Guest Blogger Trulandscape on Tips for Parking Lot Irrigation

Tips for Reducing Parking Lot Irrigation

 

Damaged Parking Lot Concrete

 

Here at Empire Parking Lot Services we have talked extensively about water damage to asphalt paved parking lots. For Southern California the main culprit of this damage has almost always been bad irrigation systems. Seeing that we are experts in asphalt paving but not irrigation, we decided it was time to bring in an expert guest blogger. When it comes to all matters relating to landscape contractors, Trulandscape is our go to source. Our companies have done business with one another for several years now, so I am confident in the information they provide us on the subject. The question we asked Tobi and his staff is the following:

How do property managers and owners solve the problem of heavy irrigation runoff?

Below is the response they provided us on this subject. I would like to thank Tobi and his staff for these answers, and we look forwards to answering any of their paving contractor questions their readers may have for us.

 

How to solve problems with irritating irrigation runoff in large parking lots

This blog stresses the importance of proper irrigation in large parking lots and outlines crucial preventative measures.  Keep reading if you own or maintain a large parking lot.

To begin with an example, TRU Landscape Services was awarded a landscape maintenance account in Anaheim California.  This account has several commercial buildings on the property, each surrounded by large parking lots.  During our walkthrough with the customer, they brought up a concern with sprinkler runoff on the parking lot asphalt.  The irrigation was one of the primary issues we were hired to fix because runoff was damaging the asphalt.  Proper irrigation is a preventative measure that will save money and keep people safe from tripping or slipping.  There are 3 preventative measures that we were able to implement on this lot. 

Damaged Asphalt

 

Orange County  Landscape Maintenance

But before the 3 crucial irrigation tips, let’s look at some of the reasons why water runoff is such a costly issue.

Water costs are increasing. Because the Western United States has been in a severe drought for the last several years, the water departments are trying to educate the public on water usage.  At the same time, the drought keeps pushing water rates higher.  In the future, will the luxury of watering your own lawn belong only to the wealthy?  Landscape areas take up to 65% of the total water used by an average person per month.  That adds up to a large monthly bill for a commercial property.  On top of these water costs, the damage that runoff does to parking lots could lead to several thousands of dollar of damage for asphalt repair.  When water consistently leaks or sprays from the landscape areas onto the parking lots, it creates cracks in the asphalt.  Large amounts of moisture over time cause a deboning of the aggregate even in properly mixed and poured asphalt.  These cracks become larger over time and can become a tripping hazard.

 Orange County Asphalt Parking Lot

 

Tips for Parking Lot Irrigation

Here are a few of our tried and TRU tips for controlling runoff like in the case above.  The first thing we do is run a complete check of the sprinkler system.  It is important to make all the necessary repairs at this early stage in the process to ensure the water isn’t being wasted.  During this diagnostic, we also adjust all of the sprinklers so that none spray the parking lot.  For TRU Landscape Services, this maintenance process continues throughout the year.  Every 2 weeks during the summer and once a month during the cold weather months our crews check the sprinklers for proper coverage.  The second tip is to set the irrigation timer to water twice for two short periods rather than once a day for a longer period.  In most parking lot landscapes, the grade of the dirt runs back towards the parking lot which causes the asphalt to prematurely fail due to runoff.  By setting the timer to run twice a day, we use lower amounts of water which in turn doesn’t leak or flow out of the landscape areas onto the asphalt.  The third and final tip for today is that we keep all of the parking lot island’s dirt levels lower along the curb line to help catch excess irrigation water.  If the dirt levels are too high along the rim, it is easy for over-watering to cause runoff into the lot.  In combination, these three tips will ensure that your asphalt is not damaged by improper irrigation from the landscape elements of your large parking lot.

 

TRU Landscape Services cares for our customers and the environment and uses the most up to date products to save water.  And by saving water, we can also keep your water bill lower.  When you hire a professional landscape company to maintain your properties, you will save your company money in the long run.  TRU Landscape Services has been landscaping for over 25 years in Orange County. Visit our website at http://www.trulandscape.com to learn more about our services, or give us a call at (866) 487-1359 for a free estimate on your property.

Have you heard there’s a trusted landscaping company in Orange County?  It’s TRU!

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