Maximize your water use, minimize your chemical applications.

It's that time of the year again. Turfgrass roots are gradually stretching their tentacles in the spring thaw, taking hold and ramping up for maximum water and nutrient intake before the heat of summer. This is an important time for your grounds--the success and health of your growing season balances largely on how well your irrigation system and cultural practices perform in the upcoming months.

"Spring represents a tremendous challenge for turf and landscape managers," remarks

Dan Benner, president of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC). "And although most of us are kind of stuck working with an inherited irrigation system, there are numerous opportunities for improving performance. That translates to healthier turf and landscape plants, with less heat from administrators and the public for water blowing all over parking lots, buildings, streets and sidewalks."

Benner has a point. There is an evolving water conservation ethic throughout sprawling institutions and vest-pocket neighborhoods alike that demands professionalism and accountability. By improving irrigation performance--effectively placing water only where it is needed, when it is needed--we preserve the resource and the irrigation system, while inviting fewer pests to "feed" on the landscape.

"There's an added benefit to precision irrigation," Benner offers. "And that is, if the proper amount of water is applied to the landscape at the appropriate rate and time, you can effectively minimize or eliminate altogether the use of pesticides and nutrients, while not washing nonpoint source pollution into the gutters and drains. It's just an overall ecologically sound and responsible engineered practice. In other words, irrigation is a solution to water waste and contamination, not a problem."

Taking It to the Next Level

"You play the hand you were dealt, in terms of managing an irrigation system that was designed and installed prior to your arrival," says Benner. "So, let's look at some opportunities to improve that hand and better manage your resources."

There are numerous approaches to effective turfgrass cultivation. The use of nutrients, surfactants, soil amendments and other elements can certainly improve turf health, as can verticutting, regular aerification and other cultural regimens. But when you get right down to it, for most facilities, optimizing irrigation system performance and scheduling regimens are going to yield the greatest results while protecting the environment.

Irrigation management is vital to the success of any turf- or landscape-management program and a critical tool for environmental stewardship. Benner recommends at minimum three courses of action to take for effective, responsible irrigation management.

1. A thorough irrigation system inspection should be performed to evaluate component performance and overall irrigation efficiency--and determine precipitation rates.

2. Regular scheduling adjustments must be effected according to historical and real-time weather conditions.

3. Regular irrigation system inspection and maintenance routines must be in place.

Getting Your System in Line

The exception is a turf or grounds manager who routinely and fastidiously inspects an irrigation system. The rule seems to be responding to damage or a larger crisis, and then cursing the irrigation system for failing. "We'd like to reverse that," comments Norman Bartlett, executive director for ASIC. "Irrigation practitioners can take the bull by the horns and implement some proactive inspection and maintenance programs, rather than running from one hydraulic disaster to the next."

Bartlett suggests taking the time to create an irrigation system inspection program and tracking spreadsheet to identify and repair malfunctioning irrigation equipment before it becomes a problem. During the busy season, an irrigation specialist on your crew should be monitoring irrigation functions daily. This technician should continually inspect the entire system as follows.

* Meters and pumping operations should be inspected daily.

* Perimeter heads and valve boxes should be inspected twice weekly.

* Internal heads and valve boxes should be inspected weekly.

* Turf and landscape plant quality should be inspected every time the technician is on the site.

Head Check

When inspecting sprinklers, use the following guidelines.

* Check the height of each head, ensuring discharge is clearing the turf or landscape plants. Be sure the head is level.

* Check the coverage of full- and part-circle heads to ensure sprinklers are covering the area of their intent and turning completely. Also, measure the radius of throw and compare to manufacturers' specifications.

* Check the sprinkler housing for damage and remove any sand, grass or other debris.

* Check the nozzle disbursement of each head. Note the nozzle pattern and look for obstructed orifices. Twice yearly, check the nozzle size using a drill bit to compare to the original size.

* Use a pitot tube to check nozzle pressure at discharge, and log the data for future reference and comparisons.

* Check for weeping electric valves, which usually indicate debris that should be removed.

* Check any low heads for drainage, which might indicate a valve is weeping or a need for check valves.

* Log all work and keep records of sprinkler model, nozzle size, pressure at head, radius of coverage and speed of revolution.

Valve Check

Use the following guidelines when inspecting valves.

* Check access to all valve boxes.

* Check all wire connections.

