A Full Slate for Summer 2018

By Michael Gutierrez

Summer is always an exciting time for ag and bio engineering in general

and water-use work in particular. The next two months include both the

Florida Section ASABE Annual Conference and the

ASABE Annual International Meeting. July also ushers in

Smart Irrigation Month, a national effort to educate everyone about how

to water smartly just as outdoor water-use ramps up across the country.

Expect coverage of all of the above here on irriGator.

Tampa Bay Water HQ in April

Our first summer entry is a brief report back from the recent Landscape Irrigation Water Conservation Technologies Training which took place in

Clearwater, FL. This event was a joint effort by Tampa Bay Water,

Florida Irrigation Society (FIS) and UF/IFAS - bringing together regional

practitioners, a variety of vendors showcasing their latest devices, and

IFAS researchers training on best practices. This is a rare treat in

Florida in the spring, so much so that I made the trek from South Florida

to attend.

“Why go all that way?” you may ask. Well, Dr. Michael Dukes had promised an expansive agenda that would not only include water-saving devices like weather-based controllers and soil moisture sensors, but also pressure regulating sprinkler spray bodies (now a EPA WaterSense certified product). And that’s exactly what the training delivered. We covered water-saving technology best practices, why rain sensors are not the best choice for preventing unnecessary irrigation, and the work that went into testing how and why pressure regulating spray heads save water. Further, this year’s training featured a new lab portion requiring attendees to engage with a vendor to learn some basics about a specific technology, making for a lively vendor area with great exchanges about attendees.

Training lab session underway

The combination of Tampa Bay Water and Florida Irrigation Society (offering CEUs) helped attract a broad spectrum of practitioners to the training. I took every opportunity to speak to attendees to learn what area of the green industry they worked in and what they were interested in learning about. I spoke landscape architects, irrigation technicians, and a residential system contractor. Some attended to learn more about a specific technology (soil moisture sensors), others learned the most during the vendor lab session, and the residential contractor had plenty to share about the limitations of adopting new technology with homeowners when/where there are no incentives (rebates, etc.).

There will not be a more worthwhile irrigation-focused event until fall when

FIS and the Irrigation Association have trainings and certification exams. I

certainly journeyed back to South Florida eager to build on what I learned in

the auditing work that I do. Smart Irrigation Month is just a few weeks away.

Look for more information on water-saving technology and irrigation best

practices on here on irriGator.

In the Lab and On the Board: A Michael Dukes Interview

By Michael Gutierrez

UF ABE Professor Michael Dukes was recently elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Irrigation Association (IA). Those of us who work in outdoor water-use know IA as an advocacy organization, a certifying body and a resource for young people interested in green industry careers. IrriGator interviewed Dr. Dukes about what it means to be part of the IA Board and his outlook on irrigation for 2018.

Dr. Michael Dukes presents at Irrigation Show & Education Conference 2017

What does it mean to you to be elected to the Irrigation Association’s(IA) Board of Directors?
MD: It’s a great honor to be elected to the board. I’m only the second academic to be elected to the board. Very few are elected I believe because there aren’t many of us academics that work closely with industry. I enjoy learning about the industry and helping promote efficient Irrigation.

You’ve been involved with IA a number of years now. What do you hope to contribute in this role?

MD: I’ve been involved with IA in volunteer committee and leadership roles for 15 years or so and this role on the board is really exciting since the board sets policy for the organization. I look forward to participating in that role. I think I’ll learn much about the organization and its individual members in this role. I look forward to it!

Excited to be at the new @IrrigationAssoc new board member orientation! Promoting irrigation efficiency! pic.twitter.com/PgGt6ueivH

— Michael Dukes (@mddukes) September 26, 2017

Why is IA good for the industry?

MD: The IA promotes efficient Irrigation, in fact that is the organization’s mission! Thus the IA works as a bridge between the industry and government organizations to help promote the responsible and efficient use of water for irrigation. The efficient use of water results in the maintenance of landscapes to consumers’ desire as well as the food crops we require with the least amount of water possible. As a result, we’ll be able to sustain a growing population.

