Grey4Green and UmidaAg CEO, Joseph Gallegos, presented a live and recorded webinar on January 18th to help landscape architects and professionals navigate the new irrigation system to reduce water use by 80%.

Gallegos emphasized the importance of utilizing this irrigation type due to laws like California AB 1572 which will limit the irrigation of non-functional commercial turf and how rules like this will become commonplace as water scarcity spreads.

Attendees heard examples from studies in agriculture as it is a more quantifiable practice than urban and even commercial spaces. He went onto say that conservation rules will make only 17 out of 100 acres farmable soon; making practices like evapotranspiration crucial.

Gallegos explained that in recent studies typical water use for 1,000 square feet of landscaping will need 55 inches without this technology, yet when evapotranspiration is added only 10 inches of water is needed across the same square footage.

 

To learn more about this subsurface plume system, design, and application methods, register for the OnDemand session on LandscapeWebinars.org here.

Earn LA/CES HSW, APLD, PGMS, NALP and QWEL credit.

Learning Objectives:
1. How transpiration only irrigation leads to 80% reduction in evapotranspiration needs (MWELO is 55%).
2. How to design for transpiration only irrigation.
3. How to manage transpiration only irrigation.

Transpiration Only Irrigation

Just like sprinklers and drip irrigation are unique classes/types of irrigation methods, the Virtual Water Table Irrigation (VWTI) system is a new class of irrigation. This new class of irrigation leads to Transpiration Only Irrigation, eliminating evaporation losses. We will go over how VWTI is applied in agricultural production leading to an 80% reduction in applied water, as well as how it can be applied in landscape design to achieve the same results. In a commercial orchard using traditional drip irrigation, a tree needs 500 gallons of water per week in the middle of summer. With VWTI, the same trees need only 80 gallons per week. Urban landscapes can expect the same steep reduction for both trees and shrubs. This webinar will go over how to design both the irrigation layout and the plant placement for landscapes.

Defensive Strategy / Competitive Advantage:
As more cities limit and fine landscape watering, this provides an opportunity to offer a new irrigation system installation using 80% less water, helping clients avoid penalties and fines. This webinar will provide you with an advantage over the competition, by learning and offering this new class of irrigation before it becomes popular. For the right customer, it is not about competing on price, but more about the total water savings of the landscape and not being outed and shamed for using too much landscape water.

Joseph Gallegos
Joseph Gallegos speaks nationally on the subject of water resource conservation. He is engaged with residential Do It Yourself (DIY) projects and commercial and agricultural projects daily. He originally started his water conservation journey in 2015 with a greywater business, which he started to keep his lawn green during the drought. His urban-focused company Grey4Green (Grey4Green.com) has a YouTube channel teaching DIY homeowners and commercial landscapers how to install greywater irrigation. His agricultural business Umida Agriculture (UmidaAg.com) focuses on transpiration only irrigation, a method that reduces plant water needs by 80%. You will find his presentations informative, with models on how to apply the subject matter in your landscape business, and financial models to understand the economics for quoting and profit variables. His presentation goal is to make the landscape industry resilient in the face of growing water scarcity.