The Port Washington Water District (PWWD), alongside the Roslyn Water District (RWD) and Irrigation Association of New York (IANY), hosted an Irrigation Contractor Training Webinar on February 10. The purpose of the webinar was to educate irrigation contractors on the best ways to help residents conserve water and follow the District’s mandatory 2022 irrigation requirements.
“Water conservation is more important now than ever in the Port Washington Water District, as we are at reduced capacity with multiple wells offline while treatment is being built to remove emerging contaminants,” said PWWD Commissioner Mindy Germain. “Irrigation contractors play a vital role in ensuring that residents conserve water during irrigation season, as many residents rely on contractors to turn on and set up their systems for the season. We are thankful to all those who attended and we hope that the contractors can use what they learned to educate residents on what our District needs from them when it comes to water conservation.”
The two Districts educated the contractors on the various mandatory requirements to which residents must adhere during the upcoming peak irrigation season. This includes sticking to Nassau County’s Odd/Even Lawn Watering Ordinance, only watering during specific times of day based on where residents live and cutting back on their sprinkler times by four minutes per zone. One of the key messages was that the Districts are requiring all residents to convert their standard irrigation controllers to smart irrigation controllers by 2025. Smart controllers are among the best tools to help conserve water, as they are able to read local weather forecasts and sense the amount of rain on the ground to ensure that lawns receive the exact amount of water needed to remain healthy without overwatering.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Districts and the IANY in putting this webinar together,” said Joe Tavalero, webinar attendee and owner of Custom Irrigation Corporation. “It is invaluable for us to know not only how to use the tools at our disposal as efficiently as possible, but also how to help our customers preserve our environment. We are looking forward to using
what we learned to help teach our customers about how they can best conserve water this spring and summer, especially by using smart controllers.”
In addition, Mike Dwyer of the Irrigation Association of New York and irrigation equipment expert Irving Pena spoke at length about how contractors can choose the best tools for any specific job, including smart irrigation controllers, rotors, spray bodies, nozzles, drip irrigation and smart sensors. This ensures that contractors are not only working as efficiently as possible, but also that residents whose homes are serviced by these tools do not run the risk of overwatering or underwatering specific areas of their property.
“The Irrigation Association of New York is proud to play a role in educating contractors on reducing water usage while still keeping landscapes green and healthy,” said Dwyer. “Long Island’s single-source aquifer is one of our most crucial natural resources, and we are happy to do everything we can to help our customers preserve it.”
“With all of the information that was provided during the webinar, we are confident that these contractors have the tools and knowledge necessary to work with residents in conserving water during the warmer months of the year,” said Commissioner Germain. “We are excited to see the positive impact the contractors will have on helping residents meet our mandatory irrigation requirements and achieve the District’s crucial water conservation goals.”