Lot Lines » site renovation

Why Do Water Providers Want You to Use Less Water?

Matt Corrion — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:27:13 +0000

It’s good for the environment.

It can save you money on water bills and maintenance.

There are many reasons for you to renovate your landscaping to save water. But why would a water provider or utility want you to use less of what they provide- water?

Since we work with customers to reduce their water-use, we hear this question quite often. It does seem counter intuitive: Why would someone who is in the business of selling water want you to use less of it- in many cases offering rebates and incentives to do so?

Can you imagine a Walmart employee standing outside of the store offering to give you $20 back, if you spent LESS money inside the store?

There are a few key reasons why water conservation is encouraged by water providers:

First, water demand will always continue to increase, regardless of how much our water use is reduced. Population growth and land development put a great deal of strain on our water supply and the water delivery system.

Because the demand will always be there, it is in the water provider’s best interest to slow the rate of growth as much as possible. There are large systems for treating, storing, and delivering water that need constant expansion and repair.

Secondly, water conservation is already built into the billing system. Most water suppliers now use a conservation-oriented “tiered” rate structure. These rate structures charge a base rate regardless of how much water is used, and separate rates for the levels of water that is actually consumed.

Finally, water utilities often consist of complex public/private partnerships, so there are environmental and public health considerations that are just as important as profit. Would we really want our water system to be based totally on how much revenue and profit could be generated?

When considering the public good in terms of water conservation, there are numerous considerations: Preparedness for droughts; the health of our rivers, lakes, and streams, and aquifers; impacts to other cities and states “downstream”; and even national security.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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The 2 Common Types of Rebates Available for Renovating Your Landscaping to Save Water

Matt Corrion — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:43:39 +0000

Landscape rebates are becoming popular across the county as water conservation becomes a bigger issue and more people look for ways to save water.

Population growth is straining water supplies and delivery systems, causing many water providers to provide great incentives to reduce water use. Homeowner’s, businesses, and HOA’s are also looking for ways to trim their budgets and increase their long-term sustainability.

But landscape renovations can get expensive. Thankfully, there are some great rebates out there that you can take advantage of to help offset the costs. When you factor in the rebates, as well as significant water and maintenance savings, a landscape renovation can make a lot of sense for your property.

Irrigation Upgrades vs. Turf Removal

Most of the rebates out there focus on 2 main areas: Irrigation Upgrades and Turf Removal.

Irrigation upgrade rebates are offered to water customers to increase the efficiency of their irrigation systems. Rebates are often offered to install more efficient spray nozzles, rain sensors, and controllers.

The rebates for these items are usually calculated per item installed, for example, $5 per efficient rotary nozzle, and $50 for a rain sensor. For larger commercial properties there are often limit to the maximum rebate that can be obtained.

Turf removal rebates are geared toward removing areas of high water-use landscaping (usually lawns and turfgrass) and replacing those areas with low water-use landscaping. The replacement landscaping can consist of Xeriscape, native plants, and a variety of colorful shrubs, perennials, trees, and ornamental grasses.

This approach has the ability to lower water use dramatically, as the landscape itself is being changed to REQUIRE less water to be healthy. As such, the rebates offered for a turf removal landscape renovation are generally much higher.

Turf removal rebates are usually calculated based on the square feet of the area being changed, for example $1.50 or $2.50 per square foot of area that is changed from high water-use to low water-use. The total amount available varies by water provider or City, and can be a couple thousand dollars to as much as $25,000 and more for larger properties.

When pursuing a turf removal type rebate, a good landscape design can be very beneficial and is often required in order to get the rebate. Most rebates require that the replacement landscaping consist of a variety of low water-use plantings that will help to create an interesting and beautiful replacement landscape.

Consider hiring a professional landscape architect- In most cases the rebate you receive will more than pay for the services of a professional, and your experience will be a lot more enjoyable. In some cases, additional rebates are offered to customers who use a professional to do the design.

