Special Reports

On this page you will find articles, publications and papers published by Water Management's owner, Lorne Haveruk.  These publications/papers are copyrighted and protected.  Please use them for a reference and a better understanding of Water Management, and help save our water.

 Irrigation Systems - An Overview

The start of modern landscape irrigation systems cannot be traced to an exact beginning time in history. Water has been revered as a life giving force. From the beginning of time early civilization created monsters to protect the water. Proper usage of water was rewarded. Lack of respect for water conservation was severely punished.

Water is essential to all life. Without water we would not exist, neither could plants. Attractive landscapes do more than please the eye. They are essential for our health and general well being. Many people consider lawns to be large inefficient users of water. This could not be further from the truth. Actually, only 2 % to 5% of total water is used in the landscape. With water wise watering practices this amount can be reduced further.

 Be Last to be First

Contractors and Installers who are taxed with selling for their company need to take advantage of a situation that has allowed my company to close a higher than average number of bids. Strive to be last in when given an opportunity to meet face to face with the owner or owners to present your bid. Hopefully, this will result in the project being awarded to you.

This holds true for residential, but commercial can be a different animal because of the competitive nature of the project. Residential comes with feelings because it is for your personal space. Commercial is budget driven, non personal and usually has to meet with board approval even if it is the owner who wants the system. Here are the conditions required to be Last to be First:

 Building a Professional Irrigation Network

How can we build a network of professionals that are prepared well and can contribute to water management and conservation?

Is the Irrigation Industry ready?

As recent as 7 days earlier, I was hired to audit a just completed irrigation system. The lawn areas were adjacent to the sidewalks so the City requested an audit to ensure the water was going where it had been design to go. Knowing the Irrigation Contracting Company, which has been installing and managing irrigation systems for the past 15 years, I expected what we call “A walk in the Park.”

 Central Irrigation Control - How to choose

“How do you choose what’s right for your application?”

With increasing competition for the central irrigation controller market, manufacturers have an astounding array of choices boggling the minds of those who must choose including irrigation experts.

 Costing Out an Irrigation System

The phone is ringing and a potential client is asking you to give them a price to install an irrigation system for their yard. Now what?

Ok. Stay calm. Lets walk through the steps that need to take place to be able to give them a fair price – that is a price that allows you to make a reasonable profit for the hard work you are about to agree upon. Let’s think about the main steps involved in working up the installation price for them.

Who are they? Are they someone I want to do business with? Do they live in an area where I like to do business? If I install a system do they want me to service it or are they going to do the work? If I am going to do the servicing then do I want to be driving to their place in spring, summer and fall? How many other contractors have they called? Do I get to meet them or is this just a drop by and see kind of deal. How did they get my number – yellow pages? Did they call everyone listed in the book? If you have staff this can be a staff person responsibility to ask these questions to qualify the lead – saves you lots of time and will allow you to make more money I the long run.

 Winterizing an Irrigation System - FSD Steps

“No matter how much we wish and pray, we can not keep old man winter away.”

It feels like summer just arrived, especially this year, and its already time to prepare to winterize your irrigation system. This step of Irrigation Management is usually best left to the professionals. At least you can find them in the spring if repairs are required.

It has never been truer “you get what you pay for” than in the spring when you cross your fingers and pressurize your irrigation system for the first time that season. Even if it has been properly winterized by a professional irrigation contracting company, you may still encounter some kind of problem. Most companies repair what freezing has damaged if you have a contract with them, they did the winterization, and no one has touched the water controls.

 Know When to Stop Watering

Knowing when to stop irrigating is as important as knowing when to start. If you know the irrigation system zone precipitation rate and the soil infiltration rate, you will know when the soil reservoir has reached field capacity.

 Water: Alternate sources for Irrigation

Water, the most neglected of all our natural resources, is becoming in short supply throughout the world. With growing population requiring more fresh purified water priority goes to drinking water first, followed by all other water needs. From space pictures show the earth covered in water with small land masses which we live on. First impression is that there is so much water why should I care? The truth is that the amount of fresh water is a tiny fraction of the total amount on the earth’s surface.

