Why WWM?
Why Pick Western Water Management?
Proper irrigation management can have profound long-term benefits for a property; including water and maintenance savings, reduced hardscape damage and improved landscape health and property value.
A study was conducted on 4000 commercial properties in 2013 to determine how efficiently the irrigation systems were performing. Evapotranspiration Rates (ET) were used to determine the correct amount of irrigation needed for the year. The results found that 20% of the sites over watered by 300%, 50% over watered by 200%, 10% had a constant mainline break and 40% of the sites had at least one lateral break. With a lifespan of over 35 years, irrigation systems are long-term investments in plant health and property aesthetics, however they are typically only looked at as a summer landscape budget expense. When they are properly designed, installed and maintained, irrigation systems will perform at predicted, sustainable levels. At today’s water rates, a 5-acre landscape that is overwatering by 200% annually would use an additional 3.7 million gallons or $17,000.00 above what was needed. This is only the water savings part of the equation.
When looking to redesign and renovate your irrigation system, it is important to look at it as a multi-faceted value proposition beyond the water savings alone. Simply replacing a system with a new one will not guarantee results, especially long-term. The annual performance level of the existing irrigation system needs to be known and compared to the correct irrigation level for this climate in order to determine the potential water savings from renovations. Historical irrigation levels should also be examined and factored into the project Return on Investment (ROI). The ROI on an irrigation system will come from the reduction of water use, maintenance costs, hardscape damage and liability exposures from slip and fall incidents.
From the initial design phases, to the system installation, to the final system maintenance; all three are critical to the long-term performance of a new irrigation system.
