Widely Varying Daily Irrigation Need Managed Well By Weather Based Irrigation Control

Weather Based Irrigation systems can save 20-40% of normal water use and provide less than 2 year ROI MORE

We have added solar power and a EcoBiz approved equipment wash facility. MORE

July is normally dry but this year we received no rain at all during the past month.  Our irrigation need has been above normal all year and to date we have needed 36% more irrigation than last year, 20% more in the month of July alone.  2012 was a wetter than normal year.  The bad news about that is that even a normal year following would require more irrigation.  As 2013 has been drier than normal, the difference is even worse as stated above.  We work hard to manage your irrigation as efficiently as possible but you should be prepared for larger water bills this year. 

Widely Varying Daily Irrigation Need Managed Well By Weather Based Irrigation Control

As shown in the table above, the daily irrigation need varies widely from day to day and even can be widely different from one year to the next. This is the basis for the magic of Weather Based Irrigation Control. Weather Based Irrigation Control calculates the water lost on a daily basis and then only waters when the site needs it based on this scientific calculation. With the widely varying irrigation need, it is impossible to accurately calculate or "guess" what will be needed during the following week as a manually programmed controller does. When you guess, you usually guess consistently higher than needed.

In our experience, weather based irrigation is saving 20-40% from historical water usage. As water is expensive, this can add up to significant dollars. In most cases, we are finding a 2 year or less ROI. We strongly believe that all properties should have some form of weather based irrigation. If you don't have it already, we will be proposing it again as a part of our 2014 budget proposal.

http://www.pacscape.com/sustainable/weather-based-irrigation.php

2014 Budget Planning

Accurate budget planning is key to the success of any business. We understand this very well as we have always provided budgetary information to customers in the fall to assist them with their budgeting process. 2013 has been a robust year on many of our properties with many postponed projects finally being done. As we always have, our proposals will include our monthly contract rate and standard annual additional services like rebarkdusting, aeration, moss control etc. We also include recommendations for possible enhancement projects to upgrade your property, improve its sustainable impact and even reduce operational costs. We hope to be as thorough as possible with these recommendations but know that nobody can do all in any one year. The goal is to provide you with as many options as possible and let you choose which ones you want to do each year. If you have ideas you want us to include, just let us know.

We are preparing your budget proposals now and would like to meet with as many customers as possible during the next few months to ensure we understand your specific needs. Please contact us and let us know when you are available as we want to work around your schedule and provide you with the best budget information possible. We are part of your team and will help you in any way we can.

Sherwood Office Get's a Sustainability Upgrade

As you know, we purchased and moved into a new southern facility in Sherwood last summer. This facility in Tualatin Sherwood Road is ideally located and set up for our needs. Developed by another landscape contractor about a year ago, it has been great for the crews that serve our south Portland properties.

To continue with our sustainable mission, the facility was missing two significant elements. We have completed two projects this year and are proud to announce them here.

Solar Power

As we did in Hillsboro, we worked with Christensen Electric to install solar panels on this facility and are now producing our own power with our own array. We are again proud to have used made in Oregon, SolarWorld panels.

Ecobiz Certified Wash Pad

As was the case in Hillsboro, we did not have an appropriate wash facility. We again worked with Clean Water Services to modify that facility to bring it into compliance. The design is creative and cost effective and we are appreciative of Marni Jett at Clean Water Services for all her help in our partnership with the agency in finding this creative solution.