It all depends on how much iron you have in your water. You can have
it tested, but if your neighbors have wells at similar depths and have
a problem, you will too.

If the water has high iron, things will get stained in a season or
two. And it's not easy to get off. I've seen it turn sidewalks a
deep orange brown, it will stain brick, painted surfaces, most
anything. With careful sprinkler placement, you can minimize it, but
it's hard to avoid completely.

If you want to water, then the surest solution is a filter to remove
the iron. Alternatively, if you can find neighbors that have wells at
different depths that don't have an iron problem, then drilling a new
well is an alternative. I've seen guys drill a shallow well in an
area and wind up with low iron, while another guy nearby goes deep and
winds up with more iron.

Neither solution is cheap.






" wrote in message . ..
I would like to have an irrigation system installed for my lawn, but I
don't have unlimited money.

One of neighbors invested tens of thousands of dollar in a "tank farm"
in his basement. He can water his entire 1.5 acre lawn in a couple of
hours, and it's all filtered for iron.

My other neighbor, for whatever reason, doesn't have iron in his water
(we all have well water, btw), so he just got a quote of $3300 for the
outdoor part, and he's already upgraded his well pump and tank, so
he's ready to go.

If I decide to skip the iron filter for irrigation, will that be a
problem? How quickly will the driveway and sidewalk become stained
with rust, and how hard will it be to clean it off?

Is it a bad idea?