Irrigation Winterization Work Order Checklist

Consider a winterization visit where one garden zone will not open. The technician finishes the lawn zones and leaves an invoice marked “system winterized.” In this illustrative example, the missing exception becomes the central question when damage is found in spring.

A landscaping work order should show the system serviced, method used, results by section, and exact condition left behind. Use the irrigation bid guide when the underlying system scope is still unclear.

Identify the whole system before choosing a method

Verify the water source and authorized shutoff, backflow assembly, controller, pumps, filters, sensors, zone list, and known alterations. Ask for plans, prior shutdown records, manuals, and test reports. Record unknowns in the site assessment.

Do not assume the last visit's inventory is complete. A separate garden branch, drip section, or pump may need a different procedure. Price those obligations in the landscaping proposal, along with access, customer preparation, and repair authority.

Rain Bird's winterization guidance identifies manual drainage, automatic drainage, and compressed-air approaches and recommends specialist help because of the risks. The selected procedure needs to suit the installed design and components.

Record equipment limits rather than a universal blowout number

Hunter's winterization guidance distinguishes airflow from pressure, warns against compensating for inadequate airflow with a high-pressure tank release, and directs operators to stay below the lowest-rated component's limit. It also warns against routing blowout air through backflow equipment or pumps.

For any approved compressed-air method, record the actual connection point, applicable instructions, compressor delivery, regulator and gauge, regulated pressure, and observed maximum. Establish suitability before connection. Mixed piping and sensitive drip components can change the limit.

This is a documentation guide, not a blowout operating procedure. Have qualified personnel follow the applicable component instructions and employer controls. Hunter warns of flying-debris and eye injury risks and against standing over pressurized irrigation components.

For covered general-industry work, OSHA's PPE rule requires hazard assessment and suitable protection. Address the actual stored-energy, hose, noise, bystander, exhaust, and site hazards through the applicable safety process. Stop when the safe connection, isolation, or component limits cannot be established.

Give every known zone a result

Use a short table rather than a single “done” box.

These are example record categories, not a prescribed sequence. Record leaks, failed isolation, damaged components, stopped work, and authorized repairs. The general work-order guide helps keep partial completion and added work explicit.

Treat backflow and controls separately

Identify the assembly and actual water-provider requirements. Winterization is not a certified performance test. As one local example, Portland's backflow program requires annual testing by a state-certified tester for covered assemblies and utility contact before removal, replacement, or relocation. Follow the property's governing program rather than importing that rule everywhere.

Use the backflow reporting guide for the separate test and submittal record. Record the assembly's final valve and test-cock positions from its applicable instructions.

Controller instructions also vary. Rain Bird's controller guidance distinguishes plug-in and hardwired power handling. Verify the installed model, pump controls, remote schedules, and retained programming. Record the final state instead of writing “timer off.”

If insulating exposed equipment, preserve required vents and drain outlets; Rain Bird's general guidance specifically cautions against blocking them.

Hand over the winter state and spring decision

Provide photos and a component list showing shutoffs, drains, removed parts and storage, pump state, controller state, exceptions, and unresolved repairs. Explain what the customer must leave unchanged and whom to call if water or unexpected operation returns.

The IA/ASIC maintenance guidance connects winterization protocols with spring activation. Define spring startup as its own scheduled scope, inspection, and repair-approval process.

Use the owner-training guide for that handoff and make the invoice match the recorded work. Describe reduced freeze risk accurately; do not promise complete removal of water from every concealed branch.