The Audit

THE IRRIGATION AUDIT

Wow, what an ominous sound….”audit” why the very word strikes fear into our hearts..Especially if one has ever been through an IRS audit. Well no fear here, this audit is to help you and save you dollar bills, while helping your plants grow.

Basically the audit is a thorough inspection of your irrigation system. The irrigator conducting the audit, will examine the system zone by zone looking for leaks, broken spray heads, miss-aligned heads, overspray onto hard surfaces or into the street. Broken heads spraying into the street…well that will surely get you thrown into irrigation jail!! (just kidding… but some cities will fine the property owner for some of these repeated violations).

Once the irrigator is satisfied that the system is operational, then the audit begins. Most auditors have special catch basins they use to collect samples of the water distributed in a particular zone …but it can be done with a normal tuna can (a clean empty one works best). Once the samples are collected measured, weighed, color analyzed, and documented…well maybe not that intense..just collected and measured. At this point the auditor can calculate the DU or Distribution Uniformity and the precipitation rate for that area.

Yeah I know, way too much information, by doing these calculations he will be able to set your timer for the most efficient run times based on your yard, plant material, slope and time of year. So what does that mean to you?



This is the part where you save money, the cities are happier, and your plants will look better (cause they have water). In the world of irrigation more is definitely not better, in many systems a run time of more than 10 minutes sends water down the street and away from your yard. And you still pay for it all month long…..bummer….So now with a better run time allocation, you water just enough not to induce run off, actually you may run several cycles just shorter in length.

Do you really need a full audit, well if you are a large commercial property, an irrigation audit and the resulting correct settings for your timer can save you thousands of dollars. The normal residential homeowner can dramatically benefit from a system check up twice a year…..it will save you money…I promise…fix those broken and miss-aligned heads..you will feel better about yourself (well I cannot promise that)



Enjoy the life!

It's Green, It's Sustainable....It is the Right Thing To Do

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMER TIME

Well summer is quickly approaching and that means in Texas “ Hot Fun In the Summertime” lots of heat, sun, sweat, and very little rain fall. So it is smart to try and capitalize on as much rainfall as possible and you want to be smart…right??

As a licensed irrigator and an irrigation auditor (Thank You Very Much) in the state of Texas, I can tell you with some veracity that an irrigation system is only for supplemental watering. Unfortunately most of our water loss or more accurately water waste is from residential irrigation systems. Many systems are not properly designed, not set correctly and send thousands of gallons of water down the sewer and guess who pays for that… YOU… every month.

So let us be smart, sustainable, water wise and in the process save ourselves some bucks so we can go and buy a big screen TV (just kidding…..may be). One of the best ways to do this is with a Rain Barrel. Capture the rain from your home gutter system and then use to water your garden, your annual color, that great perennial bed that you keep saying you are going to plant (yeah sure) or slow water your foundation during those Texas summers.

Rain Barrels have been around…well…since barrels were designed and how long is that? I don’t know check Wiki-Pedia….they know everything. Seriously when water was not so readily available and easy to waste, people tried to save every bit, morsel, drop they could…it was life and still is.

Now if you have read my blog for a while (many smart people do.. now so should you) you know I do not try to sell you stuff…just ideas. BUT get a rain barrel for your home, the environment will love you for it and that means your children will be able to fish, jet ski ,skinny dip (how does that make you feel) and just plain live.

Try these fellows….GREEN BARREL SOLUTIONS .www.greenbarrelsolutions.com.. 940-736-7313

Just a couple of kids trying to do the right thing…the right way….

Enjoy the life…