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It has been long wet winter,
the second wettest on record in Portland
. That has made landscaping very difficult and not a lot of fun. We are excited to see that the forecast is for warmer drier weather. The forecast is for 80 degrees Wednesday and Thursday. However, that is also the signal that the irrigation season is near.
We begin irrigating most years by the beginning of May. As seen below, we have even had some dry stretches in April the past 3 years and May irrigation need is quite variable but consistent. When will we need to start irrigating? Hard to say but likely before the end of May.
As always, we monitor irrigation and adjust as the forecast changes. Many of the sites we maintain now have
Weather Based Irrigation,
which makes these adjustments automatically. This is always more quickly and accurate which has proved to save significant irrigation water. This is valuable as water is expensive and becoming even more expensive every year.
WATER RATES ARE RISING
WEATHER BASED IRRIGATION SAVES YOU MONEY
What a great justification in the investment in irrigation efficiency. We have been working on improving irrigation system efficiency since we began so the dedication and effort is not new. What is new is the technology. The advent of weather based irrigation control, improved sprinkler technology, improved drip irrigation technology, and pressure compensating valves and nozzles has given us new tools to help you save water and money.
ET MANAGER BEING PHASED OUT
As with all technology, when the new version comes along, the older versions become obsolete and eventually Phased Out. That is apparently what is happening with the
Rainbird ET Manager
. Since Their new technology, IQ was released several years ago, we stopped promoting and selling ET Manager as
Rainbird IQ
is a much better technology. We had heard that the possibility of the technology being phased out might occur and we are beginning to see that.
Beginning in 2017, this previously free service will no longer be complimentary through Rainbird but instead be provided through a third party,
Weather Reach.
The annual charge will be $88 per controller.
The cellular communication for IQ has always included an annual charge. This has been part of the resistance of some converting and been part of the problem encouraging users to convert as there is a hardware cost to convert followed by an annual communication fee compared to free.
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