October 23, 2024
Restricted waters
Adopting best practices and technology when water is scarce.
BY JULIA HAMSWORTH
In Whistler, B.C., there’s no watering on Sundays.
Under a bylaw approved in May 2024, you can only water outdoors on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, depending on where you live. The time of day you can water also depends on what you’re watering and what type of irrigation system you have.
Drought conditions, wildfires and a low snowpack prompted these restrictions. In April, the Vancouver region’s snowpack sat at 56 per cent of its normal volume — causing the City to introduce a once-per-week lawn watering rule from May 1 until Oct. 15.
Agriculture Canada’s drought map shows several parts of British Columbia and Alberta are facing extreme drought conditions. Limited precipitation and high temperatures worsened these conditions in July. Eightyfour per cent of British Columbia was classified as abnormally dry or in drought conditions going into August.
Drought has raised the risk of wildfires — with flames raging across Alberta and causing devastation in Jasper in July. The tinder dry conditions have impacted the amount of available surface water in lakes and rivers, threatening reservoirs, wells and aquifers.
Strict water restrictions are not unique to western Canada; landscape and horticulture professionals across the country are also wrestling with similar watering bans. Landscape Trades reached out to several industry members to learn how watering restrictions have affected their businesses, what proper water management means to them and how they’re keeping plants happy during droughts.
Complex water restrictions in B.C.
Heike Stippler, president of Heike Designs Inc. in Whistler, B.C., and the British Columbia Landscape and Nursery Association (BCLNA) representative to Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA), told Landscape Trades in August that watering restrictions are very localized, and municipalities make the rules.
When asked if the Whistler watering restrictions have affected her business, Stippler said “absolutely, yes.” Her frustration, though, comes from the municipality’s refusal to consult landscapers and horticulturists as expert stakeholders, despite their offer.
“We had little to no notice that this was coming,” Stippler said. “It was emailed to only, like, four people. Just a handful of people involved in the industry, nine days before it was presented to council, giving us little to no time to react or respond.”
Stippler isn’t opposed to reducing water usage; on the contrary, proper water management is a key horticultural best practice she’s always adhered to. Because the restrictions focus on frequency of watering, not the amount, they don’t help to reduce the volume of water being used. If a plant doesn’t need water on a Monday but can’t wait until Wednesday, Stippler says she is forced to over-water.
“We’re not able to do proper water management because now we have to water when we’re allowed to, whether we need it or not, because if we wait another day, it might be too late to water,” she explained. For Stippler, proper water management means a focus on plant and soil health, not arbitrary watering times.
“We’re dealing with the natural elements all the time, day in, day out. [Landscapers] really know, and we see what’s happening outside. So I wish [the municipality] would consider consulting with us. We could work together to properly to truly conserve water,” Stippler said.
Calgary's water main breakage
In Alberta, landscape professionals are contending with the reality of more water cuts. Calgary returned to Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions on Aug. 26, after the city found 16 more weak spots along the Bearspaw south feeder main. Use of sprinklers and garden hoses was prohibited until repairs were completed at the end of September.
These restrictions, of course, came after the June 5 feeder main rupture that prompted an emergency response, with weeks of severe water restrictions and a boil water advisory. Even before any pipes had burst, Alberta had 25 water shortage advisories in place.
Brian Gibson, chair of Landscape Alberta and president of Green Drop, a tree and turf care company in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, said his company “definitely noticed a slowdown in sales” when the water main broke. Nobody wanted new trees planted in their yard if they couldn’t water them.
“It was tough to buy flowers. It was really tough on that part of our industry, because planting new trees and sod and everything like that — the water restrictions made it difficult,” Gibson said.
Looking into the fall, Gibson is concerned about what more restrictions might mean for nurseries and garden centres. Autumn is a busy season for planting — and planting requires water. “It’s going to be hard on them. I’d hate to see the long term effects on the planting material from this season,” he said.
Gibson worries further water restrictions would be very difficult for independent landscape contractors. He’d like to see a balance between conserving precious water resources and keeping trees, turf and shrubs healthy. “We’re stewards of the environment, so we all work hard to make sure that we’re training people to water properly and use water wisely,” he said. “Water resources are very important. We all want to live in a healthy environment.”
Water management on the ground
In Ontario, Sarah Beckon, chair of Landscape Ontario’s Grounds Management Group, believes a cultural change needs to happen. She worries that unless there’s a real need to turn off your tap — say, enforced water restrictions, like in Calgary and Vancouver — clients just won’t do it. Landscape professionals need to educate the public on proper practices.
When it comes to turf grass, this means watering less and cutting higher. If you keep your lawn at a minimum three-inch height, “you force the roots to go deeper,” and your grass requires less water. If you water every day, the roots don’t need to go looking for water, and get weaker. It’s important to train your grass; otherwise, Beckon cautions: “You burn out your lawn.”
Soil composition is also important. Ensuring plant beds have good compost content and a lot of mulch is a great first step. Mulch acts as a protective layer over soil, preventing moisture loss through evaporation and regulating soil temperature. It conserves a lot of water, especially in the summer.
