Understanding and Measuring Irrigation Efficiency – A Key to Sustainability

Friday, May 29 | 3:15 - 4:05pm
Location: Fuji Rooms 1-2

Speaker: Mike Baron, The Toro Company

Description:

The session will focus on defining exactly what an Irrigation Water Budget is and how it is calculated for any site. The case will be made that an Irrigation Water Budget is the most effective way to measure the efficiency of any irrigation system and should be part of any professional irrigation design. The building blocks of the Water Budget will be explained. These include ET, sprinkler application rates, distribution uniformity, plant water needs and run time calculations based on IA Best Management Practices. Example calculations will be done in class and handouts with definitions and equations will be provided.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to develop an Irrigation Water Budget and assess the overall efficiency of an irrigation system.
• Gain a thorough understanding about application rates and distribution uniformity for sprays, rotors or drip and how to calculate proper run times using the Irrigation Association’s Best Management Practices.
• Gain the ability to correlate irrigation product choices to irrigation efficiency parameters.
• Review or become familiar for the first time with online sources for ETo and precipitation data.

Speaker Bio: Mike Baron, The Toro Company

Mike Baron is Toro’s National Specifications Manager for Water Management Products. As a California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) member, Mike participated in the development and launch of CLCA’s Water Management Certification Program. Subsequently he served as Chair of the organization’s State Resource Management Committee for three years. In acknowledgement, Mike was named CLCA Associate Member of the Year.