While they may sound like over-the-top claims, most irrigation professionals possess firsthand accounts of clients’ substantial cost savings and dramatic water reductions following irrigation audits.
Brad Wier’s story involves a red Maserati. “We had a lady who dreamed of owning a red Maserati,” says Wier, a planner and field investigator in the San Antonio Water System’s Conservation Department and a veteran irrigation contractor. “Her water bill was over $1,000 a month, and her husband said if she could get that [water] bill down, she could get her Maserati. We went in and evaluated the irrigation system, and it turned out to be an easy fix—bad programming with the controller was responsible for the excessive water use. I think she ended up getting her car.”
Ralph Holt, a Phoenix-based irrigation pro, remembers evaluating a residential homeowner association equipped with a drip irrigation system with one zone using 30 gallons per minute when the average should have been less than 5 gallons per minute.
“We couldn’t figure out where all of this water was going,” says Holt, the president of Eco Verde Irrigation and a CLIA—certified landscape irrigation auditor. “Finally, we discovered that a homeowner had dug underneath a wall and connected to the HOA’s irrigation water supply. They were watering their entire property off of the HOA’s water. So, without some type of an [irrigation] audit, we would have never figured that out.”
Irrigation audits are essential for optimizing landscape irrigation systems and mitigating exorbitant water bills. By pinpointing inefficiencies, audits typically uncover opportunities to reduce water usage by 25%-30%, translating to substantial cost savings reaching thousands of dollars and gallons annually.
Audits of properly designed and installed irrigation systems close the gap between the water that the landscape requires for optimum health and minimizing water waste, says Matt Jones, a franchise support and systems analyst with Conserva Irrigation in Richmond, Virginia, and self-described “irrigation nerd.”
“An audit identifies which part of the irrigation system would be the most fruitful to address and identify uniformity issues,” says Jones, a CLIA who, before working at Conserva, spent nearly a decade as a landscape irrigation manager. “You’re looking to identify the where and why behind your biggest water waste and where the opportunities are for the most [water] savings,” he adds. “So, an [irrigation] audit really helps you determine which strategy to go after to save water. That might be as simple as pressure regulation or switching to more modern components. Or it might be something much more complicated.”
What’s an Audit?
While widely utilized by turf managers tending golf courses and athletic fields, professional landscape irrigation contractors have been conducting audits of residential and commercial irrigation systems for decades. This established practice, demonstrating the proven effectiveness of the audit process and its associated procedures, underscores the importance of a comprehensive approach.
An irrigation audit involves a detailed inspection and analysis of a property’s irrigation system to pinpoint inefficiencies and potential areas of water mismanagement.
Auditors conduct visual inspections focused on a system’s controllers, valves, heads, piping, backflow regulators, and even pumps and filters. In addition, catch-can testing assesses water distribution uniformity, critical for measuring the amount of water collected at different points throughout a landscape. Achieving solid water distribution uniformity ensures proper irrigation, minimizes waste and contributes to the health of a landscape’s turf, ornamental plants and trees.
Finally, an irrigation auditor analyzes water bills to identify long-term usage trends and review controller programming, irrigation schedules and — with more modern irrigation setups — system analytics to gain insights on potential areas for adjustment.
Equipped with this data and insights, the auditor produces a comprehensive recommendation report. This report may encompass a range of measures, including optimized watering schedules, repairs or replacements for damaged components, head alignment for improved distribution, and the identification of leaks or drainage issues.
Most irrigation audits conducted by certified auditors typically uncover readily addressable issues that, when rectified, yield substantial cost savings for clients, says Alex Mayfield, CLIA, principal and partner at J.M. Irrigation in Volo, Illinois. This is also a key starting point for clients to adopt more effective and efficient irrigation practices.
“Nearly 95% of what we’re recommending to people focuses on addressing leaks, broken and covered heads, zones that are spraying areas where there are no longer plants, overgrown areas of the landscape that no longer require irrigation, or that they’re simply not using their system properly,” Mayfield says of audit outcomes. “We identify the areas where [the client] can start saving water and money and how we can fine-tune their system.”
