How do we winterize HOA irrigation and keep common-area pipes from freezing?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 26, 2026

A board checklist to winterize HOA sprinklers, protect backflow preventers and keep clubhouse and pool pipes from freezing, with a hard-freeze plan and owner notice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Shut the irrigation off at the controller and at the supply valve before the first hard freeze, then get the water out of every pipe and device that sits above ground or in unheated space. In Colorado that means a compressed-air blowout in October. In most of Texas and Florida it means draining and insulating the backflow preventer and exposed pipe, because those systems were not built to be blown out. Then turn to the buildings: keep heat on in the clubhouse and pump rooms, check the heat tape, and write down who goes where when a hard freeze is forecast. The work is cheap. A burst pipe in a closed clubhouse over a long weekend is not. Local codes, your water utility's rules and your governing documents decide some of the details, so treat what follows as general practice to adapt, not legal advice.

Make a freeze map before October

Most freeze damage in an HOA happens in places nobody thinks of as theirs. Walk the property with the landscaper and a director and mark on the site map every irrigation controller, every supply shutoff, every backflow preventer, every exposed pipe or riser, every hose bib on a common building, and every room with water in it that nobody heats on purpose: the pool equipment room, the restroom by the mailbox kiosk, the clubhouse kitchen on an outside wall, the fire riser closet. Next to each item, write who is responsible for it. The landscaper may own irrigation shutdown under the contract, the pool company may own the pump room, and a director may own the clubhouse thermostat. Where the declaration makes owners responsible for irrigation or plumbing on their own lots, say so in the notice and leave those alone. Keep the map and the list in the association's shared records, not one person's phone, with a phone number for every person who holds a shutoff key.

Blowout or drain-down depends on how the system was built

Colorado State University Extension is blunt about northern systems: 'Do not trust manual or automatic drain valves. The system should be blown out with pressurized air.' Its guidance puts ideal pressure at 40 to 80 psi, with 80 psi the maximum for rigid PVC and 50 psi for polyethylene pipe, and sizes the compressor by dividing the system's gallons per minute by 7.5 to get the cubic feet per minute needed. Denver Water puts the shutoff and blowout in October, once turf no longer needs the water. For an association this is contractor work. A rented compressor in a volunteer's hands on a Saturday is how fittings crack and people get hurt, and CSU's own page tells anyone doing it to wear eye protection. Texas is different. The Texas A&M irrigation program says most landscape systems in the state are not designed for a blowout. Its steps are to turn off the controller, shut off the supply near the meter or backflow preventer, insulate PVC pipe exposed above ground, and drain above-ground parts such as the backflow assembly. North Florida follows the same pattern. The City of Leesburg tells customers to turn the system off at the main control, drain it, and insulate the backflow assembly. In warm areas a board may prefer to leave irrigation running through the winter on a reduced schedule. If you do, set the controller to skip freeze days or add a freeze sensor. Frisco, Texas warns that sprinklers running in winter can put ice on streets and sidewalks, and a sheet of ice on the entrance walk is a hazard the association made itself. UF/IFAS adds that landscape irrigation cannot put down enough water to protect plants from frost, and that watering restrictions in much of Florida forbid trying.

Protect the backflow preventer

The backflow preventer is the most expensive part of the system to freeze, and it usually sits above ground next to the meter. Once the supply is off, have the contractor drain the assembly the way the manufacturer or your certified tester directs, so no water stays trapped inside. Then cover it with an insulated bag or box sized for the device. Leesburg's guidance adds a detail boards miss: the cover must not block the relief opening at the bottom of the device. San Antonio Water System's backflow standards say freezing is a problem in that area and send owners to local fire and plumbing codes for insulating requirements. Call your water utility or building department and ask what they want. Some cities require a particular enclosure, and testers need to reach the device. If it cracks, it has to be repaired or replaced and pass a test by a certified tester before the water goes back on. That ties into the annual test in our guide on setting up an HOA irrigation backflow testing program.

Clubhouses, pool rooms and heat tape

Buildings freeze when someone saves on heat. The American Red Cross tells people who leave a home for the winter to keep the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees. Austin Water tells customers who will be away during freezing weather to shut off water at the meter and keep the heat at 65 degrees or higher. Pick a number, write it on the thermostat, and put a lock box over it if members use the building. Pool equipment needs its own plan. If the pool stays open, keep the pump running through a freeze or confirm the freeze-protection controls work, which is what Frisco tells residents to check. If the pool is closed, have the pool company drain the pump, filter and heater and clear the lines. The Red Cross says not to put antifreeze in pool or sprinkler lines unless the manufacturer or installer says to. When the Consumer Product Safety Commission reissued its heat tape guidance in 1996, it tied faulty electric heat tape to about 1,500 fires a year. The advice still holds. Use certified heat tape, plug it into a GFCI-protected outlet, inspect it every year, replace uncertified tape more than 3 years old, and do not wrap it in insulation unless the manufacturer allows it. If someone wants a space heater in a pump room, the U.S. Fire Administration says to keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away, plug the heater straight into the wall and turn it off when nobody is there.

The 48-hour hard-freeze checklist

National Weather Service offices issue hard freeze warnings. The Charleston, West Virginia office, for example, issues one when lows of 28 degrees or less are expected for more than an hour, and warns of damage to unprotected outdoor plumbing and undrained sprinkler systems. When a warning shows up in your forecast, run the list. Confirm every irrigation controller is off, including any on a second meter. Confirm backflow covers are on and the devices were drained. Check the clubhouse thermostat and open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls. Drip the cold water on faucets served by exposed pipes. Confirm the pool pump is running or the pool is drained. Check heat tape indicator lights and GFCI outlets. Shut off and drain hose bibs on common buildings. Text the key holders so each knows what to check the next morning. If a pipe freezes anyway, the Red Cross says to thaw it with a heating pad, hair dryer or space heater, never a torch or other open flame. If it has burst, close the nearest shutoff, call the plumber and the insurance agent, and take photos before anything is cleaned up. Winter Storm Uri showed what a long freeze does. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reports that nearly 40 percent of the state's 4,647 community water systems issued boil water notices, with 1,985 systems under a notice at the peak. The Department of State Health Services confirmed 246 storm-related deaths and listed outdoor repair work during the storm among the risk factors. Do the freeze work before the storm. Volunteers should not be on ladders or in pump rooms during one.

A timeline, owner notice and the usual mistakes

August: update the freeze map and confirm the landscaper's and pool company's contracts say who winterizes what and by when. September: order backflow covers and replace worn heat tape. October: shutdown and blowout in Colorado. November: drain and insulate in Texas and Florida, or set the winter program and freeze sensor. First hard freeze warning: run the checklist. March or April: spring startup, with the backflow test right after. A notice the board can adapt: 'The association will shut off and drain common-area irrigation on [date]. Please do not turn common-area valves or controllers back on. When a hard freeze is forecast, the board will check the clubhouse, pool equipment and common-area pipes. Owners are responsible for protecting irrigation and plumbing on their own lots under Article [X] of the declaration. To report a leak or frozen pipe on common property, call [number].' The mistakes repeat. The board assumes the landscaper winterizes irrigation when the contract never says so. Someone turns the clubhouse heat down to 50 to save money in January. The backflow cover goes on over a device nobody drained. A controller on a second meter keeps running and glazes the entrance walk. And nobody writes down where the shutoffs are, so the new treasurer spends a February night hunting for the meter box. If water is already on the floor, our guide on who is responsible for water damage in an HOA covers the next step.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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