Implementation of Irrigation BMP The irrigation conservation BMP is applicable for utilities with automated irrigation systems, or who serve customers that use automated irrigation systems. Since not all customers fall into this category, utilities implementing irrigation surveys will need to identify their high water use customers as a first step in determining their target audience. It is worth noting that many customers irrigate some during the summer to keep their landscapes alive, but do not irrigate excessively. Proper identification of high water use customers is essential to developing the most cost-effective program. If choosing to implement this BMP through ordinance, the requirement that all irrigation systems have backflow preventers, which need to be inspected, can be used as a point at which irrigation system design documents and standards can be checked as well. The various program approaches listed in Sections 4.0 - 4.4 can be implemented as separate programs, or in an integrated fashion. The implementation options discussed herein include education, incentives, and ordinance or rules approach to reducing water waste and promoting water efficiency in landscape irrigation. Programmatic Approaches Local media outlets can also assist in educating the public. Often the local newspaper will have a gardening editor or a radio talk-show host will share water-saving tips with their audience or promote the utility’s programs. TV weather reporters also have an interest in water efficiency as it relates to changes in the seasons. The San Antonio Express-News
The utility should consider offering the following services:
Training Customers and Irrigators Whichever approach is used, landscape irrigation education programs should include the following topics: Potential workshop topics for general public:
Training for Professional Irrigators
Offering training for professional irrigators should be targeted for the wintertime when they are less busy. Individual Water Budgets, and On-site Irrigation Surveys Due to the differences in rainfall and growing seasons across the state a utility will need to review its historic demand curve to determine when to offer pre-irrigation water surveys. Choosing the month at which water demand has historically first exceeded the monthly average water use for the water system is a good starting point for rolling out annual irrigation surveys. This can be anytime from early spring to early summer in Texas. Utility conservation programs often avoid the term “audit” to describe irrigation system evaluations due to the negative connotation of the term. Some alternative terms to consider are:
In order to maintain water savings achieved through landscape irrigation BMP, regular maintenance and evaluation of irrigation systems are required. To be successful, such programs must include pre-irrigation season checks for leaks and irrigation uniformity (Even if a full distribution uniformity is not run every year, irrigation heads and valves can become stuck or blocked by detritus when not used for a while). Irrigation timers should be adjusted monthly or run manually. ET controllers need to be checked to ensure that they are operating correctly. If the utility chooses to promote irrigation audits performed by landscape contractors, a copy of an inspection report for the customer should become an expectation that the utility promotes. In its evaluation report to the customer, the utility may also include the following information:
Approximately one-year after conducting an irrigation audit, the utility should consider conducting a customer-satisfaction survey. The objective of the customer-satisfaction survey is to determine the implementation rate of recommended modifications and to gauge customer satisfaction with the program. The utility should consider implementing a notification program to remind customers of the need for maintenance and adjustments in irrigation schedules as the seasons change More aggressive irrigation programs can offer free irrigation system audits by trained utility conservation staff as well as offering their multi-level or licensed irrigation survey programs with incentives. A description of how to perform an irrigation audit can be found at:
A professional irrigation firm could offer advantages in delivering irrigation audits including a greater level of detail in the survey, and additional services, such as irrigation head replacement. City attorneys often instruct utility staff not to touch customer irrigation equipment due to concerns about liability. Incentive Approach
Another approach to financial incentives is to offer rebates for part of the cost of having irrigation system audits performed by professionals. This can take the form of rebates for specific equipment retrofitted – as in new irrigation heads or a pressure regulator – which helps fix problems found during an audit. It could also include partial costs of the audit itself, especially if the customer shows evidence of implementing audit recommendations through reduced water use. It is also possible to combine an irrigation system standard with a water saving landscape rebate. As a requirement for landscape rebates (see Section 3.8) SAWS requires customers to obtain an irrigation system check up by a SAWS conservation technician.
Some regional water authorities like
Recognition Incentives Recognition programs have the benefit of professional irrigators assisting in promotion of the program at no additional cost to the utility other than administering the program. The certification program provides an incentive to the professional irrigation company to promote conservation as a part of their firm’s marketing efforts. Utilities which are prepared to offer customer’s information online, can integrate their program and assist customers in tracking their water use. Municipal Water District of Orange County, CA
Another incentive which could be implemented is a performance based incentive, similar to those offered by utility management firms to large commercial and multi-family customers. The principle underlying such incentives is that the reduced costs of water savings are shared between to customer and the contractor. A utility could assist in promoting such performance-based contracting by helping identify target water savings based on 80% of ET. Recognized or certified contractors could guarantee their clients (the utility customers) to meet such water budgets. The customer could use the anticipated water savings from the budget to determine their financial capacity to purchase the water savings measures offered by the irrigation contractor. Like the Orange County example above, the utility can promote success by removing contractor certification if they fail to achieve the projected savings. Incentive programs are also useful for municipally-owned utilities wishing to provide a transition period in anticipation of new ordinance requirements. Rain sensor rebates have been combined with ordinances so that customers were given a limited time opportunity to voluntarily retrofit their sprinkler system with an approved rain sensor prior to an ordinance requiring rain sensors taking effect. Utilities like SAWS and Dallas Water Utility have offered these temporary rebates for rain sensors. |
Targeting High Water Users in Austin: The City of Austin has adopted a unique water conservation program, promoting irrigation system evaluations, an outreach effort aimed at its highest-end users. In the irrigation evaluation program, the licensed city irrigators look at the water use records of the highest water-using residential customers. Then, using aerial photographs and GIS software, they calculate the potential water budget for the landscape using historical ET. Once the water budget has been calculated, it is compared with the actual water use of the customer. A certain amount of the water is allocated for that customer to account for indoor water use and the utility sends a letter to the customer indicating what the outdoor water use for their landscape could be using the water budget. The letter also compares the water use and the amount of money a customer could expect to save over a year, should the customer reduce their water use to the amount suggested by the water budget. Finally, the letter offers the customer a free irrigation inspection. This is a way of targeting an irrigation system evaluation, which is a time consuming practice, to those homeowners who are most likely to benefit from them and where the water savings will be maximized. More than 350 irrigation evaluations were performed in 2005-2006 for an estimated savings of more than 35,000 gpd. Performing landscape irrigation audits can usually only be cost effective for very large landscapes due to the time required to set up the data collection from the irrigation zones, collect the data and then analyze it. As a result the City of Austin has a more abbreviated irrigation system examination process in which the licensed irrigator runs each zone, measuring gallons of water per minute for each zone through the water meter, and observes for the following problems:
The free irrigation evaluation is available to all residential customers that use over 25,000 gallons per month. However, many of the participants in the program are new customers or those that have suffered from unusually high water bills. |
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