WHY IS MY WATER BILL SO HIGH?

The weather is cooling as we enter the later stages of summer, but  July was the hottest on record in Portland. There was no rain all month, meaning the irrigation needs were extreme. This, combined with ever-increasing water rates, makes landscape irrigation consistently expensive. It is common for us to receive questions like “Why is my water bill so high?” every summer, and this summer will likely be no exception. With the second-highest water rates in the nation, your water bill is unlikely to be pleasant to open.

With climate change and skyrocketing water costs, the news about rising water expenses is not encouraging. This is why we have invested in the knowledge skill of our team and are promoting the greatest water conservation projects and products:

·      Overview of Water Conservation

·      Remote Irrigation Control

·      Weather Based Irrigation Control

·      Pressure Regulated Sprinklers

·      Lawn Conversion

As we have for the past few years, our 2025 budgets will include water conservation projects to help our customers reduce their water use and cost.  

Remote Irrigation Control

Water costs and labor rates are skyrocketing, but technology is improving to help offset those costs. Managing landscape irrigation is complicated, and increasing water and labor costs has Pacific Landscape Management to focus on all aspects of water conservation and efficiency savings to minimize the cost impact on our customers.

Our partnership with Weathermatic Irrigation has helped us manage water through their Smartlink Weather-Based program. Last year, we began this initiative, and this coming winter we will continue converting the systems we manage to this new controller and service. It will slightly increase our monthly service cost, but when we considered the value to our customers and the improved efficiency, we decided to include it in our maintenance program for most controllers that are not already on a remote access or weather-based controller.

AND REMEMBER: you get a new controller valued at $500-$1,000 guaranteed for life with no upfront cost!  THIS IS A NO BRAINER!!.

Weather Based Irrigation Control

We have found that through our experience with water conservation tools over the past decade, weather-based irrigation control saves 20-30% compared to traditional manually programmed systems, making it a no-brainer with water rates rising so rapidly. Previously, converting to weather-based irrigation required capital cost. Weathermatic developed a subscription based model for their SmartLink Wireless Landscape Network Weather Base Irrigation Control. Pacific Landscape Management has become a Weathermatic Premiere Partner, allowing us to offer this as a subscription.

We have promoted Weathermatic Smartlink for 4 years in Portland and are now offering and promoting it in Seattle. For a small increase in the monthly fee, you will avoid the capital installation cost and potentially save up to 30% on your irrigation water bill.

See this new video with a brief outline of this new technology and see the informational flyer here.

Previously, conversion to Weather Based control came with a $2,000-3,000 per controller capital cost for the hardware, then a $20 per month communication fee. WeatherMatic is offering the upgrade to their hardware included in their monthly fee which ranges from only $30-$45 per month. 

Pressure Regulated Sprinklers

Historically, most irrigation systems have non-pressure-regulated sprinklers that often times operate over-pressurized. Over-pressurization can lead to water loss and contribute to uneven watering.

Pressure-regulating spray heads are a developing technology designed to regulate pressure to optimal performance. These spray heads include built-in regulators that maintain a more constant pressure for optimal nozzle performance.

WHY IS PRESSURE REGULATION IMPORTANT? 

Two reasons: They will save water, and it is likely soon to be the law. 

WATER SAVINGS: Compared with non-regulated, pressure regulated sprinklers will use about 20-25 percent less water. And if the nozzle breaks, pressure regulators are estimated to save 70 percent of the water that might have been spilled if using an older sprinkler system.

PRESSURE REGULATED SPRINKLERS NOW REQUIRED BY LAW: California, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, and Vermont have adopted bans on the sale of non-pressure-regulated spray heads in recent years. This past year, the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association sponsored a bill to do the same in Oregon. We firmly supported this effort which was signed into law this year. Although we hate new regulations, but this one is makes good financial sense.  

Turf Conversion

With the hot, dry weather this, and every summer, we saw dry spots develop in lawns where it is difficult to water. In some of these areas, water conservation is best achieved by changing the landscape and giving up on lawn. Don’t get us wrong, we love lawn. Quite frankly, we make our living on managing and maintaining lawns. That being said, we also hate trying to maintain lawn where it won’t grow or where it is hard or expensive to maintain. The pictures above are examples of where lawn should not be.  

Why is lawn where is shouldn’t be? The simplest answer is that lawn is the cheapest part of landscape installation and when brand new, looks great. New lawn on freshly prepared soil looks great. Parking strips and parking islands are probably the worst place for lawn. These areas are typically surrounded by concrete or asphalt on most or all sides, often times the soil is shallow or there is rock or asphalt below, irrigation coverage is difficult due to small odd shapes, and as tree roots develop, they compete for moisture.  We believe that parking strips and islands may take as much as 5-10 times as much irrigation to maintain. A bad combination in which to grow and maintain lawns. In addition, these areas are difficult and sometimes dangerous to maintain due to nearby cars and obstacles on or near.

What is the Alternative? There are lots of options. Replacing lawn with just barkdust or some sort of groundcover are both great options. We have experimented with Sedum, similar to what is used on green roofs but it has had marginal success. We are seeing locally and nationally, the use of rock and are very excited about that as an option. Below are several pictures of Rock as a groundcover that is very attractive and easy to maintain. Rocks do not need water and never die. Some have expressed concern about the liability risk with rocks but we believe that is low. If someone wants to throw a rock through a window, they will find it even if there is no rock in the landscape.  

https://www.pacscape.com/sustainability/lawn-conversion.php