Things You Need to Know About Water | THINK WATER AUCKLAND https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/ Thu, 21 May 2020 02:18:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Auckland Water Restrictions Announced – What Can You Do? https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/auckland-water-restrictions-announced-what-can-you-do/ Thu, 21 May 2020 02:09:50 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=2957     Many of you will be aware that for the first time in 25 years Water Restrictions are being introduced this Saturday 16th May in the Auckland Metropolitan area. Fortunately, at this time of year, most established gardens do not need irrigation.

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Managing irrigation during a drought

 

Many of you will be aware that for the first time in 25 years Water Restrictions are being introduced this Saturday 16th May in the Auckland Metropolitan area. Fortunately, at this time of year, most established gardens do not need irrigation. However, with no significant rainfall forecast for the foreseeable future – new lawns or ‘thirsty’ gardens will need additional water.

According to the Auckland Council and Watercare websites, domestic water users are not allowed to use a hose or water blaster.

What You Can Do

However, we are allowed to water with a bucket and those of us with an in-ground watering system are allowed to use them although this is ‘strongly discouraged’. Commercial customers can irrigate if their systems are fitted with a soil moisture or rain sensor.

Watercare also says “we can only restrict activities we can see”. We interpret this to mean that we can water if absolutely necessary and it should be as efficiently as possible. Most professionals will prefer their automatic systems run early in the morning, typically between 5am and 6.30am. At this time of year we should be reducing the frequency of start times and the lengths of the run times or reducing the ‘seasonal adjustment’ feature on your controllers.

Making It Easier and More Efficient

The latest controllers are WiFi enabled, run in conjunction with a rain sensor and can also be linked to local weather stations to water only when needed.

Winter is a great time of year to consider installing an irrigation system or servicing and upgrading your existing system so you don’t get caught short.

Remember

Next summer is only just around the corner! So now is a great time to give us a call and book your upgrades and services.

 

Hydrawise irrigation controler

Learn More About Hydrawise and Order

 

Hunter Rain-Cliks

Learn More About Hunter Rain-Cliks and Order

 

 

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Rain Water Harvesting – Devonport Auckland https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/rain-water-harvesting/rain-water-harvesting-devonport-auckland/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:35:40 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=174 Last summer, we were contacted by a client in Devonport with a request for a quote for a Rain Water Harvesting system. The client had become increasingly conscious of her sky rocketing water bills and resented paying so much money

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Last summer, we were contacted by a client in Devonport with a request for a quote for a Rain Water Harvesting system. The client had become increasingly conscious of her sky rocketing water bills and resented paying so much money for something that “falls out of the sky”.  In addition she had developed a healthy paranoia about the ‘imminent breakdown of modern day society and our reliance on city power and water’. She therefore wanted to be as “off-grid” as possible.

After doing some research online she found the team at Think Water Auckland were the guys to speak to.

After our first site meeting, it was clear she wanted more than just a tank and garden tap. She wanted to collect the rain water and use it for as much as possible. We suggested some outside taps, plus running the washing machine and toilet off the Rain Water system, but she wanted more than that. We came up with a plan to install a tank and pump and connect to a fully automated 2 zone Irrigation system, outside taps, washing machine, toilet and a Undersink Water Filtration System, giving her the ability to drink the tank water.

Being on a relatively small section meant there were restrictions to the size of the tank we could use. It was decided the most suitable tank and pump system would be a Bailey 4000lt Slimline tank and Grundfos SB submersible pump. The dimensions of the Bailey 4000lt Slimline tank (2.1m high, 2.9M wide and 0.87m Deep) meant it could be “tucked” away nicely down the side of the house, out of way and out of sight. The Grundfos SBA3-45 submersible pump is silent when submerged in water and therefore a noiseless alternative to surface mounted pumps. This also means no pump cover is needed and makes them much less likely to be stolen or tampered with. A Jobe Rojo part fill float valve was installed in the top of the tank from the city mains to maintain a minimum of 800lt in the tank whilst maximising the available capacity to capture as much rain water as possible. With an air break of 200ml between the over-flow line and the float valve, it insured no cross contamination of city water and tank water. The Puretec Ecotrol ESR2 Series was the choice of undersink water filtration. With its 5 micron pleated sediment and 1 micron Silver impregnated moulded cartridges, plus ultraviolet technology meant 99.9% of bacteria was killed. Leaving safe, healthy, crystal clear rain water for  drinking and food preparation.

