Is Your Irrigation System Ready for West Texas Summer? A Pre-Season Checklist

Summer in Lubbock doesn't ease its way in. By mid-June, daily highs are routinely sitting at 100°F or above, and your cotton is demanding water on a schedule that doesn't tolerate equipment failure. When a center pivot goes down in July during boll development, you're not just dealing with a repair bill — you're looking at potential yield loss on every acre under that circle.

The farms that avoid in-season irrigation crises are the ones that catch problems in March and April, not in July when parts are backordered and every technician in the Panhandle is already running calls. This checklist covers the critical inspection points to work through before your pivots start running for the season. If you find problems you can't address on your own, the window to schedule professional service is now — not after planting.

Why West Texas Summer Is Hard on Irrigation Equipment

West Texas conditions are genuinely punishing on irrigation systems. Lubbock averages less than 18 inches of annual rainfall, which means your operation is irrigation-dependent for virtually the entire growing season. Evapotranspiration rates for cotton in July regularly reach 0.30 to 0.45 inches per day — at those rates, any inefficiency in your water application costs real money.

The combination of 100°F heat, persistent southwest wind, and low humidity means evaporation losses from overhead spray can run 10 to 20 percent under poor conditions. Equipment that isn't calibrated correctly, or that's running worn nozzle packages, amplifies every one of those losses. Running 22 hours a day through July and August also exposes mechanical weaknesses that a once-a-week visual check during the season won't catch in time.

The goal of a pre-season inspection isn't paperwork — it's knowing what your system can actually deliver before you build a crop plan around irrigation water you may not have.

Pre-Season Irrigation System Checklist

Work through these inspection points before planting. Document what you find.

1. Pump and Well Performance

The pump is where your irrigation season starts or ends. A pump that tested fine last fall may have developed issues over the winter — cavitation, worn impellers, or seal degradation can reduce output significantly without showing obvious signs until you're trying to run at full capacity on a 105°F day.

• • Run a pump test. Measure flow rate (GPM) and operating pressure against your design specs. A drop of 10 percent or more warrants investigation.
• • Check pump house condition. Inspect for rodent damage to wiring, worn belts or V-belt condition, and any evidence of water intrusion around fittings.
• • Verify static and pumping water levels. Ogallala water tables in the Lubbock area continue to decline in many locations. Know your current saturated thickness and whether your well's recovery rate matches what your planting plan demands.
• • Test pressure relief valves and check valves to confirm they're functioning correctly.

If your pump hasn't been professionally tested in two or more years, schedule it now as part of a pre-season irrigation consultation before you plant around yield assumptions that depend on water delivery you can't verify.

2. Center Pivot Mechanical Inspection

A pivot sitting idle through winter will surface problems once it starts running continuously. This is the inspection that prevents mid-July mechanical failures.

• • Lubricate all gearboxes according to the manufacturer's schedule. Check oil levels and look for signs of water contamination or metal particulate.
• • Inspect drive units and tire condition on each tower. Replace worn tires before they cause tracking issues or structural stress.
• • Check span tie rods and cables for tension and visible damage.
• • Inspect the pivot point collector rings and brushes for corrosion or wear.
• • Walk the full span and look for structural damage from wind events, hail, or equipment contact during harvest.
• • Test the end-gun if your system has one — confirm it activates correctly and that the pressure is adequate at the pivot's outer reaches.

For T-L hydraulic-drive systems specifically, check hydraulic fluid level and condition, inspect hydraulic hoses for cracking, and verify that all drive-wheel motors are functioning uniformly. T-L Irrigation systems are known for long-term reliability, but hydraulic systems have specific service intervals that need to be current before peak demand.

3. Nozzle Package and Application Uniformity

Nozzle wear is the most underdiagnosed source of water waste in West Texas pivot irrigation. A nozzle package that's been running for three or four seasons will often show 10 to 20 percent variation in application across the span — which translates directly into wet spots, dry spots, and uneven crop development.

• • Inspect nozzle wear across the full span. Nozzles near the pivot point run more total hours than outer-span nozzles — wear is not uniform.
• • Check pressure regulators on each drop. Failed regulators cause over-application (flooding) or under-application (stress) at individual nozzle positions.
• • Clear plugged nozzles from any buildup. Sandy irrigation water common in the Panhandle will gradually restrict flow.
• • Consider a uniformity catch-can test if you haven't run one in the past two seasons. A professional irrigation efficiency analysis will quantify what your current application variation is costing you.

If your nozzle package is more than 5 years old or you've switched crop types, a nozzle package replacement may be the highest-ROI upgrade you can make before the season starts.

