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Final Words About Subsurface
Drip Irrigation
I
must say that I am pleasantly
surprised with the results I
have witnessed with the
subsurface drip irrigation
(SDI). the only problems I have
ever seen have been
solely
attributed to installation.
In order for an SDI system to
work successfully and last for
years the following steps must
be taken:
- Proper filtration to
eliminate plugging
- lines should be
pegged and secured to prevent
drifting and surfacing lines
- system must be
properly flushed during
installation.
- Air vacuum relief
valve installed at the high
point to stop dirt from
siphoning back into the system.
- Flush valves must be
installed on the footer line and
system flushed at least twice a
year (start up and shut down and
possible mid season).
- System must be
installed in a grid fashion
The truth is that these
really are common sense
procedures that add little cost
to the system, especially
compared to the costs involved
if the system fails. It is
amazing though how many times
some or even all of these
steps have not been met.
The biggest stumbling block for
SDI has to be its initial cost.
Lets face it, the cost can be 2
- 3 times more than that of a
properly designed
overhead system. But the long
term costs are considerably
less, and lets not
fool ourselves the cost of water
will never go down in price. As
the public concern for safer
cleaner drinking water grows so
will the cost of achieving that
goal.
It
is amazing how many people I
talk to tell me how SDI wont
work, and mostly from those who
have been in the industry
the longest. What these same
people have to realize is that
water purveyors will always
look at landscape irrigation as
a luxury, that's why we are
always the first to get dinged
when there are water
restrictions. And in order for
our industry to survive in the
future we must show that we can
conserve water in ways other
than being told not to water.
The success of SDI cannot be
achieved without a change in our
mind set about efficient
irrigation and our willingness
to adapt and learn new
technologies.
Steve Gitzel |
