Using Water Wisely in the Landscape

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Using Water Wisely in the Landscape

• Ronald C. Smith, Ph.D.
• North Dakota State University
• Extension Horticulturist Turfgrass Specialist

Created by Andrea Carlson
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There are currently about 6.3 billion people
living on the earth. This equates to 109 people
per square mile. (Land area 57.9 million
miles) It is estimated that by 2040, the world
population will be about 10 billion people, or
about 173 people per square mile.
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How much water is consumed by each person on the
planet?
About 170,000 gallons per person. For every
gallon of water an individual drinks, he or she
consumes more than 1,000 gallons indirectly
through things such as the water used for
irrigating the food that person eats, for
manufacturing the products that person buys, and
even watering his or her lawn.
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If everyone on Earth lived like the average
Canadian or American, we would need at least 3
such planets to live sustainably.
Our Ecological Footprint, M. Wackernagel, W. Rees
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Water Usage Population

• Present population 6.3 billion
• 2030 population estimate 8 billion
• ½ billion (8) experience moderate-severe water
  shortages
• China (22 worlds population)
• Receives 7 WFW supply

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Water Usage Population

• 1900-Present
• World population has doubled
• Per capita water use has increased 8-fold
• Egypt's Nile, Indias Ganges, Chinas Yellow
  the Colorado in the U.S. nearly run dry before
  their waters reach the ocean

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Facts about Water Use

• Agriculture
• To produce 1 gallon of milk, a dairy cow must
  drink 4 gallons of water
• To produce 1 pound of beef, about 2,500 gallons
  of water is needed
• It takes 8 gallons of water to grow a tomato
• Domestic
• A typical U.S. toilet uses between 3.5-7 gallons
  per flush, low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons or
  even less

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Facts about Water Use

• Electric Power
• 4,000 gallons of water produces 1 kilowatt-hour
  of hydroelectric power-enough to light a 100-watt
  bulb for 10 hours
• Industry
• 300 million gallons of water are needed to
  produce a single days supply of U.S. newsprint
• Cost Conservation
• 1 penny buys 160 eight-ounce glasses of water in
  a typical U.S. community

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Facts about Water

• Groundwater is the source of more than 50 of
  U.S. drinking water in rural areas about 95
• The 1972 Clean Water Acts goal that all U.S.
  waters be fishable and swimmable by 1983 remains
  unmet

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Facts about Water

• Airborne pollutants may travel hundreds of miles
  before falling on a body of water. Sulfur
  dioxide reacts with other air pollutants rain
  to form sulfuric acid, which can kill plankton
  fish
• States are responsible for monitoring enforcing
  U.S. water-quality standards. Levels methods
  of data collection vary widely, leading to a lack
  of consistent comparable data. Consequently,
  pollution cannot be accurately mapped nationwide

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Population Pressure on Water
Information for Table obtained from Rain Bird
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Acre-Inch of Water The amount of water to cover
1-acre of land, 1-inch deep 27,152 Gallons of
Water Acre-Foot of Water The amount of water
to cover 1-acre of land, 1-foot deep 325,824
Gallons of Water
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The Hydrologic Cycle

• Precipitation generally equals amount of water
  lost to evaporation transpiration
• There is a potential annual net gain of
  approximately 9,000 cubic miles of water on land
  every year
• The paradoxical reality remains water is not
  increased, it is only recycled

Vapor cools forming clouds
Precipitation falls on land water
Evaporation from land water
Transpiration from vegetation
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The Earths Water

• Universally agreed, water is a limited but
  naturally recycling resource.
• Human demand for water has risen at remarkable
  rates due to increasing population water use.
• Reducing use for consumption, 1 of available
  water is being spoiled by various forms of
  pollution.

Water Right www.turfgrasssod.org
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Water Crisis

• Problems solutions associated with increasing
  population, pollution, a diminishing supply of
  usable water cannot be viewed in isolation.
• Contributions to the potential for a global water
  crisis
• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Economic expansion
• Land use development
• Preservation

Water Right www.turfgrasssod.org
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• A way to raise water productivity is to shift to
  more water-efficient crops the higher the yield,
  the more productive the water use.

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Irrigation

• Over the last 50 years, world irrigated land has
  tripled 90 million acres in 1950 to 270 million
  acres in 2000
• Irrigation-uses account for 70 of water being
  diverted from rivers or pumped from underground
• Korea uses virtually all of its available water
• Battle for Water Industry often pays 50-100x
  more for water than farmers

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The Options

• Water Re-pricing
• Water Re-use
• Desalination
• Water Transfers Improvement to Water Delivery
  Systems
• Alternative Plant Selections (Xeriscape)
• Conservation Efficient Irrigation

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Results of Implementing Options
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Options to Address Water Scarcity
Information for Table obtained from Rain Bird
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Options to Address Water Scarcity
Information for Table obtained from Rain Bird
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Irrigation Methods in Use Around the World

• Flood-Furrow Surface Irrigation
• Primarily in agricultural systems
• Developing countries
• Golf Courses
• 17,000
• Over 200/year being added 2.7 B/G/D in U.S.
• Landscape Irrigation
• Sprinkler
• Drip

