www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation May/June 2016 41
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• Industry-exclusive, push-
forward Kwik-Trench with
hassle-free operation
• Fastest trenching in the
industry
• Neatly deposits soil to one side
for faster backfill and minimal
cupping
• Carbide-tipped teeth cut
trenches 1-4 inches wide, 12
inches deep
• Industry-exclusive, push-
with
• Fastest trenching in
industry
• Neatly deposits soil to one side
for faster backfill
cupping
• Carbide-tipped teeth cut
trenches 1-4 inches wide, 12
inches deep
• Industry-exclusive, push-
forward Kwik-Trench
• Fastest trenching in
with
• Fastest trenching in the
Neatly deposits soil to one side Neatly deposits soil to one side
for faster backfill and minimal and minimal
Carbide-tipped teeth cut
forward Kwik-Trench
hassle-free operation
• Fastest trenching in the
The result of that work? In 2010, two years before the SRP
began, we had 613 tree-related incidents, leading to 101,760
customers interrupted. In 2014, after multiple years of SRP, we
had 383 tree-related incidents with 52,501 customers interrupted.
The numbers indicate that Unitil's storm resiliency and core
vegetation management programs are not only protecting the
system during major weather events, but also beginning to
maximize resiliency and minimize outages throughout the rest
of the year.
The future is bright
Our success thus far is encouraging for the future of the SRP.
We plan to continue the program, measure results, and fine-tune
the program along the way. We would like to narrow the results
of the program to look more closely at the sections of SRP circuit
worked, and also collect more tree-failure data in storm events
so we can make a more informed appraisal of the SRP results.
We are also looking at using our system data to identify the types
of trees that are failing, and look for trends. At the 10-year mark,
we will reassess, and if, in fact, Unitil's Storm Resiliency Program
continues to measure up to our ultimate goal of preventing
customer outages in the wake of more powerful and frequent
storms, and the public still supports it, we will continue.
Sara Sankowich is system arborist at Unitil, a public utility
holding company, headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire,
that provides electric and natural gas distribution services in
New England.