The new year is just getting started, can you give us any insight on what you’re focused on this year? Any trends you’re excited about in irrigation in 2018?

MD: Though water conservation hasn’t gotten as much attention in recent years, the Florida Water 2070 report estimates an additional 15 million people in Florida by that year. Development related water demand will increase 100% and the report goes on to say that reducing landscape irrigation is the single most effective strategy to reduce water demand in Florida.

Water 2070 Report

In 2018 we are still working closely with utilities on evaluation of Irrigation water conservation. They need to quantify whether things like rain sensors (Long Term Expanding-Disk Rain Sensor Accuracy) and sprinkler nozzles save enough water to warrant rebates. We are also working with developers to encourage implementation of Florida-Friendly Landscaping that we’ve shown reduces Irrigation by half compared to traditional landscapes and Irrigation (Irrigation Conservation of Florida-Friendly Landscaping Based on Water Billing Data.).

In addition, water quality impacts on the Floridan Aquifer have resulted in our project funded by the USDA. We are researching agricultural Best Management Practices such as nutrient management and irrigation management with soil moisture sensors to reduce the loss of nitrogen to the aquifer.

A UF/IFAS Water School Near You

Water Schools are an expanding priority for UF/IFAS. The concept was originally conceived in Polk County in the 90s and then caught on throughout neighboring Southwest FL. Currently there are plans to develop water schools in Marion, Brevard, Citrus and Lake/Sumter Counties. On June 27^th the Lake/Sumter Water School is set to debut. Event co-organizer Lloyd Singleton (of Sumter County Extension) recently communicated with IrriGator to offer further insight into the Lake/Sumter County effort.

Lloyd Singleton (left) and Steve Turnipseed inspect a FL native (image FANN)

What do you feel is the most pressing water issue in your area of FL?

LS: Rapid planned residential development in the south part of Lake County (Clermont, Minneola, Groveland) and the north part of Sumter County (The Villages) are increasing the demands for water. Lots of new lawns and landscapes with irrigation, so water quantity is of great concern. Given its namesake, Lake County has water quality concerns for the beautiful chains of lakes in the region.

Christopher Martinez discusses water schools to educate & help influencers in making a difference in water conservation & quality #CLCE17 pic.twitter.com/457xJk6jsF

— UF IFAS Solutions (@UF_IFAS) March 17, 2017

How often are water schools conducted in your counties?

LS: We conducted a water school for local community leaders last summer (2016), and this is our first one open to the general public. One of the outcomes of that water school, where we used Dr. Borisova’s evaluation, was that they suggested the same information be provided to the general public. So that’s what we decided to do this summer. Some of the information may be over the heads of the general public, but I’m not a big believer in dumbing stuff down. Sometimes you need to challenge critical thinking with a little bit of higher level information. 

We are grateful to our sponsors, the Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District for providing the resources to share this event with the general public. If it is well received and the word spreads, I’m confident we can do more.

The water school program includes quite an array of expertise, who is the intended audience?

LS: The program is open to anyone; we are seeing interest from a wide variety of folks, including Master Gardeners, the environmentally-minded, early adopters of all sorts. We’ve assembled experts in numerous fields related to water, ready to share their expertise and answer your questions about this precious, limited natural resource.

There is a water school goodie bag to entice attendees. What kind of useful items are included?

LS: The gift bag itself is a reusable grocery bag in beautiful UF blue, labeled Water School. We will also provide a flash drive with all of the presenter’s presentations included as .pdfs, a personal water bottle, hose end spray nozzle, a fertilizer guide, bookmark, and lots of Florida-Friendly Landscaping information is included, too.

All of the above and information straight from the experts

Co-organized by Juanita Popenoe, PhD., and Lloyd Singleton, the Lake/Sumter County Water School takes place Tuesday, June 27^th. Register here.

Florida-Friendly Landscaping in Practice

Last year we collaborated with the UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program (FFL) to produce two videos featuring regional landscape architects describing how FFL principles influence their design work.

