A Word on Water

Exciting changes in Water Management and Conservation.

Irrigation Management Systems has been saving water for it's clients since the 80's.  During all of those years and up to today, the primary central control irrigation system used by IMS is Maxicom. 

Maxicom has been around longer than any other central system on the market and it still has the most robust feature set even after all of these years.  Now that is not to suggest that Maxicom is superior in every way to other competing products.  In fact, IMS runs a handful of irrigation systems which do not use Maxicom.

These sites were picked up by IMS well after they had been developed and already had non-Maxicom hardware in place.  Even though these systems are not as feature rich, IMS still saves water in a big way.  That's because saving irrigation water requires the right kind of hardware/software AND professional management.  IMS has brought the professional management for over 20 years.  We just need the right hardware installed on site.

One big drawback for these central control irrigation systems is the cost.  If the hardware is installed when a property is developed, then the cost is not an impediment since it is a small expense in the context of the whole development. 

However, if the property is already done then retrofitting the irrigation system with a central control system hardware is much less appealing because of the cost.  We're talking four figures just to replace a single, standard irrigation controller.  For most property owners and property managers, that is difficult to justify. 

A New Era?

Let me ask you a few questions.  How much did you pay for your most recent television?  How much more advanced technologically is that television compared to the one it replaced?  Finally, how much did that first television cost compared to the second?

Chances are that your answers went something like this:

TV #2 > technology than TV #1 and

TV #2 about the same price or lower price than TV #1

In fact, a similar answer set would be the case for many products that have been around over the last 20-30 years: cell phones, microwave ovens, personal computers, etc.

Central control irrigation products have long been immune to this price/technology dynamic.  That is changing.

IMS has started some parnterships and initiatives that hold some promise of providing reliable, effective central control irrigation hardware at much lower equipment costs.  This could be a game changer folks.

Instead of investing a few thousand dollars to retrofit a single controller, it will now take a few hundred dollars instead.  This is a cost reduction of at least 70 percent and makes the benefits of professionally managed central control irrigation much more available to existing properties.

IMS is very satisfied with the capabilities of systems like Maxicom.  Running them properly and diligently, IMS saves substantial amounts of water and money for its clients and will continue to do so for a long time.

Now IMS has equipment options to offer that are much more affordable and have the feature sets which IMS can use to save water in a manner like we do now with long existing products like Maxicom.  This is really exciting stuff.

Central Control Irrigation - PC or WWW

Central control irrigation systems provide a great deal of potential in better managing water use on a landscape.  Whether the landscape is for a city park, athletic field, corporate campus, an office park or a housing development, a central control irrigation system is well worth considering for whomever is paying the water bills.  Let's face it, water costs are not getting lower nor will they.

The premise for central control irrigation systems is straightforward - that from a single location a water manager (hopefully an experienced and committed one) can program, adjust and monitor one or more irrigation systems.  These irrigation systems could be geographically focused in a concentrated area (like a city) or dispersed across county or state lines.  When assessing the different central control options in the market, one factor to consider is what software/communication architecture will the water manager use from the central control software out to the different irrigation systems.

One software/communication architecture option in the market is software that is PC based.  This is a matter of buying a CD-ROM on which the particular central control software is loaded by the manufacturer and then uploading the software directly onto a desktop or laptop computer.  From this computer, the water manager then connects to the irrigation systems through several options:
*telephone modem
*cellular modem
*direct wire connection
With the PC based software, the water manager has the flexibility to choose which communication option is the best choice.

The other software/communication option is where the central control irrigation software is Internet based.  Here the water manager will log onto a website, using the necessary username and password, in order to control, adjust and monitor the irrigation systems.  One advantage of this type of set up is that the inevitable software updates can be done quickly and seamlessly on the website.  The PC based version requires that any software updates be provided on CD-ROMs shipped by the manufacturer and then loaded onto the PC.

Another aspect to keep in mind with the Internet based central control system is that the water manager does not have any sort of flexibility for communicating from the central control location to the irrigation systems.  This may or may not be a disadvantage.  The communication process is maintained and provided by the central control manufacturer as a part of the website that it also maintains.  The communication method is most likely a paging process or a cellular modem type method.

