Irrigation Efficiencies
Steps One Can Take to Water Wiser in Landscaping — By Diana Carlson —
— By John Ellis and Tim Lecours of BrightView Landscapes — A
s we look out our windows and see the wet, gray and cold typical of our region’s winters and early springs, it is hard to imagine
that just six or seven short months ago Western Washington set a record of close to 110 degrees!
For community association managers and board members of community associations across the state, this called for an intense focus on landscapes, and specifically, the irrigation systems responsible for the delivery of water, an obvious and essential element to keeping flowers, shrubs, and trees alive and thriving.
There are environmental and budget incentives for conserving water.
Further, as fresh water is a finite natural resource that has a cost tied to its use in most irrigated environments, there is an incentive for both environmental stewards and budget managers to make sure irrigation systems are operating in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. This requires irrigation systems to be free of leaks and broken system components, programmed to deliver the optimal amount of water to a plant.
Luckily, through systematic seasonal steps and technological advancement in the tools used to apply and manage irrigation in community landscapes, irrigation efficiency is achievable. Though there is more than one way to “skin the proverbial irrigation cat” here are some to consider.
12 Community Associations Journal | March 2022 Conduct a System Pressure Test
Most irrigation components in a landscape system run between 30-50 PSI. Making sure your system is sound, with no mainline or valve leaks, is the first step to ensuring the system is running efficiently. The easiest way to test for leaks is to pressurize the system by letting water flow into the pipes from the source (usually controlled by a double check valve).
Ruling out mainline or valve leaks is the first step toward system efficiency.
Once a sprinkler head is able to operate in a zone farthest from this point of connection, you can assume the system is pressurized. Following this pressurization, turn the water off and wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the system back on and watch the water meter (located at this point of connection). If the water meter does not spin, this means no water had to fill the pipes, indicating no mainline leaks. If the water meter spins, this indicates water is re-entering the system and that there is likely a leak in the mainline.
Perform a Zone By Zone Visual Inspection Cycle through your controller and activate each zone in
the system. Check that irrigation heads are not broken, that water is not bubbling up from the ground from a potential broken lateral pipe and that irrigation valves are not leaking or “stuck on.” Further, check that each sprinkler head is level and that the sprinkler depth is optimal for the type of watering you are hoping to perform (generally so that the top of the irrigation head is level or just below lawn or bed surface grade).
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