Smart Irrigation Month

July is Smart Irrigation Month.
Here in Springfield, MO we have had a mayoral proclamation designating it as such for the last 3 years. I am trying to get venues to make presentations concerning smart irrigation. I think that the one thing that property owners can do that wouldn't require a lot of work (digging) is to install a rain or soil moisture sensor. Many of the systems that I have worked on this spring have no sensor installed. Some of the owners are the type to say that they keep their system off until they determine that it needs to run. I wonder how many times they forget that the system is on and it runs more often than they want. Just like turning on the hose-end sprinkler and forgetting it is on until bedtime, or the next morning...
City Utilities offers a $25.00 rebate on any rain sensor installed on an existing sprinkler system that they supply. Sensors should be an integral part of all controllers.
I have also discovered that there are areas of town that have extremely high water pressure. There is a point where more is not better. Fogging and misting of sprayheads wastes a lot of water. High pressures are hard on the backflow preventers and fixtures inside the house, too. Valves in toilets, dishwashers, and clothes washers, are not designed for 100+ psi. Water hammer causes the pipes to rattle loose in the walls and will wake you up early in the morning. Pressure regulators are not that hard to install.
Two items that don't require much work to implement. The cost savings of each will pay for themselves in a very short period of time.
My questions to Sprinkler Guys are "How do I convince you that is is in your best interests to look at these improvements to your systems?" and "How much money does the builder save by not having you install a rain sensor?" Is it the difference between you getting the job or losing it to another Sprinkler Guy?
Maybe you should become an Irrigation Professional and tell the builder that your systems are better than the systems installed by Sprinkler Guys.

Where has the time gone?

It is close to the end of April. Time for me to rant about something.
We are 3 inches behind normal rainfall so far this year. I think it is going to create a boom for the service guys who had little to do last year. My phone has been ringing steadily the last 2 weeks. Most of the calls are for start-ups and most of them also have add-ons or extra service work that needs to be done. I'm still not optimistic about the future, but I've quit holding my breath. It might turn into a good year.

Simple Savings

I can't understand why people would not want a rain sensor on their sprinkler system. Could it be the initial cost of the sensor?
Nothing wastes water more than watering turf when it is raining. Most rain sensors can recoup their cost in the first year of operation. The sprinkler guys who don't install them are doing a great disservice to their customers and the irrigation industy as a whole. Some local municipalities are forcing the residents to save money by passing legislation requiring rain sensors. Do we really need that? Why can't the sprinkler guys just include them in their price? Here again, the problem seems to be the builders. If it costs them an extra $75 to include a rain sensor, they won't spend the money, which is a great disservice to the home buyer.
Maybe the answer is with the manufacturers who make the controllers. They should include the sensor with each controller and make the controller dependent on the sensor to work.