WATER CONSERVATION PLAN INCENTIVE
As we have discussed and promoted over the past year, we have developed and are promoting Water Conservation Plans. These plans help evaluate a landscape's irrigation system to make detailed recommendations that have good return on investment to improve water conservation and save operational dollars.  See our new video that outlines what a water conservation plan is: https://youtu.be/tkc6DNE2imA

We've received modest interest and had approval on many plans but not as many as we had hoped for this first year. The COVID-19 pandemic has had many customers in a wait and see attitude. We think it's important to get these done this year and have decided to provide a strong incentive to help support and incentivize approval. Maybe not exactly free, but we have decided to provide a credit for the cost of the plan if projects from the plan are purchased.

Outline of water conservation plan incentive program:
  •  Approve a Water Conservation Plan by July 1st for completion this summer and billing by October 1st.
  • Of approved completed plans, we will provide a 50% purchase credit towards approval of projects in the plan.
  • If you approve a project by January 1st, you will receive
a 50% credit toward projects from that plan up to the
cost of the plan itself.
  • Thus if you purchase a plan for $1,000, and
approve projects for plan of over $2,000, you get a
$1,000 credit and all of the cost of your plan back.
  • It is important to note that these projects need to be approved by January 1st so we can complete them in our winter season of January and February as our irrigation team becomes very busy March through the end of the growing season.
In April, we were a feature article in Construction In Focus - April 2020 outlining our efforts in providing water conservation for our customers. With water rates rising dramatically, water conservation is a vital part of landscape and irrigation system management. Water costs can balloon charges and steal resources from other important landscape and property maintenance and upgrades. 

This is why we have promoted Weather Based Irrigation and developed water conservation projects that can reduce water consumption and costs. We have also developed a Water Conservation Plan that provides a detailed evaluation of an irrigation system to assist in prioritizing system and landscape modifications .  

WATER CONSERVATION PLANS
Water has been historically cheap in Oregon and the need and thus the motivation to invest in conservation has not had good R.O.I. With the growth of the region, new water sources are needed and significantly increasing the cost of water, especially irrigation. Water rates vary based on district but all are rising faster than any other utility and most have doubled in the past 5 years and are projected to double again in the near future. There is good and bad news here. 

THE BAD NEWS: According to the EPA, on average, 70% of total water usage on a commercial property comes from exterior water sources and irrigation, of which often times 50% is wasted. This is due to aging landscapes and irrigation systems combined with the lack of updating since installation. Compare a typical 30 year old landscape around a 30 year old building. Likely, many updates have occurred to HVAC and lighting over that time while the surrounding landscapes have had minimal upgrades other than repairs or cosmetic changes.   

THE GOOD NEWS: There are significant opportunities for irrigation system upgrades and modifications as well as landscape modifications that will reduce irrigation water need while improving the appearance and long-term health of the landscape.

However, each site and client is different and the appropriate upgrades or modifications can vary. To help assist in the recommendation of the highest value projects to consider, Pacific Landscape Management has established a Water Conservation Department and trained our staff on water conservation services. This department has developed a Water Conservation Evaluation that we are offering to develop plans to evaluate sites to help conserve water consumption and save our customer operational dollars.  
See our new video that outlines what a Water Conservation plan is: https://youtu.be/tkc6DNE2imA

Read about our water conservation programs: Construction In Focus - April 2020