* Check to ensure electric valves close and open, both electrically and manually. If a single valve doesn't open, check the solenoid, wiring or tubes. If the problem is electrical, it can be either the common or hot wire. If several zones are down, check the controller for both input and output power. If the power is good, check the area to the first zone for damage to the hot or common wires. Target areas of recent work.

* Check all gate and ball valves to ensure they open and close, and that all are clear of debris and accessible. Leaking around the top of a manual valve indicates that the packing nut needs tightening. Leaking through the valve indicates either debris lies between the disc and seat, or that the disc is damaged.

* Check the pressure setting on all pressure-regulating valves against logged data to ensure proper settings. A difference of five to 10 lbs. can seriously affect intended precipitation rates.

Controller Check

Use the following guidelines when inspecting controllers.

* Check connections.

* Check grounding and test once yearly.

* Check irrigation schedules, and test manual operations of the zones that you checked that day.

* Test for continuity, and voltage input and output from the controller.

* Check for and remove debris.

* Test any rain, moisture or shut-off devices.

* Have wire-tracking tools on hand to locate weak or broken wires.

Pipe Check

Use these guidelines when checking pipes.

* Traverse the pipe route looking for puddles, flowing water, wet spots, places where equipment suddenly scalped the turf and new lakes or ponds that may have developed overnight.

* With help, activate zones and listen for sounds of water hammer or other unusual pipe noises.

Build a Responsive Inventory

With your system inspections completed, use your spreadsheet to record system failures. Then you'll know which parts to keep in stock for quick repairs, and you may have identified a more serious problem for which to budget and repair or replace down the road.

Spare irrigation parts should be inventoried and maintained to handle the most common failures, so parts needed for any repairs are on hand. Ensure that the spare parts are of the same make and model as those on the site. Product integrity absolutely plays a role in irrigation efficiency. Remember, irrigation is a sound science based on established engineering principles. It is imperative that worn or damaged system components be replaced with identical parts to prevent water waste and landscape damage.

Formulating Accurate Schedules

You've optimized the performance of your existing system--hopefully without too much investment--and you have your inspection and repair spreadsheet in place. Now it's time to refine your irrigation scheduling.

"Developing accurate irrigation schedules requires first-hand knowledge of your system's strengths and weaknesses, and where the greatest management and equipment improvements can be made the quickest," offers Bartlett. "We've seen irrigation efficiency improved as little as 10 percent yield water savings in the tens of thousands of dollars annually. Water managers have an implicit responsibility with their resource--but the monetary savings are absolutely bonus."

Benner agrees: "Catch-can tests are excellent opportunities to assess your system's performance while determining each zone's precipitation rate. You have to know at what rate and how evenly your system is applying water to effectively manage water, pesticides and people." At the very least, run a catch-can test per zone to determine how the uniform sprinkler water is being applied. This will enable you to more accurately schedule service to the driest spot in the zone.

Using Evapotranspiration (ET) Data

ET data, real-time or historic, should be the cornerstone of your irrigation scheduling. On-site weather stations are not the only source for ET data. Most sprinkler manufacturers and distributors or university extension agents can likely provide monthly reference or historical ET for your area, from which you make, at minimum, simple water-budget adjustments monthly, based on historic weather inputs and precipitation rates.

"Professional turf managers should have a monthly baseline irrigation schedule and be prepared to make daily or weekly adjustments according to real-time site conditions," observes Bartlett. "Be ready to respond to wind, rain, heat and humidity conditions on your site."

ET data have certainly become more mainstream through the years in creating more accurate irrigation schedules, and there are volumes of manuals, guides and other literature that explain in great detail how data are collected and used. All of these activities are intended to create a proactive turf management program that:

* prevents water waste--or plant stress--and the associated expenses;

* prevents disease and erosion that comes from overwatering;

* prevents system component wear-and-tear;

* prevents turf damage associated with pedestrian and vehicle traffic; and

* reduces your water, power and manpower consumption.

"University campuses can represent enormous palettes of complex, diverse planting schemes with demanding watering needs," Benner concludes. "Managers have a very real responsibility in dealing daily with a valuable, finite resource. Landscapes also represent an institutional and community storefront--one of the first tangible experiences for faculty and student recruitment. Give them a memorable shopping experience."

The American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) was formed in 1970. Its members are committed to representing the client in providing independent irrigation consulting services for the effective use and management of water and other natural resources. For more information about ASIC or its members, call 508/763-8140 or visit www.asic.org.