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Page 20 — Property Management Quarterly — April 2017
Maintenance
T he efficiency of an irrigation
system is dictated by many
factors, including human,
mechanical and environmen-
tal components,” according
to WaterSense, a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency partnership pro-
gram. “Implementing mechanisms
and practices that increase an irri-
gation system’s efficiency could
save a property more than half of
its outdoor water use. Eliminating
waste requires trained professionals,
appropriate irrigation schedules and
efficient technologies.”
In Colorado, and other arid West-
ern states, it is generally accepted
that 50 percent of municipal water
use is attributable to landscape irri-
gation.
• The case for conservation. Irri-
gation waste carries a high price.
Municipal water used for irriga-
tion can range in price from $5 per
1,000 gallons to potentially $15 per
1,000 gallons along the Front Range,
depending on water purveyor and
specific rate structures. Irrigation
excess often accounts for 20 to 40
percent or more of landscape water
requirements.
As an example, consider a Front
Range landscape where the season-
al water requirement (water budget)
is 10 million gallons. This would
be a typical seasonal budget for a
site with approximately 550,000 to
600,000 square feet of irrigated land-
scape. In this example, 25 percent
excess (waste) will come at a cost of
more than $17,000 annually for this
site when the billable rate is $7 per
1,000 gallons. Addi-
tional costs, not as
easily measured,
are those associ-
ated with excess
water accumula-
tion on nonperme-
able surfaces. Run-
off, puddling and
water collection on
asphalt and other
impervious sur-
faces shortens the
life expectancy of
these surfaces.
Increased irriga-
tion efficiency will reduce water
collection on surfaces where water
adds no value and, typically, does
harm. Efficient irrigation and proper
management also contribute to
more predictable and, therefore,
more manageable water and irri-
gation service-related expenses.
Budget overruns and expensive sur-
prises can greatly be reduced, if not
eliminated.
Additionally, plant health and
visual appeal improve when plants
receive the correct amount of water,
at the correct time. And let’s not for-
get social responsibility. We all owe
some responsibility for conservation
and resource stewardship.
Achieving Irrigation Efficiency
Proper management is a criti-
cal component to achieving water
conservation objectives. With the
accelerated rate of new technology
introduction, management plays an
even more important role in achiev-
ing desired results.
Irrigation man-
agement is more
than just repairs; it
includes responsi-
bility and account-
ability for a water
budget derived
from a given land-
scape’s seasonal
water requirement.
An effective man-
agement plan is
comprised of many
parts.
• Irrigation assess-
ment (audit). Begin
with the end in mind. An irrigation
assessment becomes the road map
that outlines the actions and initia-
tives that should be undertaken to
improve the performance and over-
all efficiency of an irrigation system.
The assessment will produce the
information needed to calculate the
landscape water requirement (water
budget) for the property. In many
instances, a seasonal landscape
water budget may already exist.
The assessment also should prior-
itize efficiency improvements based
on payback opportunity. Irrigation
system improvements/upgrades do
not all deliver the same return on
investment.
Additionally, the assessment can
be an initiative that produces a
map, typically plotted on a satel-
lite image, showing locations of
key irrigation system components
and potentially other assets. A map
becomes a very useful tool at a time
of management and/or service pro-
vider change.
• Implementation. The irriga-
tion assessment, in and of itself,
produces no water savings or effi-
ciency gains. All too often, we see
examples of audits and assessments
completed with no action taken
on any recommendations. Given
the costs associated with water
waste and inefficiency, irrigation
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“
Brian Bair
Owner and
president, ET
Irrigation,
Lakewood
Robert Olson
Director of
business
development,
ET Irrigation,
Lakewood
ET Irrigation
ET, or evapotranspiration, is the sum of
the water used by a plant (transpiration)
and water lost due to evaporation.