For commercial and residential builders, water supply remains the major limiting resource for development. However, another water supply concern is non-point source water pollution from landscape over-watering. In today's construction environment, environmental requirements concerning both water runoff and efficient landscape water must be satisfied on the way to completing an acceptable development plan. Builders need to know how to plan for and comply with local environmental regulations, achieve measurable water efficiency and eliminate nuisance runoff and unnecessarily high water bills.

Understanding Regulatory Basics

Western states led the way in water quality regulation for years, but as water resources become more scarce and pollution control takes on greater urgency, most states are moving to regulate runoff and protect watersheds from non-point source pollution. At the local level, the city or county must comply with regional water control board requirements, which implement regulations intended by the federal Clean Water Act.

Individual contractors could spend weeks or months reading up on all the regulations involved. It can be a tedious and confusing process, but failing to comply can delay permits by months or result in jobsite closures, fines or lawsuits if work begins without appropriate procedures in place. Fortunately, a little experience goes a long way.

Building regulations related to water runoff control involve meeting two basic requirements:
1. Submitting an acceptable storm water pollution protection policy (SWPPP) plan to show compliance with regulations for preventing excess runoff into storm drains or protected watersheds during construction.
2. Submitting an acceptable drainage area management plan (DAMP) to prevent runoff through over-watering of landscapes in the finished development.

If a builder can show serious plans to comply with these regulations during the planning phase, the permitting process will go much more smoothly.

Complying With SWPPP and DAMP

The first step in the process is to contact the regional water quality board and get all the information about how to comply. This information will specify how to meet regulations for the SWPPP and DAMP. Once the regional water quality board issues a compliance form, the builder can go to the city or county for permits.

The SWPPP is intended to prevent construction-related runoff from entering and clogging city drains and catch basins. Typical measures include sand bags around catch basin entrances or straw wattles to channel runoff to specific areas.

In larger projects, builders sometimes set up portable detention basins that catch initial runoff. As water collects in these basins, the sediment falls to the bottom, and the clear water is routed to the nearest storm drain. Periodically, the portable basin is vacuumed and the sediment is either hauled away or redistributed on the site.

In their permit application, cities provide the regulations for compliance with SWPPP. Builders that skip SWPPP plans may find that their applications go to the bottom of the pile. Not having a SWPPP plan as part of the overall water quality plan can add months to permit approval. To expedite the process, ask the city about guidelines.

The second element of a water control plan is the DAMP. In the DAMP, the builder must show a plan for controlling non-point source pollution by minimizing runoff due to landscape irrigation. In most communities that are predominantly residential, landscape irrigation accounts for well over 50 percent of total water consumption. The average household in Southern California uses 130,000 gallons per year; approximately half of home water is used for landscape irrigation. Public agencies show that as much as half of that may be waste due to over-watering. Over-irrigation becomes urban runoff or non-point source water pollution containing fertilizers and pesticides.

Reducing water consumption in the planning process typically takes space and costs significant dollars. In large developments, builders design elaborate water capturing systems. These systems capture, filter and recycle runoff water for use in landscaping. In areas where there are high concentrations of specific minerals like nickel, builders must show plans to eliminate these excess contaminants from all runoff. For most builders, however, the simplest path to compliance is to use "smart" irrigation controllers to precisely control landscape watering.

Controlling Runoff With Smart Irrigation

Smart irrigation control systems eliminate over-watering and reduce runoff by delivering the precise amount of water to each planted area based on the soil type, plant type, percentage of sun or shade and the slope of the ground being irrigated. WeatherTRAK brand controllers may require a somewhat larger upfront investment than ordinary controllers, but contractors reportedly recover their costs by widening options for landscape choices, reducing maintenance costs and cutting water consumption.

Installing a smart irrigation controller for a large planned development is no more difficult than installing an ordinary controller. With high tech professional units, the installer sets up the system, using either the controller, a laptop or PDA device, by entering information such as:

• The precipitation rate or how much water the valve will deliver.
• The soil type being serviced (e.g., loam, clay or sand). Different types of soil absorb water at different rates, so the soil type helps determine the speed and duration of water delivery.
• The type of plant being watered at each watering station, since different plants require different amounts of water.
• The type of sun exposure (e.g., full sun, full shade or partial shade).
• The slope of the ground and the position of sprinkler heads relative to the top, middle and bottom of the slope.

Based on this input, the controller sets a watering schedule scientifically and automatically. For example, if the irrigated area has a steep slope, watering may occur in short bursts with soak cycles to allow the water to penetrate the soil instead of running down the slope.

The real advantage comes when the controller receives daily evapotranspiration (ET) information via satellite from a vast network of weather stations, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, as well as city, state and private stations. ET, the amount of water used by plants plus the amount of water evaporated from the soil, is important in determining optimal irrigation. Based on the local ET, the controller fine-tunes its watering schedule so that the landscape receives only the amount of water it needs, eliminating over-watering and minimizing urban runoff.

Because smart controllers regulate water in the most efficient way, they give builders a tool that reduces water-related risks. Public agency studies show that smart controllers irrigate efficiently for plant needs and reduce water bills at the same time. For common areas in developments, the controllers never need manual resets, also saving maintenance time. And by reducing or eliminating over-watering, builders can market the water and cost savings as benefits to their customers and tenants.

Water quality and control requirements are becoming a standard feature of the permitting process, and the maze of regulations can be truly daunting for builders. But these new technologies are helping to ease the permit process and achieve the efficiency and environmental goals dictated by regulations. THB

Tom Ash is director of conservation alliances for HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc., provider of WeatherTRAK smart irrigation controllers and services. He can be reached at tomh2o@cox.net.