We believe in healthy, attractive landscapes that are efficiently irrigated. Thriving plants create substantial value, well-being, and beauty when sustainably grown in our communities.
However, over a third of all water used to irrigate commercial and public urban landscapes is not beneficially applied. Improvements in irrigation efficiency will center on people. That is where we come in.
What We Do
For each site, we chart how actual water use compares to a budget benchmark based on site-specific characteristics & real-time weather. Regular updates help people track progress and receive feedback on their actions. Calculations can be difficult for customers and landscape managers to make, and so we assist. Our metrics are irrigation-focused and interactive.
Beyond identifying potential irrigation problems, we use our irrigation expertise to recommend solutions. Our internal algorithms continually analyze water use at each site to identify leaks, seasonal misapplications, and poor sprinkler performance. For targeted sites accepting additional help, our irrigation experts conduct on-site landscape field surveys to generate detailed diagnostics. When relevant, we encourage tapping water agency financial rebates to offset improvement costs.
Stakeholders at commercial and public irrigation sites - water bill customers, property managers, HOA board members, maintenance staff, and landscape contractors - often oversee multiple sites in multiple communities. Our award winning platform provides a centralized place to help stakeholders better understand, prioritize, communicate, and act on solutions toward the non-controversial goal of improving irrigation efficiency across all their sites.
Results
Historically, sites in our program have reduced average overwatering by over 50%. The counter above translates water saved by our sites since 2010 into the average daily flow out of Yosemite.
Where We Operate
Since 2003, Waterfluence has partnered with water agencies to improve water efficiency at large commercial and public irrigation sites. Hubbed in the Bay Area of California, Waterfluence operates throughout the Western United States. Waterfluence is a free service for customers of our partnering water agencies.
Who We Are
John Whitcomb, Program Director, is a behavioral scientist who has worked with over 100 water agencies on projects related to landscape irrigation, water efficiency, and software development. John holds a BA in economics and geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a PhD in geography and environmental engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. He loves to kayak on water saved by this program!
Chris Willig, Field Survey Manger, is a horticultural and irrigation expert with over 25 years of direct experience with large urban landscapes in California. He has personally completed over 800 Field Surveys totaling 9 square miles of landscaping. Chris has developed training programs, manuals, and tests for irrigation water management certification programs. Mr. Willig earned a BA in Biology from California State University, Northridge and a MS in Horticulture from the University of California, Davis. He is certified as Master Landscape Water Auditor in the State of California and as a Landscape Irrigation Auditor by the Irrigation Association.
Melissa Kunz, Communications Manager, handles communications and report distribution, and also wrangles with maps and website features. While working for a municipal water department, she led efforts to improve customers' understanding of water use and efficiency. Melissa has a BS in Earth Systems from Stanford University and enjoys trail running.
David Baker, IT Manager, works behind the scenes to keep our website running and data secure. Although most of his time is spent working with machines, he takes a real interest in making websites usable for people and loves the outdoors. David has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
More details for:
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Water Agencies
Water Savings. Sites in the Waterfluence program have reduced their overwatering, on average, by more than 50%. Ours is one of the most cost-effective programs available to balance water demands with limited water supplies. 
Irrigation-Centric Communications. Water bills often fail to effectively communicate irrigation performance and exclude key stakeholders. Waterfluence’s platform is designed for these purposes with specialized customer relationship management capabilities. 
Water Budget Flexibility. Our water budgets follow the landscape coefficient method factoring in landscape area, plant type, irrigation system efficiency, and real time weather. We can adjust budgets for reuse, winter overseeding, native and desert-adopted landscapes, among other factors. 
Regulatory Compliance. We help agencies comply with state and regional regulatory water efficiency targets. 
Customer Analytics. Understanding how the frequency and magnitude of overwatering varies by customer segment can help agencies better serve their customers and formulate policies. 
Data Security. Protecting the privacy and security of customer data is critical. Waterfluence’s online platform is hosted at Amazon Web Services using the highest security standards. 
Regional Consistency. Minimizing landscape overwatering goes beyond a given agency’s service boundaries. Transformation of the large landscape ecosystem requires a unified approach across agencies. 
Geographic Information Systems Expertise. Waterfluence has mapped irrigated areas at over 5,000 sites using a variety of approaches and technologies. Agencies use our expertise to navigate through GIS options. 
Drought Curtailment. During the 2014-2016 California drought, agencies used Waterfluence’s water budgets as a basis for allocating scarce water supplies. 
Hourly Water Data Utilization. Agencies with advanced metering infrastructures can use Waterfluence to transmit detailed information, alerts and recommendations specific to landscape irrigation. 
Turn-Key Solution. With limited staff time, agencies can outsource all program-related tasks to Waterfluence. 
Award-winning Platform. Watefluence’s cloud platform is already built, tested, and ready! -
Landscape Contractors
Save Time. Waterfluence collects and organizes water and water budget information for all your sites in one place in a consistent fashion. For sites not sponsored by one of our participating water agencies, contractors can add their own sites to their portfolio. Contractors or invited clients can add new water use records using our easy input interface. 
Improve Teamwork. Contractors can add multiple employees to the platform to view and coordinate the company site portfolio. 
Client Relations and Retention. Clients appreciate the transparency and inclusion with water management decisions. Such information helps property managers and owners quantify potential benefits from needed irrigation system improvements performed by the contractor. 
Employee Water Management Education. Waterfluence provides a framework and feedback to improve employee knowledge and actions regarding water efficiency. 
Company Branding. The Waterfluence platform publically recognizes contractors irrigating to budget. Controller Maps. A good controller map is vital to understanding water management at a site. Waterfluence can assist in creating maps including the area associated with each irrigation zone. Award-winning Platform. Watefluence’s cloud platform is already built, tested, and ready!
