Does a property owner need an irrigator license to install a sprinkler system at their own home?
No, because the Texas Occupations Code exempts irrigation work a property owner does on premises the owner owns or occupies as a home.
Flashcards
TCEQ Landscape Irrigator exam flashcards
33 free cards across the four exam sections, each one cited to the source it rests on. Reveal the back on any card. A free account keeps your place.
Principles of Installation · 12 cards / Free set
How many hours of approved training must an irrigator complete to renew the license?
24 hours of approved training credits, because renewing an irrigator license requires those hours on top of the general renewal requirements.
What four items must the irrigator provide when a new installation is complete?
A final walk-through, the completed maintenance checklist, a permanent sticker on the controller (on the checklist if there is no automatic controller) and a copy of the design plan, because completing a new system with all four is one of the licensed irrigator's listed duties.
How long must an irrigator keep the records of an installation or repair?
3 years from the date the work was completed, because the irrigator must hold records of installation, maintenance, alteration, repair and service for that period.
When a master valve is installed on a new system, where does it go?
On the discharge side of the backflow prevention assembly, because a master valve provided on a new installation must sit downstream of the assembly.
What must go on the joints of a new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) system before the cement?
A colored primer, because every new system built with PVC pipe and fittings must be primed with a colored primer before the PVC cement goes on.
What shut-off technology must every new automatically controlled irrigation system include?
Rain or moisture shut-off technology such as a rain sensor, because the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requires it on every new automatic system, except in the 14 counties the rule excludes by name (El Paso among them).
Where must the isolation valve go on a new irrigation system?
Between the water meter and the backflow prevention assembly, because every new system must include an isolation valve at that point, upstream of the assembly.
With no maker's depth figure and no obstacle in the way, how much cover must irrigation pipe have?
At least 6 in of select backfill over the pipe, because the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) sets that as the minimum whenever the maker is silent on depth.
What is the least cover allowed over pipe where a utility, a structure or roots make 6 in of cover impractical?
2 in of select backfill, because an unavoidable obstacle only lowers the 6 in minimum to a 2 in floor and never removes the cover.
What wire may be buried between an automatic controller and the valves?
Only wire that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) lists as fit for underground burial, because the rule allows nothing but UL-listed burial wire between an automatic controller and any electrical part.
How much cover must buried wire between the controller and the valves have?
At least 6 in of select backfill, because underground wiring from an automatic controller to any electrical component must be buried to that minimum depth.
Principles of Backflow · 8 cards / Free set
How large must an air gap be?
At least twice the diameter of the water supply outlet and never less than 1.0 in, because the vertical separation must meet both the ratio and the 1 in floor.
Where a health hazard exists, which four backflow prevention methods may protect an irrigation system?
An air gap, a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly (RP), a pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) or a spill-resistant pressure vacuum breaker (SVB), each only when installed to its own conditions, because the rule as amended effective July 26, 2020 allows only those four types for a health hazard.
How high above ground must a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly (RP) be installed?
At least 12 in above ground, in a spot where it cannot be submerged, because an RP may serve a health hazard only when it is installed that way.
How high must a pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) or a spill-resistant pressure vacuum breaker (SVB) be installed?
At least 12 in above all downstream piping and the highest downstream opening, because both vacuum breakers are held to that same minimum height over what they protect.
May a double check valve backflow prevention assembly (DC) be used where a health hazard exists?
No. A DC may be used only where no condition presents a health hazard, and even then it must be tested on installation.
After installation, how often must a backflow assembly on a system designated a health hazard be tested?
Every year, because assemblies on health hazard systems must be tested annually on top of the test at installation.
Before any chemical is added to an irrigation system on a potable supply, how must the system be connected?
Through a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly (RP) or an air gap, because adding a chemical by injection, aspiration or any other method requires one of those two.
Within what time must backflow test results reach the local water purveyor?
Within ten business days of the test, because the irrigator must have the assembly tested before it goes into service and see that the results reach the purveyor in that window.
Principles of Hydraulics · 6 cards / Free set
How many feet of water column equal 1 pound per square inch (psi)?
2.31 ft, because the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conversion table sets 1 psi equal to 2.31 feet of head of water.
NRCS NEH Part 652, Irrigation Guide, p. 16-2 Reference document, not law.
How many pounds per square inch (psi) does 1 foot of water head equal?
0.433 psi, because the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conversion table sets 1 foot of water head equal to 0.433 psi.
NRCS NEH Part 652, Irrigation Guide, p. 16-2 Reference document, not law.
What minimum pressure must a Texas public water system be designed to hold across its distribution network?
35 pounds per square inch (psi) at every point, at flows of at least 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM) per connection, because Texas public water system rules set that design minimum.
What is static water pressure?
The pressure of water that is not moving, and under Texas irrigation rules it is generally the pressure available to the irrigation system.
How is design pressure worked out?
Add the head's minimum operating pressure to every pressure loss between that head and the water source, because Texas irrigation rules define design pressure as that sum.
What is the highest water velocity allowed in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) irrigation pipe?
5 feet per second (fps), because Texas irrigation rules require PVC piping to be designed and installed so the flow never goes past that velocity.
Landscape Irrigation Design · 7 cards / Free set
What must the plan's zone flow entry include besides the flow itself?
The zone or controller station number and the zone valve size, because since July 26, 2020 the plan must give each zone's flow measurement with both of those attached.
How far may head spacing stray from the maker's published radius or spacing?
No more than plus or minus 10 percent, because since July 26, 2020 the rule caps spacing at that tolerance of the published radius or spacing for the head used.
On a new system, when is above-ground spray barred from a narrow planting strip?
When the strip is less than 48 in wide or long (hardscape not counted) and has walks or drives along two or more sides, because a new system must not use above-ground spray there.
How close to hardscape may a pop-up spray head or rotor be installed?
No closer than 4 in, throwing away from the surface, because the rule sets that minimum from any hardscape and exempts only narrow paths and other small areas in public areas whose runoff drains to landscape. Since July 26, 2020 it applies to every installation, not only new systems.
On what five grounds must a system be split into separate zones?
Plant material type, microclimate, topography, soil conditions and hydrological needs, because the rule requires separate zones on each of those grounds.
What must all the heads in one zone share?
The same precipitation rate, because every zone must be designed and installed so that all of its heads irrigate at one matched rate.
May a design let spray fall on a sidewalk, street, wall or fence?
No, because a system must not spray water on or over any impervious surface, and concrete, asphalt, brick, wood, mortared stone, walls, fences, sidewalks and streets are all named.
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