Water use restrictions

seed – posted 12 April 2001 11:50

Would you join other turfgrass managers in accepting water meters and monitoring of irrigation systems, as a means to achieve water use reductions, instead of arbitrary hours and days?

This is the question posed by the South Florida Water Management District, as they consider industry-wide variances to Phase 3 Water-Use Restrictions, which may be imposed in May 2001 if this drought continues. Large turf water users such as golf courses and sports fields who can monitor and report actual water use may be able to achieve greater water savings by actually measuring water used, than the “hours and days.”

Looking forward to your comments.

Phil

TGCLMAN – posted 13 April 2001 02:47

I am in full support of this idea. Having a means to measure real usage and reductions is much more effective than estimating reductions. Turf and landscapes do not use water on a set daily schedule, why irrigate them that way? I would much rather water my turf when it shows signs of needing water, than to have it set up on a day of the week schedule. Of course I am in the minority on that point. Maybe if homeowners actually saw how much water they use in GALLONS, to irrigate their lawns and landscapes, they would stop overwatering them.

John Mascaro – posted 13 April 2001 19:29

I also think that monitoring is the way to go. I am bias because I have been preaching this for a long time. In addition I have been making a moisture sensor for 15 years to determine how much water is in the root zone. I only water my yard when it needs it.

That is to say that when the moisture level falls below 25% in the root zone, it is time to water. Setting arbitrary days of the week is mere guesswork. I haven’t watered my yard in 21 days because of some small showers we have gotten in Coral Springs. Now, my moisture sensors shows 30% in most areas and 20% in others. I will water this Saturday, because it needs it!

gplot – posted 16 April 2001 06:41

I am in full support of monitoring H2O consumption. Back in the early and mid 90’s I use to sit on an advisory committee for the Southwest Water Managment District. There was at that time a lot of discussion about monitoring water usage and eliminating the method of randomly selecting days of the week to water. I have always believed that a smart turfgrass manager waters when necessary and not when told. Why is it taking us so long to get to this point?

rosalie cascio – posted 25 April 2001 04:51

quote:Originally posted by seed:Would you join other turfgrass managers in accepting water meters and monitoring of irrigation systems, as a means to achieve water use reductions, instead of arbitrary hours and days?

This is the question posed by the South Florida Water Management District, as they consider industry-wide variances to Phase 3 Water-Use Restrictions, which may be imposed in May 2001 if this drought continues. Large turf water users such as golf courses and sports fields who can monitor and report actual water use may be able to achieve greater water savings by actually measuring water used, than the “hours and days.”

Looking forward to your comments.

Phil

I would love to give my opinion, but I do not fully understand the advantages and the disadvantages all I know is sometimes my grass does not need watering on the day I am scheduled to water my grass, therefore, I am forced to water for fear my grass will die. last year my husband and I replaced our grass as it was nothing but weeds. replacing our grass was expensive and I do not want it to die. if you have time, please explain the advantages and the disadvantages thank you so muchRosalie cascio

ro***********@ao*.com

seed – posted 27 April 2001 22:45

Rosalie, that’s a good example of the same problem faced by millions of other people. We all want to do our fair share to save on water. But when we’re faced with a crazy day-of-the-week loophole, people tend to water when they’re supposed to, not when their lawn needs it. People are not rewarded for actually saving water, but for reading the calendar.

Phil

wdrake – posted 28 April 2001 05:46

I’m an advocate of water conservation and I certainly don’t mean to be argumentative.However, isn’t some (if not most) of the irrigation water we use recycled rather than consumed? I suspect that much of the water I pump form my shallow well for my yardis not taken up by the grass, but is returned to the underground source from which it came. Some must be released back into the soil in the form of grass clippings and some regained through transpiration. I also assume that nearly all the water is put back into the soil or air when the grass is through using it i.e., it dies. Isn’t water conservation, at least as it relates to horticulture, an issue of where the water is located and who gets to use it?

Bill DrakeNiceville FL

maxfli59 – posted 29 June 2001 07:53

Water conservation in Florida . Hmm With all the water around and restrictions , seems as though any ideas of desalinisation plants or the thought of recycling human waste from homes on golf courses has had little thought these days . With prior job experience at a Golf course in Canada and the dealings with a county water Co-op the hassles with getting it implimented was somewhat of a nightmare but with the new technology today it is fesible and economical . Cutting costs and helping with the envoirnment was the issues involved . So , sure the water Co-op had a loss of income but the benifits to usage issues is and was well worth the change over to this added system . Yes , regular irrigation is still required but at a reduced cost to the course . Food for thought for the restrictions do put what some may call burdens on the irrigation schedules we had to endure .