Landscape Irrigation and Climate Change

Landscape Irrigation and Climate Change

How Healthy, Irrigated Landscapes
Keep Our Planet Cool


Climate change is a hot topic (no pun intended) among green industry professionals right now. And it was the theme of this year’s National Lawn Care Month.

To help educate the public about the important role healthy lawns and landscapes play in mitigating the negative effects of climate change, the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) has released a new video.

Check it out:

Caring for the Planet

The easiest way to sequester carbon is through photosynthesis. So the more plants, trees and grass, the more carbon is removed from the air — and the more oxygen is produced. In addition, proper landscaping – with trees that provide both windbreaks and shade — saves energy by keeping homes warm in winter and cool in summer.

According to Britt Wood,  NALP CEO, many homeowners are unaware of the positive impact they can have simply by adding plants and trees to their landscape and maintaining a healthy lawn. To this end, smart irrigation systems can be a major component in an overall strategy to protect the planet. Not only does smart irrigation save precious water resources, but it helps ensure that residential landscapes remain strong and healthy, optimizing their carbon-sequestering capabilities.

Homeowner Tips

Carbon-Capturing Lawns

A 2018 study by a University of Wisconsin scientist reveals that lawns may act as a secret weapon against climate change. In an analysis of soil samples Dr. Carly Ziter found that the typical American lawn is more effective at capturing carbon than natural, untouched ecosystems.

She is unsure why this is so, but speculates that it could be due to lawn care practices (e.g., mowing). However, Dr. Ziter emphasized that her study only compared the soil of lawns and natural environments, not the plants that may capture carbon aboveground.

Therefore, the effectiveness of carbon-capturing soil could potentially be offset by the carbon emissions required to maintain the lawns with gas-powered equipment.

Source: The New York Times

You can remind your customers of the important role they play in combatting climate change by offering them a few helpful tips:

Add more trees and shrubs to sequester carbon, produce oxygen and filter the air.

Plant in the right spots to block prevailing winds and provide your home with energy-saving shade.

Select plants that are appropriate to your particular climate and location. Incorporate hydrozones in your landscape design to maximize irrigation efficiency.

Keep your lawn and plants healthy to capture more carbon and effectively filter storm water. Take advantage of smart irrigation technology – including weather stations with ET controllers, soil-moisture sensors, rain and wind sensors — to ensure optimal health for your residential landscape. Homeowners who are serious about changing their impact on the planet should explore these innovations to reduce water usage, save money, and preserve our precious resources.

Switch to Electric

The Electric Power Research Institute claims that replacing half of our gas-powered lawn mowers with electric models would have the same emissions-reducing effect as removing two million vehicles from the road.

So your customers may wish to consider switching to an electric-powered mower. Not only are electric mowers better for the planet, but they also are quieter, easier to maneuver, and less costly to maintain.

However, because they require either a cord or a limited-capacity battery, they work best on flatter, smaller yards (one-half acre or less). Large or challenging terrains with dips and slopes still require gas-powered mowers for optimal results.

But that may change. As consumers continue to demand greener alternatives, electric mower technology will no doubt evolve to include more powerful units with advanced capabilities.

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Landscape contractors, also, are increasingly switching over to all-electric commercial-grade equipment. They find that electric equipment is cheaper to maintain and saves on time and labor, because workers are no longer stopping to refuel. And there’s no learning curve.

In addition, landscapers who’ve made the switch report that their customers have responded very favorably to the quieter motors and environmental benefits that the electric fleets offer.

Want More?

For additional resources regarding healthy landscapes and climate change, visit the NALP website.


Sources:
Featured Image: Pixabay
Irrigation and Green Industry
Cleveland Banner
CNet
Lawn & Landscape

It’s Time to Plug Those Leaks!

It’s Time to Plug Those Leaks!

Fix a Leak Week Runs from
March 15-21, 2021


As an irrigation professional, fighting water waste is part of your job description. The EPA’s annual Fix a Leak Week is a great time for you to remind your customers of that.

Irrigation System Leaks

An irrigation system leak as small as 1/32nd of an inch (about the thickness of a dime) can waste around 6,300 gallons of water per month! So take time this month to remind your customers about the importance of a spring checkup. Residential irrigation systems should be inspected prior to startup to make sure the components haven’t been damaged by frost or freezing weather.

Fix a Leak Week

Are You WaterSense Certified?

Have you taken the time to become WaterSense certified? If not, why not?

Certification entitles you to exclusive benefits. Such as:

  • Inclusion in the EPA’s online Directory of Certified Professionals.
  • Work opportunities for  federal facilities, new home projects, and LEED® projects.
  • Use of the WaterSense  label on business cards and other marketing items.
  • Increased exposure to potential customers through national EPA recognition as an environmental steward.
  • Access to helpful EPA tools and other resources.

