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Bobcat Introduces TL623 Telehandler
Jessica Schwartz
CA Governor Calls For Ban On Irrigating “Non Functional” Turfgrass
Drought measure would only apply to turfgrass adjacent to large industrial and commercial buildings. Following the driest first three months of a year in California’s recorded history, Governor Gavin Newsom last week ordered the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to evaluate the adoption of regulations banning irrigation of “non-functional” turfgrass adjacent to large industrial and commercial buildings. The ban would not include residential lawns or grass used for recreation, such as school fields, sports fields, and parks. A copy of the executive order can be found here. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) estimates this ban alone will result in potential water savings of several hundred thousand acre-feet. An acre-foot of water serves the needs of approximately three households for a year. “While we have made historic investments to protect our communities, economy and ecosystems from the worsening drought across the West, it is clear we need to do more,” said Governor Newsom. “Today, I am calling on local water agencies to implement more aggressive water conservation measures, including having the Water Board evaluate a ban on watering ornamental grass on commercial properties, which will drive water use savings at this critical time. Amid climate-driven extremes in weather, we must all continue to do our part and make water conservation a way of life.” The order called on the SWRCB to consider requiring urban water suppliers to activate, at a minimum, Level 2 of their customized Water Shortage Contingency Plans. These plans, required by state law, are developed ...
Colorado Water Conservation Bill Targets Reduction Of Turfgrass
Looks To Offer Financial Incentives For Creating Water-Wise Landscapes The state of Colorado has introduced a bill that would create a state program to finance the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf and incentivize water-wise landscapes. House Bill 22-1151 defines water-wise landscaping as one that emphasizes native and drought tolerant plants and calls for a state turf replacement program to be developed on or before July 1, 2023. According to news station KDVR, if the bill passes, “people across the state would receive a dollar for every square foot of non-natives grass they get rid of.” The bill asserts that irrigation of outdoor landscaping accounts for nearly 50% of water use within the municipal and industrial sectors of Colorado and is mostly used for irrigation of non-native turfgrass. It further states that “evidence from existing programs demonstrate that, for each acre of turf removed, one to two acre-feet per year of water savings can be realized.” While the bill takes no issue with irrigated parks, sports fields, playgrounds, and portions of residential yards, it says, “much of the turf in the State is nonessential and located in areas that receive little, if any, use.” Examples cited include: medians; areas adjacent to open spaces or transportation corridors; sloped areas of more than 25% grade; stormwater drainage and retention basins; commercial, institutional, or industrial properties; common elements in a common interest community; and portions of residential yards. Incentive money would not be awarded for replacing turfgrass with impermeable concrete, artificial turf, water features, ...
Get Equipped: Irrigation And Water Management
Take a look at this assortment of irrigation and water management products that can add value to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. ESP-LXIVM Series From Rain Bird Rain Bird’s ESP-LXIVM Series consists of two easy-to-use controllers for two-wire irrigation systems that provide large, challenging sites with advanced water management tools and diagnostics. The standard model can support up to 60 stations, while the “Pro” model can manage larger sites with up to 240 stations. Both feature Rain Bird’s new Integrated Valve Module (IVM), a “smart valve” that maintains constant communication with the controller. The IVM also eliminates the need for a decoder, cutting the quantity of wire splices in half. The LXIVM’s diagnostics include a “Self-Healing” feature that automatically detects fixes to wire path and splice issues and restarts irrigation without manual intervention. A “Two-Wire Mapping” feature maps integrated devices to corresponding wire paths to find and resolve issues. Supported field devices include the IVM-SOL, IVM-OUT, IVM-SEN, and the IVM-SD. Advanced flow management tools alert users to high- and low-flow conditions and manage hydraulic demand. Simplicity3hp From Munro The Munro Simplicity series pump stations offer low-maintenance, high-value, and professional-grade design. The new 3hp model fits a niche for smaller commercial, agricultural, and residential irrigation systems that can benefit from the control and energy efficiency offered by a VFD (variable frequency drive). These self-contained UL-QCZJ pumping stations are simple to specify with high quality specs and drawings available, simple to install with free phone-in commissioning support, and simple to ...
