The Port of Portland applied for and today won a "BEST" Award from the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development in recognition of water savings.

 

BEST stands for Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow. The awards are presented annually to companies demonstrating business practices that promote economic growth and environmental benefits. The Port, with help from the Water Bureau, installed weather-based irrigation controllers at two sites in Portland. The Port has since seen its consumption decrease by nearly 30 percent at these sites, and has saved approximately 1 million gallons of water. That’s enough water to supply 17 average Portland homes for a year!

 

As new water conserving technologies enter the market place, the bureau’s Conservation Program often pilot tests these technologies at volunteer participant sites. The goal is to obtain data so customers can make decisions about buying or using the new technologies. Weather-based irrigation controllers are one of those technologies that offers significant water savings.

 

In the spring of 2004 the Bureau initiated a pilot project to measure the effectiveness of weather-based irrigation controllers. These devices use hourly data sent from local weather stations, including rainfall, air temperature, wind speed, and other factors to calculate how much water plants use and how much is lost to evaporation, also known as evapotranspiration (ET). The controllers adjust irrigation schedules to exactly match the water needs of a landscape, eliminating over-watering.

 

Currently, twelve controllers are operating at eight different sites in Portland. Project participants include the Port of Portland, the State of Oregon, and Kaiser Permanente to name a few. Over the first two summers of the pilot project, participants have decreased their irrigation use by an average of 22 percent, and have saved over 3 million gallons of water. The controllers have also eliminated the labor costs associated with constantly monitoring and adjusting irrigation schedules in attempt to keep up with Portland’s changing weather.

 

The Conservation Program will continue promoting weather-based irrigation controllers. A test of a second controller that measures ET onsite, allowing for even more accurate irrigation, begins soon. A project promoting weather-based controllers for single family homes is under consideration.

 

 Brad Galpern

 Conservation