Interested? Click Here.

If you’re WaterSense certified (see sidebar at right), let your customers know that you’ve passed an EPA-recommended program specifically focused on water efficiency. Not only can you help identify and correct any irrigation system leaks, but you can also make sure their system is operating at peak performance.

More than 340 spray sprinkler bodies and almost 800 irrigation controllers have been certified by WaterSense as the most water-efficient products. You’ll want to carry a wide assortment of these products for your customers.

Other Household Leaks

Did you know that repairing a single leaky toilet can save up to 500 gallons of water a day? That’s the amount needed to fill the average backyard swimming pool.

By reminding your customers to check for leaky faucets and showerheads, and malfunctioning toilets, you’ll demonstrate that you’re serious about water efficiency. 

Your customers can expect to save about 10 percent on their water bills simply by fixing minor household leaks. Here’s how:

—Article Continues Below—

Pinpointing Leaks

Inform your customers of these simple ways to detect water leaks:

Take a look at your water usage during January or February. If it’s more than 12,000 gallons per month (for a family of four), you have some serious leaks.

Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period of no water usage. If the meter changes at all, you’ve probably got a leak.

To identify leaks in a toilet,  place one drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. Wait 10 minutes, then check the bowl. If the color shows up, you have a leak.

Some Simple Fixes

Leaky toilets can often be fixed simply by replacing the flapper.

For most faucet leaks, simply replace old or worn faucet washers and gaskets.

Got a leaky showerhead? Use plumber’s tape to secure the connection between the fixture and the pipe stem.

For more leak fixes, check out the WaterSense website.


Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe, License Granted
EPA
The Washington Post
Water Use It Wisely
Water News Network

 

HOAs Are Ripe for Irrigation Systems

HOAs Are Ripe for Irrigation Systems

Record Number of Homeowners Reside in HOA Communities


Did you know that 74 million Americans reside in communities with a homeowners association? Almost all new housing units built for sale are governed by HOAs.

According to the Community Associations Institute, today there are more than 351,000 HOA-governed communities across the country. That figure translates to about a 350 percent growth since their inception in the 1970s. And approximately 8,500 of those HOAs are located in Ohio.

With the reduction in commercial irrigation contracts due to the COVID pandemic, it’s time to focus on the residential market.

This makes 2021 a good year to branch out into installing and updating irrigation systems within HOAs, most of which still have healthy budgets for landscaping and irrigation.

HOA Irrigation Systems

Increasingly, HOA-governed communities are choosing smart irrigation systems to promote lush landscaping and increase curb appeal. Healthy, well-maintained landscaping within an HOA is not only a source of pride for residents, it also attracts prospective buyers.

About Training

Even though most HOA irrigation systems installed today utilize automated controllers, there is often at least one designated and trained individual who can also adjust the system manually, if necessary. Some irrigation contractors and manufacturers include this training in their pricing.

While some HOAs choose to have irrigation systems installed only at the community’s front entrance or around their common areas, plenty of others will select to have the entire property irrigated. Most HOA irrigation systems use municipal water, but some pull from source ponds or private wells.

The majority of today’s HOA sprinkler systems utilize automated controllers, but the older manual-style controllers are also still in use.  Those associations that still use the “old timers” are good candidates for updating their systems with smart technology.

The most widely used sprinkler heads within HOAs are pop-ups, and they typically utilize only one type of delivery system—either sprays or rotors. Using more than one delivery device requires zone segregation for the different devices to ensure matched precipitation rates. The choice of device will depend on the size and slope of the property being watered.

Benefits for HOAs

A community-wide irrigation system that uses smart technology is a wise investment for HOAs. But it’s up to you to sell the board members on the many benefits. Such as:

  • Save money on municipal water bills for common areas. An old or poorly maintained irrigation system wastes both water and money. (Ever drive by an HOA-governed community on a rainy day and wonder why the sprinklers are running?) As water rates increase every year, water conservation becomes increasingly important to HOAs. In addition, many water utilities offer rebates for installing smart controllers and other water-efficient technology.

