Pueblo Mental Health Irrigation Project Final Report

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I SYSTEM OPERATION The Rainbird Maxicom system software is user friendly and was fairly easy to learn. The programs are menu driven and can be utilized either with a mouse or via the keyboard. Exhibit E shows an example of the Main Menu for the program. There was a fairly extensive amount of data that needed to be gathered about the existing irrigation system and site prior to using all of the features of the program. Turf Irrigation completed the wiring terminations at the field satellites and the central computer and established the communication paths and made sure this portion of the system was functioning properly. Our staff gathered information on each irrigation station for each satellite and compiled the information in a spreadsheet as shown in Exhibit F. The estimated flow rates based on types of sprinkler heads was used to help verify the initial flows indicated by the flow meters and to establish parameters for field alarms. We also were able to make some field notes on existing system problems that needed to be corrected before trying to calibrate the system. This will be somewhat of an annual process upon start up and possibly periodically during the irrigation season to find any problems that might not be detected by the Maxicom system. The alarm reporting feature of Maxicom was not able to be fully utilized during this season due to some problems with the flow sensors that didn't get worked out until late in the season. This feature will be very helpful during the first full season of operation in 1996. Utilizing the inputs from the flow sensors, the Maxicom system compares measured flows, after several minutes of operation, with established flow parameters and determines if there is an irrigation system problem that is occurring. If there is, the system shuts down the station and goes through a systematic search to determine where the problem is by opening and closing one valve at a time for short durations. When the problem zone is identified, the program indicates an alarm for that station and bypasses it in the watering schedule. If the main line is broken downstream of the master valve, the system will shut the master valve and discontinue all watering scheduled for that time period at that flow meter location. Although we were very inexperienced in operating the system, we were able to avoid any major problems during the first partial year of operation. The ability to refine control of the system and hold a tighter rein on water scheduling will be better after some additional training during the non-irrigation time. The system has already been a big time saver for the Grounds Maintenance department and should be even more helpful in the future as more of the campus is brought under central computer control. 10