Summer Tree Watering: Measurable Tips For When & How Much
It’s hot and dry and you suspect your client’s trees need watering. But how do you know for sure, and how much water is needed? After all, overwatering isn’t healthy either. So how do you make an informed plan for those without irrigation systems? The Arbor Day Foundation offers these simple and measurable tips. The Screwdriver Test. There’s a simple step you can take to see if a tree needs water. Using a long screwdriver with a minimum six-inch blade, probe into the ground in several locations under the drip line (the furthest edge of the tree’s canopy). If you are having difficulty probing to a six to eight-inch depth and natural rainfall is not in the forecast, then you should begin a watering regime, or inform clients of the necessity. The Bucket Test. Typically, a garden hose running at a moderate rate will disperse 5 to 10 gallons of water per minute. This is an important thing to know about a client’s hose — so test it. Using a five-gallon bucket, time how long it takes the hose to fill it up. Knowing the hose’s flow rate will help you make informed decisions regarding watering duration for the property’s trees, as the general rule of thumb is to give the tree around 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter. Young Trees. As you know, new trees, or those planted within the last two years that have trunks less than one inch in diameter, require more frequent watering. ...
Irrigation & Water Conservation
COVID-19 has shifted consumer perspectives in unexpected ways. Residential clients have analyzed their outdoor living spaces and engaged in improvements. They’ve also sought ways to tighten budgets due to economic impacts. With that, sustainability has become a hot topic—not only saving the environment, but saving costs. At Conserva, an irrigation company founded solely on the principle of water conservation, our goal is to provide a simple program for our clients to reduce water waste and save on their monthly bills. We do this through an audit process, called a “System Efficiency Score.” Since franchising our model in 2017, Conserva Irrigation has improved the water efficiency of tens of thousands of existing sprinkler systems across 26 states. Here’s what we’ve learned. Diving Into Water Conservation When the convenience of automation and fresh water come together, there’s a high propensity for waste. Most landscape irrigation systems are programmed to water automatically two to three times per week, regardless of current weather conditions. Run times are often based more on “gut feeling” than on science and rarely adjusted for plants’ seasonal water needs. This “set it and forget it” mentality, with systems even running during the night, leads to little oversight and wasted water. Factor in line- and head-breaks and you have the perfect storm for freshwater waste. In fact, U.S. households waste over a trillion gallons of water each year and 1.5 billion gallons daily on irrigation losses alone. Clearly, irrigation is an area in dire need of remediation at many ...
Replacing Old Irrigation Controllers? Recycle Them With Hunter Program
As part of its 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, released June 22, Hunter Industries, a global manufacturer of irrigation and landscape lighting products, reported on the success of its Irrigation Controller Recycling Pilot Program launched last year. With the support of its domestic distributor partners, Hunter collected over 4,100 pounds of discarded irrigation equipment in 2020 and sent it to nonprofit organization Blue Star Recyclers in Colorado. Blue Star employs people with autism and other disabilities to deconstruct and recycle the equipment, thereby preventing toxic metals from ending up in a landfill. According to the CSR Report, Hunter plans “to expand the program in 2021 by including more distributors and engaging more customers.” Massey Services, who offers irrigation and landscape services and is the U.S.’s fifth largest pest management company, is one of the participants. “We are delighted to partner with Hunter Industries on this initiative,” said President Tony Massey. “Our recycling program was championed by our Quality Assurance team and is another example of our commitment to environmental responsibility. “ Prior to the initiative, the company had replaced and disposed of more than 1,500 irrigation controllers in 2020. Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply is another one of Hunter’s partners in the program. According to their site, for every 1,000 pounds of controllers recycled: 28 pounds of hazardous heavy metals are diverted from landfills. Taxpayer savings of $79.51 1,394 pounds of greenhouse gas emission are prevented 1.3 days of employment are provided for Blue Star employees. To participate: ...
