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Efficient Irrigation Management Homeowners and business owners have instilh:d pride in our communities by creating and maintaining ollr landscapes. But, within the cOlllmunities \\-'C must use water resources in Colorado responsibly. Ellicicl1t irrigation management is vital 10 the IOll~ teon health of our landscapes and uur waler supply. Irrig.ation management use to mC<Ul remembering 10 turn () the hose before going to hed. Il( more. In loday's ,....orh.1. irri~ lion management IllC<lns com billing plant science with tech- nological know-how to mak the most of a limited and valu able natural resource. II n:quirc. familiarity with sound horticul Iura I practices. keen ohscrvatiOl skills. and careful attention tl detail. A basic undcrstamting 0 hydraulics doesn't hurt cithcr. Landscape irrigation account. for approximately 50 pacenl 01 Colorado's tolal annual munici. pal water use. More than 13 bil lion g.lllons of water arc poure over our rcsidcntial and commcr- cial properties bctween the months of March and October. Most properties have roolll for improwment when it comes to irrigatioll. with over-watering be- ing the most common problcm. It is not unusual for irrigation S)S- tems to apply twice as much wa- ter than \,,'hat is nr:ceSS;.lry 10 maintain healthy plants. EXCCi- sivc irrigation repn:sents a tre- mendous waste of a valuable natural resourcc. It also costs money. time. and lahor; and causcs plant loss, landscapc dal11- .lgC, pests and a host of other pre- vcntablc cOllscqucnccs. A well-designed irrigation management plan can save water in two ways: I) by improving the perfoml- ance of the irrigation system; and 2) by sl'heduling irrigation oc- cording to thc landsc.lpe's water requiremcnts. Pcrfonnanee is dctennined by how elliciently water is applicd to the landscape. A high level of perfonnancc depends on appm- priate design, installation, opem- tion and maintcnancc of thc ini- gation systcm. Substantial im- provcments to existing systems. howC\"cr, often can be achieved \vithout large capital il1ve~- ments. In many cases wherc an irrigation system is performing poorly, a simple. inexpensive tunc-up will restore the system to its peak h:vel of perfonnance. An irrigation schedulc defines \\/hen and how long to water based on weather and landscape condi- 4 lions. Till: District is developing a way to providc others with the concepts and me.lIls nccessury to tkvelop a sound irrigation man- agement plan. In the wintcr of :!005 thc District will ofTer a Landscape Irrigation Ellicieney ()rogr.ull. The Program will dcmonstrate and educate con- stituents about eflicient irriW:1- tion methods. such as soil mot-- ture sensors. rain and wind shut ofT devices. and E....aJXltranspi- ration (ET) controllers. A purt of the Landscape Irri- gation Efficiency Program will include the de....elopment of an Irrigation Elliciency Class. This class will illustrate ho\l,: to perf0n11 a systematic e....aluation of an irrigation system's d:- sign. maintenance, and m;Ul- agement. It will identify areas where adjustments will make an impact on water COI1Sef\i.I- tion. Topics will include irri~l- tion scheduling. field hydroUl- lies, electrical troubleshooting. and design aspects. I f you arc interested in participating ill this program contact the: COIlSef\i.l- tion Outreach Coordinator at 719-94X-2023. Ilomcowners and commercial propertics alike: must commit to supplying the hmdscarc with only the water it needs. This is done: by repairing broken sprin- kler equipment promptly and properly, and adjusting irrigation schedules according to the weather. 0111' lil/lU'{' t/{'f'l'lICls 01/ it. Written by Jean Van Pelt.tConsef\'ation Outreach Coonu- nator