As I was winding down my day
on my afternoon walk yesterday, I noticed something that was very disturbing yet
probably very common. The sprinkler heads from the irrigation system around my
condominium complex were very exposed out in the open ground. I have to believe
that the number of sprinkler heads that are damaged from children innocently
playing on lawns, acts of vandalism, and unintentional accidents must be
significant.
Never the less, when I
stepped out to run an errand that evening, the system had come on and I noticed
that three of the sprinklers had been damaged. I could not believe the amount of
water that was rushing out of them. They resembled mini geysers the way water
was spouting out of the tops of the units. I immediately placed a call to the
association manager to address the issue.
Thankfully, a maintenance
crew responded promptly to repair the damaged heads. A simple observation like
this, very often ignored by many, really brings to light an issue that many
landscaping and maintenance crews should look into. Why not have some type of
monitoring system in place to identify leaks or damage to irrigation systems
which would not only save large quantities of water, but also a significant
amount of money to associations and homeowners?
A broken sprinkler head can
waste close to 100 gallons of water per 10-minute cycle. That can quickly add up
to thousands of gallons of scarce and expensive water wasted when a break goes
unnoticed. Unfortunately, maintenance managers will usually receive a call well
after the system has been compromised, causing damage to landscaping, property,
and our wallets.
In addition to the cost of
the wasted water, the amount of manpower that it takes to find and repair
breaks, and the record-keeping process, can be significant. Never mind the
potential liability from accidents caused by water overflow on streets and
sidewalks.
Ignoring water efficiency
and conservation issues will have enormous consequences for all of us and our
children. Something so simple as repairing a sprinkler head should not be
overlooked or put off until tomorrow. With our water reserves dwindling, we need
to make water conservation a daily priority.