Irrigation Restrictions Coming As West Battles Historic Drought
California and much of the western U.S. are entering a period of historic drought that experts say will stretch tight water supplies, increase wildfire risk, and bring new water-use restrictions — particularly for outdoor landscape use — as the summer unfolds. Westlands Water District, which serves farms and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties in CA, already announced a ban on outdoor landscape irrigation on May 26. Many other areas may soon follow suit. Drought Conditions Westlands’ move came in reaction to an announcement by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which allocates water supply to the Central Valley Project (CVP), that it would be cutting its supply to municipal and industrial entities from 55% to 25%. Though the initial CVP water supply had been announced in February, conditions have degraded since then, according to the Bureau, with the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin currently at its driest since 1977. Between the April 1 and May 1 forecasts, there was a 685,000 acre-feet reduction in the projected natural flow to the Sacramento, Feather, Yuba, and American rivers. According to The Mercury News, Sierra Nevada snowpack was just 59% of normal on April 1 — after the second dry winter in a row — and hot weather in May melted much of the snowpack significantly faster than was projected. “Due to the worsening drought conditions, inflow to our reservoirs was less than we expected,” Mary Lee Knecht, a Bureau spokeswoman told the newspaper. “Conditions are so dry, the ...
Neighborhood Influences On Water Conservation
Did you know “peer pressure” can affect lawn watering habits and conservation? University of Florida researcher Laura Warner studies the social behaviors that lead to water use and conservation. Her newest research, published in Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, shows that people are heavily influenced by what others do and what others expect—even with issues such as lawn irrigation. In other words, we take our lead from people beyond our significant other and friends. Using this data, Warner believes she can help communities lower their water use. “There is an opportunity to make water conservation more visible through conversations, with influential groups sharing conservation practices with those they influence,” said Warner, a UF/IFAS associate professor of agricultural education and communication. “To influence others, people who care about saving water need to explicitly share what they personally do to save water.” Conversely, she found that the less you think your neighbors conserve, the more likely you are to conserve water. Instead of aligning with neighbors’ actions, it appears people conserve to make up for a perceived lack of conservation in their neighborhood. Alternately, people might not conserve water because they think their neighbors are conserving enough for everyone. More research is needed to examine this complex community relationship, she said. Water scarcity is a statewide, national, and global issue. Domestic water demand grew more than 600% from 1960 to 2014. About 75% of U.S. residential water is used outdoor, with more than half of it going to landscape irrigation, according to ...
A Vegas Ban On “Useless” Grass? What It Really Means
Is there such a thing as “useless” grass? Officials from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), which serves a drought–prone area, think there is. On April 5, SNWA lobbyist Andy Belanger asked lawmakers from the Las Vegas Assembly Committee on Natural Resources to mandate the removal of “unused” turf by the end of 2026. Within a few days, headlines across the country reported the shocking news: Las Vegas seeks to ban ornamental grass. The proposed idea on phasing out certain categories of grass permanently would reportedly be the first law of its kind in the country. “The scale of this is pretty unprecedented in terms of a full ban on this nonfunctional turf,” John Berggren, a water policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates, told the Associated Press (AP). But it also isn’t quite as draconian as it might initially appear. Justin Jones, a Clark County commissioner who serves on the water authority’s board, also commented to the AP, “To be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowner’s backyard.” But grass in the middle of a parkway, where no one walks: “That’s dumb.” Current Conservation Measures According to the SNWA, the Las Vegas Valley gets about 90% of its water from the Colorado River, which is facing the worst drought in the river basin’s recorded history due to below average snowfall (and subsequent runoff) for several years. The water level of Lake Mead, one of the River’s primary water storage reservoirs and the source of most of the ...
