MP Rotator Uniformity – Canyon Estates HOA Palm Springs, CA

Background

While water supply and environmental conditions can change in a residential community over time, HOA-operated irrigation systems generally do not. This combination of changing conditions and decades-old systems can often result in many landscapes developing large and unsightly brown spots in grass areas, dry trees and shrubs, and barely-blooming flowers, all of which that significantly decrease property value. The Canyon Estates neighborhood HOA in Palm Springs, CA had this very problem. The aging system in use was leaving their landscape brown and splotchy, and many homeowners were increasingly displeased with the way the neighborhood looked. In order to turn back time on their aging grounds, the HOA asked Hunter Industries to see if any emerging irrigation products could help.

Approach

After a look at the overall system, Hunter professionals noticed that it had an inefficient pipeline, which was causing low-pressure conditions. This low pressure meant that the traditional spray nozzles in the system were no longer able to cover the entire areas that needed irrigation. Most system operators would try to solve this issue by simply increasing the run time of the system until the brown spots disappear. However, while this solution may improve the look of the site, it results in a tremendous increase in water consumption, which is both costly and environmentally unfriendly. Hunter Industries professionals decided that the MP Rotator would be a better option, because the MP Rotator has much lower flow rates than traditional spray nozzles, which means not as much water pressure is needed to properly irrigate. To see if MP Rotators were right for this job, a particularly brown span of grass was retrofitted with over 70 new High Efficiency MP's and systematically tested.

Results

After just 10 days of operating with the High Efficiency MP's, the lawn's appearance in the tested area was much different. It was as though a whole new layer of sod had been installed, as it was lush, green, and free of brown spots. They best part about it? Not only did the MP Rotators resurrect this long-neglected site, it did so using less water than the original nozzles.