– by Colin Eaton, Garden City Tree and Landscape Ltd. –
Irrigation has come a long way in a short period of time. Here are six solid reasons why you should consider a professionally-installed irrigation system or upgrading your existing system:
• Unless you like getting up at 6 a.m. several times a week, for nine months a year, to hand water your landscape, your plants will not be receiving adequate water, which means your lawn and plants will suffer.
• A professionally-installed system ensures even watering of all areas of the landscape, as opposed to overwatering in some areas and underwatering in others. An improperly designed irrigation system is one of the biggest water wastes out there.
• Precision nozzles is a relatively new technology that sees irrigation heads deliver water slower, thus allowing for better absorption rates (ie less water is wasted due to evaporation or run off). Less water wasted means saving money on your water bill, while keeping your plants happy!
• Proper watering of your landscape will ensure optimum growth each season. Many issues with plant health are attributed to the lack of an irrigation system or an improperly-installed system.
• It is an investment in your property. If you spend tens of thousands of dollars on installing a landscape, you want to make sure your plants will not be dead or severely damaged within a year or two. An irrigation system provides controlled watering, and will help protect your investment!
• Irrigation technology is always advancing to be more efficient. Did you know that new irrigation timers have cloud-based technology? This means they can check in with the local weather and adjust the irrigation based on the actual weather.
You should also make sure to install a backflow preventer. Water that enters your irrigation system comes from your municipal water supply, the same water we drink every day. Without a backflow preventer, irrigation water can backflow into the municipal system every time you water. If, for example, you have a pet that relieves itself on your lawn or you use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, all will mix with the water that can flow back into yours and our drinking water.
To combat this backflow contamination, the CRD requires backflow preventers be installed on any new or existing systems. If you don’t have one, consider installing one soon.
For more information visit www.victoriagardencity.ca.