Fueled by heightened public awareness of water scarcity and its environmental consequences, coupled with financial incentives offered by many municipalities and water districts to encourage conservation, demand for professional landscape water audits has surged in recent years. For instance, irrigation audits have proven instrumental in optimizing water usage in drought-prone regions like Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and vast areas of Texas, where these assessments guide residential and commercial property owners and managers in reducing water consumption and increasing system efficiency.
However, a common misconception is that irrigation audits are exclusive to water-starved regions. Even areas with abundant freshwater sources — such as population centers surrounding the Great Lakes or major reservoirs — face escalating water costs. This past decade has witnessed a significant surge in the price of delivering potable water to homes and businesses.
Recent data from Bluefield Research, which provides deep-dive analyses into global topics, including water infrastructure and industrial water management, found a 43% increase in potable water costs between 2012 and 2021. Irrigation experts attribute the recent surge in water prices to a confluence of factors, including modernizing aging municipal water treatment facilities, meeting the increasing water demands of growing and emerging residential areas, and complying with increasingly stringent local, state and federal environmental regulations.
Audit Evolution
Irrigation professionals agree that irrigation audits are indispensable for optimizing water usage and fostering healthy landscapes. However, many also feel the definition of an “audit” has evolved in recent years.
“I’ve been in the industry since 1997, and I’ve definitely seen irrigation audits evolve during that time … and they’re still evolving,” says Holt, who conducts between 20-30 irrigation audits per year.
When Bozeman, Montana, launched its water-savings initiative in 2015, it was a strict, by-the-book irrigation audit program, says Jessica Ahlstrom, water conservation program manager for the City of Bozeman and a CLIA. However, after a few years, the Bozeman team discovered that time-consuming auditing procedures, such as catch-can tests, were not essential for achieving the desired outcomes. This realization led to streamlining their approach, improving efficiency, and reducing the time invested in data collection. As a result, they switched from calling the process an “audit” to an “irrigation assessment.”
“The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze for those [residential] customers and what they were looking for [from an irrigation audit],” Ahlstrom says. “Now, if you’re auditing a sports field or golf course, then yes, doing [the audit] by the book makes a lot of sense. Our goals, however, are to reach as many customers as we can to help them understand how they’re using water and where they can make changes to their usage practices to use less.”
And while Bozeman’s program evaluates for a more subjective uniformity for irrigation systems, Ahlstrom says it does not abandon sound auditing principles. “Residential customers just want to use less water, whether that’s to be better water stewards or for cost reasons — or both,” she says. “So, we run through all the zones of their system identifying repair needs, whether that’s adjusting a tilted head or a geyser from a broken head. We’re looking for opportunities to increase [water] efficiency by retrofitting products and then creating a watering schedule for [customers]. So, we do lean on those textbook pieces of the auditing protocol when recommending watering schedules to customers.”
Lindsay Kinsler, a water conservation representative and CLIA with the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland, California, says they’ve transitioned from traditional irrigation audits to more high-level irrigation inspections. This approach yields the same results but more expeditiously. For example, step one is always a thorough site inspection to identify those obvious irrigation-related problem areas on a property, Kinsler says. This is followed by a system tune-up that addresses those issues. Based on her experience, the root of most water-management challenges stems from neglected irrigation systems, insufficient preventative maintenance, and a client’s limited to nonexistent understanding of how controllers and schedule programming work with their particular system.
“That’s the low-hanging fruit of water savings, getting your eyes on the site and checking for broken heads, stuck valves, mainline leaks … all of the nitty gritty,” she says, adding client education is a critical component, as well. “All of these items have a lot of value and influence [the client’s water usage practices] and don’t require the traditional audit process to achieve them.”
