As golf course superintendents struggle to reduce water use in the face of rising costs, Assured Automation says it is experiencing growing demand for its TM Series Digital Flow Meter, which provides a quantitative analysis of water consumption reduction efforts.

By calculating irrigation volumes, the meter enables golf course superintendents to manage water consumption and avoid costly municipal fines.

The United Nations Environmental Program predicted in a 2007 report that by 2025, 2.5 billion gallons of water will be needed each day to sustain the world's 4.7 billion people – the exact amount, coincidentally, that the world’s golf courses currently consume daily. According to the Center for Irrigation Technology, the US uses approximately 476 billion gallons of water each year to irrigate its golf courses and over the last five years, the municipal costs of water across the country have jumped by an average of 27 per cent.

“More golf courses are completing irrigation audits of existing systems to improve their efficiency or justify the need to replace and modernize the irrigation system,” said Jim Skorulski, the senior agronomist of the United States Golf Association. “Many golf course superintendents also utilize TDR moisture meters and moisture sensors to better track soil moisture content to improve the irrigation system and guide the hand-watering practices.”

Assured Automation recommends installing its TM water meters after flushing the upstream water lines to remove any build-up, along with the use of a bypass line with the company's PTP Series 3-way PVC ball valves upstream and downstream from the water meter. This protects the flow meter from damage and allows for meter maintenance and replacement without disruption of service.

To see a demonstration of the metering system, click here.