Saving Water and Keeping Urban Landscapes Green: Lessons from Chile

The 27-hectare Bicentennial Park is the pride of Vitacura, a district in eastern Santiago de Chile. An urban oasis in the sprawling capital, the park is packed with plant species and recreational lawns and provides welcome respite to residents.

However, given the extensive drought affecting Central Chile, green areas like these are under threat like never before. This led the park’s maintenance company to contact AQUA4D LatAm in the search for greater efficiencies through integrated water management and precision irrigation.

Harnessing Technology-as-a-Service for water efficiency

Núcleo Paisajismo S.A. maintain the park through its subsidiary Akro Diseño, and oversaw the installation of an AQUA4D® system in early 2022 (as reported in Chile’s El Mercurio newspaper). While installation itself is always quite straightforward, any AQUA4D® project reaches its full potential when accompanied by agronomical consultancy and exact measurement.

Consequently, an important part of this project was ongoing analysis of the effect of this innovative Precision Irrigation on actual consumption and efficiencies at the park. After just 6 months, the results have produced excitement and hope for a sustainable future of vital urban green spaces.

Result: Water savings

AQUA4D® technology is proven to keep soils moist for longer, and by tracking this moisture and other factors, agronomical experts can advise on modifications to irrigation practices which can lead to double-digit water savings.

Even in the early weeks and months, it was clear that significant changes in water consumption were taking place.

To calculate the savings generated, data on historical water consumption from March to June were compared with 2022. This data records the water entering through meters in the lagoon which supplies the park’s irrigation water. As shown in the table below, side-by-side comparison from three water meters produced an average of 41% water saved from March to July year-on-year:

At the same time, in collaboration with Turfchile, moisture monitoring was carried out at 50 points in the large grassy area in front of Vitacura City Hall with the use of the Field Scout probe. These probes confirmed AQUA4D’s effect in retaining moisture in the soil, with average moisture content in this area at 42.35%, which is high for the type of terrain.

Image: Moisture measurements performed in conjunction with Turfchile.

Result: Irrigation reduction

With soils staying moist for longer, AQUA4D LatAm experts were able to advise on changes to irrigation practices at the park. The work of adjusting irrigation times, together with reviewing results in the field, was carried out in conjunction with the park’s maintenance team, coordinated by Fernanda Méndez. This led to irrigation times being reduced by 15% and frequencies adjusted according to field needs. In total, this is projected to have generated water use efficiencies of 21%.

“At the start of June a third reduction in irrigation time, corresponding to 15%, was started, which will be applied only when irrigation is necessary,” reports IST Group’s Alfredo Burgos. “This is due to the fact that AQUA4D® technology has maintained more moisture in the soil. So in consultation with the park’s team, we advised further irrigation cuts which saved water while maintaining turf quality.”

Result: Cleaner sprinklers

Further efficiencies have been observed in Vitacura due to the very practical matter of better-functioning sprinklers.

In the above Turfchile image the color variations indicate areas of moisture difference, such as in the center and at the edges. This can be attributed to problems with the sprinklers and filters, clogged with dirt, which led to a low uniformity of irrigation.

AQUA4D® technology ensures organic matter does not cling to drippers, sprinklers, filters and pipes, by making the water more hydrophobic (this video explains the science). Accordingly, water quality improved while increasing uniformity and reducing wastage.

Next steps

The work carried out in the first half of 2022 has undoubtedly optimized the use of water resources, together with maintaining soil moisture within optimum range – with equal or better plant health. At the same time, existing inefficiencies due to clogging have been removed and the park’s irrigation systems are cleaner than ever. Thanks to these changes, the park management are confident of starting the irrigation season with a 100% operational and efficient system, and maintaining water efficiency through the warmer seasons.

In a country under notable water stress, cutting water use almost in half is a significant achievement, which will hopefully mean these green areas can be enjoyed for many years to come.

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Find out more:

Grass is truly greener at AZ Alkmaar’s AFAS Training Complex

The Chilean Municipalities Using Swiss Technology To Achieve Water Conservation Objectives

Sustainable Transformations at OGC Nice Through Precision Irrigation

AQUA4D LatAm’s Felipe Villarino at the Parque Bicentenario installation