 Introduction to Central Irrigation Control Systems

You have just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars building a golf course, landscaping a clients’ high profile commercial or residential site or upgrading your municipalities’ parks. Of course a portion of the project budget was allocated to the installation of a modern, state-of-the-art irrigation system to ensure the ongoing protection of your landscape investment.

While some of the irrigation budget was allocated to the usual network of underground pipes, fittings and sprinkler heads, the brains of your system resides in a computer program of your grounds management supervisor whose office just happens to be located on the other side of the city.

 Automatic Irrigation Controllers

This article deals with Automatic Irrigation Systems and will continue to discuss automatic controllers, as this is the key component that allows a system to operate efficiently, conserving water when properly designed, maintained, and scheduled...

Similar to an alarm clock, an automatic controller, through mechanical or solid state components activates the beginning of a watering cycle that has been established with a preset start time, watering day, and preset station run time. Zones or stations as commonly called are operated one after the other, depending upon how the program was set-up. The controller is connected to zone valves with external wiring or tubing for a hydraulic system.

 Best Management Practices Checklist

This article will deal with “Best Management Practices” regarding the design, installation, and servicing of irrigation systems.

Best Management Practices, Who needs them? With the impending water shortages looming all over the US and parts of Canada we do. Georgian Lake is at its lowest level since the 1940’s. With more and more irrigation systems being installed every day guidelines are needed to ensure the systems use water as efficiently as possible. Plants require water for all phases of growth during our growing season.

 Central Irrigation Control System Overview

The purpose of a central control system (CCS) is to allow a stationary or portable computer the ability to automatically program and control all aspects of the field irrigation controllers. A CCS is a hardware and software package that offers genuine central management of many remote irrigation systems from one central office or on the road. CCS manages irrigation systems by sending out instructions or schedules, and by constantly monitoring feedback to verify the instructions are carried out.

 Water, Alternate sources for Irrigation

Water, the most neglected of all our natural resources, is becoming in short supply

throughout the world. With growing population requiring more fresh purified water

priority goes to drinking water first, followed by all other water needs. From space pictures show the earth covered in water with small land masses which we live on. First impression is that there is so much water why should I care? The truth is that the amount of fresh water is a tiny fraction of the total amount on the earth’s surface.

 2005 New Era of Soil Moisture Based Irrigation Control

This winter has seen massive amounts of rain flood parts of California, supplying more water than the past 10 years combined.? Seattle announced they only received just over 50% of their annual winter rainfall, leading some to predict a very dry summer.? In other areas of North America, trusted water sources have become polluted. Waterloo Region in Ontario, Canada announced that residents “will not be allowed to water their lawn or wash your car more than once a week this summer and never on a weekend.”? The response is due to the loss of 5% of the urban water supply last August to industrial contamination.? The west coast had a very poor ski season with limited to non existent snowfall which does not fair well for spring run-off topping up depleted reservoirs.

 Is Central Irrigation Control for You

Have you ever wished that you would know what is going on with your sites with regard to water? Did the system water last night? Are the plants alive? Is anything broken since the last time you were onsite?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then maybe you are ready to suggest a Central Irrigation Control System (CICS) to your clients. Or, maybe its time you purchased one and sold a monitoring service to your clients so that you are in control and make a little extra money at the same time. First you will need to know a little about the system, what it is, how it works, what it can do, potential for water and labor savings – those money items that clients are always asking about.

 New Breed of Controllers - Internet Access

Offer online services for Internet-based irrigation control and water management. They communicate with remote irrigation controllers using built-in wireless connectivity, or add on communication equipment, which allows you to manage irrigation of your sites from anywhere in the world over the Internet.

