Coincidently, the Irrigation Association held their annual national conference and tradeshow in Phoenix the same week we were there at our peer group.This allowed several of our team to stay a few extra days and attend the show. This is the best opportunity each year to see new product and technology, for our potential adoption in efforts to improve water conservation for our customers. The next generation of water management tools coming available are exciting and should increase our ability to save customers water and money.

Since 2007, we have promoted and installed over 150 Rainbird ET Manager controllers. These controllers adjust irrigation delivery daily based on weather as monitored by a weather station.These installations have helped our customers save 20-40% of their historical water use. Although still a good option, new technology is being developed to take water management to the next level.  

The next generation of controllers are now including remote access through Wi-Fi or cellular connection and also add flow management to help evaluate and control water loss from irrigation breaks or stuck valves. These new tools will help increase water savings and control. We are currently evaluating the different manufacturers' technology, in efforts to adopt and promote the most cost effective solution to propose in the future to customers. More to come as we move into the 2015 irrigation season.    

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