|
||||
|
|
Printer
Friendly Version 
PGMS
Member Area > PGMS Knowledge Center
By
Dr. Gary L Wade At times when I’m traveling across the state preaching about the environmental and economic benefits of Xeriscape (pronounced Zera-scape for those who have a problem saying those X words), I can relate to Chicken Little and his proclamation “the sky is falling.” The statement “we’re running out of water” often draws the same sort of apathetic response. Sometimes
the Xeriscape concept even provokes negative comments from the audience.
“You’re killing my business!” said one irate commercial
landscaper after hearing my presentation. “If I follow your
advice and use less water, use less fertilizer and prune less often,
I’m NOT going to be able to stay in business because I charge
my customers for my time on the job,” he added. “That’s
not entirely true,” I countered. “The Xeriscape concept
can make you money. Let me show you how.” Xeriscapes
not only are low-maintenance landscapes (another strong selling
point in today’s market), they also are economically practical.
By implementing the seven steps of Xeriscape when designing a new
landscape or retrofitting an existing landscape, you can reduce
maintenance requirements and thereby reduce your fixed costs as
well as those of your client, WHILE INCREASING YOUR PROFIT MARGIN! For example, let’s say your fixed cost (materials, labor and equipment) on the maintenance of a traditional landscape is $10,000. By implementing the Xeriscape approach to the same landscape occupying the same space, you will likely be able to reduce your fixed costs of maintenance by 20% or $2,000 (less input = less cost). Here is how the numbers might look in a hypothetical example of what I’m talking about: Traditional
Landscape Maintenance:
Xeriscape-type
Landscape Maintenance:
Notice
that by reducing your direct costs via less input, you can increase
your profit margin by 10% and still save your clients money. In
fact, if you were somewhat greedy, as I would be in the business
world, you would have enough flexibility to increase your profit
to 45% ($3,600) and still come in with a bid $1,400 less than the
traditional landscape. Your client will love saving money, and you’ll
love him or her for making you money! A WATER-CONSERVING XERISCAPE
NOT ONLY SAVES WATER…IT ALSO SAVES MONEY. What a powerful selling
tool for this practical, low-maintenance approach to environmental
conservation! The
economic benefits of a water-saving landscape can further be illustrated
by using water and wastewater rate data for several cities in metro
Atlanta. Water rate data, for seven cities in metro Atlanta having
a uniform water rate structure, was used to compute an average residential
water rate per 1,000 gallons (see Table 1). A uniform rate structure
is one in which the price of water per unit remains constant regardless
of the consumption, so the cost of water is directly proportional
to the amount of water used. Fifty-eight percent of the water utilities
in metro Atlanta use a uniform rate structure, a structure which
promotes water conservation. Using the data in Table 1 (shown below), an average water rate of $4.26/1,000 gallons was computed and used to compare water cost under various irrigation regimes typically specified in the Xeriscape model. Similarly, an average wastewater rate of $4.81/1,000 gallons was computed using data from six of the same cities (see Table 2). (It’s interesting to note that wastewater disposal rates to carry the water off a property are higher, on the average, than the cost of water itself – guess that reinforces the old adage that it “costs more to leave this world than to enter it”).
Using
water and wastewater rates from Tables 1 and 2, the next step was
to calculate the projected annual cost of irrigation water and wastewater
runoff per 1,000 square feet of landscaped area under the three
water-use zones. High water-use zones are limited areas in a Xeriscape
where plants are provided supplemental irrigation as needed to maintain
optimum growth and performance. Plants in the moderate water-use
zones are watered only when they show signs of stress, while low
water-use zones, the largest area in a Xeriscape, are not irrigated. Typically
one inch of water is recommended at each irrigation to thoroughly
wet the root zone. This is equivalent to 600 gallons per 1,000 square
feet, according to the literature, although these recommendations
frequently fail to compensate for such things as soil type, existing
soil moisture and temperature. Using these data and the assumptions shown in Table 3 below, an annual average savings of $196.20 was shown for each 1,000 square feet of landscaped area converted from a high water-use zone. If a typical residential property (1/2 acre lot) contains 15,000 square feet of landscaped area (trees, shrubs, turf and flowers), and as little as 20% (3,000 square feet) of it is converted from a high water-use zone to a low water-use zone via a retrofit from water-demanding plants to drought-tolerant ones, an annual savings of $588.60 could be realized in water and sewage costs alone. Add to this savings realized through the reduction of other inputs (i.e. Fertilizers, pesticides and labor) and the annual savings could be well over $1,000; enough to pay for the retrofit in short order.
The
moral of this rather lengthy scenario is that water-saving landscapes
are not only an environmentally friendly approach to landscape management,
but also an economically practical approach you can bank on. Despite
the growing public concern and interest in the environment, most
clients are reluctant to adopt the water-saving principles just
because it is good for the environment. But “show them the
money” they can save, and they’ll jump on the concept
like fleas on a hairy dog (or is it dawg?). Today,
more than ever, “The Environment is Our Business,” and
profitability and success await those who make it part of their
business. Accompanying Story: Drought-proofing the Landscape: Making Every Drop Count
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |