Smart irrigation is only made possible due to the companies, providers, manufacturers and individuals that push the envelope daily when it comes to efficient water use. To celebrate this year’s Smart Irrigation Month sponsored by HydroPoint, Irrigation & Lighting magazine sought to highlight these sustainability champions through a series of Q&As spanning through July.
Forrest Wallace, CLT, CLIA, QCM, irrigation manager at K&D Landscaping Inc., Watsonville, California, breaks down K&D’s unique smart irrigation involvement, what it means to them as a company and how they’ll push for an even better future of irrigation.
K&D Landscaping, Watsonville, California
Forrest Wallace, irrigation manager
What does smart irrigation look like to K&D Landscaping?
We view smart irrigation as utilizing technology and education. With the drought situation becoming more severe year after year, along with more intense water restrictions, the utilization of a smart irrigation, paired with a trained team of specialists, is the only way to ensure a future in landscaping.
How does K&D Landscaping promote smart irrigation?
K&D takes a science-based approach to smart irrigation, or as we like to call it, K&D Water Management. We explain to our clients that every landscape is unique and that there are many factors to consider when scheduling an irrigation system. We like to do a thorough analysis of the irrigation system, including soil samples and a complete site audit with recommendations around system upgrades and improvements to ensure their system is operating at peak performance. We will also create a custom irrigation usage budget based on our proprietary process and help our clients manage to that budget.
By using a smart controller and having it programmed by an irrigation specialist, we can utilize real-time weather data, flow sensors, moisture sensors, as well as real time ETO to develop an irrigation schedule that changes depending on the environmental factors. We also make routine site visits to ensure things are going to plan.
We are making a dedicated effort to attend every webinar, conference and industry event possible as well as stay up to date on the latest restrictions and regulations surrounding irrigation in the landscape industry. We post updates on our website, contact clients and keep them updated on changes.
What are the best ways you’ve learned to encourage clients or customers to use smart irrigation practices?
We here at K&D have learned that keeping up on local restrictions and legislature around the irrigation industry and educating our clients on how to be responsible irrigators is key. By educating our clients, community and industry, we are helping to shine a light on best practices and technologies that can help reduce water waste, save our natural resources and save money all at the same time.
We recently hosted the first annual K&D Water Summit on March 31, 2022, with a panel of local water agencies, industry professionals and the public to further educate people about water management and smart irrigation practices.
What’s something HOA property managers, property owners or even other landscape companies might not know about smart irrigation that you believe they should know?
Smart irrigation is only as smart as the people installing and maintaining the irrigation system. This includes programming and adjusting controllers, setting the initial programming and the performance and efficiency of an irrigation system.
The analogy we like to use is, “What kind of car did you drive 30 years ago?” We then follow-up with another question: “What kind of car do you drive today? Typically, they have upgraded to a newer vehicle with improved safety features, gas mileage and upgraded technology. An irrigation system is very similar. Components installed 10, 20 or 30-plus years ago need to be upgraded and replaced over time to be efficient and effective.
The controllers are a very critical component, but everything from the sprinklers to the pipes should be inspected and evaluated on a regular, if not monthly, basis. One of the best things you can do is to turn your irrigation system on and look for problems. If you see obvious water loss, it’s time to contact a professional.
What makes you a champion of promoting smart irrigation? Is there something new or different you’d like to try in order to improve smart irrigation?
K&D strives to be champions in promoting smart irrigation by following our core values and providing education around water management. The two that stand out the most for us are hunger and professionalism. These keep us motivated to learn about new technologies, train and develop our team and educate as many people as possible.
We would like to see better coverage via cellular or Wi-Fi for the smart controllers, as well as the continued improvement of the user interfaces for these products. We also feel increased rebates from the local water districts, state level and even receiving federal support would tremendously help clients move forward with converting lawn areas to drought-tolerant landscapes with drip irrigation.
Read other Smart Irrigation Month Q&As.
Do you have a Smart Irrigation Month story to share? Let us know what smart irrigation means to you and your company!
