Residential Irrigation Water Conservation

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Residential Irrigation Water Conservation

• A Homeowner Cooperation Project

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Residential Irrigation Water Conservation Study

• Funded by
• Southwest Florida Water Management District
• Pinellas County Utilities
• UF-IFAS
• Agricultural and Biological Engineering
• Environmental Horticulture

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The Importance of this Study

• Studies have shown that residential lawn and
  landscape irrigation can account for more than
  50 of a home's total water use.
• Recent research in Florida has indicated that
  homeowners over irrigate.

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The Importance of this Study

• Adding a rain sensor or soil moisture sensor to
  your existing time-based automatic in-ground
  irrigation system can dramatically decrease
  irrigation water consumption!

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Experimental Design

• 64 Homes
• divided into 4 locations within Palm Harbor
• Four Treatments (at each location)
• Current irrigation system with rain sensor
• Current irrigation system without rain sensor
• Current irrigation system without rain sensor and
  with a soil moisture controller
• Current irrigation system with rain sensor and
  with educational materials

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Experimental Procedure

• Conduct irrigation audit
• Equipment check
• Controller operation
• Catch-can test to determine system uniformity
• Measure irrigated area
• Track turf quality
• Monitor water usage
• Install irrigation water meter
• Install rain sensor (if applicable)
• Install soil moisture sensor (if applicable)

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Irrigation Water Meter

• Installed in ground after utility meter
• Measures volume of water used by irrigation system

All 64 homes will receive this.
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Uniformity Measurement
All 64 homes will receive this.
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Rain Sensor

• The rain sensor will bypass (turn off) the
  irrigation system after a rain event to prevent
  over-irrigation.
• The precipitation amount must be above a set
  threshold to bypass the irrigation.
• The sensor attaches at the roof line and is less
  than 2 in height.

32 of the homes will receive this type of
sensor.
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Soil Moisture Sensor

• A soil moisture sensor is buried in the turf root
  zone. This sensor can bypass the time-based
  irrigation system based on soil moisture content.
  
• The soil moisture must be above a set threshold
  to bypass the irrigation.
• Controller box mounted near irrigation system
  controller

16 of the homes will receive this type of
sensor.
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Soil Moisture Sensor Installation
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Soil Moisture Sensor Installation
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Irrigation Term Field Capacity

• Only the water applied to the lawn until the
  irrigated area reaches saturation (field
  capacity) is beneficial.
• Therefore, any additional water applied cannot
  be used by the lawn.
• If the lawn is at field capacity additional
  irrigation is unnecessary, it will not effect how
  long the ground is saturated.
• The sensors detect when the has been sufficient
  rain or that the soil moisture content is at
  field capacity.
• Imagine the root zone of your lawn as a
• glass filled with waterpouring more in will
• not keep it full any longer. The sensors
• detect when the glass is full.

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What if my lawn is not at Field Capacity on the
day I irrigated?

• If the soil moisture sensor or the rain sensor do
  not detect the moisture level to be at the
  threshold with is set to represent field
  capacity, then
• the irrigation system will run as usual.
• The irrigation system will only be bypassed if
  the moisture level is above the set field
  capacity threshold.

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Benefits to Homeowner

• More than 50 of water consumed by the typical
  homeowner is used for irrigation
• Decrease water used for irrigation
• Save money
• Protect our water supply
• Contribute to valuable irrigation water
  conservation research

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Thank You

• We look forward to your cooperation and will
  gladly answer any Questions?
• For more information visit our website
• http//irrigation.ifas.ufl.edu