Commercial properties usually have unutilized sections of their lawns and landscaping that needs a lot of water. These parts typically require intense irrigation, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Some regions in the US are facing water supply problems and a constant dry climate. Commercial properties must have reliable irrigation systems, efficient management, and easy maintenance landscaping. This is the only way they can reduce expenses and water usage. Adjusting irrigation systems and landscaping will help you reduce the water you use yearly and lower the costs of maintaining the landscape, thus saving water and money.
Commercial inspection
In some places in the country, such as San Diego, the district provides several varying checkup services. Additionally, it will ensure your property gets the ideal checkup choice available. Getting the services is challenging due to high demand; therefore, you should be careful not to be left out. These are the steps you need to follow to apply
- 1. Fill out a simple application form on the county’s water authority site.
- 2. The officials will plan to inspect the site for businesses with accepted applications.
- 3. The qualified irrigation experts working for the district will produce suggestions and remarks in writing and, where necessary, test results.
- 4. The property manager or owner decides what will be executed and when. They are at liberty to implement what they want; it is not compulsory.
- 5. Begin saving. However, savings differ depending on the property; you could save as much as 20% and even more.
Good practices for irrigation management
Best Management Practices or BMPs refer to the ways that have proven to achieve the best results and are most sensible in attaining a goal, such as stopping or reducing pollution, while using the property’s assets optimally. Some of the best practices that Home Owners’ Associations (HOAs) and commercial properties can use include;
- Ensuring irrigation systems are in good working condition always by performing frequent maintenance.
- Planning or adjusting irrigation systems to ensure they perform optimally.
- Choosing plants suited to your climate and refraining from planting strip grass.
- Utilizing correct scheduling and irrigation quantities depending on the kind of plant and weather patterns.
The Advantages of the Program
- 1. Reduce pollution
- 2. Improve the quality of grass
- 3. Reduce erosion of plant nutrients
- 4. Minimize water loss and usage
- 5. Save funds by lowering energy and water consumption
- 6. Reduce fertilizer and pesticide expenses
- 7. Enables you to know how your irrigation system performs
- 8. Decrease fungal and bacterial diseases
A property manager whose property has big sections of turf for irrigating can take advantage of a turf irrigation evaluation and enjoy the above benefits. Properties that can seek these services include:
- Cemeteries
- Condominiums
- Golf courses
- School playing fields
- Homeowners associations
- Big residential landscapes
- County and city landscaping
- Open spaces and parks
- Big commercial landscapes
When you start the evaluation process, you are only required to produce details about your irrigation and a plan of your irrigation system. The experts will do the following;
- Soil analysis: They will find out the texture, depth, and type of soil to establish its ability to hold water.
- Distribution Uniformity: They will measure the sprinkler system’s flow, force, and rates.
- Controller controls: They will compare your irrigation arrangements to real water needs and recommend seasonal controller settings.
- Inspect the sprinkler: They will assess the appropriate performance and measurements.
- They will give you recommendations about maintenance, operation, system plan, and even an estimation of the possible savings when you employ the suggestions.
Only a certified irrigation inspector should perform this task. The irrigation inspection professionals should meet specific requirements. They should be professional and skilled in their work. They should also be punctual when they have an appointment with a client. They also need to collect precise data on irrigation systems, especially regarding the watering schedule and size. Additionally, they should evaluate the irrigation system thoroughly and inspect every component, such as nozzles, heads, and valves.
Serious Issues
There are specific problems that inspectors look out for, which can make your property fail the inspection and get banned from running its irrigation system. These issues include:
- 1. Ponding or runoff: If water is coming from the irrigation system in your property and flowing for 50ft or further or making a puddle of water in a parking lot or a street with a depth of a quarter of an inch or deeper.
- 2. Leak: A rapture or any defect in the main irrigation pipe, station valve, or lateral line. A mainline leakage will make the whole irrigation system fail. A leak in the other two minor lines will fail the related station.
- 3. Misting or high pressure: if you have set your sprinkler head to function at a higher level than the pressure limit the manufacturer has recommended, it might cause too much atomization of the spray shape, which usually ends up causing fog or mist to occur. When performing an inspection, the inspector will quantify the sprinkler head’s outlet pressure. Pressure limits for various emitters are 60 psi for Rotors, 50 psi for Multi-stream rotators or MP, and 40 psi for spray nozzles.
- 4. Spray falling on parking lot or street: This happens when a wrongly arranged sprinkler or you use one with the wrong size head and it sprays water beyond the landscaped part and lands on a parking lot or street.
- 5. Broken head: when there is a punctured, broken, or lost sprinkler head, drip line, swing joint, or sprinkler body which most of the time causes massive water loss.
Non-serious issues
These problems are usually highlighted to inform the property owner about possible ways to improve their irrigation system’s efficiency.
- 1. Stuck head: A sprinkler head either doesn’t sink into the ground after the sprinkling is over or fails to rotate or emerge above the earth’s surface.
- 2. Low pressure: This is when the sprinkler’s water press is insufficient to throw water optimally and create a big spray.
- 3. Tilted head: A sprinkler head should always be fixed at 90 degrees on the grade.
- 4. Inadequate coverage: This is when the sprinkler doesn’t spread water uniformly on the whole landscape.
- 5. Low head: this is where a sprinkler head sinks into the ground or fails to reach the right level. This means it can’t spray over the plants it’s expected to irrigate.
- 6. Combining sprinkler techniques: Using numerous sprinkler machines in one irrigation station.
- 7. Blocked head: An object like vegetation or rock interferes with the spray pattern.
- 8. A clogged nozzle: when debris builds up inside the nozzle, it inhibits or prevents a spray pattern from distributing water evenly.
- 9. Not hydrozoned: Failure to divide your irrigation area into sections depending on sun
Commercial irrigation evaluations are beneficial, as you have seen above. They will help you know the state of your irrigation systems and save money and energy, among other excellent benefits. It is also essential to repair and replace missing parts to avoid failing the inspection and having your irrigation system prohibited. If you have an irrigation system in New Jersey, it would be wise to have an evaluation at least once a year or after two years. Contact https://www.quenchirrigation.com