College Campus Absorbs Smart Irrigation Techniques

The landscape crews at Oklahoma University are tasked with maintaining the campus's beauty in the face of a severe drought.

Oklahoma is in the midst of what may be a historic drought. According to Gary McManus of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the drought actually started in October of 2010 and has only worsened since that time.

In response to these severe conditions, the landscaping department at Oklahoma University in Norman is preparing to once again do battle against the summer heat to keep their campus as green as practicable. And at the top of their list of weapons is smart irrigation.

University landscaping director Allen King has directed his supervisors and staff to determine when and when not to water.

"And how to water smarter," he says.

Strategies include watering areas in 15-minute periods so that the water has time to soak into the ground and beginning morning shifts as early as 4 a.m. in order to water before the sun is out.

In addition, sprinklers that spray water up into the air have been eliminated to reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation.

According to King, the campus has over 500 in-ground irrigation areas that operate no more than once every three days, usually from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.in the summer months. "If there is something that can be improved in regards to smart irrigation, we are looking for it," King states.

During the winter months, the irrigation system wasn't used as much as the landscapers allowed the plants to go dormant. Also, the several snowfalls that Norman experienced this past winter contributed a lot of moisture to the university's grounds.

The campus landscaping crews are veterans in this battle since the local area has been experiencing drought conditions for the past several years, during which time, the department has made extra efforts to study which plants, grasses and flowers will do well in the dry and scorching summer conditions.