Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/106599
irrigation irrigation Students attend the Irrigation Associations' training class in Colorado Springs, Colorado. www.kawpower.com Every Kawasaki handheld has the highest commercial-grade Emission Durability Period (EDP) rating possible: 300 hours, durability of lesser engines. You can't own a tougher tool. And you don't want a weaker one. 2 2 To ta l L a n d s cap eC are.c om 2339_KAW_PP_AD_TtlLndscpe_Rv1.indd 1 TLC0213_Irrigation.indd 22 Text INFO to 205-289-3796 or visit TLCrequest.com minimum. That's six times the correct amount of minutes and puts down the proper amounts of water," Mecham says. The audit will also provide important information about the turf and landscape plantings that will impact the irrigation schedule. Many auditors concentrate only on the catch-can, waterscheduling tests, but they don't take time to observe the system's overall operation. That's because it takes time to turn on all of the sprinklers and watch how they function. As such, the visualobservation part of the audit gets short shrift — until someone notices that water usage is unusually high or sees brown areas on lawns, Mecham says. "Frequently, people water at night, so no one sees the system operating," he explains. "My observation is that brown spots indicate there's something going on…what sprinklers are supposed to be hitting that spot, and why aren't they? Maybe vandals or a lawn mower broke a sprinkler head, or it's twisted, or the nozzle is plugged or even broken." How often should you perform audits? Part of the answer depends on whether the irrigation system is well maintained. But generally, Mecham suggests at least quarterly – but preferably monthly – visual inspections during the growing season. Audit certifications gain traction The IA offers an irrigation-audit certification program (for details, visit irrigation.org/Certification/CLIA/CLIA.aspx), although Mecham notes certification is not always required. Nonetheless, he anticipates demand for audit-certification training will increase in drought-stricken areas, as some municipalities and jurisdictions even require irrigation-system installations to pass an audit before they issue usage permits. F E B R U A R Y 2 013 9/19/12 10:06 PM 1/24/13 3:49 PM