Drop by Drop…
As the drought worsens and water is in short supply, I called our own Tim Laber of Aqua-Flo Supply, our leading regional distributor of landscape and irrigation supplies (fire pits and fountains too!) to ask for suggestions on how to better conserve landscape water. It was a great call and Tim was so enthusiastic to help that I could not write fast enough!
Per Tim there are two main ways to think about water conservation in the landscape:
Implementing Best Practices – Every landscape needs a certain amount of water to maintain optimal plant health. Utilizing Best Practices can keep your landscape pristine and reduce your water usage.
- Program the irrigation system to run early in the morning or after sunset to avoid losing water to evaporation.
- Inspect your irrigation system in operation at different times of the year to make small repairs and adjustments.
- Utilize proper irrigation design concepts as to best spacing and type of heads for proper coverage.
- Select plants that don’t require a lot of water to maintain optimal health.
- Add organic soil amendments to improve soil structure and increase water holding capacity.
- Consult your gardener or a local nursery on proper trimming, pruning, and mowing for the plants in your landscape (i.e., turf grass requires less water when mower height is set to 4” vs 3”).
- Apply mulch to planter areas to improve water retention and reduce evaporation.
Upgrading to Smart Irrigation Products – All of the new irrigation products on the market are designed with water conservation in mind. Upgrading an irrigation system to more and smarter efficient products can have a huge impact on water savings.
The irrigation controller is the brain of the system and the #1 most important component in determining how much water is applied to the landscape. Not all irrigation controllers need to be upgraded to ensure efficient watering. Programming a controller’s seasonal adjustment feature or adding an inexpensive rain sensor can have a big impact on water savings. When upgrading irrigation controllers, consider adding a weather monitor to automatically adjust irrigation run times or choose a controller with Wi-Fi capability to better manage when and for how long the irrigation system runs.
If you need help programming your controller, the brains of the controller snap right out and you can bring it to one of the Aqua-Flo stores at 30 S. La Patera in Goleta (805) 967-2374 or 18 S. Milpas in Santa Barbara (805) 897-1166 anytime and they can help you program it for free.
The second most important products in determining the efficient use of water in a landscape are the spray nozzles that distribute water. Much of the water-saving innovation over the last few years has focused on multi-stream rotating nozzles (Hunter MP Rotators and Rainbird RVANs). The simplicity of the arc and radius adjustments and the combination of uniform distribution and low application rate reduces waste by eliminating puddling, overspray, and runoff. Changing fixed spray nozzles to multi-stream rotating nozzles is an easy do It yourself project and will most likely help conserve a lot of water. Pop-out the old head and install an efficient one.
- Drip irrigation products are among the most efficient because they are designed to deliver water directly to the root zone of the plant without any overhead spray. Capping off old sprinklers and converting a spray system to drip irrigation virtually eliminates waste from runoff, overspray, and evaporation. Make sure to keep up the maintenance of the drip system though – the flexible tubing and small emitters make it more susceptible to clogging or damage from tools, pets, and critters.
- Citrus trees are best watered with “micro-sprinklers” which is a form of drip, as citrus needs a lot of water.
- Be sure hose bibs do not drip to avoid wasting water.
A couple of other local tips. You can get recycled garden mulch from Goleta Transfer at (805) 681-4981. The mulch is free, and you can pick up or have it delivered for $60.00 for a dump truck load. As a caveat, it will have a little debris in it, but I am told there is not much, and it can easily be picked out. Also, you can schedule La Cumbre Mutual Water Company (805) 967-2376 to come to your home, free of charge, to perform a water audit which includes tips on how to improve your irrigation system.
I want to thank Tim again. I learned so much and he made it simple to understand and easy to implement. We augmented our bark chip for Patterson Self-Storage just yesterday to slow down evaporation after getting a refresher from Tim!