A Vital Measurement in Irrigation Audits

A key measurement derived from an irrigation audit is distribution uniformity or DU.  An irrigation system has a good DU when an almost equal amount of water is applied on each square foot of irrigated landscape.  This is especially important for a grass area, since every bit of the area is covered by a very dense root system.  In constrast, shrubs and trees can get water from a more dispersed and deeper root system.  For these plant types, DU as determined from an irrigation audit can be less on a square foot basis.

DU is largely affected during the design process when sprinkler types are chosen.  This selection process includes a number of options:
*sprinkler spacing
*sprinkler location relative to landscape features
*fixed spray, rotating or drip
*water pressure at the sprinkler

In addition to these design choices, a number of other factors can affect DU as well.  These include wind conditions, plant interference with spray patterns and equipment damage.

Still it is the design and installation that has the greatest effect on the DU figures that are derived from an irrigation audit.  A single sprinkler is not manufactured with an ability to distribute water evenly over a certain area.  As the distance from the sprinkler head increases, water is applied over an increasingly bigger area of landscape.  Given this fact, sprinkler systems have to be designed so that individual spray patterns overlap in order to provide a good DU.  Poor spacing of sprinkler heads will adversely affect the DU.

In the end, an irrigation audit looks to find out if the DU for each irrigation valve meets a certain level.  This is based on the type of sprinkler head.  Fixed spray heads get a passing grade if the DU is 65 percent or more.  Rotating heads with a DU of 70 percent or more get a passing grade.

Irrigation Mangement - New Technology For Saving Water

Irrigation Management Systems has been saving water for it's clients since the 80's.  During all of those years and up to today, the primary central control irrigation system used by IMS is Maxicom. 

Maxicom has been around longer than any other central system on the market and it still has the most robust feature set even after all of these years.  Now that is not to suggest that Maxicom is superior in every way to other competing products.  In fact, IMS runs a handful of irrigation systems which do not use Maxicom.

These sites were picked up by IMS well after they had been developed and already had non-Maxicom hardware in place.  Even though these systems are not as feature rich, IMS still saves water in a big way.  That's because saving irrigation water requires the right kind of hardware/software AND professional management.  IMS has brought the professional management for over 20 years.  We just need the right hardware installed on site.

One big drawback for these central control irrigation systems is the cost.  If the hardware is installed when a property is developed, then the cost is not an impediment since it is a small expense in the context of the whole development. 

However, if the property is already done then retrofitting the irrigation system with a central control system hardware is much less appealing because of the cost.  We're talking four figures just to replace a single, standard irrigation controller.  For most property owners and property managers, that is difficult to justify. 

A New Era?

Let me ask you a few questions.  How much did you pay for your most recent television?  How much more advanced technologically is that television compared to the one it replaced?  Finally, how much did that first television cost compared to the second?

Chances are that your answers went something like this:

TV #2 > technology than TV #1 and

TV #2 about the same price or lower price than TV #1

In fact, a similar answer set would be the case for many products that have been around over the last 20-30 years: cell phones, microwave ovens, personal computers, etc.

Central control irrigation products have long been immune to this price/technology dynamic.  That is changing.

IMS has started some parnterships and initiatives that hold some promise of providing reliable, effective central control irrigation hardware at much lower equipment costs.  This could be a game changer folks.

Instead of investing a few thousand dollars to retrofit a single controller, it will now take a few hundred dollars instead.  This is a cost reduction of at least 70 percent and makes the benefits of professionally managed central control irrigation much more available to existing properties.

IMS is very satisfied with the capabilities of systems like Maxicom.  Running them properly and diligently, IMS saves substantial amounts of water and money for its clients and will continue to do so for a long time.

Now IMS has equipment options to offer that are much more affordable and have the feature sets which IMS can use to save water in a manner like we do now with long existing products like Maxicom.  This is really exciting stuff.

Irrigation Management - Audits Are A Great First Step

An irrigation audit is very useful exercise in assessing the state of an irrigation system.  From it some objective data can be found to measure how efficient the system is applying water. 

