To convert a sprinkler zone to drip, you cap every spray head on the zone except one, install a filter and pressure regulator on that riser (or at the valve), and run ½-inch drip tubing from it to your plants. The valves, buried pipe and controller you already paid for keep doing the work. Most zones take an afternoon and a modest parts bill. The two steps people get wrong are pressure regulation and reprogramming the controller, and both are covered below.
Why convert instead of rip out
Spray heads are built for lawns: broad, shallow and fast. Xeriscape beds want the opposite: slow, deep and targeted. EPA WaterSense estimates that as much as 50% of outdoor water is lost to wind, evaporation and runoff from inefficient irrigation, and spray heads over mulch and rock are a prime example. Converting gets you:
- Water on the roots instead of the fence and sidewalk.
- Fewer weeds, because you stop irrigating the bare mulch between plants.
- Fewer fungal and rot problems, because foliage and crowns stay dry.
- No new trenching. The pipe and valve are already in the ground.
Drought rules increasingly treat drip differently from spray, too. As of September 2026, Denver Water is under Stage 1 drought restrictions, and beginning Oct. 1 it prohibits watering grass or running spray irrigation while still allowing trees, shrubs and other plants to be watered by drip or a hand-held hose with a shutoff nozzle. A converted zone keeps your beds alive when spray zones have to go dark.
Starting from bare ground with no system? The drip irrigation install guide covers the from-scratch version, including emitter counts per plant.
What you'll need
- Retrofit parts for each zone (see Step 2 for which kind): a filter (CSU recommends 150–200 mesh for municipal water), a pressure regulator, and an adapter that threads onto a ½-inch sprinkler riser.
- Threaded caps or plugs for every head you're retiring.
- ½-inch poly tubing, ¼-inch micro-tubing, pressure-compensating emitters (0.5, 1 and 2 GPH cover most plants), stakes, end closures and a hole punch.
- A controller program dedicated to the new drip zone. A WaterSense labeled controller is the upgrade worth considering (Step 7).
Step 1: Map your zones
Run each zone and note what it waters. Convert whole zones, not single heads. Drip and spray need very different run times, so they can't share a zone. If a zone waters both lawn and beds, you have three choices: convert the whole thing and remove that lawn strip, re-pipe the bed heads onto their own valve, or leave that zone as spray until you're ready. Walking the system is also the moment to follow EPA's sprinkler spruce-up checklist: look for broken heads, leaky joints and valves that don't shut fully, because a leak on a drip zone hides under mulch.
Step 2: Choose your retrofit approach
| Approach | How it works | Best for | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-outlet conversion head | Replaces the spray head; several ¼-inch outlets feed tubing straight to nearby plants | Small beds where plants sit within a few feet of the head | Outlets can clog; long ¼-inch runs are hard to hide |
| Riser retrofit kit | Filter + regulator + adapter on one riser; ½-inch poly runs through the bed | Most residential beds | You must cap every other head on the zone |
| Drip zone kit at the valve | Filter and regulator installed at the valve in the box, whole zone fed as drip | Large conversions, or whole-yard projects | Requires digging into the valve box and pipe work |
For a typical front-yard bed, the riser retrofit kit is the sweet spot. The rest of the steps assume that approach.
Step 3: Pick the supply head and cap the rest
Choose one head per zone as the supply point, usually the most central or the one nearest the most plants. Unscrew every other head on the zone and thread a cap or plug onto its riser. Don't just bury old heads. Pop-ups left in place will leak underground where you can't see them.
Step 4: Install the filter and regulator
Remove the supply head and thread on the retrofit assembly in the order the kit specifies: filter, then pressure regulator, then the tubing adapter. CSU notes typical household pressure is 50 to 60 psi while drip runs at around 20 to 30 psi. Without the regulator, fittings blow off. Hand-tight plus a nudge is enough; overtightening cracks plastic threads. Leave the filter where you can reach it for cleaning.
Step 5: Run the mainline and add emitters
Connect ½-inch poly to the outlet, snake it through the bed past every plant, and stake it every few feet. Leave the far end open for now. At each plant, punch in an emitter or a ¼-inch line with an emitter at the end.
CSU's starting points: two 0.5 GPH emitters for a perennial in clay or loam, two 1 GPH emitters 12 inches from the base of a shrub up to 5 feet, and three for bigger shrubs. Put emitters over the root ball of new plants, not against the stem, and move them outward as shrubs grow. In clay, space them about 24 inches apart; in sand, about 12.
Step 6: Flush, then close the line
Run the zone with the end open until the water comes out clean, then close it with an end cap or figure-8 closure. Old spray pipe holds sediment, and skipping the flush is how you clog half your emitters on day one.
Step 7: Reprogram the controller
This is the step everyone botches. Spray zones are measured in gallons per minute and run for minutes. Drip is measured in gallons per hour and runs longer and less often. Work from gallons rather than habit: CSU suggests about 2 gallons per week for moderate-water perennials, which is two hours per week on a pair of 0.5 GPH emitters. Split that into one or two deep sessions, not daily sprinkles. New plantings need more frequent water through the first season (first-year care), then less every year after.
If your controller is an old clock timer, EPA says a WaterSense labeled controller that adjusts to weather or soil moisture can save an average home up to 15,000 gallons a year. Some utilities discount them; check the rebate finder for your area.
Step 8: Check it monthly
Walk the lines while the zone runs. Look for geysers from popped emitters, dry plants, soggy spots and a filter that needs rinsing. If the valve weeps or doesn't shut off cleanly after conversion, it may not handle drip's very low flow; a low-flow-rated valve or a valve-level drip kit fixes that. And remember that overwatering kills more xeriscapes than drought does.
Mistakes to avoid
- Skipping the pressure regulator or filter. CSU names both as the most common drip setup mistakes.
- Mixing drip and sprays on one zone. One of them will always get the wrong amount of water.
- Burying poly tubing in soil. Run it on the soil surface under mulch, where you can find and fix it.
- Keeping the old spray schedule. Ten minutes a day is a lawn schedule. Drip needs long, infrequent runs.
- Converting before the lawn is gone. If you're replacing turf, remove it first (how to remove a lawn), then convert the zone.
From our installs: most Front Range homes we work on already have a spray system, and converting it is almost always cheaper than trenching new lines. We use riser retrofits for small beds and move the filter and regulator into the valve box for anything larger, so there's one place to service. The mistake we see most after a DIY conversion is a drip zone still running the old lawn schedule of short daily cycles. On clay that keeps the top few inches wet and the roots shallow, which is the opposite of what xeric plants need.
With the zone converted, the old lawn plumbing becomes the backbone of a low-maintenance landscape. If you're budgeting the rest of the project, irrigation is one of the line items in our cost per square foot guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can you convert a sprinkler system to drip irrigation?
Yes. Cap all but one head per zone, add a filter and pressure regulator to that riser or at the valve, and run drip tubing from it. The existing valve, pipe and controller keep working.
Can I convert just one sprinkler head to drip?
You can, with a single-head conversion fitting, but the head still shares a zone and run time with the remaining sprays. The drip plant gets a few minutes of trickle while the sprays run, which is rarely enough. Converting the whole zone works far better.
Do I need a pressure regulator when converting to drip?
Yes. Household and sprinkler pressure typically runs 50–60 psi, and drip components are designed for about 20–30 psi. The regulator keeps fittings on and emitter flow even.
How long should I run drip after converting from sprinklers?
Much longer per session and less often than spray. Base it on gallons: about 2 gallons per week for moderate-water perennials is two hours on two 0.5 GPH emitters, split into one or two sessions. Established xeric plants need less, new plants need more frequent watering.