It takes a little bit of research to figure out which rebate is right for you, but in the end a rebate can be a great way to offset the cost of renovating your landscaping.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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How to Design Your Landscape to be a Sponge for Rainwater

Matt Corrion — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:07:53 +0000

The following video by Brad Lancaster illustrates how much water the landscape is capable of absorbing- Check it out! I first saw Brad do a presentation a couple of years ago in Denver, and he is a really funny and effective presenter with some great ideas.

How can this be applied to our own residential and commercial landscapes?

Brad advocates a change in the way rainwater and storm drainage is thought of. Often times buildings are designed to get water to drain off of the site as quickly as possible, and into an elaborate system of storm drains. This approach treats rainwater as a nuisance, where it is not being used on the site at all. With a landscape design and drainage design that captures and directs water so that it can be used for gardens, flowers, and trees, this water can be utilized on-site as a valuable resource.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Using Aerial Photos to View a Water Saving Landscape Renovation – Before and After

Matt Corrion — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:33:49 +0000

This idea popped into my head one night at the end of a busy day. As I have written about in the past, one of our specialties at Outdoor Design Group is to work with large residential and commercial properties to renovate their landscaping to save water and maintenance. We call these our Site Renovation services. Often times the landscape is drastically changed, as we convert high water-use areas (usually irrigated lawns) into more sustainable Xeriscape style landscaping with trees, flowering shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. I already knew what these changes looked like on the ground, but I wondered what they might look like from the sky…

In the project above, we worked with a home owner’s association (HOA) to design and oversee the installation of a water-saving landscape renovation. Significant drainage problems were also addressed in the design. The aerial photo above shows Phase 1 of the improvements. Because the high water-use turf areas were replaced with low water-use Xeriscape plantings, the renovation shown above will result in water savings of over 900,000 gallons of water per year that will no longer be needed for irrigation. Because of the success of the project, the client asked us to design 2 more large phases that were subsequently completed.

The site in the second example, shown above, included a long narrow strip of irrigated lawn along the border of a multi-family property. The lawn area was not being utilized by the residents, and since it was on a west facing slope the grass did not grow well and the irrigation water often produced wasteful run-off onto the parking lot and into the storm drain. Furthermore, the adjacent wood fence along this strip was getting severely damaged by the overspray from the irrigation. As I noted in a previous post, this is a condition to avoid.

The design solution for this landscape renovation was to limit the lawn areas to smaller, yet large enough to be usable, areas for the resident and their dogs. We also utilized non-irrigated native seeding (visible in the lower left hand corner of the site) in the back areas along the fence. This landscape renovation project resulted in significant reductions in water-use and maintenance, saving the community association a substantial amount of money in their annual budget.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Outdoor Design Group Photo Simulations

Matt Corrion — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:33:06 +0000

I was recently discussing a project with a client and they were unaware that we had the capability to do photo simulations showing what a proposed project would look like. This can be a valuable tool for visualizing a design, as well as being useful to show planning commissions, city councils, and the public what the impact of a new project or site renovation will be.

Below are two examples of “quick and dirty” photo simulations that we recently completed on fast turnaround schedules. We also have the capability in our office to do larger and much more detailed and elaborate simulations, as well as 3D graphics through a talented outside consultant. If you are looking for an effective way to communicate your design concept this may be a great solution- just give us a call!

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Up to $25,000 Rebates Available through 2010 Aurora Xeriscape Program

Matt Corrion — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:05:28 +0000

More communities are realizing that Xeriscape (low water use landscaping) makes sense, and are actively promoting it.

photo of a converted xeriscape that was previously a lawn area

The City of Aurora, Colorado and Aurora Water have been pioneers in water conservation through supporting regionally appropriate landscape design. Outdoor Design Group has been actively involved with the program for the last couple of years. For 2010, the Xeriscape Rebate program has been allocated $250,000 dollars for rebates to convert high water use landscapes (sod, turf, or lawn) to Xeriscape.

