Providencia
Región Metropolitana
Chile
Site Profile
Located in Santiago, Chile, Providencia Municipality contributes significantly to Santiago’s commerce. It’s also home to many embassies, including those of Canada, China, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, and Uruguay.In 2021, the Ministry of Public Works of Chile (MOP) promoted new water management policies to increase water use efficiency, with a special emphasis on Metropolitan Region municipalities and other urban areas of the country.
To accommodate the new policies, the Providencia Municipality deployed a plan to upgrade 188.6 acres (76.3 hectares) of green area with plant species that required less water. They also promoted an integral program called Provi Cuida el Agua (Provi Cares for Water) that encourages species replacement, control of watering schedules, and educational campaigns for neighbours. Between September 2021 and 2022, 9 acres (3.6 hectares) of lawns were replaced with new plant species in public parks and neighbouring paths, laying the groundwork for a new era of sustainable practices. As a result, the municipality achieved a monthly savings of 2 million gallons (8 million liters) of water, which is equivalent to almost four Olympic swimming pools or the average water consumption of 450 homes. While this was a significant achievement, the municipality continued to seek ways to conserve even more water.
In the wake of the MOP’s new water management policies, the municipality sought a sustainable irrigation solution that would further improve their water use efficiency. While the previous measures proved helpful, they wanted a more modern, longer-lasting solution to maximise their water savings. Shortly after the new policy announcement, Hunter experts met with the project’s contractor and distributor to discuss viable options. The goal was to identify an irrigation solution that would allow continuous system operation via the Wi-Fi connection in each park while also protecting the controller from vandalism.
After learning about the many benefits of Hunter’s product line, the development team found their perfect, water-saving solution in the form of Hydrawise Software. Hydrawise adjusts irrigation based on local weather conditions, provides alerts in the event of water leaks, and automatically stops irrigation during high humidity and rainfall. To complement their new software and boost their water savings even further, the team also installed a range of innovative Hunter products, including MP Rotator Nozzles, PGP Rotors, Pro-Spray Sprinkler Bodies, and the Hydrawise-enabled Pro-HC Controller. The combined solutions helped the municipality make vast improvements to existing installations while enabling the construction of new irrigation systems.
With their new, comprehensive irrigation system, the Providencia Municipality is finding it easier than ever to comply with the water management policies put into place by the MOP. Hydrawise Software has brought remote management capabilities to more than 19 parks in the municipality, increasing convenience and flexibility. Currently, the parks are managed by Virtual Solar Sync®, a proprietary Hydrawise feature that uses weather data to automatically adjust zone run times. While it operates similarly to a physical Solar Sync Sensor, Virtual Solar Sync uses daily ET measurements from selected weather stations rather than on-site ET readings. This eliminates the need for on-site sensor installation.
After the team monitored the parks, the water-use reports revealed that the unique watering duration adjustments provided by Virtual Solar Sync offered substantially higher water savings than their former system. With the support of Hunter’s cutting-edge product lineup, the municipality has modernised their irrigation control, gained access to convenient remote management capabilities, and successfully achieved their new water efficiency goals.
