Editor's Focus: Aug. 2001

Water is power. - California billboard

I’m a little slow on the uptake at times, but even I’m starting to see just how big of an issue water consumption is becoming. The debate over how water gets used, who uses it and its cost rages intensely in California right now, which I realized during a three-day trip there last month. Billboards critical of government involvement in water regulation are common along many state highways, particularly those in the heart of the state where irrigation sustains one of the nation’s largest agricultural areas.

As with other issues, however, irrigation matters outside of California as well, and the turf industry has plenty at stake. A recent Time magazine article said Arizona will pay residents up to $1,000 to rip up water-consuming turf in their yard and replace it with native plants that require significantly less irrigation. A relatively new law in Nevada limits the amount of turf that can be installed on new properties. Florida’s statewide water conservation committee held its first meeting in June to explore ideas for more efficient water use. Contractors in Georgia spent much of last year watching plants suffer through a seemingly endless drought. The list goes on.

If you install or maintain landscapes, then you’re involved in the irrigation industry even if you don’t know an irrigation controller from a garage door opener. You would be wise to spend more time thinking about how the way you design, install or care for properties influences water use. Is the landscape designed so that plants are grouped together based on their irrigation needs? Is turf minimized in areas where it’s not critical or doesn’t contribute to the overall appearance of the property?

If you do design, install and/or maintain irrigation systems, then you should realize the severity of this issue and take steps to improve the efficiency of the systems you have in the ground and identify strategies and technology to make sure new systems take care of the environment as well as the property. For example, while only a handful of states have laws requiring weather stations on all new irrigation installations, there is no reason not to install a wind or rain monitor on every job. I drive by a commercial shopping plaza on the way to work in the mornings, and its irrigation system is often on during the rain. That’s more than just a waste of water – that’s ignorance and professional neglect.

You can and should be better than that.