Personal Insight

In my tech career I have evaluated irrigation systems at countless South Florida-based Homeowners Associations and large developments. 9 times out of 10, poor landscape and irrigation system design go hand in hand. For instance, why design for turf in areas residents can neither see nor easily access and then water that turf so excessively that the wood fence bordering said area steadily rots in place? Such design oversights are a source of never-ending maintenance and replacement expenses.

Meet the Architects

Daniel Dameron is a Spring Hill-based landscape architect. What’s interesting about Mr. Dameron’s story is how the success of his designs in the common areas of a large development gave residents a firsthand look at FFL and helped dispel fundamental misconceptions about low-maintenance landscaping.

Jeremy Wilhelm is a landscape architect working in Sarasota. Large developments often hire Mr. Wilhelm to reign in their maintenance expenses through FFL-focused redesign. In our interview, Mr. Wilhem offered great tips applicable to both residential and HOA-sized landscapes.

Design Will Save the World
What these videos showcase is two designers using FFL principles to guide their work at both a large and small-scale. More importantly, this content underscores that great landscape design is not only pleasant to look at and be around, but it can also have significant impact on use of resources and maintenance costs.

One Water Saving Sensor Too Many? - A Dialogue

By Michael Gutierrez

Over the summer an area utility came to us with a technology problem. Due to an incentive-based program, soil moisture sensors were being installed on new housing development irrigation systems. This is just the kind of best practice we love to hear about. In this instance, however, the installers elected to add rain sensors as well. Wiring issues ensued.

This month the Dukes research group is conducting its 3^rd smart water technology workshop of 2016. To mark the occasion, water-use expert Dr. Michael Dukes agreed to a discussion on the above “two sensors” situation so we can all better understand the installers’ intentions and what went wrong. This is also a preview of some of the topics that will be addressed in next week’s training.  

Dr. Michael Dukes instructs during a smart water technology training earlier this year

MG: Rain sensors v. soil moisture sensors – which is more effective?

MD: Soil moisture sensors are definitely more effective than rain sensors. We’ve shown that time and time again. They’ll reduce irrigation two to three times more under the same conditions. And longevity is better in soil moisture sensors. Despite this, rain sensors have been around for a long time and they are in everyone’s way of thinking – everyone being contractors, practitioners, utility people. To us, being close to the research it makes sense just to use a soil moisture sensor. “Why would you consider a rain sensor based on all this research?” Well, for practitioners one of the things that is on top of their mind is seeing an irrigation system run when it’s raining. A rain sensor would stop that. Their next thought is “why not add a soil moisture sensor. Wouldn’t my results be even better?”

A soil moisture sensor properly installed in an undisturbed soil profile

MG: As people that specialize in encouraging best practices, we like seeing practitioners install water saving devices. In reality, one well-installed, functioning device on a system is a rare thing. Two devices is something I’m still trying to wrap my mind around.

MD: In this instance, the only reason is to get the instant shut-off that a rain sensor would provide during a rainfall event. But think about it this way: we only have a limited amount of research on testing a soil moisture sensor with a rain sensor together and in that limited study there was a benefit. It wasn’t a great deal, but there was a benefit. But think about the conditions where you get a benefit: there has to be irrigation during a rain event and if you only have several irrigation events scheduled per week that means everything has to line up perfectly. I’m not sure how likely that is. The benefits to adding a rain sensor is probably marginal because we already know they require more maintenance. You’re adding something that needs more maintenance for some perceived benefit which is not all that great.

Rain sensor: going the extra mile and getting it right

MG: This is what I was thinking. Installers may not be so familiar with the research, but they know rain sensors. What it’s like to work with these devices. Why…

MD: There’s another angle on this though: the soil sensor technology we’re discussing in this instance is slower in reacting to moisture. So the addition of a rain sensor may actually help address this. It’s not a terrible idea.

MG: So intentionally or not, installers in this instance may have compensated for a short-coming of one device by adding another.

MD: That’s exactly right.