The client, being a very keen gardener and vegetable grower also required that we install a fully automated 2 zone Hunter Irrigation system. Comprising of Hunter MP Risers and Micro-jet sprays and connected the Irrigation, house toilet and washing machine to the Rain Water System.

After the successful completion of the instillation, the client was very happy with the investment she had made. As a self-confessed “Doomsday Prepper” she has now gone a further 1 step further and had a back-up generator installed to make sure she has running water from the tank even after a power cut. She’s very thankful for the work we completed and the knowledge she’s gained while dealing with the team at Think Water Auckland.

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Think Water Auckland – MOTAT https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/think-water-auckland-motat/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:34:41 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=172 Last summer, we were contacted by Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) to quote to use their harvested rain water to irrigate the planted bank alongside the Museums railway line. After the initial site meeting it was revealed that

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Last summer, we were contacted by Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) to quote to use their harvested rain water to irrigate the planted bank alongside the Museums railway line.

After the initial site meeting it was revealed that the primary concern was not irrigating the plants, but keeping the bark mulch damp through the summer when the steam train was running to minimise the risk of stray sparks setting fire to the foliage and bark mulch. At 700m long and 10m wide this was a little different to our more regular jobs.

The pipe and sprinklers were to be as in-obtrusive as possible and as the train only runs on Sundays, the system would only be operated manually in dry periods whenever the train was running.

There was no need therefore to install a mains ‘top-up’ as, being used so infrequently; the tanks would never run out of water.

The museum already had two 25,000 litre tanks in place that collected rain water off the roof of the huge aviation building.

Our design found that the most cost effective solution involved installing an 8 station Hunter irrigation system using PGP pop-up gear driven sprinklers (the world’s best selling sprinkler), the solenoid valves were via 40mm MDPE pipe fed by a single phase pump; the Davey HM160 -19T with Torrium. This comfortably provides a duty point of 55lpm @ 50 metres. The Torrium controller fitted provides a constant flow water supply system with an all stainless steel pump unit and is adaptive, eliminating cycling, provides loss of prime protection and over temperature cut out. It comes complete with an in-field 2 year warranty.

This just shows that even if you don’t want irrigation and your job relates to controlling water Think Water Auckland is the company to call.

Call William Thorne today and let him assist you with you water requirements.

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Drinking Water Filtration https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/irrigation/filteration/drinking-water-filtration/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:33:22 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=170 City water filtration is becoming more and more popular with our Think Water Auckland store in Greenlane being contacted regularly for options and pricing for point of use kitchen tap style filtration systems. The first question I would ask is

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City water filtration is becoming more and more popular with our Think Water Auckland store in Greenlane being contacted regularly for options and pricing for point of use kitchen tap style filtration systems.

The first question I would ask is “why you would filter water that is already considered to be clean or potable”. There are many reasons, but the two main reasons are, there is a person or persons in the household that are allergic or sensitive to the additives used and/or added during the water authorities’ treatment process, or the other reason is taste odour and for peace of mind. When we talk about taste and odour the first thing that pops into my head is chlorine, as well as chlorine, aluminium is used to treat the water and keep it clean while in transit between the treatment plant and your home, some supplies can also have old pipes containing lead rust and asbestos, therefore the water may or may not be healthy for your family, this is why point of use filtration has become so common.

At Think Water Auckland we have a wide range of options to suit your filtration needs, there are also options when it comes to spouts and taps. In some cases it may not be possible to drill a hole through your bench for an additional filter spout or you may not wish to have an additional filtered water tap so Puretec have developed filters that can filter all the cold water (Purtec Puremix X6 “pictured”) to your kitchen tap or install a stylish new mixer tap with a built in filter spout (Puretec QT12-T5 “pictured”) providing filtered water without the additional clutter of more spouts.

Think Water Auckland offer an installation and maintenance service for all rural and town based water filtration systems and stock replacement cartridges for the major brands such as Microlene, Filterpure and Aquapure.

Call or email one of our team today to discuss your requirements or pop into our store and try our filtered and non-filtered water taste test for yourself.

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Irrigation programming for the Auckland summer https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/irrigation-programming-for-the-auckland-summer/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:29:44 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=164 At this time of year many people are switching on their irrigation systems for the first time in over 6 months. After checking and repairing any leaks and problems we are often asked how it should be programmed. Many landscapers

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At this time of year many people are switching on their irrigation systems for the first time in over 6 months. After checking and repairing any leaks and problems we are often asked how it should be programmed. Many landscapers have differing opinions and every garden is different but we like to keep things as simple as possible.

