC	DS	B	Water Features	Design water features for minimal water use (recirculating, shaded, pondless, no exposed water, no mist) and consider alternatives such as dry stream beds and wind chimes

Key to Checklist Classifications

Categories:

I. Site Preparation, Grading and Soil Improvement (SP)

II. Water Conservation and Irrigation (WC)

III. Planting, Plant Choices and Plant Production (PL)

IV. Hardscape and Rockwork (HA)

V. Mulch and Mulching (MU)

VI. Mobilization and Clean Up (MC)

VII. Maintenance (MA)

Subcategories:

Design (DS)

Materials/Products (MP)

Methods (MT)

Energy Use (EN)

Ecology (EC)

Economy/Social (ES)

Levels:

Basic (B) - Practices that any landscape that call itself sustainable should follow. Often already common industry practices.

Moderate (M) - Practices that fall between basic and advanced.

Advanced (A) - Practices that would require a significant shift in the way the industry does business. May be more costly.