MG: I just stumble on the idea of willingly pairing two devices, when you know one will deteriorate before the other.

MD: Perception is reality. Perception is a big deal. We’re in the process of publishing a paper on the OCU research. And surveying homeowners participating in that study, their perception of water savings was more important than the actual water savings in their attitude of whether they were going to continue using smart irrigation technology in the future.

The Orange County Utilities (OCU) study also includes weather-based irrigation controllers (WBICs)

MD: The important part here is: having a rain sensor to prevent a system from running when it’s raining, that goes a lot toward perception. Having a system with only a soil moisture sensor is probably not a real problem in the long run, day in and day out over the year. But let’s say a developer sees a system watering in the rain one time. That may mean the difference between these new homes continuing to get this technology or not getting it.

MG: The only reason we’re actually aware of this "two sensors on one timer" practice is that something went wrong. Can you talk about this?

MD: What happened was the timers in this instance have a rain sensor port and the installers wired both sensors to that port. They intended an either/or scenario to interrupt irrigation. But when both are wired in this way they are in parallel, so both have to trigger to interrupt irrigation. They needed to be wired in series, so either/or would break the circuit.

When the soil moisture sensor can wire into the rain sensor port, a series connection is necessary (courtesy: Francis Galdo)

MG: In summary, if you insist on using two devices – rain sensor and soil moisture sensor – with your timer….

MD: Know your wiring.

Catch the Dukes research group in Tarpon Springs next week for more in depth insight

Water-Saving Sensors Go Toe-to-Toe? The Winner Will Surprise You

By Bernard Cardenas

Ever suspect that some of your neighbors apply too much water to their lawns? In some cases you might be right. To remediate this issue, the irrigation industry has developed products to reduce the amount of water wasted during landscape irrigation. 

Water waste adds up (via EPA WaterSense)

Among these technologies are rain sensors and soil moisture sensors (SMS). Rain sensors detect when sufficient rain has fallen and then bypass the irrigation timer’s schedule. Likewise, SMS can detect if the soil is moist enough (so that the lawn can withstand some extra days without watering) and then prevent scheduled irrigation events. 

Sensor vs. Sensor

In a recently published study researchers at UF evaluated the water savings potential of rain sensors and SMS in homes for more than two years. They compared their results to homes only equipped with irrigation timers. They also compared those results to homes that were provided both a rain sensor and educational materials. 

To evaluate if the homes in the study were applying the right amount of water, the researchers also estimated the water applied by the different technologies compared to a theoretical requirement (calculated using a daily soil water balance).

Palm Harbor, FL - where we lay our scene

The Location

In the vicinity of Palm Harbor, FL, a total of 64 homes supplied with reclaimed water for irrigation were selected for this study. Dedicated irrigation flowmeters were installed in every home to measure the amount of water applied. The 64 homes were divided in 4 treatments with 16 homes each. Treatments were: MO (monitored only), SMS, rain sensor, and rain sensor plus educational materials. 

The Results

By the end of the study, SMS-equipped homes were the only group significantly different to the MO homes. This means that the homes equipped with a rain sensor, or a rain sensor plus educational materials, did not save a significant amount of water compared to the MO homes.

Further, the homes equipped with a SMS reduced the average number of irrigation events per week, compared to the MO homes (1.7 vs. 2.7 events/week, respectively), decreased the depth of the weekly irrigation (22 vs. 42 mm, respectively), and applied 44% less water, over the 32 months of data collection. These savings were achieved with no adverse effects to turf quality.

These results indicate that the tested SMS can save a significant amount of reclaimed water, compared to the other methods/technologies investigated.

This paper is part of a series. Read part one here. And if you are attending the ASABE International Meeting in Orlando this month, the studies will be presented in session 138 on 7/18, 2:30pm - 5pm. Follow all our Orlando coverage on Twitter. 

Whether using reclaimed or potable, overwatering in the landscape is easily preventable

By Bernard Cardenas

Some homeowners with automatic irrigation systems are over-watering their lawns in Florida without even knowing it. To cope with this issue, researchers at UF have been testing different soil moisture sensors, a promising technology that can potentially reduce waste of irrigation water.

