It’s no mass government conspiracy that the availability of fresh water is decreasing everyday, while populations continue to rise along with the demand for water. It’s not as if there are more fresh water sources today than there were a million years ago-there aren’t any new ones to tap into. Some scientists predict that by the year 2050, more than 1 billion people in Asia alone could face massive water shortages.
Over the past number of years, this country has experienced many droughts. In fact, if you looked at a map of thr United States in 2007, it showed 23 states that were experiencing droughts or were on the verge. It’s a challenging game we’re faced with, trying to curtail our use of water while still trying to enjoy the benefits that it brings. However, it’s up to everyone to help do their part, and many organizations are.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started it’s nationwide WaterSense Program in an effort to help educate consumers to choose water-efficient products. Products stamped with WaterSense’s approval help users reduce their amount of water usage by up to 15% each day.
To further help the cause, Some municipal water districts are offering special rebates which will practically pay for water efficient products either in new installations or to retrofit an existing sprinkler system. Nevada is also offering incentives, allowing builders and contractors who are working on properties that follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) Standards to purchase construction materials tax free. Other states like Michigan are following similar methods. Meanwhile, some localities are fining homeowners wh fail to adhere to water limits.
With national, regional and local efforts increasingly focused on conservation, one can’t help but ask, “What can the irrigation industry do to help?”
“We’re seeing an overall trend right now of increased awareness about the need to use products that reduce water waste by increasing irrigation efficiency”, says Mike Baron, director of water management at the Toro Company, Irrigation Division, Riverside California. “With the cost of water going up and the increased implementation of tiered rate pricing, there’s a greater interest on the part of the property owners to make those investments to reduce their water costs”. This has been a prevailing sentiment for irrigation manufacturers for a number of years. smart controllers and moisture sensors have become hot items, allowing property owners to irrigate their landscape only when necessary. But there’s more to water efficiency than merely using moisture sensors and ET controllers and operating the system less. If you’re thinking seriously of how you can help your clients cut the amount of water used in their irrigation systems, then you will want to take a step back and really look at how the water is being applied. And where else would you look to get a glimpse of this besides the sprinklers? They are one of the most crucial components in an irrigation system. Apoorly set sprinkler, incorrectly nozzled, can tarnish the water distribution for an entire watering area, wasting countless gallons of water during each irrigation cycle.
Thanks to advances in technology in the last several years, sprinklers have become far more water efficient. Companies such as Rainbird, Hunter, Toro, K-Rain and others have introduced new and improved sprinkler heads, and innovations continue to be made.
“We’ve had 60 years of history where the efficiency of spray systems has been 50% or less efficient because the basic spray technology was limited”, says Jeff Miller, product manager for the Toro Company. “The majority of spray systems in the groung are not very efficient. But that’s all starting to change.”
Wasting Water- Let’s first talk about a common misconception which occurs when jurisdictions suddenly impose water restrictions on it’s residents. This often happens in the summer during a drought when the water supply is constrained. As a result of the water shortage, homeowners might be required to water their properties only one or two days a week. The idea is that this will help conserve water. What these jurisdictions fail to take into account, though, is how homeowners will water these one or two days when they are allowed.
“In areas where they are dictating when to water, Homeowners will set their controllers so they’ll completely douse that area with water”, says Don Mann, sales manager for Rainbird, Tuscon, Arizona.
“That’s not necessarily being water efficient. They’re trying to conserve, and they end up wasting”.
Where most irrigation systems go wrong is a lack of matched precipitation between all of it’s sprinklers. What we mean by “matched precipitation” in the irrigation business is that all of the areas being watered by a zone of sprinklers receives the same rate of water. This rate is what is referred to as the application rate or precipitation rate. When that rate is equal at every location in the watering zone, then matched precipitation is achieved.
A common mistake installers make is when they install a system comprised of nozzles that don’t work together to deliver a matched precipitation rate. This is especially common when installing rotors that don’t have similar arcs. For example, you might find a zone that has one 360 degree rotary sprinkler releasing water at two gallons a minute, and another 90 degree nozzle that’s also releasing water at eight gallons per minute….tbc