As drought concerns continue to increase especially in the western U.S., smart irrigation system upgrades like controllers are becoming more necessary to make the best use of the available water supply. That was especially true for the L.A. Metro department, Los Angeles, as it considered its Orange Line, an 18-mile stretch of right-of-way land that encompassed more than 1,000 zones.<\/p>\n
Water costs had gone from about $437,000 in 2014 up to $748,000 in 2018, according to a project summary. The department was looking to save money and incorporate newer, smarter technology and controllers into the system to keep track of leaks and wasted water. The existing system was at least 10 years old already.<\/p>\n
The request for proposal involved Tetra Tech Inc., Pasadena, California, which was working with Geosyntec Engineering Inc., Los Angeles, and L.A. Metro on water conservation. Bill Kabaker, president of Precise Landscape Water Conservation, Los Angeles, worked with both companies on the upgrade plans.<\/p>\n
Woods Landscape Maintenance, North Hollywood, California, has had contracts with Los Angeles Metro for about 20 years mostly for maintenance work.<\/p>\n
The company does all its work with municipalities. Not only does it handle landscape and irrigation, it also does work with graffiti abatement and cleaning. The company, which has about 120 employees, is newer to irrigation services, having expanded into it about 10 years ago, but it has been in business for 45 years overall.<\/p>\n
Jeff Woods, general manager, and Mario Accosta, supervisor, met with Kabaker and several vendors for suggestions and proposals and to discuss how best to do the project in a short timeframe \u201cthat would satisfy everyone, because they needed this done in that fiscal year,\u201d says Woods. \u201cThey had the money to work with, and it was a \u2018spend-it-or-lose-it\u2019 type of situation.\u201d Woods worked as the subcontractor on the installation while also retaining its maintenance contracts.<\/p>\n
In looking at better water usage across the Metro\u2019s lines, \u201cone of the lowesthanging fruits was the Orange Line because it entailed 28 controllers,\u201d Kabaker says. Of the right-of-way areas for the line, it was the most significant consumer of water. L.A. Metro\u2019s department was also looking into conserving water in its bus and rail-washing, but the concept was the same throughout. \u201cYou\u2019ve only got so much water. How do you reduce that and still get the results you want, whether you\u2019re growing turf or washing a bus?\u201d<\/p>\n
As an irrigated space, this section of the L.A. Metro Orange Line isn\u2019t a typical landscaped area. It\u2019s miles of roadside property planted mostly with drought tolerant species such as rosemary and sage, says Accosta. Many trees are used alongside those, including sycamore and pine species. Since the plants were already fairly water efficient, additional water savings would most likely need to come from updating the irrigation system itself.<\/p>\n
Kabaker worked on the analysis, assessing water consumption and singled out the Orange Line as ready for an update. The plans called for converting master valves with hydrometers to provide flow sensing capabilities and changing conventional controllers for smarter models that could make better use of the water provided.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make sure the controller was smartphone-accessible,\u201d Kabaker says. \u201cConsider that we\u2019re dealing with a system that\u2019s 18 miles long. If you had a leak, you might not see it for months. So flow sensing was an essential part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make certain that the controllers\u2019 expanded usefulness would continue past the installation, Kabaker made certain to include future communication fees in the ongoing maintenance plan budget. It was also important for him to start the work with Woods, who was the holder of the existing maintenance contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was involved every step of the way from reviewing the existing controllers and the main and master valves,\u201d Kabaker says. \u201cWe had a significant amount of communication time before this went out to bid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my position, I would prefer to have the existing landscape maintenance company install the equipment for a number of reasons,\u201d Kabaker says. First, this would ensure that the current company doesn\u2019t feel threatened that someone else might complicate their processes. \u201cAnd, they\u2019ve got a vested interest in making sure this works, because they want to keep the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with Woods up front also meant that there weren\u2019t surprises when it came to the updated system, Kabaker says.<\/p>\n
When they first started on the update, they covered how the irrigation system currently worked, including the relays, timers and master valves, says Woods. But working with an older system meant infrastructure updates and creativity to update it effectively, especially for something that covered 18 miles with upwards of 1,000 stations.<\/p>\n
