West Coast City Implements Major Smart Water Management System

Petaluma, Calif.–Santa Clarita is all set to roll out the world’s-largest Smart Water Management implementation. The çity is replacing its current inefficient irrigation timers with HydroPoint WeatherTRAK, an Internet-enabled, central-control irrigation system for 700 acres of the City’s Landscape Maintenance Districts, including parks, medians and streetscapes.

The effort, which comes from a desire to reduce operating expenses and to set an example of water stewardship for locals and water providers, will help the city save approximately 20 to 40 million gallons annually in just the initial phase. Upon completion of the Irrigation Controller Replacement Program, which is the installation of over 400 controllers, the city is expected to save over 180 million gallons annually.

The WeatherTRAK systems will enable the city to automate compliance with new water use legislation, including the state of California’s mandate that urban per capita water consumption be reduced 20 percent by 2020. Dwindling water supplies and rising water rates escalate budget tension for Santa Clarita along with other U.S. cities.

By reducing the cost of irrigating City facilities by 25 to 40 percent, Santa Clarita will gain budget relief in the current fiscal year. As water rates continue their rise, savings will increase in value in future fiscal years, accelerating the city’s return on investment timeline to between four and six years.

Unlike Santa Clarita’s previous irrigation system, the WeatherTRAK solution dynamically adjusts watering schedules based on changing weather conditions. Additional scheduling changes can be made remotely from any location with Internet access. The city field-tested several technologies on landscapes with dedicated water meters to effectively measure water savings and plant health. Over a six-month evaluation period, WeatherTRAK controllers achieved the sites’ water conservation potential, maximizing water and cost savings. At the same time, park patrons reported improved landscape appearance and usability.

“Santa Clarita is committed to environmentally and financially sustainable water efficiency, especially as California faces ongoing drought conditions and rising water costs,” says Santa Clarita’s Mayor Laurene Weste.

Sharon Thompson, vice president of marketing tells MHN that over 50 municipalities and schools across the nations use HydroPoint technology which calculates customized irrigation schedules based on programmable site-specific parameters such as soil type, slope angle, sprinkler head model and plant variety. “Schedules are automatically adjusted based on microclimate weather data, accurate to a one square kilometer resolution, which is transmitted daily to each controller via wireless WeatherTRAK ET Everywhere service,” Thompson says.

Data is collected from 40,000+ government-regulated weather stations across North America, run through our proprietary software to calculate ET down to 1 square kilometer accuracy, then sent to your WeatherTRAK controller.