This study examines factors that affect the efficiency of outdoor home irrigation in the Sydney Metropolitan Area (SMA). The irrigation systems of 50 home sites were monitored, over a five-month period for flow rate, start time, duration and irrigation date. The monitoring was for quantification of the water use for lawn, garden and other garden areas, understanding of the issues and factors that affect the performance of irrigation. Results show that hand watering was the most common method, accounting for 35% of the areas irrigated by homeowners. Both portable sprinklers and microjets accounted for 20% and fixed sprinklers and drip irrigation accounting for 11% and 8% respectively. The study has implications for developing suitable urban water management strategies, and significant opportunities exist for water conservation through appropriately designed educational programs and the installation of improved irrigation systems, especially for the areas that are smaller or used for home gardens.

这项研究探讨了影响悉尼大都会区（SMA）户外家庭灌溉效率的因素。在五个月的时间内监测了50个家庭站点的灌溉系统的流量，开始时间，持续时间和灌溉日期。监测是为了量化草坪，花园和其他花园区域的用水量，了解影响灌溉性能的问题和因素。结果表明，手动浇水是最常见的方法，占房主灌溉面积的35％。便携式喷头和微型喷头分别占20％，固定喷头和滴灌分别占11％和8％。这项研究对制定合适的城市水管理策略具有重要意义，