An Untapped Reservoir

by Forest Hill

Wasted water. Without a doubt, it’s a huge drain on our natural resources as well as our pocketbooks. It’s a cost that California’s citizens will no longer tolerate. And yet, it’s a problem that municipalities, private property owners and managers can easily solve.

A recent Western US study concluded that our traditional system of urban irrigation maintainance is broken. Government agencies and private companies rarely have the manpower to properly adjust irrigation for constantly changing rainfall, temperature and humidity conditions. We just can’t afford all the people and time it would take: it’s not in the budget. But neither is the skyrocketing cost of water.

Beyond the waste of water, problems of premature plant death, waterlogged and unstable slopes, pests, disease, runoff, ground water pollution (and a host of others) plague improperly irrigated landscapes.

Is there really any excuse for watering acres of city parks during rainfall? Will any passing resident fail to notice this egregious waste of taxpayer money?

“Automatic” sprinklers are anything but automatic. They offer a low initial cost, which is often swallowed up in the first year of operation. It’s like buying a poorly built car, and then giving all your savings to the auto mechanic.

Today’s gold standard for irrigation control is the Smart Controller. It will frequently pay for itself within its first year of operation. That’s a safe bet, especially here in Southern California. This technology lets you turn down the water, way below the textbook settings.

How do Smart Contollers work? How and where should they be specified? Stay Tuned!