IRRIGATION Drought in the Plains
Kansas irrigation professionals look to smart irrigation to handle intensifying drought.
By Lauren Sable Freiman
A
s summer approaches,
irrigation professionals
around the country are in demand with calls to update,
repair and activate irrigation systems ahead of the summer heat. In Wichita, Kansas,
irrigation professionals are dealing with the typical sea- sonal rush, but they are also navigating the additional challenge of drought conditions throughout the region. “We had an unseasonably warm and dry winter, and
this spring everyone wants their irrigation on earlier,” says Jeff Baker, owner of Te Grounds Guys of East Wichita. “We are getting endless phone calls to turn on systems as soon as possible because of the drought conditions.” Te dry conditions carry more significant implica- tions for irrigation professionals in the Wichita area than just receiving earlier and more frequent calls for system activation or installation. Tese Wichita-based irrigation professionals share how the warm winter, lack of rainfall and dryer-than-usual spring are changing the way they do business.
Increased demand
While Ryan Lawn & Tree, headquartered in Merriam, Kansas, typically activates systems on a steady schedule
16 Irrigation & Lighting June 2023
between March and May, this year the calls have come much earlier as customers enter panic mode due to extra crispy grass well before the height of the summer heat. “We are finding that the guys we have on staff are
working six days a week, 60 hours a week,” says Anthony Crone, Wichita irrigation department manager for Ryan Lawn & Tree. “We are getting stressed and having to hire when we don’t normally need to. We are in the pro- cess of not only trying to make the guys more efficient during the day, but we need to bring on more people to get to the clients in time.” If the dry conditions continue, the late summer slow-
down that’s been typical in years past won’t be so slow at all. Anthony says he is working to add two to three more technicians to his current team of 15 in an attempt to prepare for the constant workflow he anticipates. “Normally, you see a high volume of work in the
spring and early summer and then around July and Au- gust, it tends to taper off before it ticks back up,” he says. “Last year we didn’t see any of that slowdown at all. We are trying to get ahead of the curve to make sure we are extra staffed to be prepared for the workload.”
irrigationandlighting.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
