Landscape Architect Articles

July Smart Irrigation Month - 201506-30-15 | News

July Smart Irrigation Month - 2015
Started in 2005, Smart Irrigation Month is designed to bring awareness to the general public about water efficient practices. The Irrigation Association invites you to use the resources they assembled to promote the initiative through social media, traditional media and public relations channels.
smartirrigationmonth.org

Aqua Cents Water Management was recently presented a Technology Business of the Year Award for their Hydrogels, which are organic pellets that are injected directly below the root zone of turf to capture and hold 400 times their weight in water and nutrients, and then releasing up to 96 percent of their contents. This has been shown to provide water savings of up to 50 percent for sustained periods of five to seven years.

California-based Village Nurseries just launched their Save Water - Stay Green• Campaign to help spread information about low water use plants. A complete listing of these types of plants that are available in their plant library is found at villagenurseries.com/product-category/low water use. (https://www.villagenurseries.com/product-category/low-water-use)

reports people often assume that brown grass is dying grass when it actually could be in a dormant state due to a drought. As long as the crowns and root system are intact and have adequate moisture, grass can sustain itself.

Carlos Medrano, a national certified landscape irrigation auditor from Denver, Colo., reminds that besides smart controllers and more efficient sprinklers, a smart irrigation system should include flow sensing technology to quickly identify breaks in lines, wireless rain sensors that can be placed at more optimal locations to accurately gauge rainfall, and pressure regulators to minimize misting and wind-drift.