www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation January/February 2016 17
IRRIGATION AND WATER MANAGEMENT
many flow sensors lose accuracy at low flow rates, which can
lead to inaccurate readings for low-flow systems such as drip
irrigation. Affordable retrofit flow solutions with higher-reso-
lution flow sensors that accurately measure high-efficiency drip
systems are now available to help with this problem.
Even though almost half of all sites experience water line
breaks at one time or another, more than 90 percent of sites
don't have any kind of flow management. Adding flow technol-
ogy to a two-way smart irrigation controller provides not only
water-use data visibility, but also the control to make remote,
immediate real-time changes. This technology makes it easy to
respond to catastrophic breaks and leaks, protect property as-
sets, and manage water resources effectively.
So, what's next on the horizon for new smart water manage-
ment technologies? We think the next areas for technology im-
provements that will make a meaningful impact on the industry
will be more reliable and affordable infield wireless communi-
cation solutions, and enhanced Cloud-based flow management
solutions for complex sites that deliver intuitive graphical user
interfaces for balancing complicated flow demands (that don't
require a Ph.D. to operate).
In the meantime, don't let an early bad experience with the
first-generation smart controllers scare you from checking out
how far smart irrigation solutions have evolved. We are now
in a truly new era, where the tremendous power and efficiency
of information technology has made its way into the hands of
landscape professionals — and they actually like using it, day in
and day out. Why? Because it saves them and their customers
time, money and water. In the end, that is the evolutionary goal
of smart water management: less stupid, more smart. And few
things are dumber than wasting time, money and water when
there is a whole wild world to enjoy.
Chris Spain is CEO and president of HydroPoint Data Systems.
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