Out of the list of controller locations, \u201csome of them had one timer, some had two, some had three,\u201d says Woods. \u201cSome didn\u2019t have the proper wiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the major goals in updating the area with newer controllers for Accosta was to figure out how to get the master valve and flow sensor to work with multiple timers, he says. In some areas, the master valve wasn\u2019t near the timer at all, up to a block away. He spent time on-site working with the product representatives trying to find a way to make the project work. He ended up using a decoder, which would allow the master valve and the flow sensor to run at the same time. For stations with multiple timers, he used relays so that when one timer was running, the sensor would only read the flow from that one and switch to the other timer on its turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was challenging,\u201d Accosta says. \u201cIt took a lot of trial and error. About 90% of the stations were fine. But there were a few where we had to go from three controllers down to two controllers and double up on the amount of stations handled there and run extra wire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Updating the stations also meant sometimes updating the actual enclosures, says Kabaker. They needed to make sure the new enclosures were waterproof, to start. They also had to add insulation to keep interior temperatures inside a range that wouldn\u2019t damage the effectiveness of the Wi-Fi communication. In some cases, they had to add new wiring and installed plugs for the updated controllers.<\/p>\n
On its own, working with municipalities takes a lot of effort to do well, says Woods. The bidding process can be cumbersome, especially when some bid documents can weigh in at more than 300 pages. It\u2019s reasonable for some to look at that and decide that they\u2019re better off working with residential and commercial customers.<\/p>\n
But as a family-run business, Woods and his team break up the tasks of reviewing the project, determining available resources and developing a response, he says. That allows them to effectively calculate what the job\u2019s requirements are and try to bid competitively while still making a profit.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also important to have a clear idea not only of your own capabilities but of every piece of equipment that you\u2019ll want to use or you risk being listed as an incomplete bid, says Kabaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure that you\u2019ve defined all the components that you need in this bid,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
All told, the project reduced water consumption for the Orange Line by 47 million gallons, says Kabaker. It was also revenue positive in six months. On top of those savings, the department was also able to take advantage of rebates for installing smart controllers, bringing in $23,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to facilitate that on Metro\u2019s behalf,\u201d says Kabaker. \u201cIt was the first time they\u2019d ever received that rebate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before updating with smart controllers that could connect via Wi-Fi to a phone or tablet, checking and programming all of the controllers took a huge amount of time, says Accosta. \u201cIf you have 48 stations (on that controller), you have to have somebody over at the valve. Then you have to run it from the irrigation timer, then they check it from there. Or you can run all of them and go down the line as it\u2019s running.\u201d But with smart controllers, Accosta is able to check and test the system from each station.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it much easier for one person to manage, as opposed to having one person at the controller and one at the valve,\u201d checking each area individually, says Woods. \u201cIt\u2019s so much more manageable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The smart controllers’ timers also automatically adjust to the weather, compared to previously being set manually. When the weather is cooler, it waters less than under hotter temperatures. In a drought impacted region, that can be a crucial tool in smart water use, says Accosta. The smart controller system also provides direct alerts if there are flow issues. That used to require lots of hands-on time and effort or the luck of a passing motorist noticing a leaking output. It allows them to be more proactive with maintenance, saving even more water by catching leaks sooner.<\/p>\n
With a retrofit this complex, being geared toward nailing down specifications and knowing the plan before attack is key to making sure the job goes smoothly. \u201cI\u2019m a Type A personality and detail-oriented,\u201d says Woods. \u201cI like spreadsheets, and I would update them (during the work) just about every five minutes.\u201d The L.A. Metro team was always eager to hear how things were moving along on a weekly basis, and with Woods\u2019 notes they were able to lay the roadmap to job completion out. Since the more difficult controllers would take more of a focus, Accosta\u2019s crew finished some of the easier controllers earlier to show that they were serious about keeping the project moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as with most jobs, it was keeping the communication open across all the parties,\u201d Woods says.<\/p>\n
Working with the manufacturer representatives, who came out to the site regularly, also made a huge difference in solving smart controller installation obstacles, says Kabaker. Having multiple points of view and expertise available is a useful resource whenever it\u2019s available.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really crucial to make sure that the manufacturers are engaged and receptive,\u201d Kabaker says.<\/p>\n
Without the representatives\u2019 help on-site, \u201cthis project wouldn\u2019t have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Updating to smart controllers on 18 miles of L.A.\u2019s Metro Orange Line made a big difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3339,"parent":0,"template":"","main-categories":[25,27,35,36],"class_list":["post-3338","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","main-categories-business","main-categories-irrigation","main-categories-sustainability","main-categories-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n