Agrilife Irrigation Course

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service Landscape Irrigation Auditing and Management Short Course includes hands-on field instruction, as at this site in Houston. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Charles Swanson)

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Irrigation Technology Center-School of Irrigation has been conducting the Landscape Irrigation Auditing and Management Short Course since 1994. But starting in 2011, attendees will get twice the recognition for the buck, said Charles Swanson, AgriLife Extension landscape irrigation specialist and one of the course instructors. This year’s course attendees can also earn Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense certification for irrigation system auditing in addition to the 16 hours of continuing education units and certification as a Texas Water Auditor.

“Students must pass an optional exam to gain EPA WaterSense accreditation,” Swanson noted. “Completing the course alone does not grant certification; that only gets you CEUs.”

AgriLife Extension will hold the course in Dallas (Feb. 22-23), El Paso (March 16-17) and San Antonio (April 12-13). Course registration is $255 and the optional exam cost is $75, and may be paid online at https://agrilifevents.tamu.edu or by telephone at 979-845-2604.

Registration will be accepted online for any course up to 24 hours before the course begins, but walk-in registrations also will be permitted, Swanson said.

The request for EPA WaterSense accreditation came from past students, Swanson said, because some contractors require it for various reasons, including winning federal contracts and “green” building projects.

The curriculum remains largely unchanged from that of previous years, he said, but the exam has increased from 50 questions to 100 to meet all EPA criteria. Through classroom presentations and hands-on field instructions, students learn how to analyze irrigation- system performance, correct problems such as broken sprinklers and low pressure, and calculate actual application rates using catch cans