American Association of Irrigation Consultants Offers Advice for Battling Drought

<p>With drought conditions affecting much of the nation, the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) is advising landscape contractors to use technology and smart design to conserve water, while still providing healthy lawns for their clients.</p>

<p>"There are no quick fixes, but smart design and technology are a powerful one-two punch for the landscape manager," explained Brian Vinchesi, ASIC president. "A properly designed system can conserve as much as 50 percent of the water over a poorly designed one, saving energy and money in addition to water."</p>

<p>Vinchesi related that the efficiency of a system can vary dramatically based on a number of factors, including the age of the system, time of day irrigation is taking place, wind conditions and the level of water pressure.Vinchesi advises LCOs to follow these simple steps to ensure an efficient irrigation system:</p>

<li> Track your water use - Monitor your water consumption so that you have a baseline of understanding about the efficiency of your system.</li>
<li> Have a drought contingency plan - Consider what steps you will need to take to get through a drought, paying particular attention to what alternative water sources might be available to you.</li>
<li> Adut your system's performance - Consider retaining an irrigation consultant to audit your system.</li>
<li> Maintain your system - An irrigation system is only as good as the person operating it, so the maintenance of the system is critical to ensure efficiency</li>

<p>For more information on designing a proper irrigation system, visit the ASIC Web site.</p>