Examples of widely available soil moisture sensor devices

Purple Pipes Among Us

In Florida, an important number of homes use reclaimed water to irrigate their landscape. Using soil moisture sensors in this context could present a problem because reclaimed water may contain more salts than potable water, and these salts could alter sensor readings when measuring the soil water content.

Therefore, irrigation specialists evaluated the functionality of four soil moisture sensor brands under both reclaimed and potable water, and quantified their potential irrigation savings. They also analyzed the consistency of each brand to control irrigation and, finally, they compared the brands to see if all of them were effective, or not.

Research Mode

The study was carried out in Gainesville in turfgrass plots irrigated with potable water and reclaimed water (2009 and 2010 respectively). Four soil moisture sensor brands were tested and were compared to a treatment that had no sensor feedback, which is the most common situation in Florida.

All the soil moisture sensors tested applied significantly less water than the comparison treatment (which had no sensor feedback). This was a consequence of the soil moisture sensors not allowing irrigation when soil was wet enough.  

The water savings ranged from 46% to 78% under potable water, and from 45% to 68% under reclaimed water. This means that the tested soil moisture sensors could be used under reclaimed or potable water conditions. Even more promising: these important water savings were obtained during a mostly dry period.

Also important to mention is that these water savings were attained without compromising the turf quality, which always rated good or higher, during the 2 year study.

The Bottom Line

From these results, which are comparable to those achieved in other similar experiments, it is clear that soil moisture sensors can be a useful tool for conserving water on turfgrass irrigated with either potable or reclaimed water.

(Adapted from a recently published research article available here.)

On irrigation’s cutting edge with Tampa Bay Water

In the works since last fall, February ushered in a highly anticipated soil moisture sensor (SMS) training in collaboration with Tampa Bay Water and the Florida Irrigation Society (FIS).

The Tampa Bay Water building by sunrise

A Day of Moisture Sensing

As detailed in a previous blog entry, SMS-use in irrigation can result in significant water savings. Buoyed by these facts and long-terms plans to incentivize the installation of irrigation control devices like SMS, Tampa Bay Water hosted Dr. Michael Dukes and his research team for a day of learning about what SMS are, what is their water saving potential and how should different models be used and installed for maximum benefits.

Next week: @MDDukes presents a training on soil moisture sensor use & installation w/ @TampaBayWater & FIS pic.twitter.com/0Jia6usffw

— UF/IFAS IrriGator (@IrriGatorUF) January 27, 2016

The well-attended event included area contractors, regional UF/IFAS Extension personnel and some water district staff. FIS provided CEUs and six vendors set up booths in the vendor room to display all the available options in soil moisture sensing technology.

Baseline Systems is the model soil sensor currently under research in Orange County, FL.

“Some of those contractors came up after and told me ‘I learned a few things that I didn’t know before.’” Dr. Dukes said later, reflecting on the training. “This is a big win given these guys make their living working in irrigation.”

Tampa Bay Water's David Bracciano launches the day's events

The Digital Plane

From a communicator’s stand-point the training with Tampa Bay Water (TBW) was insightful in several respects. First, TBW maintains a digital presence on Twitter and we were able to effectively collaborate in our event promotion with them via this platform.

Some hands-on soil moisture sensor training today from @IrriGatorUF and sponsors! pic.twitter.com/X0BJcsezPD

— Tampa Bay Water (@TampaBayWater) February 3, 2016

And second, we broadcast several parts of the training on the live-streaming app Persicope – peaking at 65 viewers during the outdoor hands-on sessions. Viewer feedback was excellent and we will definitely be integrating this app into our real-time coverage strategy for events like this in the future.

Looking Forward

While there are no set plans for additional trainings thus far this year, Dr. Dukes underscored that “we are available to schedule these trainings to anyone interested in hosting.”

Partners in water saving (from left): Michael Dukes, David Bracciano and Bernard Cardenas