Home / Archive / Water Logged
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Regional Focus: July 2008
Water Logged
Pilot conservation project set for expansion
Story by Christine Stanley
A pilot conservation program launched by the Solano County Water Agency last summer is proving beneficial for local businesses looking to save water and money.
In late June the water agency began outfitting shopping centers and big-box stores in Fairfield, Vacaville and the surrounding area with a new irrigation technology called WeatherTrak. The device is a computerized irrigation controller that considers local climate, rainfall, soil quality and vegetation before turning on the sprinklers.
Manufactured by HydroPoint Data Systems Inc. of Petaluma, the smart controllers appear to be proving their worth in just a few months.
“WeatherTrak customers consistently see 35 percent savings on the commercial side. I don’t have any customers seeing any less than that,” says Neil Coppinger, commercial account executive for HydroPoint. Kohl’s department store in Vallejo has seen a greater than 50 percent reduction in water use and, as a result, will now include the technology in every new location nationwide.
And Kohl’s is no anomaly. According to Andy Florendo, water resource specialist for Solano County Water Agency, Solano Mall — which was also outfitted with smart controllers — has reported decreases in water use between 15 and 30 percent for the months since its WeatherTrak installation.
Full data sets, however, are not yet available and probably won’t be until after the summer. Water use in peak season months will provide the numbers for analysis and comparison, Florendo says.
“The problem is these companies sometimes don’t know what their overuse is, until we point it out to them. But water is becoming more and more expensive, and they are starting to take a look at it,” Coppinger says. “It’s only been in the past few years that executives are looking at this technology, and they are adopting it very quickly.”
Because of costs and various unknowns, the county invited only a few corporate developments to take part in the initial program. These companies are reporting benefits to their bottom lines, and now more businesses are clamoring for the technology.
“Solano was a bit surprised that the technology was adopted so quickly,” says Coppinger, who notes the agency is now seeking another round of funding for the conservation program, this time from the Department of Water Resources.
To date, the Solano County Water Agency has spent $37,300 on the smart controller program, including $15,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Product costs vary according to the size of the system, and the county doesn’t always pay for installation.
The smart controller system at Kohl’s in Vallejo cost about $3,900, plus an additional $1,600 for installation. However, Solano Mall dished out about $15,000 for the technology, but paid its own landscape maintenance staff to install the controller.
Cost elements aside, the technology’s popularity has grown so rapidly that Solano County Water Agency is now looking to expand smart controller access beyond corporate use. The county is having a preliminary discussion with other smart controller manufacturers that might enter into a program for residential users and, possibly, a rebate program for homeowners.
“If a homeowner is interested in switching out his current controller for a smart controller, we will refund part of the cost, and we will be doing that with Napa County, so it will be a regional program,” Florendo says. “They were thinking of doing the same sort of thing, so why not combine forces and have an economy of scale? We can probably get a better deal with the manufacturer if we go in on it together.”
Residential smart controllers run $300 to $700 installed, depending on the size of the lawns and gardens, according to Florendo, who also says the initial cost should be a homeowner’s sole expense because the technology doesn’t require maintenance.
“This technology is fairly new, so they haven’t been around long enough for long-term testing, but the manufacturers say they last forever; there aren’t that many moving parts,” he says. “As for the commercial sector, they put the controllers in steel boxes to protect from vandalism and weather.”
As progressive as WeatherTrak technology might seem to Solano businesses and residents, Florendo says his county is actually behind the times. Santa Clara Valley Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District and Contra Costa Water District have smart controller programs in place.
“Like all the Bay Area water conservation people, we are working together on regional programs, but we are also trying to do things for our own communities,” Florendo says. “We are working on a public outreach program in the nine Bay Area counties where we are going to tell people more about smart water technologies like high-efficiency toilets and washing machines.”
In the Capital Region, several utility districts and water providers are offering conservation resources to consumers, though less technologically advanced than Solano’s WeatherTrak program.
In Sacramento County, the Department of Water Resources contracts with a third-party vendor to provide free in-home assessments to its customers. Through the service, called Water Wise House Calls, conservation experts are sent to homes to inspect indoor plumbing fixtures and outdoor irrigation systems for leaks or inefficiencies. They also offer tips to save water and a personalized watering schedule.
Irrigation, Consultation and Evaluation — the Water Wise House Call contractor — has provided more than 6,000 house calls since 1999 for several water agencies: Elk Grove Water Service, Sacramento County Water Agency, Golden State Water Co. and Citrus Heights Water District, according to retired ICE co-owner Phyllis Connor.
Meanwhile, a rebate pilot program set to launch this month would offer Roseville residents $1 per square foot of grass removed and replaced with water-efficient landscape. The $30,000 Cash for Grass Rebate Pilot Program helps property owners convert water-thirsty grass to a water-efficient landscape. Conservationists in Roseville’s water department hope to see a 50 to 60 percent savings in water use.
“There are a lot of cities doing it, including Las Vegas, and they are trying to do it in a way that is still beautification — by using plants that are drought tolerant,” says city water conservationist Rick Heasley. Roseville has been flooded with phone calls, says Heasley, who says more funding for the program in the next fiscal year is likely.
