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Conserving water and saving money
Photograph by Kyle Chesser
For the first time in the state’s history, California is facing a water crisis that reaches far beyond a solitary drought. Factors such as the deterioration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, state water cutbacks, decreased snowfall, and climate change contribute to a situation that threatens the quality of life Californians rely and depend on. California is now in its third consecutive year of drought, forcing the California Department of Water Resources to declare that “conservation is critically important to maintaining our water supply.”
The projected outlook remains bleak when population growth is taken into account. According to the Association of California Water Agencies, “state officials recently projected that California’s population will reach 50 million by 2032 and 60 million by 2050,” creating a huge strain on the state’s water supply system.
In the face of such a seemingly insurmountable problem, you may wonder what efforts you can make to conserve water, aside from turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth or taking shorter showers. One major solution to California’s water problems may lie in a landscaping process called fertigation, which involves fertilizing your yard through your irrigation system.
Fertigation makes use of bio-stimulants such as bacteria and fungi instead of traditional fertilizer chemicals such as nitrogen. A tank is installed in your yard, then filled with water that is “spiked” with these bio-stimulants. Hooked up to the water line from your home, the tank provides your landscape with a dose of vital bio-stimulants every time your yard is watered.
Alex Cartwright, owner of CK Management Systems, makes fertigation systems available to residences, homeowners’ associations, and small businesses throughout the Bay Area. Previously fertigation was used almost exclusively at large commercial establishments such as golf courses, but now even Cartwright’s residential clients are able to enjoy lower water bills and increased growth and vitality in their lawns and gardens.
Cartwright says, “Have you ever wondered why the forest does so well in a drought without irrigation and without any fertilizer? It’s because [the forest] has its own microbiology—living organisms, bacteria and fungi, otherwise known as bio-stimulants, which feed the plants on a continual basis. For example, there are certain bacteria that literally pluck nitrogen from the air and give it to the plant on a continual basis. Also, there is a fungus that adheres to the root zone, making it twice as long and feeding the root moisture found in the soil.” These are the same bio-stimulants CK Management Systems uses to fill their irrigation tanks.
Why fertigate as opposed to spreading traditional fertilizer and watering your landscape? Most importantly, a fertigation system can reduce water usage by as much as 40-70%. Plants that receive bio-stimulants on a regular basis simply don’t need as much water. Also, fertigation eliminates environmentally harmful fertilizer runoff. The key ingredient in pellet fertilizer is nitrogen, of which only 20-30% gets absorbed, and the rest runs off into gutters and streams. Not only is this extremely harmful to the environment, but adding nitrogen irregularly and in high doses creates stress and shock on the root zone of the landscape, which creates an even greater need for water. The bio-stimulants used in fertigation have a 100% absorption rate, eliminating fertilizer runoff.
Installing a fertigation system is not something for the average do-it-yourselfer. The process involves setting up an irrigation tank, irrigation lines, and a unit that prevents backflow, then trouble-shooting pressure issues and points of connection. CK Management Systems and other professional landscaping companies will install a fertigation system that includes a warranty on their tanks, then provide consistent check-ups on both the system and your landscape’s health.
“A typical residential tank installation will set you back about $800, with periodic tank fills around six times per year. Very large residences and small commercial sites can expect tank installations to cost around $1,600, with refills approximately eight times per year,” says Cartwright.
The efficiency of a fertigation system can be increased by using it in conjunction with an ET clock, a “timer” that measures your micro-climate’s temperature, humidity, wind, and solar radiance, thus determining how best to efficiently water your yard. Utilizing gray water recycling and rainwater catchment, today’s fertigation systems are twice as efficient as systems available just three years ago, and can cut down on water usage by 50-60% within the first year.
One of Cartwright’s clients, Richard Tate of Dublin, has written proof that his fertigation system works. He says, “I went to Dublin San Ramon Zone 7 Water District and got a copy of our water usage (bills). Our fertigation system was installed in September 2008. The November 2007 two months’ usage bill was for 518,364 gallons—before the system. The November 2008 two months’ usage bill was for 47,872 gallons—after the system.” Not everyone sees results that are quite so dramatic, but there is no question that fertigation reduces water usage.
Shorter showers, limiting toilet flushing, or turning the faucet off while brushing our teeth may have been enough during the last major California drought in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But today we are faced with different circumstances that require different measures. Fertigation introduces the most accessible way for Californians to make an individual difference through their conservation efforts.
