If your client is considering having an irrigation system installed on a project, hiring an irrigation consultant can be vital to the process. A few points that you should be aware of are:
1) Good, long-lasting irrigation systems can be expensive.
2) An irrigation system is basically a utility, which is costly to modify after being installed.
3) Irrigation controller technology is both sophisticated and ever-changing.
Why not just release a ‘performance spec’ and go about it from a design-build approach? This usually results in distributors designing against each other with ‘competitive pricing’ as the dominant influencer. The project manager may not realize that they could be handicapping themselves (and their client) in their quest for a good, quality system by taking this route.
First, whenever a sale is an uncertainty, one of the contractors’ biggest concerns will be cost control of their design efforts. Potential site problems, which may deserve careful field review and analysis, will likely be handled on an ‘assumption’ basis. And, quotations/bid forms will usually be written so that incorrect assumptions will revert back to the client/developer or general contractor.
Second, the contractor’s next biggest concern will be cost of the system’s components. Competing contractors/distributors will usually not suggest the latest, state-of-the-art products to the prospective customer because they will be worried that their competition will undercut them and win the bid. This is true with whole-good products (sprinklers, drip, valves and controllers), and especially true with ‘allied’ components of the system (pipe, wire, fittings, gate valves). The premium products that can create an efficient and sustainable system (using water-saving products) just won’t make it onto the project. Even on a non-LEED project, the system could be ‘WaterSmart’ if a Certified Irrigation Designer (consultant) is involved on the project from the very beginning.
If the client and/or design team is interested in having an irrigation system that incorporates some of the newer, state-of-the-art products that conserve water and create a high-efficiency system, then the team should consider hiring a professional irrigation consultant for the project. (Not many contractors have the Irrigation Association’s ‘Certified Irrigation Designer’ certification.) The sole aim of an irrigation consultant is to design an efficient/productive system that will fulfill the project’s needs for the long term. They are not in the business to sell sprinklers, nor are they concerned with the ‘market share’ of manufacturers.
Measured against the initial cost of a new system, the money spent for irrigation consulting services may well turn out to be the wisest investment in the overall design/construction process, and a good guarantee that the new system will work for the long term. The irrigation design and consulting fees on commercial projects may range from $1500-$20,000; however, most probably average between $2-4000 per project.
On a well-designed system, typical operational savings might be around $2000 per season ($1000 from reduced water-use, and $1000 from fewer service/repair calls). That common scenario illustrates a payback-period of as little as two-years for the services of a Certified Irrigation Designer.
If you would like to learn more, contact Jim Davis at 314-541-2779 or email him at: [email protected]
