New USU sprinkling system has made watering easier
A new sprinkling system was put in last year across most of Utah State University.
The new system, called a Maxicom system, is centrally computerized. Each station, or group of sprinkler heads, is connected and can be easily modified for varying weather conditions.
The system is also connected to a weather station and automatically adjusts for rain or hot, dry temperatures.
Ellen Newell, landscape manager for USU, said the new system has a variety of benefits.
Multiple stations can be running at one time. On the old system, each station would have to finish its course before another one would start.
She said they would start watering at 3 p.m. and not finish until 8 a.m. the next day.
The Maxicom system allows, for example, stations one, three and five to run at the same time.
This shortens the watering window significantly, Newell said.
Another benefit is it allows watering at the optimum time.
“It’s doing more watering at the best time of day, which is at night, and that’s when no one is on the landscape,” she said.
The system allows the pumps to run for a shorter time with the maximum amount of water running through them, extending the lifespan of the pump, Newell said.
Construction will inhibit the full use of the system this summer, she said.
“Next summer we’ll be in full form,” Newell said.