Start with the System Description article of the issued Section 32 84 23: confirm that the irrigation plan, legend, valve schedule, and details show everything its designer note lists, and that the two pressure blanks, at the point of connection and at the last head in each zone, are filled in for the connection point the plan actually uses and backed by the design analysis. Then trace one zone from the water main or meter through the backflow preventer, master and zone valves, pipe, and heads or emitters to its controller station, checking that each pipe material, head type, valve, drain, cover depth, and circuit drawn is one the edited section keeps, and that the water main, electrical, earthwork, and restoration work sits in the sections the specification sends it to.
Assemble the review package
Gather the irrigation plan and legend, the head and emitter schedule with flow rates and coverage, the automatic valve schedule and timing with its valve identification key, the details for heads, risers, valves and valve boxes, drain pockets, backflow preventers and their concrete pads, thrust blocks, drip zones, and controller mounting, the site utility plan with the point of connection, tapping sleeve, service valve, and meter, the plumbing drawings if the system connects at a building, the electrical site plan with the controller circuit and any conduit under paving, the grading and paving plans showing where pipe crosses walks and drives, the planting plan and plant schedule, the landscape design analysis with the irrigation requirement and the available static pressure, and the issued Section 32 84 23 with Sections 31 00 00, 33 11 00, 33 71 02, and 03 30 00 and the seeding, sodding, sprigging, and exterior plants sections it names for restoration. Trace one zone from the point of connection to its last head before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 32 84 23: Underground Sprinklers as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 4, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| What the drawings must show | System Description designer note + irrigation plan, legend, details, and valve schedule | Does the set include the irrigation legend, the location, size, and type of every pipe, head, emitter, control valve, and controller, the obstacles that could interfere with the layout, the walks and drives where pipe must be bored, the required slopes and elevations, a drain pocket detail, the flow rate and coverage diameter of each head and emitter, the minimum irrigation rates, the backflow units, the controller circuits, and the automatic valve schedule and timing with a valve key, as the note lists? |
| Pressure at the connection and last head | System Description pressure blanks + opening designer note + Design Analysis and Calculations submittal + site utility plan + landscape design analysis | Are both pressure blanks filled in, does the bracketed connection point kept, main, meter, building, or backflow device, match where the plan connects, does the design analysis record the static pressure available there, as the opening note asks, and is the Design Analysis and Calculations submittal kept, which must show that the system will provide the irrigation requirements? |
| Pipe materials kept | Piping Materials articles and their designer notes (copper, red brass, galvanized steel, PVC, polyethylene, dielectric fittings, emitter hose) + legend + riser and drip details | Does each pipe material on the legend match a kept article, is galvanized steel limited to the shrub head risers and reduced pressure backflow assemblies its note allows, is PVC used only where the note’s frost depth or winterizing condition is met, with risers in brass or the heavier threaded PVC the note names and kept away from walks, and are dielectric fittings shown wherever copper meets ferrous pipe? |
| Heads, emitters, and drip zones | Pop-Up Spray Heads, Shrubbery Sprinkler Heads, Rotary Pop-Up Sprinklers, Bubbler Sprinkler Heads, Surface Connected Lawn Sprinkler Heads, Emitter Heads, and Emitter Head Accessories articles + head schedule + planting plan | Does every head symbol resolve to a kept head article, are shrubbery heads used at flower beds, shrubs, and ground cover and rotary heads at large turf areas, as the notes describe, with bubblers where the opening note’s water conservation case applies, are the rotary head blanks for coverage, pressure, flow, pop-up, trajectory, and spray height filled in to match the schedule, and does each drip zone show the strainer, a pressure regulator where supply pressure calls for one, end check valves, and tubing stakes the accessory articles require? |
| Valves, zones, and drainage | Valves articles (gate, angle, quick coupling, remote control, drain, pressure regulating master valve) + Valve Boxes and Concrete Pads, Installation of Valves, Drain Valves, and Minimum Slope articles + plan + valve schedule + drain pocket detail | Can each area on the plan be irrigated separately through its own zone valve, as the opening note asks, is the solenoid voltage chosen for the remote control and master valves one the controller supplies, does every gate, manual control, and remote control valve have a valve box, is the whole system manually or automatically drainable with drain pockets at the low points the slopes create, and are automatic drain valves kept only for cold climates, as their note directs? |