—Article Continues Below—

  • Eliminate overwatering, which can lead to water damage, pest problems, standing water and fungal issues. According to the EPA, replacing a standard clock timer with a smart irrigation controller can save an average home nearly 7,600 gallons of water every year. And switching out older or conventional sprays and rotors with WaterSense-rated nozzles can cut water use by 30% or more. Other smart irrigation features, like soil-moisture sensors, rain sensors and weather stations, are also a good fit for most HOAs.
  • Ensure uniform coverage and eliminate underwatering, which can lead to unhealthy lawns and plants, weed encroachment, and bald patches.
  • Preserve soil nutrients by reducing runoff and erosion.
  • Accommodate the shape of common areas and meet the needs of a community’s specific space, plantings, local soil and sun exposure.
  • Increase home values.
  • Reduce HOA member complaints and increase member satisfaction with regard to landscapes.

Know Your Customer

Working with HOAs is not a hard sell. The challenge is in finding the best system for each property’s unique characteristics. For instance, you’ll need to determine the number of water-supply connection points, the number of controllers per connection point, whether a pump is needed, etc. To this end, it’s important to visit the property to conduct an in-depth inspection of both the landscape and any current sprinkler system.

Only with a thorough inspection will you be able to recommend the best system for a new installation or the best retrofits for an old irrigation system. Oftentimes the best option for an HOA’s needs is not the cheapest one. Your homeowners will want to know why. If you’ve conducted a rigorous analysis, you’ll be able to provide answers.

For HOA board members who are interested in learning more about all the advantages smart irrigation can offer their communities, the Irrigation Association offers a free downloadable resource, The Homeowner’s Guide to Landscape Irrigation.


Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe, License Granted
Community Associations Institute
Upscale Living
William Douglas Property Management
Irrigation and Green Industry

 

Protecting Ohio Watersheds

Protecting Ohio Watersheds

Ohio Watersheds Are Crucial to
Its Sustainability


We all live in a watershed.

Residential areas, farms, forests, small towns, big cities …They’re all part of a massive watershed network. Watersheds cross municipal, county, state and even international borders.

Pixabay Image

They come in all shapes and sizes, encompassing millions of square miles or just a few acres. And like creeks that drain into rivers, small watersheds are almost always part of a larger watershed.

For instance, Ohio’s 23 major watersheds consist of 254 principal streams and rivers. But they all drain into either Lake Erie or the Ohio River. (See “Ohio’s Two Primary Watersheds,” below.)

Our landscape and all its activities interconnect with streams, lakes and rivers through their watersheds. Naturally varying lake levels, water movement to and from groundwater, and amount of stream flow influences them as well. The health of our waterways is largely determined by these dynamics between the land and the water.

Ohio watersheds

Ohio’s Two Primary Watersheds

In Ohio, rivers north of the Continental Divide flow to Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Rivers south of the Divide flow to the Ohio River and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico.

Learn more about the Lake Erie watershed:

Learn more about the Ohio River Watershed:

Becoming Watershed Wise

Watersheds must be protected if they are to sustain life. When human activities alter the natural function of the watershed, residents can be adversely affected by frequent flooding and routine periods of drought.

The three leading causes of polluted waterways are:

  1. Sediments
  2. Bacteria (such as E. coli), and
  3. Excess nutrients (such as nitrogen- and phosphate-based fertilizers).

Watershed-wise practices help create a balance and allow nature to work in our favor. When properly employed, residential landscapes can function as healthy mini-watersheds. The Green Gardens Group (G3) provides training and certification for its Watershed Approach to landscaping. This approach includes four key elements:

  • Build Healthy Soil
  • Capture Rainwater
  • Select Native, Climate-Appropriate Plants
  • Use Highly Efficient Irrigation

Smart irrigation technology (smart controllers, rain and soil-moisture sensors, and pressure regulators) is a key component of this approach and ensures optimal irrigation system performance.

Best Practices

As an irrigation and landscape professional, are you practicing watershed-wise principles, or are you contributing to the problem? Here are a few tips:

  • Promote smart irrigation controllers and other technology with your customers, to ensure that runoff is reduced or even eliminated.
  • Utilize matched precipitation rate (MPR) nozzles.
  • Suggest that your customers create hydrozones (groups of plants with similar water needs) to conserve water.
  • Offer your customers natural alternatives to nitrogen- or phosphate-based fertilizers? And suggest integrated pest management instead of pesticides.
  • Make sure that roof runoff is directed onto a grassy area, not a sanitary or storm sewer system.
  • Suggest porous surfaces for landscaping (such as flagstone, gravel or interlocking pavers), rather than impervious surfaces like concrete.
  • Consider installing irrigation systems that draw from rainwater or gray water, whenever possible.
  • Remind your customers that irrigation system management is critical!  Systems must be actively and constantly managed in order to be watershed wise.

Ohio watersheds

Take a Virtual Tour of
Ohio Watersheds

The Ohio Watershed Network offers a virtual tour of Ohio’s watersheds, beginning with the smallest streams in the watershed, the Headwaters.