4. Electrical Systems and Control Panel

Electrical failures are among the most common causes of mid-season pivot downtime — and most of them are preventable.

• • Inspect the main panel and all junction boxes for corrosion, loose connections, or evidence of moisture intrusion.
• • Test all safety switches — end-of-travel, alignment, and low-pressure switches should all function correctly before the system runs under load.
• • Check fuses and contactors and replace any that show heat damage or corrosion.
• • Test your remote monitoring or telemetry system. If you're running remote monitoring, verify that sensors are reading correctly and that alerts are configured. A failed telemetry unit on a pivot running overnight in July can mean hours of undetected downtime.

5. Pipeline and Distribution System

If your operation uses mainline pipelines to supply multiple pivot or drip systems, inspect for:

• • Leaks or joint failures from freeze-thaw cycles
• • Air release valve function (failed air valves cause water hammer and pressure spikes)
• • Strainer and filter condition — flush and replace screen elements before the season

Common Problems Found Before West Texas Summers

Across the farms we service in the Lubbock area and the broader Texas Panhandle, these are the issues we find most consistently in pre-season inspections:

• • Gearbox oil degradation from water contamination — especially on pivots that ran through wet conditions late in the previous season
• • Cracked drop hoses from UV exposure and winter temperature swings
• • Pump impeller wear reducing output 10-15% from design flow — often undetected without a proper pump test
• • Dead telemetry batteries or failed sensors — common after a full winter of UV and temperature cycling
• • End-of-travel switch failures that prevent the pivot from stopping correctly — a safety issue as well as a mechanical one

Water-Saving Tips for the West Texas Growing Season

West Texas irrigation efficiency isn't just about conservation — it's about profitability. These practices reduce water use without sacrificing yield:

Run pivots at night. Evaporation losses from overhead spray are significantly lower during overnight hours when temperatures drop and wind tends to calm. In July and August, running during the heat of the day can waste 15% or more of applied water before it reaches the soil.

Schedule based on evapotranspiration data. The Texas ET Network provides daily ET data for locations across the Panhandle and West Texas. Scheduling irrigations based on actual crop water use — rather than fixed calendar intervals — prevents over-application and reduces pumping costs.

Maintain nozzle uniformity. A 15% variation in application uniformity wastes 15% of your pumped water. This is the lowest-cost efficiency improvement available on most systems — a nozzle package service pays for itself in one season.

Convert to low-pressure nozzles if you haven't already. High-arc impact sprinklers deliver water high into the air where wind and evaporation take their share. Low-pressure spray nozzles or drop hoses deliver water lower in the canopy or at the soil surface, where it's actually needed. For information on drip irrigation versus center pivot tradeoffs, we've covered that comparison in detail.

Don't Wait Until the Season Starts

The time pressure on pre-season irrigation work is real. Once planting begins in May, scheduling a service call becomes harder — and if your system has a problem, the lead time for parts and repairs stretches out. A pump impeller that takes two weeks to source in March takes four weeks to source in July when demand is peak.

If you haven't walked your pivots and run a pump test this spring, schedule it now. Our pre-season irrigation maintenance and inspection service covers the full checklist — pump testing, pivot mechanical inspection, nozzle package evaluation, electrical systems, and a written report of findings before you plant.

Call Pro-Tech Irrigation at (214) 264-4793 to schedule your pre-season inspection. We serve farms throughout the Texas Panhandle, West Texas, and the Lubbock metro — and our schedule fills up fast once the spring push starts.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Pre-Season Irrigation Readiness in West Texas

Q: How early should I schedule my pre-season irrigation inspection in Lubbock? A: February and March are the right window. This gives you time to address anything found before planting decisions are locked in. By April, service schedules in the Panhandle are already filling up. The earlier you call, the more scheduling flexibility you have.

Q: What's the single most important pre-season irrigation check for West Texas farmers? A: A pump test. You can visually inspect a pivot and miss a pump that's lost 15% of its output. Knowing your actual flow rate before you plant tells you whether your irrigation capacity matches your planned acres.

Q: How much water can I save with better nozzle packages? A: For most pivot systems running West Texas summers, moving from worn or outdated nozzle packages to properly calibrated low-pressure spray nozzles reduces water use by 10 to 20 percent — without reducing yield. The savings on both water and pumping energy typically recover the cost of a nozzle package replacement in the first season.

Q: Does Pro-Tech service T-L Irrigation systems? A: Yes. We are a T-L Irrigation authorized dealer and service specialist. T-L hydraulic-drive systems have specific service requirements that differ from electric-drive pivots, and our technicians are trained specifically on T-L equipment. We also service Valley, Reinke, Lindsay, and other major brands.