Yet an irrigation audit is actually one in several steps to take so that an existing irrigation system can be improved - improved so that less water is used for irrigation while also improving the health of the landscape.

Prioritize: If more than one irrigation system is under consideration for an irrigation audit, it is important to prioritize irrigation audits.  This is done by comparing the volume of water used at each site relative to the size of each site. Sites with the largest excess water use are likely to offer the largest chance to save water.

This can be a subjective call if the sites under consideration are not obviously different in terms of size or detail.  It would be ideal if each landscape can be audited even if they are done over an extended period of time.

Inspect and Tune-Up: This step includes a number of actions.  Adjust sprinkler heads so that the water's spray pattern is not too low nor too high.  Adjust sprinkler heads located next to sidewalks or buildings to lessen overspray.  Adjust water pressure as needed to match manufacturer's specifications for sprinkler heads and relative spacing.

Perform Irrigation Audit: After the tune-up, an irrigation audit can reveal other issues that are not so obvious.  If these types of issues are addressed, another irrigation audit should be done to confirm that any previous deficiencies are not longer present.

If the irrigation audit reveals that the system is adequate, then there is the matter of proper irrigation scheduling.  While an irrigation audit includes a process to create irrigation schedules, they are potentially limited in their effectiveness due to the type of irrigation controllers on site. 

The best water saving schedules are those that are based on weather conditions and can be adjusted, when deemed necessary, from a central location.  Controllers that are not affected by changing weather conditions will invariably overwater to a significant degree. 

Then there are controllers that do change with the weather, but cannot be communicated with remotely, such as through a telephone line, wireless modem or Ethernet connection.  These types may indeed run water in accordance with the weather, but that crucial bit of fine tuning won't be done without that remote connectivity.  The result is overwatering that will gone on year after year.

Irrigation audits are an important first step in assessing the efficiency of a newly installed irrigation system.  Long term water savings, however, will ultimately be determined by the type of irrigation controllers in place and how they are managed on an ongoing basis.

Irrigation Management - It's More Than Technology

We have posted a number of blogs about the many facets of professional irrigation management.  These previous posts have covered flow sensors, ways of adjusting irrigation schedules, communication options, irrigation audits and video evidence of the kind of stuff we here at Irrigation Management Systems encounter.

However, there is one crucial aspect of IMS' services to our clients that has not been addressed yet.  It goes beyond computers, hardware, software or even changing weather conditions.  Instead it is the most human activity that Irrigation Management Systems does to find problems and save water.  It is walking.

Yes, plain, old, mundane walking is what we do to find what will otherwise be unfound. Oh, it is also includes a fair dose of looking.  Walking and looking, looking and walking is what IMS does to accomplish what the best of technology, including flow sensors, cannot.

Here it is simply called a "walk through".  What it involves is creating a program to run a certain set of valves in a step by step sequence.  This sequence is created so that a person, or walker, can observe each valve come on for at least two minutes, make notes of problems, and then be in position to repeat the process for the next valve (zone) in the schedule.

What is being noted for each zone is pretty straightforward:

• Did the zone come on?
• Were there any irrigation breaks?  If so, how severe were they?
• Do any irrigation heads need to be adjusted?
• Does the irrigation schedule for this zone need to be adjusted?

That's about it.  It's not complicated.  Indeed, it's rather simple to do.  Yet, it...can...be...TEDIOUS. 

Keep in mind how this works.  Each zone runs for two or more minutes (depending on how much area the zone covers), any problems are noted, the next zone in the schedule comes on and the walker walks to the next one and repeats the process...zone after zone after zone.

A small site would be something like 20 zones resulting in a walk through of up to about an hour.  No big deal.  Then there are sites which have dozens of zones, which require a full morning or afternoon to finish.  Beyond this category are the mongo sites, which have hundreds of zones.  These sites take two to three days to complete.  One zone at a time.

Of the dozens or even hundreds of zones done during a walk through, usually 5-10% have some kind of problem worth noting.  In addition to noting the problem, like a broken line, IMS also places a flag at the problem spot.  This is done so that the landscape contractor can more easily find the problem themselves after they receive a walk through report from IMS.  A copy of the report is also sent to the property manager or property owner.