| Backflow prevention and water supply | Backflow Preventers articles and their designer notes + Backflow Preventers installation article + Water Supply Main Materials, Insulating Joints, and Disinfection articles + site utility and plumbing drawings + Section 33 11 00 | Is the backflow device drawn the type the section keeps, with the reduced pressure assembly deleted only where its note allows for a non-potable supply, is it located between the new connection and the control valves on a concrete pad, with a pressure vacuum breaker set above the highest head and a reduced pressure device kept out of pits, and do the tapping sleeve, service valve, and insulating joints at the main appear on the utility plan and in Section 33 11 00? |
| Controller, wiring, and power | Automatic Controllers, Electrical, Electrical Work, Control Wire and Conduit, Automatic Controller, and Framed Instructions articles + electrical site plan + Section 33 71 02 | Is the controller located with the service voltage and enclosure mounting chosen in its article and the stations indicated, does its station count give a control circuit to each zone on the valve schedule, as the Wires article requires, is its power circuit shown on the electrical drawings under NFPA 70 and Section 33 71 02, and is conduit drawn wherever control wire runs under paving? |
| Cover, crossings, restoration, and tests | Trenching, Cover, Clearances, Thrust Blocks, Minimum Cover, Restoration, Adjustment, Cleaning of Piping, and Field Tests articles + paving, grading, and planting plans + Section 31 00 00 | Are the minimum cover blanks filled in by pipe size, traffic, freezing exposure, and wire, and do the trench details agree, are bores and sleeves shown at each walk and drive crossing, are thrust blocks shown where the note calls for them, is the pavement restoration section number filled in, and is the leakage test kept only when the water supply service main is part of the contract, as its note says? |
Worked example: a rotor and drip courtyard with more zones than controller stations
Illustrative example: a barracks courtyard has turf on rotary pop-up heads and shrub beds on drip, with the point of connection at the building’s domestic water service. The issued Section 32 84 23 keeps the rotary head article with every blank empty and leaves both pressure blanks empty, the valve schedule lists more zones than the controller detail shows stations, the backflow detail places a pressure vacuum breaker below rotors set on a raised berm, the reduced pressure article is kept although no reduced pressure assembly is drawn, and the drip zone details show no strainer or pressure regulator.
Ask the landscape architect or irrigation designer to fill in the rotary blanks from the head schedule, state the pressure at the building connection and at the last head of each zone with the design analysis behind it, and reconcile the zone count with the controller stations and the electrical circuit. Ask them to choose one backflow device, delete the article not used, and either move the vacuum breaker above the highest head or change the device, coordinating the connection with the plumbing engineer, and to add the strainers and regulators to the drip detail.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 32 84 23 is the USACE-prepared irrigation section. WBDG also lists Section 32 84 24 Irrigation Sprinkler Systems, prepared by NAVFAC and published in August 2011 with Change 1 in May 2017, whose table of contents adds items such as rain, freeze, and soil moisture shut-off devices, a water booster package, a water meter, and a flow meter, and the exterior plants section, 32 93 00, names 32 84 24 in its related requirements; confirm which irrigation section your project issued before comparing. Earthwork follows Section 31 00 00; tapping sleeves, service valves, insulating joints, thrust blocks, the service main leakage test, and disinfection follow Section 33 11 00; wiring and conduit follow Section 33 71 02 and NFPA 70; concrete follows Section 03 30 00; and turf and plant restoration follow the seeding, sodding, sprigging, and exterior plants sections, so check those before calling a requirement missing. The opening note leaves the irrigation requirement to a registered landscape professional and points to UFC 3-201-02 Landscape Architecture and UFC 3-230-01; the current guide section cites ASSE 1012, 1013, and 1020, the FCCCHR Manual of Cross-Connection Control, AWWA C509, C606, and C901, NEMA ICS 2 and ICS 6, and NFPA 70. Confirm the cross-connection, water-efficiency, and code editions that apply with the landscape architect, the civil engineer, the water purveyor, and the authority having jurisdiction.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.