In past posts on this blog, I have documented the money and water savings and given examples of the beauty of these landscapes. Each site is different, but in general you can expect a reduction in irrigation water use of 30-70%, and a 20-40% reduction of landscape maintenance costs. This is a great opportunity for HOA’s, commercial properties, and homeowners to achieve long-term savings, in addition to acquiring the rebates.

Here are some key aspects of the 2010 program, from Aurora Water’s website:

Xeriscape is a great landscape option for our climate because of its reduced watering needs and ability to tolerate periods of drought.
In addition to decreased water consumption and resilience to drought, Xeriscape has the potential to significantly decrease time and resources expended on maintenance.
Aurora Water customers interested in Xeriscape as a landscape alternative may be eligible for a rebate of up to $1 per square foot for turf grass that is replaced with low water use plant material.
$250,000 has been allocated for the 2010 season. The maximum square footage (rebate) is $10,000 for residential and $25,000 for commercial and large properties such as Homeowner’s Associations and multi-family dwellings.

For commercial and large properties such as home owners associations- the program requires that you haver a plan prepared by a licensed landscape architect. This is a good idea anyway, as a landscape architect can help you prepare a budget and phasing for the project before you commit to a contractor to do the installation. Landscape architects are also good at communicating what the new landscape will look like- through the use of plans, photos, drawings, and presentations.

Aurora is an ideal community for a rebate program like this, because there are many older landscapes were built in the 1970′s, 80′s and 90′s, and are ready for a renovation simply to update the look of outdated properties. Although most new landscape codes mandate low water use landscaping, that was not the case in the past- many older landscapes were designed in a way that requires large amounts of water and maintenance.

But Aurora is far from alone in offering this type of program. Water supplies are stretched extremely thin throughout most of the Western United States. A simple Google search for “Xeriscape rebate” brings up 26,400 results. Similar programs exist throughout Colorado, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and elsewhere.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Xeriscape Rebate Programs Provide a Great Opportunity for HOA’s and other Property Owners

Matt Corrion — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:04:44 +0000

The following slideshow includes images from our latest completed project- Phases 1 and 2 of a complete site renovation for the Villas at Aspen Ridge condominium complex in Aurora, Colorado:

This $400,000 project entailed correcting some serious drainage problems and replacing outdated high water-use landscaping with new low water-use landscaping as part of Aurora’s Xeriscape Rebate Program. Outdoor Design Group worked with the HOA to design the improvements, submit plans to the City for approval, and apply for the Xeriscape rebate. We then worked with the general contractor in the field on the re-grading of large areas, piping of downspouts, and the creation of drainage swales. Finally, we provided bid procurement services for installation of the approved landscape and irrigation design, and worked closely in the field with the selected landscape contractor to complete the project.

Through careful planning, design, and coordination, we were able to obtain the maximum possible Xeriscape rebate for the HOA while reducing the water-use and associated costs by over 60%. The maintenance costs for the landscaping are expected to be reduced by 20-40% with the new low-maintenance approach.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Save Money and Water by Converting Sod to Xeriscape

Matt Corrion — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:43:06 +0000

It’s easier to do and can provide bigger savings than you might think. And, if your renovation is well designed, the property has the potential to gain significant curb appeal and value. Take the multi-family HOA (home owner’s association) property below, for example:

The plain old high-maintenance traditional landscape is on the left, and the same property is shown on the right after one of our renovations using a Xeriscape approach. The finished product has numerous beautiful flowering shrubs and perennials, ornamental grasses, and trees that will continue to grow over the next couple of seasons into an attractive and lush landscape.

What are the other advantages, you ask, and how does this save money?