One last point on this walk through thing.  It takes commitment and will to do it.  It's not mentally stimulating nor is it fun.  And clients don't even demand that IMS does.   Yet we still do it. 

Technology does a lot to irrigate a landscape in more efficient manner, but it cannot do everything.  That's why we walk.

Irrigation Management - Ya Never Know What Might Happen (part 2)

Well, the alternative was a wireless modem.  This is a fairly recent mode of communication for a Maxicom system, which IMS has put into place on a handful of sites over the last couple of years.  This device is a way to contact a CCU when a telephone line is not available; our exact situation.

There was another complication to this problem in addition to the terminated phone line.  The wire path from the CCU, inside the building, to the irrigation controllers spread out through the campus was also shut down for the remodel.  This meant that there was no way for a CCU located in this room to be connected to the controllers.

A brief review of the situation:

• phone line terminated, but a wireless modem could address this
• wire path from the CCU to the irrigation controllers is inaccessible, there is no way to actually run water
• it's the middle of the watering season

Given this, we needed to do a little more than adding a wireless modem.  A new location for the CCU had to be found where the wire path to/from the controllers could be accessed.

The most sensible place, then, was to find a controller where the CCU and wireless modem could be installed.  Such a location meant there would be a readily accessible way to connect the CCU to the wire path, since the wire path is already connected to the irrigation clock.

The other necessary piece to the new location was a suitable enclosure for the CCU and wireless modem.  Keep in mind, these electronic devices are outside exposed to the elements and have to be housed in an enclosure, either metal or plastic.

In this case, there was an available enclosure already in place near an existing irrigation controller.  A power plug was already in place, too.  So, the necessary infrastructure was there.

It was now a matter of installing the CCU, connecting the wireless modem, connecting the CCU to the wire path, changing some software protocols at the central office and testing the new communication and...voila!  Within a 24 hours period, a multi-controller site which had lost all functionality was restored to normal operations.

It just required the right equipment and know-how to make it happen.

Irrigation Management - Ya Never Know What Might Happen

Earlier this week a corporate campus that Irrigation Management Systems runs lost its telephone connection.  Losing communication with a site happens on occasion and happens for a couple of different reasons. 

Perhaps the power supply on site was interrupted which would shut down IMS communication devices and cut off contact.  Or the phone number was cancelled by the client since the phone number is only used for irrigation management purposes and someone on staff with the client thinks the phone number is not used for anything.  The only way to discover the problem is to visit the site. 

Now at this site, the CCU (the device that we connect via phone modem) is located in an interior room at the campus.  This room was the security room for several years, but that changed recently.  Unbeknownst to us, this room was being remodeled.  Which, of course, meant that our telephone line was unplugged.  Problem identified.

However, simply plugging the phone line back into the wall was not the answer.  A part of the remodel included deactivating the previously active phone jacks in this room.  On top of that, the client decided that the CCU needed to be moved to a different location.

Bottom line on this situation, all of which took place this past Wednesday, was that we could not run the irrigation on campus..for several days.  This system consists of over 150 valves and 10 irrigation controllers, with some very sizable turf areas including a soccer field and softball diamond.  Right now we have temperatures in the 80's, so this was a situation where at least a temporary solution was needed.

One option was for the landscape contractor to run the irrigation by programming each controller.  Suffice it to say, but that is not an attractive option because that would take a whole day's worth of work at least.  Well, Irrigation Management Systems had an alternative that just might do the trick.

Irrigation Management - A Stuck Valve? What Is It? And So What?

Stuck valve.  To most people this likely brings to mind some kind of medical condition or perhaps a home repair.  Well, to those who deal with irrigation systems, both residential and commercial, it is a well known but not an everyday event. 

It is a valve that is allowing water to flow through it and move downstream to sprinkler heads.  In effect the valve is "on" even though it is not being charged electrically by the irrigation controller, which is the only way that the valve should be letting water through.

The most common reason that the water is flowing in this manner is because of debris lodged inside of the valve which prevents it from closing.  Hence, it is called a stuck valve.