With Hunter and most other brands of automatic controllers, it is important to remember that only one start time is required and each station or zone will come on in sequence one after another for the number of minutes that is programmed in. Irrigation is most efficient early in the mornings as there tends to be little wind and evaporation (however some people may find the noise disturbs them or the irrigation will interfere with their shower pressures).

We prefer to keep everything on the same program, however occasionally it may be necessary to water with 2 different program’s – for example establishing a new lawn at this time of year needs to be kept constantly moist and requires up to 3 start times per day.

The programming diagram picture attached is of a typical residential set up shows clearly the area of garden that corresponds to each station, number of minutes for each start time.

In the height of summer it is common to have a second daily start time, usually in the evening. This is done simply by turning the dial to “Start Times” and pushing the + or – key until the desired start time is selected.

Seasonal adjustment – this is a handy feature that means that rather than reprogram individual station run times, reducing the seasonal adjustment say to 50% will halve all of the individual station run times.

It is important to realise that if a station start time overlaps with an unfinished station run time, the irrigation can do some erratic things.

At Think Water Auckland we are happy to try and talk you though this over the phone at no charge, or visit out Greenlane store today for all your irrigation needs.

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Do You Want A Green Lush Lawn This Summer? https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/do-you-want-a-green-lush-lawn-this-summer/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:26:30 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=162 Do you want a green lush healthy looking lawn this summer? If so the number one priority will be regular watering. We have a large number of clients come to us each summer season after spending large amounts of money

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Do you want a green lush healthy looking lawn this summer? If so the number one priority will be regular watering. We have a large number of clients come to us each summer season after spending large amounts of money on Ready Lawn™, Hydro Seed (Spray on lawn) and/or WoolGro™ and find that after trying to hand water for the past couple of weeks the lawn has failed or partially failed, this is typically due to the fact the lawn was not watered frequently enough and the water was not applied evenly. These failures can lead to the lawn having to be ripped up and the whole process needing to be repeated at a considerable cost.

There is a common misconception that lawn irrigation is thousands of dollars when in fact a medium sized lawn (60m² – 80m²) can be automatically irrigated for less than $600.00, this allows for eight water efficient Hunter 100mm Pop-ups, Pipe, fittings and a two zone timer (if installed by the home owner). Once a system like this is installed the lawn can be irrigated four times a day for short amounts of time allowing the lawn to put its roots down and establish itself properly, once established most lawns are irrigated once daily. This not only saves you time in standing there with the garden hose but also money as the irrigation nozzles apply the water evenly across the entire lawn.

If you are looking at installing a fine lawn this summer contact one of our team and they will guide you through the whole process of installing your very own automatic pop-up irrigation system.

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Thinkwater Auckland Case Study https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/all/thinkwater-auckland-case-study/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:25:41 +0000 https://aucklandirrigation.co.nz/?p=160 Thinkwater Auckland were contacted by a property manager after a water tank on a rural property had exploded, the tank was found to be an old fibre glass water tank of around 15 – 20 years of age. After investigating

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Thinkwater Auckland were contacted by a property manager after a water tank on a rural property had exploded, the tank was found to be an old fibre glass water tank of around 15 – 20 years of age.

After investigating the cause of the failure it was determined that the trees surrounding the tanks had grown roots below the tanks sand base, these roots over time had increased in diameter causing a point load on the tank base, this had caused a minor crack in the base, over time this crack migrated to the wall of the tank, and once it reached the wall “where a majority of the load is carried” the tank failed in an impressive fashion, at the time of failure the tank was 100% full, so 25,000 litres had to go somewhere, lucky for the client the tank bordered a horse paddock which gave the water an escape route, if this had not been the case major damage could have been caused to the houses foundation.

This left the client with no water at all and Think Water Auckland were called in to assist. Within 24 hours of the initial site visit a new water tank was delivered, installed, plumbed in and filled via a water delivery service, once topped up the clients pump system was returned to normal.

The images show the aggressive nature of the tank failure and illustrate the importance of correctly installing and maintaining tanks and their foundation bases, tanks are typically installed, filled with water and forgotten about other than to periodically check the water level. It should be remembered that the water tank is holding up 30 Tonne of water so if the tank is showing any signs of damage or a collapsing foundation measures should be put in place to correct the issues before a failure occurs.

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