 Monitoring System - Toronto

Whether it’s a sudden rain storm, a valve failure, or burst irrigation mainline, at a facility just outside your window or kilometers away, DH Water Management Services Inc. will automatically know about it so you don’t. Since 1992 DHWMS has been actively assisting their clients manage properties with residential, commercial or large irrigation systems to remotely monitor and control their irrigation system operation, site lighting systems, security gates, outdoor fountains, and other electrical installations. Ideal for schools, parks, industrial complexes, hotels, shopping malls, cemeteries, highway networks, master planned communities and many others.

 Guidelines For Using Outdoor Water More Efficiently

1. A properly designed and installed automatic irrigation system is more effective than a hose.
2. A low volume irrigation system utilizing subsurface, soaker and drip components is the most efficient method for watering plants.
3. Make sure your sprinkler only waters the softscape (plants) not hardscapes (sidewalks and roads).
4. Set a timer when manually watering your lawn so you don’t over water...

 Water - The right amount at the right time

Canada is under attack – reads the cover of a prominent American Landscape Management magazine. Are we next – it continues? Since 1991 when the small community of Hudson, Quebec passed a bylaw banning the non-essential use of pesticides exempting golf and agriculture the lawn care industry has been fighting an uphill battle, alone.

Those of us who irrigate can do our part by helping to ensure the pesticide and fertilizers which are used stays where they were intended to, by only watering when the plants require water. This is known as “Just in time watering”.

 Your Valued Customer

As a service business begins to mature, usually 10 years and older, we reach a point where very important decisions must be made about the future direction the business will take. Your CUSTOMERS have a major part in where you are heading and just how successful you will be along the way. Get tips that will help you keep your customers!

 Which Head is Right?

Do I use a micro or a dripper? Should I use a soaker or a drip tube? How about a bubbler or a
flooder? I think this area needs a mister, a spritzer, or a spray. The other location should use an
impactor, a gear, or a large rotor to water everything all at one time? Should it?

Each piece of irrigation equipment has been designed to perform a certain task. If you know what task the device has been designed for, then you can properly choos e the right equipment for the right application. Get tips for choosing the right sprinkler head for the job!

 Water Conservation by Design

Blessed as we are sitting next to 1/5th of the earth's fresh water in Ontario, Canada, we too are
confronted with watering regulations and bans in times of shortages and drought. Shortage is
most often in the form of treatment and distribution capacity not meeting demand capacity. In
other words, a supply shortage. Learn reasons why we need to conserve our most valued resource - water.

 Using Reclaimed Water

As clean fresh water sources continue to be overtaxed, the focus of our sear ch for irrigation
water will turn to "Reclaimed Water". Reclaimed water is water that has already been used once
and is then recycled and, depending upon the source, treated so that it can be put to beneficial use
once again. - Get valuable tips for ways to reclaim water.

 Professional Spring Start-up "The Checklist Method"

It's one thing to turn the water on, set the controller in April for hot summer weather and
quickly do a visual inspection of a residential or commercial irrigation system. It is a totally
different thing to perform a professional, established, systematic, step-by-step in-depth start-up
of a system. This article will discuss the procedures and merit of a proper "Spring Start-up" of an irrigation
system.

 Making Sense of Sensors

Its time to start or continue to water wise and ensure ever y system under our control has at minimum a rain sensor to save water during wet weather. This article reveals some of the many types of sensors available for irrigation use.

 Our Changing Industry

This article highlights some very important Industry Changes taking place as of June 2001.

 How Much Water is Enough?

Knowing when to stop irrigating is as important as knowing when to start. If you know the irrigation system zone precipitation rate and the soil infiltration rate, you will know when the soil reservoir has reached field capacity.

 ET - Watering With the Weather- Not by Time

It just seems like the thing to do, water the plants when they need it. You don’t water your house plants
until they show signs of needing water. If you watered by time and not by need, your plant pots would
overflow with water, soaking your floors. Which begs the question, "Why do we water by time?" Discover why it's smart to water with the weather when plants need it.