Another reason a valve stays stuck is due to a hole, even a very small one, in the diaphram.  This piece of the valve is what actually seals closed the water port inside the valve when it is not charged by the irrigation controller.  A hole in the diaphram compromises this design and allows water flow to continue.

Whatever the cause of the stuck valve, the result is the same: wasted water.  No matter how well or how poorly an irrigation controller is scheduled, the irrigation program is set based on the goal of watering the landscape enough but not too much.  Should a valve not close when it is no longer charged by the irrigation schedule and remain stuck open, water is being applied to that part of the landscape beyond what is programmed.  Wasted water.

How much water is wasted depends on a couple of factors.  One factor is how many sprinkler heads are supplied by the problem valve.  More sprinkler heads means more water.

Another factor is the master valve.  The master valve is also wired to the irrigation controller and all of the water run by that controller flows through it and goes downstream to the valves that supply the sprinkler zones.  Any water that reaches grass, shrubs and flowers goes through that master valve first. 

Is it a normally open or normally closed master valve?  A normally open master valve remains open all of the time unless it is electrically charged by the controller, which will close the master valve.  In this case, a stuck valve will run non-stop until its water supply is closed at the master valve or when the offending valve is corrected. 

The fact that a stuck valve will run continuously with a normally open master valve is bad and good.  Water is wasted without interruption, but given that it is more likely to be seen at some point because it will be visible during the day.  Irrigation schedules typically run at night, which is when stuck valves first surface.

A normally closed master valve only opens when it is charged by the controller.  In this case, a stuck valve will run only when the master valve is open, which corresponds with when it is running an irrigation schedule.  If no irrigation program is running, no water is flowing through the master valve or the stuck valve.

This type of master valve means less water is wasted from a stuck valve, but when will the problem be identified?  Since irrigation programs function at night, the stuck valve will only be visible at night too.  No one is around watching water run at night, so it could be weeks or months before anyone becomes aware of the problem.

The best tool to at least identify the presence of a stuck valve is a flow sensor.  A flow sensor becomes the eyes to measure too much water is flowing at night.  However, a flow sensor is not enough.  It can see, but it cannot do.  We will address the do part in another post.

Key Points In An Irrigation Audit

Irrigation audits are a key step in checking the effiecieny of an irrigation system.  Efficiency is achieved when most of the water from an irrigation system is actually used by the plants in the irrigated landscape.  Conducting an irrigation audit and the resulting irrigatin efficiency results in several benefits:

*lower water use and lower water costs
*improved landscape appearance
*fewer wet spots and dry spots
*less water runoff
*less water lost below the plants roots
*less fertilizer needed

Irrigation audits should be done to evaluate an irrigation system's performance immediately after installation.  Doing so will mean that any shortcomings found from the audit will more likely be addressed instead of waiting months to survey the installation. 

An irrigation audit consists of a series of field procedures for collecting and gathering irrigation system information.  Once this data is compiled, the performance of the irrigation systems can be determined by measuring such characteristics like distribution uniformity and precipitation rates.

Conducting an irrigation audit is a matter of turning on one irrigation valve, or station, at a time.  Before testing a station, the valve should be turned on so that each irrigation head can be flagged and to visually inspect the station. 

It is important to be on the lookout for broken or unobstructed sprinklers, low/high trajectory sprinklers and leaks in the station.  These obvious problems should be corrected before beginning the test.  As for the flags, make sure that none of them interfere with the water flow from the sprinklers.

The key tool needed for an irrigation audit is a catch can.  These are small water collection devices of a particular throat area and dispersed throughtout a station in a grid-like pattern.  It is crucial that the dimensions of each catch can are identical to one another.  When it comes to placing the catch cans, the goal is to have a catch can near each sprinkler head and another one located halfway to the adjoining head.

The top of each catch can should be level and as low as possible to approximate the surface of the plant material.  If the device is not level, it may not gather the correct amount of water.  This will adversely affect the test results.  It also important that the catch device be far enough away from the sprinkler head to avoid the main spray from hitting the side of the catch can.