Rainmaster DX2 controller receives weather information and limits irrigation watering.
This September, the Department of General Services Ground Crews, lead by Grounds Supervisor Sergio Angel, completed installation of modern irrigation controls that ration irrigation watering based on current weather conditions. The system garnered a $40,000 rebate from the Irrigation Upgrade Program through the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD).
On a daily basis, the Rainmaster software collects and analyzes data from monitoring stations at Laney, College of Alameda, and Merritt Colleges, then remotely programs the controllers at the colleges with that days irrigation allowance and schedule.
The system helps Peralta save water by making sure the soil receives the precise amount it has lost through evaporation and plant transpiration, called evapotranspiration (ET). In evaporation, sunlight and wind takes water out of the ground. In transpiration, plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil and then release some of that water back into the air. The National Weather Service estimates that a large oak tree can release over 400 litres (~100 gallons) of water into the air every day. Yes. Every day.
Technicians for John Deere Landscape’s Green Tech Division installed and connected the first controllers in June 2006 and Laney College and College of Alameda. Each of the controllers communicates with a computer at the Grounds Office at the Department of General Services via a telephone line, much like the way computers connected to the internet with a modem. Merritt College’s hilly terrain prohibited a low-cost underground phone line to be added, so District-Wide Grounds Supervisor Sergio Angel consulted with staff at District IT office to devise a wireless connection, which was finally installed this September.