Stippler said it’s also important to have adequate soil depth; the deeper the soil, the more moisture it holds. The health of plants and soil is at the heart of her water management strategy. She focuses on establishing plants with deep watering in the beginning so they need less water later. “If they have a good watering system they will establish root systems that will be strong enough to withstand more drought later on,” Stippler said, adding it takes two to three years for a plant to be considered established.
She also prescribes “pick[ing] the right plant for the right place” — an idea Beckon also highlighted — or keeping an area’s climatic conditions top of mind when deciding which plant to install. “In some cases, we have areas where there is too much water, and a plant that needs a lot of water goes into there and it can help with flooding or a large rain event after a drought,” Stippler said.
“Plants have such a value for us. They are the solution, they’re the answer for our environmental problems and for water shortages. I wish [municipalities] would consider how plants would help them, and help us all, by cooling the air, by cleaning the air. The roots soak up water and avoid flooding. All of those problems that the environment causes can be helped by having healthy plants.”
Smart irrigation systems
Stippler also emphasized using automatic irrigation systems that deliver water throughout landscapes exactly where and when water is needed. These systems can activate between three and five a.m., for example, when the water won’t evaporate in the hot sun. She works with professional irrigation companies that use rain sensors and water-conserving nozzles.
Beckon agrees that investing in modern irrigation systems is crucial. She said most clients have “no idea” how much water they’re wasting. A lot of this waste comes from traditional pop-up irrigation, which sprays water on top of plants or grass.
“The first thing I look at on site [is] the irrigation,” she said. “If it was done 20 years ago [and] none of the irrigation has been updated — that’s something I start with.”
Beckon spoke of drip lines: perforated tubing that runs along the ground, next to your plants, that delivers water straight to their root zone. It’s more direct than popup irrigation, thus saving water. Of course, drip lines don’t look great on turf grass — but there are other solutions for that.
“Smart” irrigation systems have increased in popularity over the past several years. These systems use weather data to adjust watering runtimes automatically, based on climatic conditions. You don’t need to run outside to turn off your sprinkler when it rains; your rain sensor does it for you.
“The controller will adjust the amount of run time in accordance with [...] what the landscape is saying: ‘I need more water’ or ‘I need less water,’” said Steve Hernandez, chair of Landscape Ontario’s Irrigation Sector Group. This saves a lot of water — and money on your water bill — and keeps plants healthy.
Rain sensors can save consumers 30 to 40 per cent of irrigation water in a season, according to Hernandez. With water rates increasing each year, he said buying a rain sensor can save you thousands: “The cost of a rain sensor is, no pun intended, literally a drop in the bucket to what it actually will save from the cost of treated water. It becomes a no-brainer.”
Soil moisture sensing technologies discern what’s reaching below the surface of the soil and send that information to your irrigation system. Your sprinklers won’t turn on when the soil has enough water for the plant’s roots to drink, even if the sun has been beating down all morning.
Investing in watering technologies
Many systems go beyond what Hernandez calls “reactionary” irrigation — adjusting its schedule after the fact of rain — to “planning” or “projection” irrigation. Controllers use forecasted weather data to project how much water a landscape will need in the future and adjust the schedule accordingly.
Wi-Fi-capable controllers that speak to weather stations are more affordable than ever; they’re feasible for residential homes, not just golf courses. You can find one from $100 to $300 dollars, which Hernandez said is about the same as a standard controller.
Hernandez has seen recent advancements in the accuracy of these systems and the applications of all that data. You can see exactly how much water your irrigation system delivered to your landscape and when it will run next — all from your smartphone.
Municipalities and golf courses use central control systems, which monitor the exact use of water across a long list of parks, soccer fields and gardens. If there’s something wrong with a specific system, they can turn it off immediately to avoid wasting precious water.
“The technology is definitely getting smarter and smarter,” Hernandez said. Manufacturers are working on launching Bluetooth battery-operated controllers, which don’t need to be plugged into a wall. You can put a controller in the middle of nowhere and automatically regulate your irrigation system.
Reclaimed water systems are also becoming more prevalent. Tanks or cisterns buried underground collect rainwater, which is then used to irrigate landscapes in and around a building. Construction companies are installing these systems in new condo buildings and housing developments, thanks to incentives like LEED certification. Building sustainably saves on utility costs and often comes with tax breaks.
“If we are able to reuse rainwater for irrigating landscapes, we’re not using too much of what we call treated water, or domestic water,” Hernandez said. It costs more money up front to install such a system, but it saves “a lot more money” in the long term.
Hernandez highlighted the importance of learning. Gaining knowledge of best practices — including how to care for different styles of plants, what time of day to water and which irrigation technologies to use — is key to being responsible with water. The Irrigation Sector Group runs programs, seminars and conferences to lead by example.
“We’ve always been a huge advocate for water conservation,” Hernandez said. “As irrigation contractors, we recognize that, luckily, we live in a region of the world where we have a lot of fresh water. But it also means that we should not, as ambassadors or stewards of the irrigation world, apply irrigation systems that are wasteful. Just because we can afford it, doesn’t mean we should waste it.”