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Water Conservation Strategies

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Dwindling supply, higher costs and eventually governmental regulations have led to innovative products to help homeowners conserve water and save money at the same time. Have you ever witnessed a lawn sprinkler system running in the middle of a rain storm? It’s one of those sightings that causes you to scratch your head and wonder how someone could be so wasteful. Well, back in the day when control options were limited, there were few irrigation system accessories that were both affordable and efficient. Thankfully that time has passed, and today homeowners have several options to serve their interests in maintaining a healthy lawn and landscape without wasteful use of water. Today we have irrigation system accessories like rain sensors and moisture sensors that come in both hardwired and wireless technologies. Rain sensors are now capable of not only detecting the presence of rain and signaling the sprinklers to shut down, some are sophisticated enough to work in combination with a smart controller to monitor weather conditions and make adjustments accordingly. Rain sensors are typically mounted on the eves of a home in a location that receives unobstructed exposure to rainfall. Moisture sensors have the added capacity to monitor the presence of moisture in the soil and override the irrigation schedule programmed into the controller when adequate moisture is available to support the needs of grass and ornamental plants. In a recent article appearing in Irrigation and Green Industry magazine, Brian Muller marketing manager for new product development at Rain Bird Corporation, is quoted as stating “The savings typically associated with a rain sensor is about 30%, versus an irrigation controller that is just a timer, doing schedule-based irrigation. A soil moisture sensor gives you about 45% water savings against a schedule-based controller.” “So if you install both a rain sensor and a soil moisture sensor on the same controller, you can save up to 70%.” That’s pretty clear evidence that water conservation is achievable with today’s irrigation system technologies. But it’s not as simple as install it and forget it. Rain sensors do require an annual check to be sure the system is functioning properly and if you have a wireless device the batteries should be replaced annually to ensure uninterrupted performance. On the other hand, soil moisture sensors may only need to be relocated as the landscape matures to ensure good performance.