Landscape Architects and irrigation designers often work together on a daily basis. Despite this close professional relationship, glaring questions and misunderstandings still exist. By creating an open forum to explore a few areas of concern, channels of communication are opened and both groups benefit from sharing their points of view.

We interviewed several Landscape Architects and asked what questions they had concerning irrigation and utilizing the services of a certified irrigation designer. The answers were submitted by members of the Southern California Chapter of the American Irrigation Consultants.

Gary Motshagen

I feel this is a negative trend. Most irrigation designers are very sophisticated concerning engineering applications, hydraulics and other product developments. The ever-increasing lack of water?EUR??,,????'??+which will become more scarce in the future?EUR??,,????'??+will require the irrigation designer to be even more prudent in his/her designs and to also become a water; resource manager.

Generally speaking, Landscape Architects do not understand irrigation design. They are creative people who do not like this mundane task and consider it boring. Many of the irrigation designers who are employed in landscape architectural firms are the newest and least experienced people on the staff They received maybe ten hours of irrigation design training in four years of study. Most in-house irrigation designers do not have field experience, prior knowledge of irrigation design or sound supervision. In many cases they are making design mistakes.

Our office was recently asked to review a set of plans for the irrigation design of a housing development which involved hillside/slope irrigation systems. A landscape architectural firm did the irrigation design. The design specified that the four water meters were to be three inches in size. In reviewing the hydraulic calculations, we found that the meters should have been two inches in size Furthermore, the designer, because of inexperience and not understanding pressure/friction loss, upsized the meters, mainlines, remote control valves and lateral line piping. The cost for the upsized three-inch meters alone was $15,000 more than the two-inch meters. The Landscape Architect saved money on the design, but the client/owner would have paid hundreds of times more than it should have cost.

I believe that for most landscape architectural offices, the decision to do “in-house” irrigation design is based primarily on economics. Most offices do not understand the complexity of irrigation and do not appreciate the knowledge of the experienced professional irrigation consultant. When a landscape architectural firm can hire an entry-level draftsperson for eight to nine dollars per hour, they cannot justify engaging an outside consultant and paying him/her their fee. In most cases, inexperience and expertise are not even considered. I believe the qualified and experienced irrigation consultant provides better services and in a more timely manner

Cal Olson

Anyone who would rather specify old design techniques rather than take a chance on new techniques should not be doing irrigation design.

Irrigation water management j concepts have not changed but the tools available to implement those concepts have changed drastically and continue to rapidly improve.

Staying current in irrigation design does not mean you can sit in your office and expect all “current” literature and design advances to come rolling in to you with full explanations. For example, new sprinkler heads by a reputable manufacturer need to be verified for performance by a field review to confirm design compatibility.

If you cannot dedicate full time research and commitment to studying the advancements in irrigation products and design, you should retain a consultant who has kept current and can provide this service to you.

Mitch Johnson

It is my opinion that within each profession there exists certain levels of professionalism. As an irrigation consultant who has done work for many large and prestigious landscape architectural firms, I find that by just looking at the graphics work on a landscape plan, I know what office has generated the plan.

Irrigation consultants are very much a product of their graphic capabilities too. When someone sees the irrigation plans that I generate they may say, ?EUR??,,????'??Hey, these plans were done by Mitch Johnson. I can tell by the way they are drawn.?EUR??,,????'?? To me, this is not just a simple set of plans, but my ?EUR??,,????'??signature.?EUR??,,????'??

The ability to convey proper information to the installation contractor is our primary business. My plans reflect my level of it professionalism and intense desire to be the best.

As any graduate Landscape Architect should know, design, as it relates to the landscape industry, is very personalized. I, for one, would hate to see all irrigation consultants using the same symbols for equipment. I feel that graphics is one item that can begin to separate the professional irrigation consultants from the irrigation designers.

Ron Wolfarth

Educational opportunities for it Landscape Architects in irrigation design have historically been weak or unavailable. In many parts of the country, the perceived need for it irrigation education has not been great and many university programs have not offered instruction. The Uniform National Examination (UNE) for licensure does not address irrigation at any depth and university programs have little incentive to it teach something that is not covered extensively on the examination. In some cases, there is not a qualified instructor available to teach such a course.

There are opportunities for those Landscape Architects who want to learn irrigation design. Manufacturers have offered design seminars at little or no cost for many years. Rain Bird Sales, Inc., for instance, has felt the responsibility to it offer this education and, quite frankly, has a lot to gain by offering it. An educated designer is one who can make objective decisions in choosing the best products available to him/her.

I feel that no one in our industry abuses this opportunity. The biggest benefit that manufacturers receive is to reduce poor design, misapplication of products and misuse of irrigation systems that end up being called ?EUR??,,????'??product problems.?EUR??,,????'??

Both manufacturers and ASIC recognize the lack of education in irrigation and how it hinders our industry. For several years now, our education committee has been working with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to address this problem. The efforts have resulted in creating a minor in irrigation design.

Today, we are working towards establishing a major in irrigation. At this time, a proposal has been submitted to the Chancellor’s office for approval for this program.

In a related effort, ASIC has been t working toward the licensure of irrigation consultants under the Board of Landscape Architects in the state of California. If this is successful, landscape architectural candidates will be required to take and pass the same examination that would be given to irrigation consultants.

Sam Tobey

Irrigation designers are (for the most part) human. As such, they are conditioned toward certain products. This is true whether they are designing an irrigation system or buying a car. Thus, when they select a product, for themselves or their client, they believe that it is the best product for that particular project.

I believe that most irrigation designers sincerely try to use the best product available. While this may sound idealistic, it is important to consider the criteria involved in making a product selection. While water dispensing performance is important, it is only one of several parameters that is considered. Other factors which influence the decision include ease of installation, maintenance, reliability and the effects of various environmental, factors on the product.

The irrigation designer also considers more than just initial acquisition cost since this cost is usually a small fraction of the overall system cost and an even smaller percentage of its lifecycle cost.

In addition, many irrigation designers know that field problems sometimes occur. These problems must be addressed whether they are the result of the design, the products or some other factor. Again, from experience, the designer knows which product manufacturer will help in the solution of the problem.

Bob Cloud

There is always the possibility of obtaining erroneous information. We have to rely on the information given to us, particularly regarding water pressures. It is my company’s policy to document on the drawing who we talked to and what information was given to us. We also note on the drawing that the contractor is responsible for confirming this data at the time of installation. In the event of discrepancies, the contractor is to notify the authorities prior to installation.