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<br />Colorado Irrigation Audit program and is also allowed to set a limit for the number of <br />(- audits to be completed as well as parameters for who is eligible for the audits in their <br />'. community. This always includes residential water customers in city boundaries and may <br />be extended to include homeowners associations and businesses serviced by city water as <br />well as at city parks. <br /> <br />Once the geographic boundaries of the program and the number of audits to be completed <br />are determined, labor needs are assessed and irrigation auditors are solicited. <br />Advertisements are sent through college departments with environmental or horticultural <br />programs. If needed, advertisements are also listed in newspapers and other appropriate <br />media. Interviews are conducted and a qualified staff is hired and must attend a week- <br />long training session. Trainers (who are both certified landscape irrigation auditors) <br />conduct the training and ensure that the staff are qualified to perform irrigation audits. <br /> <br />To become trained as a landscape irrigation auditor costs approximately $500. The <br />program pays the summer staff to learn this skill in hopes that it will encourage them to <br />consider water conservation as a career in the future. Training staff versus hiring trained <br />auditors enables the CRC to offer our audits to municipalities at a reduced cost. The <br />irrigation auditors do not become certified landscape irrigation auditors (CLIA) through <br />the Irrigation Association, but are trained by a CLIA. <br /> <br />c. <br /> <br />Besides training, each newly hired auditor will receive all of the supplies necessary to <br />conduct the irrigation audits. Major expenses include catch cups for taking water output <br />measurements, measuring wheels for measuring landscapes, pressure gauges, cell phones <br />for communicating with clients and the scheduler, irrigation manuals, paperwork to <br />conduct the audit and identifying t-shirts with funder logos. <br /> <br />A scheduler is also hired at the start of the auditing season. The CRC begins receiving <br />requests for audits as cities publish the service through utility bills or city newsletters that <br />circulate throughout the season. Those calls are handled and organized by the scheduler <br />and disseminated to the appropriate auditors. This year the CRC will also have an on-line <br />scheduling tool as an option for people to sign up for an audit. During the course of the <br />auditing period, the program widely and readily attracts media attention from both <br />newspapers and in T.V. which continually generate new interest from citizens. <br /> <br />During the audit period each staff person conducts up to 4 audits a day for residential <br />systems. Commercial or large homeowner associations can take up to a week to <br />complete. The auditor conducts performance tests ofthe irrigation equipment which <br />begins with a visual inspection and includes a measurement of water output, water <br />distribution, pressure, and a soil analysis. These tests are used do develop a site specific <br />watering schedule, identify malfunctions in the system, and to determine <br />recommendations for improvement that will achieve optimal use of the irrigation system. <br />The auditor treats each appointment as a one-on-one opportunity to educate on landscape <br />best management practices and irrigation practices that will result in on-going reduced <br />water use. <br /> <br />/,. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />7 <br />