 Assessing, Auditing & Sensors

With increasing competition for finite supplies of water, the need for efficient irrigation practices will grow.
Due to competing needs for existing water resources, the amount of water available for irrigation is
dwindling. Like it or not, we have to learn to irrigate more efficiently. This is why it is so important to
schedule irrigation according to plant needs, not simply according to a clock. The latter is the case with all
automatically scheduled irrigation that does not tak e the weather (sun, wind and temperature),
evaporation and transpiration (ET) into cons ideration. If you don't k now how well your irrigation system is
operating, or how much water is being delivered by each sprinkler in a zone, you should perform an
assessment and an audit to obtain this valuable information. You can then use this information to make
changes to the irrigation s ystem that will increase efficiency.

HOT NEW ARTICLES - COMING SOON!

 Irrigation Systems as Water Management Tools - Steps to Auditing

“With increasing competition for limited supplies of water, the need for efficient irrigation management practices combined with water conserving products will grow.”

Luckily for irrigators, we are not limited to the use of fresh water only. With modern advancements in technology, salt and brackish water is being treated to the point where it can be used for irrigation. Grey water has been used for a long time as well as tertiary water in some locations is used for irrigation of turf. However, the cost can be substantial and is slowly rising annually. The amount of available water for irrigation is dwindling.

 Power Side of Automatic Irrigation Systems

Irrigation systems come in many differing configurations. The three main types of powered up irrigation systems are 110-volt a.c. types transformed to 24 volts a.c., Battery operated (almost) wireless systems , and Solar powered. No matter what type of installation you are undertaking, if the wiring is not done correctly, as per code in many cases which stipulates length of run, depth of burial, and how to install to name a few, you or another company are in for a nightmare in the future when servicing is required.

 Difference by Design

Why does one system water extremely well while another system is truly inadequate for the task at hand? Why if a system has been designed correctly and watered the intended area beautifully for the first 5 years, does it now not perform the same?

What do you need to know to be able to design a small to medium size irrigation system to be used for landscape applications?

 Where Has All The Water Gone

“With increasing competition for limited supplies of pure water, the need for efficient management combined with conservation practices will grow.”

Luckily for irrigators, we are not limited to the use of pure water only. With modern advancements in technology, salt and brackish water is being treated to the point where it can be used for irrigation. The cost per 1000 gallons can be substantial. This is why it is so important to water only when the plant material requires it, not when enough time has gone by as is the case with all automatically scheduled irrigation that does not take the weather into consideration.

 The Many Faces of Water

This article will skim the surface of “The Many Faces of Water”. Water is very precious. Humans can live without love; no one can live without water. How many types of water are there? Water is water. 1 part hydrogen and 2 parts oxygen = H2O. What we do to water, where we collect water, and anything we do with water effects what type of water we end up with.

 Season End Tasks Discussion

This article is a discussion about “Season End Tasks” to get the gears in motion thinking what’s ahead so to help to ensure an easier Spring Start-up Season.

In our seasonal business, it is very common for people to say and think that it must be nice to lie around during the 4-month off-season. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Most established companies are fortunate (or unfortunate depending how you look at it) to get 60 days of slack time per year. Most work 5, 6, or even 7 days per week (it seems like 8 days a week at times) with an average 12 to 15 hour day by the time the day’s tasks are completed. If you add up all those hours we work about 13 months in a 10-month season per year. I don’t know about you but I am like a bear in winter during the off season (except when I venture to sunnier climates down south). Yes, I am starting to be like the Canadian Snowbirds that flock south each winter.

 Scheduling Irrigation Systems

This article will deal with scheduling sprinkler systems used primarily for turf and landscape applications, even though the principals are the same for most irrigation uses.

Scheduling an irrigation system. Start and go? Not so fast!

During site visits in the spring, early summer, late summer, and fall, on residential and commercial properties where someone else offsite is responsible for the watering, have you noticed anything in common during each visit? If your sites are like most, the watering schedule established in April is watering in mid summer, late summer and even during early and late fall. Do you know why? Most of the time Irrigation Companies are contracted to open and close systems with required repairs throughout the season.