From there, they move through the wider, slower-moving creeks and floodplains of the Middle Reaches. Then to the lakes, ponds and reservoirs, where sediments and many contaminants can collect.

The next stop is the precious Wetlands, with its large variety of plant and animal life. Finally, the last stop on the watershed tour is the Mighty River, where sediments, debris, or contaminants empty into the receiving waters.

We all affect the watershed, one way or another. Whether our individual influence is positive or negative is up to us.


Sources:
Featured Image: Pixabay
The Nature Conservancy
Green Gardens Group
WKYC
Ohio EPA

Matched Precipitation Rates: Key to Water Efficiency

Matched Precipitation Rates: Key to Water Efficiency

Matched Precipitation Rates Prevent
Runoff and Dry Spots


As an irrigation professional, you know how important water efficiency has become to the industry.

Gone are the days of sprinkler run-off overflowing into the street. With today’s technology — smart controllers, rotary nozzles, soil moisture sensors, etc. — the irrigation industry is using water much more efficiently than ever before.

And one key to that water efficiency is matched precipitation.

The Basics

When designing sprinkler systems, matching precipitation rates can help to avoid wet and dry spots, as well as excessive run times. Which is why irrigation system designers must consider flow rates and arcs of coverage to ensure even precipitation for each coverage area or zone.

Pixabay Image

Flow rates are proportional to the degree of arc covered. For example, the flow rate of a quarter-circle (90⁰) sprinkler head is equal to one-quarter that of a full-circle (360⁰) head. Likewise, the flow rate of a half-circle (180⁰) spray is equal to one-half that of a full circle.

Matched precipitation rate can be achieved two ways:
  • By zoning together sprinklers with the same precipitation rate (Gallons Per Minute x 96.3 ÷ area), or
  • By selecting the appropriate Matched Precipitation Rate (MPR) nozzles.

Note: Spray and multi-stream rotary heads automatically match precipitation; single-stream rotors do not.

Zoning Together

When heads without matched precipitation rates are used in the same zone, dry spots often develop. This can lead to the extension of sprinkler run times, as the entire area is watered longer to keep the dry spot alive. That’s why it’s important to always zone together sprinkler heads with the same precipitation rate.

This can be achieved by matching the gallons per minute (GPM) of a standard rotor to its arc and reducing the range accordingly. For example, two GPM at 90⁰ would equal four GPM at 180⁰, or eight GPM if the sprinkler head covers a full circle.

An Illustration

The Hunter Industries website offers the following illustration of three different sprinkler heads with matched precipitation rates:

Hunter Industries Image

For each of these sprinkler heads, one GPM is applied to each quarter circle (assuming the throw radius is the same for each head). As a result, precipitation is matched.

On the other hand, if you were to install nozzles with the same flow rate on all three heads, areas covered by the 90⁰ head would receive four times as much water as the area covered by the full-circle head. So the quarter-circle area would flood long before areas covered by the 360⁰ head received sufficient water.

(For detailed examples of how this works, click here.)

MPR Nozzles

Hunter Industries Photo

Matched Precipitation Rate (MPR) nozzles provide a much simpler way to match precipitation rates within the respective irrigation zones. These nozzles allow sprinklers with various arcs and radii to be mixed on the same circuit. They work well, for example, with beds or turf areas that are irregularly shaped and therefore require varying radii of sprinkler heads within the same zone.

MPR nozzles offer irrigation contractors and technicians greater flexibility when working on the system. Different nozzles can be used for precise watering, while still maintaining matched precipitation rates across the irrigation zone.

Can You Mix and Still Match?

So can different types of sprinklers be used within the same zones? According to Brent Barkley, product manager for Rain Bird in Azusa, Calif., the answer is “Yes, but cautiously.”

“With careful design, and the right products, it is possible to match the precipitation rates of rotors and rotary nozzles, allowing them to be zoned together while irrigating different sections of an irregularly shaped lawn,” said Barkley. An example would be if rotors are being used on a fairly large area of turf in a front lawn, you could probably utilize some rotary nozzles to irrigate a narrow strip of side yard.

What you want to avoid, however, is a hodgepodge (“crazy quilt”) of sprinkler types with no apparent rhyme or reason. A situation like that can result when numerous repairs and alterations are performed by various contractors over the years.

Particularly on older systems, you may see the crazy quilt layout, with a combination of spray heads and rotors delivering water at much different precipitation rates. In such a situation, replacing the spray heads with rotary nozzles can help come very close to achieving matched precipitation rates without replacing the whole system.


Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe, License Granted
Hunter Industries
Irrigation & Green Industry
Irrigation Toolbox