Susan Knox Wilson
Water conservation is a top priority for the PebbleCreek Villas Association (Villas 43B) and their Board of Directors is pleased to announce they achieved a one-million-gallon reduction by the end of August. “We had estimated that we’d hit our million-gallons-saved mark by year end,” said Sandy Horvath, Villas 43B Vice President and Landscape Manager, “but our water reduction efforts have been so successful that we reached our goal early. We continue to work on other areas that will help us conserve even more water.”
Working closely with Liberty Utilities and the Villas 43B landscaping team, Sandy coordinated the installation of Wi-Fi based irrigation controllers, combined with Hydrawise programming to create a smart and economical water management solution. The combination gives them the tools to manage and monitor water use via this state-of-the-art irrigation system. Alerts are sent automatically to Sandy to manage no matter where he is. Overwatering when a pipe is broken and/or when a valve is stuck open wastes water and money; Hydrawise allows them to stop the loss quickly and easily. They also installed Hunter rain sensors, which automatically stop the controller from wasting water, and turn it back on based on the re-start settings they set. “It’s really amazing technology,” enthused Sandy, “and is really paying off.”
Sandy added that the Villas 43B owes a lot of thanks to all the people involved in the project including Villas 43B past president Kevin McManus for initiating the program and continuing to help; Sara Alloway, program manager, Water Efficiency at Liberty Utilities; and Lara Katler, president, SLS Landscaping, for financing the installation and all field work.