Highlands County Mobile Irrigation Lab

Florida faces water scarcity problems due in part to population increases, tourist, and current drought conditions. Because the nation and world faces many of the same challenges regarding water, scarcity will also have national and global relevance. Irrigation of lawns and landscaping in Florida represents the single largest use of water from our municipal water supplies. This water use has seriously impacted the aquifer, which is a source of our drinking water and water that supports our ecosystems. In addition, fertilizers and pesticides used on lawns are major sources of pollution in our lakes, rivers. According to UF Irrigation Specialist, regular irrigation checks with installation of rain sensors constitute up to a 50% savings of your water use in your landscape. To help the residents within the Peace River Basin area of Highlands County reduce their potable drinking water usage and pollution to our water systems a volunteer mobile irrigation lab in Highlands County was formed and the urban homeowners within the Peace River Basin area were targeted. 428 site visits were performed by checking the condition of the landscape by observing and documenting the existing irrigation system. The goal is to achieve the highest distribution uniformity and efficiency as possible. This is achieved by providing recommendations for improving the design, installation, operation and maintenance of the system. Success requires a commitment on the owner’s part to maintain the system to proper specifications and to learn how to operate the irrigation clock and system. The MIL to date has provided a water savings of 102,720 gpd (gallons per day) of potable water.  35 low volume lateral line breaks were found/repaired saving an additional 1,512,000 gpm (gallons per minute) of potable water. When systems were checked and homeowners questioned; 93% of the 428 sites had unmatched precipitation rates/mixed heads, 72% of the 428 sites had their clocks set on the wrong duration, time of day,  or not adjusted to seasonal needs and with only 28% of the 428 sites knew how to set their irrigation clock.