Case Studies: Landscape Contractors

Gardeners' Guild Selects ETwater for HOA

John Ossa - President, Gardeners' Guild, San Rafael, CA

Overview

Name John Ossa
Location Larkspur, California
Terrain Mostly hilly
Soil type Clay, amended clay/loam
Plantings Native and non-native shrubs, trees and ground cover
Climate Mediterranean — hot, dry summer
Existing System Mix of pop–up sprinklers, drip and microspray

ETwater In Action

Spyglass Hill is a residential home community perched high in the hills of Larkspur, California, with spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay. With a wide variety of plant materials and terrain, the seven acre site is a challenge to irrigate correctly. The two companies that have responsibility for the landscape, Gardeners' Guild Landscape Maintenance and Eugene Burger Property Management, carefully researched options for a new water management system and selected ETwater.

Goals:

  • Assure vibrant, healthy plants
  • Eliminate manual schedule adjustments
  • Reduce water use and save money on water bills
  • Use PC to monitor irrigation

    • For more information about Gardeners' Guild, visit www.gardenersguild.com

    Photo by K.H. Smith Photography

    Cutting Water Costs for Autodesk

    Irrigation Consultant — Tom Campbell, Water Scout

    Overview

    Consultant Tom Campbell
    Property Autodesk
    Location San Rafael, California
    Terrain Primarily flat
    Soil type Clay, amended clay/loam
    Plantings Mix of turf, planted areas, trees, parking lot islands
    Climate Mediterranean - hot dry summers, wet winters
    Existing System Rotor and spray sprinklers, drip

    ETwater In Action

    In Marin County, California, where design software leader Autodesk maintains its headquarters, water use is tightly restricted, especially for large institutional customers. Yet the company’s older irrigation system hadn’t been updated for more than ten years and was plagued with leaks and inefficiencies. The landscape team had lost track of watering schedules over the years, and it was unclear which valves watered which areas.

    To find a solution, JHS Properties, which owns and manages the Autodesk campus, retained Tom Campbell of Water Scout, an irrigation consulting firm, to solve several issues:

  • Water waste from runoff
  • High water costs
  • Overwatering due to inefficient scheduling

    • Implementation

    ETwater Commercial: Autodesk World Headquarters Campus,
    San Rafael, California

    • ETwater Manager web based irrigation control interface
    • ETwater Commercial Smart Controller, replacing 2 existing controllers, governing 43 stations
    • New check valves and compensating pop-up heads on all lawn zones (not supplied by ETwater)

    With ETwater...

    When Campbell joined the project in June 2004, an ETwater Smart Controller had recently been installed to replace two antiquated controllers that covered 43 of the 46 irrigation zones on the property. Campbell then began working with the landscaping team on a major irrigation system retrofit, updating and replacing sprinkler heads and other equipment within 18 of the 46 zones.

    Working with this new irrigation infrastructure and ETwater’s web interface, Campbell was able to set precise flow rates that ensured vigorous plant growth while reducing water use. The results were dramatic. By eliminating runoff and overwatering, Autodesk cut its gallonage significantly and saw its water bill decline from $2,600 to $1,600 over the same period from year to year. Moreover, because ET Water’s web-based interface provides real-time visibility into Autodesk’s watering volume, Campbell can now remotely monitor the system everyday and receive alerts whenever there’s a problem.

    ETwater Benefits

    • Cut water bill by 38%
    • Maximized efficiency of water use
    • Faster responses to changes in conditions, watering needs

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