There’s More to Being Water Efficient Than Your Choice of Products

With water conservation on everyone’s mind, people are searching for the best way to maximize the efficiency of their irrigation systems. The popular remedy du jour has people relying on their controller alone in their attempt to achieve water efficient irrigation.

With people taking the attitude that the controller is the be-all and end-all of efficient irrigation, many search out the latest in high tech solutions with the belief that this is the only way to become water-wise. When, in reality, all it takes are the basics: sound design, installation, maintenance, and management.

First off, you should put as much emphasis on your choice of rotors, sprays and valves as on your controller. You can have a state-of-the-art controller, but if you have low quality sprinklers and valves in place, then you are not getting the results from the controller that you think you are.

The Institutional Spray pressure regulator also acts as an anti-geyser device if the nozzle is removed.

Without Regulator

With Regulator

Hunter sprays and rotors have been designed with water efficiency in mind, helping to provide you with a system that can work at maximum performance. Compare the distribution profiles of Hunter’s leading sprinklers to those of the competition and you’ll find our products put a greater percentage of the water where it is supposed to go, with less waste—and that adds up to greater savings.

Hunter valves are also models of efficiency, with such features as internal manual bleed that keeps the valve box dry and free of leaks, and flow control to adjust the flow of each zone on a system and deliver optimum nozzle performance.

But, keep this in mind: it’s not just the products that matter, it’s also what you do with them.

An incorrect design can be one of the greatest causes of system inefficiency, thanks to wasted water. Such things as the wrong choice of heads, improper placement, and inappropriate combination of products onto the same zone can not only cause water waste, it might also lead to under- or over-watering of portions of your landscape.

In addition, don’t forget that an irrigation system needs to be treated just like anything else you want to work at a peak level of performance. In other words, keep up with proper maintenance and periodically check the system for proper operation.

In addition, one of the best methods to maximize water efficiency is to make sure to perform the simple seasonal adjustment of controllers and set rain shut off switches.

Above all else, the performance of a system will be greatly increased if the person using it knows what he or she is doing. It is up to you, the contractor, to be well versed about what you install…and to properly educate and familiarize customers with the products you have chosen for them.

The bottom line is simple: new technology is wonderful, but it must be used as part of a complete solution in order to be effective.