Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) Irrigation System Survey

Claire Lewis & Mackenzie Boyer

Why we developed this set of survey instruments

Need quantitative data

FFL Water Savings Table

Survey was developed based upon this

metric

Water savings table

Objective: Develop measurable metric for impact of FFL practices adopted by

residential water customers

Month

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

De

pth

(in

ch

es

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

Irrig Water Req - Turf 8 inch RZPrecip ETc

Irrigation Requirements Estimation

Turfgrass AnnualWater Req.

N FL, 33 inches/yrS FL, 43 inches/yr

=3,700 gal/1,000 sq ft

1” = 623 gal/1,000 sq ft

Irrigation run time recommendations: EDIS Publication AE220

Average = 29.4 min event-1

Baseline irrigation case

•

10 19040 22070 100 130 160 250 280 310 340 370 More400 460430

35,000

28,000

21,000

14,000

7,000

Nu

mb

er o

f cu

stom

ers

Estimated irrigation (mm month-1)

Theoretical limit = 77 mm month-1

(3.0 in month-1)

Distribution of customers

Baseline case= 108 mm month-1

(4.25 in month-1)

10 19040 22070 100 130 160 250 280 310 340 370 More400 460430

35,000

28,000

21,000

14,000

7,000

Nu

mb

er o

f cu

stom

ers

Estimated irrigation (mm month-1)

Distribution of customers

Baseline case= 108 mm month-1

(4.25 in month-1)

Orange County= 149 mm month-1

(5.87 in month-1)

Pinellas County= 64 mm month-1

(4.25 in month-1)

Sources:Pinellas County: Haley and Dukes 2012Orange County: Haley and Dukes 2007

1. Rain sensor

• Savings based on plot study of 5 types of rain sensors and IFAS-recommended irrigation settings

• 8% reduction= 2,541 gal/ 1,000 sqft savings

2. Calibrate sprinklers to ½” or ¾”

• EDIS Publication ENH63 recommends ½”-¾” per irrigation event

• 25% reduction= 7,942 gal/ 1,000 sqft savings• 50% reduction= 15,884 gal/ 1,000 sqft savings

3. Calibrate sprinklers to replace 60% of ET

• EDIS Publication AE436 indicates 60% ET replacement generally adequate

• 40% reduction= 12,707 gal/ 1,000 sqft savings

4. Smart controllers

• ET controllers: 41-43% reduction • Soil moisture sensors: 35-72% reduction • 35% reduction= 11,118 gal/ 1,000 sqft• 72% reduction= 22,872 gal/ 1,000 sqft

5. Convert turfgrass to landscape bed

• EDIS Publication ENH860 recommends ornamental plants irrigated only as needed after establishment

• Microirrigation: 48% reduction in irrigation• 100% reduction= 31,787 gal/1,000 sqft savings• 48% reduction= 15,589 gal/1,000 sqft savings

6. Rain barrels

• Irrigation savings for turfgrass from using of 55-gal rain barrel was simulated

• 6% reduction= 1,906 gal/1,000 sqft savings

fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/barrels.htm

7. Convert spray heads to MSMTs

• Multi-stream multi-trajectory nozzles typically have greater uniformity and have lower flow rates

• 67% reduction= 21,191 gal/1,000 sqft

www.turfmagazine.com/content/TF/2013/04/A9379_1_full.jpg

There are 3 survey instruments in this set

The FFL Irrigation System Survey

• Intended to be given prior to FFL workshop

FFL Knowledge gain Survey

• Intended to be given after FFL workshop

Irrigation System Follow-up Survey

• Intended to be given 6-12 months after FFL

workshop

What is Qualtrics

Web-based survey system

Logic based Interactive questions

Data can be analyzed as it is collected

Can be exported to PowerPoint, Word, Excel, or

PDF

lynda.com - online training library

How administered

Online through Qualtrics

Agents

MG 

Who is the survey intended for

Homeowners who have an in ground irrigation system

What are the benefits to the agents to use

Clear, consistent and measurable reporting

tool

SMART objective

Next steps

fertilizer

pest management

We are now going to go through the survey