Irrigation
We have been designing and installing irrigation systems since 1984. There has been a lot of changes within the industry during those 22 years and we have been right there changing also. The increasing demand for a decreasing amount of fresh water has encouraged technological improvements in many areas, among them water distribution, monitoring and flow regulation. We have kept pace with these improvements. We use only the most advanced and proven system components so that every drop of water is placed at the right location for maximum use by the plant.
The water source for our systems may be the conventional municipal supply or we may combine that with harvested rain water. gray water or water from a local lake, river or well. Whatever the source, it is our goal to provide you with the most dependable, inexpensive and sustainable source of water.
DISTRIBUTION
Although the conventional irrigation systems which utilize rotors and pop-up sprayers is still included on our menu, we focus on Micro-Irrigation. This includes both surface and sub-surface drip and micro-spray. Trees, shrubs, seasonal color, perennials and even lawns are all watered via drip distribution. The most efficient irrigation system will provide the plant with the exact amount of water it requires without losing any to runoff, misdirection or evaporation. This is accomplished with micro-irrigation. The water is placed directly at the roots of the plant. There is no waste.
We use Rainbird and Netafim products. These companies are pioneers in the water conservation industry. We follow their research very closely and employ their products soon after they hit the market.
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MP Rotators are, without a doubt, the most efficient sprinkler on the domestic market. This is the product that we use exclusively for applying water to the surface of turf areas. |
Mutiple Hydrozones is another standard feature of our systems. A hydrozone is the small area of the landscape that is watered at any one particular time. We like dividing the landscape into many hydrozones because there are so many variables between different parts of the landscape. Soil, slope and solar exposure, among others, can vary greatly in a short walk between garden areas.
MONITORING
The RainHarvest Company was among the first to use Et Technology in 1999 for the control of our irrigation systems.
Proper irrigation scheduling is one key to water conservation and good plant health. Without adequate knowledge of precipitation rates, soil characteristics, flow and pressure, then setting the proper schedule for the irrigation cycles is only by accident. There is a lot of information which needs to be compiled and processed in order to establish a good irrigation schedule. However, a new generation of controllers, the Climate Controllers, possess the ability to process all this information internally and set a schedule. These new systems, we like the Weathermatic or the Hydropoint, communicate with the NOAA satellites every 24 hrs. The controller will download information which enables it to set a new schedule each day based on current weather conditions.
We will input basic data describing your garden: soil type, slope, exposure, plant type, etc? into the controller. The controller will use these parameters and interface with the current weather data to develop a new watering schedule each day. Rain sensors are standard features on our systems.
FLOW REGULATION
The RainHarvest Company has standardized the use of Pressure Regulating Valves (PRV) because all irrigation manufacturers recommend operating pressures of 50-70 psi. As much as 40 percent of water entering the system can be lost to evaporation. This is caused by high pressure as average street pressure is 120psi.
We also use emitters and heads that are equipped with Pressure Compensating capabilities so that the same amount of water is distributed evenly throughout the hydrozone.
You will or have made a major investment in your landscape so you will want to provide the water to allow the garden to grow optimally but without any waste. Our RainHarvest System and Water ReUse System, can recycle water which normally would have been sent down the sewer.