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Proper Irrigation Design, Installation,
Maintenance

• Design/divide by zones
• Use licensed Professionals
• Employ The Use of Water-Conserving Products
• Multiple start times multiple independent
  programs
• Water budget
• Rain delay
• Cycle soak
• ET programming

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Proper Irrigation Design, Installation,
Maintenance

• Automatic shut-off device
• All automatic controllers
• Required in TX, MN, CT, NH, NY, RI
• Low-volume irrigation, when possible
• Drip, micro, bubblers
• Use pressure-regulating devices
• Use pumps to boost pressure
• Use high efficiency nozzles for uniform coverage

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Installation of Systems

• Become/hire certified irrigation contractor
• Certified by the Irrigation Association (IA)
• Must be able to demonstrate all aspects of
  design, installation, maintenance repair of
  irrigation systems used in turf and landscape
  situations
• Required in New Jersey Connecticut

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Proper Maintenance

• Setting systems to operate in early AM hours
• Routine inspections of system
• Adjust watering schedules to reflect seasonal
  changes
• Adjust watering schedules when plants mature or
  are changed

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How to Water

• In-ground systems
• Professional design installation
• Routine adjustments regular maintenance to be
  most effective/efficient
• Greatest mistake Set it forget it"
  philosophy
• Heads-out-of-alignment Apply water to the
  sidewalk, street or house-siding, rather than to
  desired area
• Hose-end sprinklers
• Range in complexity, cost, durability
• Highly portable
• Can provide uniform/consistent coverage when
  properly placed maintained

Water Right www.turfgrasssod.org
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Drip Irrigation

• Most efficient of irrigation systems, reducing
  water use 30-70
• Provides steady stream of water, raising yields
  20-90
• In past, used only for high-value crops now
  low-cost systems are designed for small farms
• Critical time for all veggie crops germination
  fruit development keep soil uniformly moist

Eco-Economy L. Brown
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Salt Management

• Drainage
• Low permeability restricts flow out the bottom
• Battle between moving sufficient salts out of
  root zone evapotranspiration bringing salts
  back up to surface
• Irrigation
• Increases of saline irrigation water decreases
  of seasonal rainfalls lead to small window of
  salt management
• Tensiometers (moisture blocks) monitor soil water
  at different depths
• Other mobile chemicals can move with water also

SD EXT. 904
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Salt Management

• Irrigation
• Salts in root zone are dynamic tend to change
  with climatic changes
• Well-drained soils
• Wet periods tend to push salts further down in
  root zone
• Drier periods bring salts toward surface
• Poorly-drained soils
• Wet periods tend to bring water table salts
  closer to surface

SD EXT. 904
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Salt Management

• Irrigation
• Water considered good for irrigation
• 810 micromhos/cm electrical conductivity (600
  milligrams/liter) would have 0.82 tons of salt
  for every acre-foot of water
• The more soluble salts cause greater
  injury/stress
• Sodium sulfate (NaSO4)
• Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
• Sodium chloride (MgCl2)
• The less soluble salts cause less injury/stress
• Calcium sulfate (CaSO4)
• Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4)
• Calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

SD EXT. 904
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Reducing Salt Stress in the Garden

• Test soil water salinity
• Mulch around base of garden crops
• Inorganic Mulches
• No nutritional value
• Does not help soil structure
• Uses resources to make them
• Have to dispose of materials
• Organic Mulches
• Add nutrients
• Contribute to soil structure
• Develop a lower salt water source, if available
• If 1 water source with different salt loads, use
  better quality water on sensitive crops poorer
  quality on tolerant crops

SD EXT. 904
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Steps Toward Water Conservation

• Education of professionals
• Education of consumers, beginning in elementary
  school
• Incentives () for water-efficient systems
• Evaluate landscape planning
• Retro for more drought-tolerant plantings
• Better design/maintenance for water efficiency

• The Intelligent Use of Water - Irrigation For a
  Growing World, RainBird Corporation

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Food for Thought
Average water supply per person will fall by 1/3
in 20 years.
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Food for Thought

• Middle Eastern countries already in water-crisis.
  
• Belgium Worst waterindustrial pollution water
  treatment
• Canada/New Zealand Best water quality
  quantity

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Food for Thought

• There is as much water today as there was 3
  billion years ago
• Water is the only natural substance that can
  exist in all 3 states Solid, Liquid, Gas
• If all the water being held in the atmosphere
  were dumped in the form of rain, the entire
  surface of earth would be covered with 1 of
  water

SD EXT. 904
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Food for Thought

• Average American uses 2 gallons of water/day to
  brush teeth
• Average 10-minute showers Use 55 gallons of water
• Automatic dishwashers actually save water
• 9 to 12 gallons/load
• 20 Gallons for same load by hand

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Final Food for Thought

• 39,000 gallons of water needed to produce average
  domestic auto
• 300 million gallons of water to produce American
  newspapers for one day
• An 8-ounce glass of water can be refilled 15,000
  times for cost of a 6-pack of soda

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6124627/
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Questions?