“Yes, a full audit does help you pinpoint issues, fine-tune an irrigation system and are very helpful when dealing with large properties like sports fields,” Kinsler adds. “However, one of the biggest issues is getting [small property owners] to understand the value gained from staying on top of routine irrigation maintenance. You need those opportunities to take them to the next level and begin talking with them about the new [irrigation] technologies that are out there that can actually go above and beyond basic repairs and get them to those water savings they’re looking for.”
Despite the rise of augmented, less text-book inspections, Jones cautions irrigation professionals against minimizing the semantic distinctions between audits, assessments and evaluations. While the end goals are the same, the terms are not. “If an irrigation technician performs a visual audit, that’s not an ‘audit,'” he says. “You can check components, you can check for proper coverage, but an ‘audit’ is much more thorough, involving many more steps. I don’t believe those two things are interchangeable.”
Audits Make ‘Cents’
Whether a professional contractor commits to by-the-book irrigation audits or adopts a more evaluative approach, these assessments make sound business sense. They can be a source of recurring revenue. In recent years, irrigation audits and evaluations have underscored a growing trend toward responsible water stewardship among residential and commercial property owners.
This desire is evident in their willingness to collaborate with irrigation professionals to see through recommended changes and achieve water conservation goals. Notably, post-audit surveys conducted by the City of Bozeman demonstrated a strong resident desire to engage with irrigation professionals to rectify the issues highlighted in the audit reports, Ahlstrom says.
In addition, irrigation professionals report that average gross profit margins for system maintenance services typically range between 30% and 40%.
When identifying and suggesting areas for ongoing repair and upgrades, it’s crucial for irrigation contractors to transparently communicate the short-term and long-term financial implications of these changes to their clients. “Often, the client will realize a return on their investment within two years,” says Mayfield, who estimates more than 90% of his audits result in additional business opportunities. “So, now they have a better, more efficient irrigation system that no longer wastes water.”
Holt says audits are the first step — and sometimes the first point of contact — for contractors and clients. He suggests scheduling regular monthly property inspections, known as “maintenance audits,” with a qualified technician following the initial system optimization.
“You’re checking to make sure an irrigation head didn’t get mowed off or broken since the last time you walked through,” says Holt, who adds that repairs are a prime opportunity to replace old, outdated components with high-efficiency equipment. “It may take [a technician] an hour or two to complete, but you’re going to get that revenue back by addressing problems to fix. It may cost you $40 to have [the technician] walk the property, but hopefully they will find more than $40 worth of revenue to repair. By no means am I saying go out and break stuff just to fix it. But generally speaking, especially on larger properties, you’re always going to find something.”
Audits and subsequent services offer irrigation professionals a unique opportunity to enhance client relationships, cultivate new clientele and empower clients to improve water use practices while reducing water costs.
“Remember, the irrigation auditors are the good guys, the stewards of the resources,” Jones says. “The goal of an efficient irrigation system is to water appropriately, with the right technology, at the right times to close the gap between the water that’s applied and the water needed to minimize waste.”
For more information on irrigation audits and certification, visit the Irrigation Association’s CLIA certification page. The EPA’s WaterSense program also provides resources for water-efficient irrigation practices and product recommendations.
Certified!
The certified landscape irrigation auditor certification, earned through the Irrigation Association, offers irrigation contractors several valuable advantages that can boost their businesses and enhance and strengthen their customer relationships.
Investing in CLIA certification demonstrates an irrigation contractor’s commitment to excellence and establishes a benchmark for their professional reputation. Perhaps most importantly, the CLIA certification enhances credibility with clients and within the industry, improves efficiency and cost-effectiveness through optimized irrigation systems and reduced water usage, expands business opportunities through specialized services and consulting, and fosters continuous professional development.
“Certification puts credibility behind your evaluation and tells the client, ‘I know what I’m doing,’” says Alex Mayfield, the principal, partner, and a CLIA at J.M. Irrigation in Volo, Illinois. “You need to know what you’re doing to audit an irrigation system properly. And I believe you can’t do a thorough job unless you’re properly trained and certified.”
Learn more about earning a CLIA certification or becoming a certified golf irrigation auditor.