* As an example, we have estimated the first phase of the project above will save over 380,000 gallons of water per year, at a savings of over $6,000 per year. Thats a lot of water.
* For the entire property, we estimate a potential savings of 4,500,000 gallons of water a year, at a savings of over $31,000 per year! ~Now, that is a LOT of water!
* We have found that Xeriscape vs. sod has a 20-40% reduction in maintenance costs (aside from the water savings). It turns out that all of that weekly mowing, trimming, aerating, thatching, fertilizing, etc. and all the gas required for the equipment to maintain large areas of sod can really add up. The Xeriscape, by comparison requires little maintenance (more on that in a future blog post).
* Ask any engineer and they will tell you putting water around the foundations of buildings, onto parking lots, retaining walls (almost anything) will lead to structural failures in freeze/thaw climates. Eliminating the need for all that watering is a good idea.
* Drought- Colorado had a big one from 2000-2003. California is experiencing one now. There will be more, and when they hit do you really want to pay twice as much for extra irrigation water, or watch sod go brown due to watering restrictions? Xeriscape can handle drought much better, and is more adapted overall to our arid climate.
* Many water districts, cities, and municipalities are offering sizable rebates to convert to lower water-use landscapes.

Don’t get me wrong- some areas of bluegrass sod are fine. Everyone loves to step barefoot onto some freshly mowed grass! And you can’t beat the green color- That’s why in our designs we locate appropriate areas for sod where they will have the most impact, where people can enjoy them, and where they can be easily maintained. But sod on a south-facing slope in full sun that bakes to a crisp is no good- and have you ever stepped barefoot onto a sodded parking lot island? Me neither.

With the right planning and design guidance, these same principles can be applied to properties of any size- from small residences to large office parks. For some great examples of how this can be applied to different types of properties, see our case studies for commercial, multi-family HOA, single-family HOA, metro districts, and office properties.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Interview with Urban Design Podcast about Site Renovations

Matt Corrion — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:09:17 +0000

I was recently interviewed by Arina Habich for the website Urban Design Podcast about our “site renovation planning and design” services for commercial properties. Visit the site to listen to the interview and to see the accompanying photos.

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Going from “builder bushes” to an Attractive and Unique Landscape

Matt Corrion — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:12:02 +0000

We just completed our latest residential project in Arvada and I thought I would share some photos of the project:

Notice the overgrown and poorly placed shrubs that the builder had originally put in (in the “before” slides). Not much thought went into the original plant selection. I can’t blame the builder entirely, as they typically hire a landscape company to knock out a bunch of inexpensive landscapes in one fell swoop. But this goes to show that a poor landscape design can have a negative lasting impact on a builder/developer’s image. It may have looked OK the day it was installed, but they chose plants that were too large for the space- not to mention downright boring. A couple of rows of 4 shrubs of the same species doesn’t cut it if you want to be competitive today with buyers and homeowners.

With our help, the owners now have a well thought-out landscape that will also require less maintenance and water. No more mowing and trimming all that sod right up against the back fence- instead they can enjoy plantings and a water feature to look at out their back window and from their deck!

This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.

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Lot Lines » site renovation

Why Do Water Providers Want You to Use Less Water?

There are a few key reasons why water conservation is encouraged by water providers:

Related Posts:

The 2 Common Types of Rebates Available for Renovating Your Landscaping to Save Water

Irrigation Upgrades vs. Turf Removal

Related Posts:

How to Design Your Landscape to be a Sponge for Rainwater

Related Posts:

Using Aerial Photos to View a Water Saving Landscape Renovation – Before and After

Related Posts:

Outdoor Design Group Photo Simulations

Related Posts:

Up to $25,000 Rebates Available through 2010 Aurora Xeriscape Program

Related Posts:

Xeriscape Rebate Programs Provide a Great Opportunity for HOA’s and other Property Owners

Related Posts:

Save Money and Water by Converting Sod to Xeriscape

Related Posts:

Interview with Urban Design Podcast about Site Renovations

Related Posts:

Going from “builder bushes” to an Attractive and Unique Landscape

Related Posts: