water conservation trends

7/27/2019 Water Conservation Trends

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Concerned About the Bottom Lines? TryLandscaping Them.Urban Landscape, October 2009

By: Dennis Kaiser

With its nose for culture, a 42-year legacy of tending

to trendy tastes and a decidedly Southern California

atmosphere, Newport Beachs Fashion Island is one

of the countrys premier open air retail centers, a

showcase for what consumers covet. Its architecture

exudes Mediterranean accents. Its flowering

bougainvillea and Mexican fan palms frame

tranquility.

Look deeper and youll also see hints of whats next

not just for shoppers, but for developers, owners

and managers across the United States whose

landscape needs are being shaped by a challenging

economy, increased environmental awareness, water

conversation and sustainability. Here, parking lot

islands once canvassed with lush green turf have

been replaced with far-less thirsty ornamental

plants. Artfully arrayed shrubbery shadows areas

where turf grass once grew. Seasonal flowers are

giving way to perennial color. The touches are

subtle, barely noticeable to shoppers who are

attracted as much to the beautiful environment as

the stores. But the changes sought by The Irvine Company, the retail centers owner,

acknowledge a geography prone to drought. The changes are achieving maintenance

cost savings and are even helping in reducing air emissions because of the fewer hours

required to mow large acres of lawn.

These days, landscape design, construction and maintenance experts are spending a

lot of time talking with and advising commercial customers about the value of

2000 Avenue of the Stars in Century

City, California is a property that has

successfully incorporated sustainable

landscaping and efficient irrigation to

conserve water and yet maintain

appealing garden settings for workers.

Landscape Architect: SWA Group;

Photo Credits: Goran Kosanovic, SWA

Group


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designing and building great landscapes. In addition, emphasizing how to preserve the

landscaping investment and how to enhance aesthetically pleasing spaces for

employees and visitors with an eye on protecting precarious bottom lines. Frequently,

those conversations are punctuated with references to drip irrigation systems and

smart weather-based controllers, hydro-zoning, native plants and carbon footprints.

Where once landscaping might have been an afterthought, it is creeping higher up on

the developers priority list. It is attracting the attention of property managers looking

to shave rising costs and address tenant and customer appetites for sustainable (read

green) environments. Truth is, landscaping should always be considered within the

equation of operating a property at peak efficiency. The current economy now requires

it and many states and cities are mandating it.

Aesthetics, affordability and efficiency need not be mutually exclusive, and its a

message welcomed by commercial real estate customers who are frequently asking:

What can we do to help save money, save water and keep the place looking sharp?,

said Kelly F. Duke, Vice President, Pre-Construction Services, for Calabasas, Calif.-based

ValleyCrest Landscape Development, a division of the nations largest integrated

landscape services firm, and one of the experts expected to address key sustainable

issues facing the real estate industry at FutureBuild LA 2009.

ULI LAs Green Conference and Expo being held October 20 in Los Angeles was

conceived as a way for developers in Southern California to hear from the leaders in

green design, sustainable building practices and smart water management programs.

In order for real estate leaders in Los Angeles to more fully embrace the concept of

green development, we felt it was important for FutureBuild LA to offer the expertise

and ideas from those whore actually designing and building sustainable projects, as

well as executing smart water conservation concepts, said Karl A. Fielding, an

Environmental Planner with the Los Angeles office of PBS&J, a national multi-

disciplinary consulting firm, and the Program Chair for FutureBuild LA. The net result

is by seeing examples of sustainable developments that are cost effective and hearing

about whats currently happening in our region, conference attendees will gain a

clearer vision of where the industry is going, learn skills and strategies applicable to

their sector, and walk away knowing how to incorporate more sustainable and waterwise practices into new projects in Los Angeles.

One area of potential high impact and significant return-on-investment is a landscape

plan that is grounded in water efficiency. Ideally, that plan is forged and implemented

as part of a projects design and construction process, but very often it is achieved

through modifications much like those implemented at Fashion Island and scores of


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properties from Newport Beach to New York City. The changes tend to revolve around

1) horticulture improvements switching out non-functional lawns and thirsty plants for

more drought-tolerant peers; 2) watering infrastructure the replacement of overhead

irrigation in favor of drip irrigation systems, or the installation of smart water

controllers that adjust automatically to weather conditions; and 3) waste reduction

essentially the time and effort it takes to tend to lush grounds through mowing, waste

hauling or air emissions.

At Cisco Systems in San Jose an ecologically friendly

landscape maintenance program initiated over the past

10 years has helped the company significantly reduce

overall landscape costs at the vast, 98-acre campus.

The landscape program included a plant density

reduction plan, resulting in the removal of some plants

that required significant amounts of water and care.Plants that required watering five days were replaced

with shrubs requiring only two days of irrigation.

Water-conserving drip irrigation systems were also

added, along with weather-based controllers that lower

irrigation water usage on average 24 percent a year.

Cisco saved more than 81 million gallons of water

through the companys water conservation efforts in

California alone, and even helped the company earn

corporate responsibility bonus points among its

stakeholders.

A common misconception is that an initial landscaping

installation is likely to cost more than the maintenance

over the lifetime of the project. The reverse is actually

true in most instances. The current economy is giving

owners and managers the opportunity to reassess

their landscaped environments, with an aim toward

sustainability and improving asset value.

The benefits extend beyond water conserved or

money saved and thats something our customers

concerned about their facilitys carbon footprints are

fast coming to appreciate, said Duke, who notes that

ValleyCrests landscape designers, licensed landscape

architects, and landscape specialists frequently design

Located in the heart of

Californias Silicon Valley, CiscoSystems San Jose corporatecampus is surrounded by 68

acres of landscaping. Landscape

Architect: Guzzardo &

Associates, Inc.; Photo Credit:

Horst Stasny

Stoneridge Corporate Plaza has longbeen recognized as the premier

corporate address in the East Bay, but

the suburban, three-acre campus with

meandering waterways and lush

landscaping also doubles as a site for

weddings on the weekends. Photo

Credit: Photo Jay Graham.


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and build green roofs for customers.

A green roof can accomplish a variety of objectives for a commercial structure. It can

improve the thermal insulation performance of the roof. It can mitigate daytime rooftop

heat gain and serve as an effective strategy against urban heat island phenomenon. It

can provide a patch of vegetation capable of supporting biodiversity in an increasingly

hardscaped world. It can detain and filter the first few minutes of rainfall during a

storm event so as to avoid overwhelming the storm drain system in volume or

contaminants.

ValleyCrest has constructed virtually every type of on-

structure and green roof project that one can imagine

across the country. Optima Biltmore Towers in

Phoenix, Arizona is an example of a green roof

ValleyCrest was involved in building. It has helpedtransform the Phoenix skyline with its environmentally-

friendly design. A green roof caps the towers where a

trellised sky bridge links luxurious condominiums to a

recreation area offering residents a unique natural

view. The property integrates solar systems that

compliment an environmentally-sensitive green roof

and retreat.

Clearly, having a firm grasp of a wide array of

sustainable practices and water management

techniques is important. Today, developers are also

faced with new and soon-to-be enacted water

regulations. Cities and state government are adopting

rate hikes, mandating water conservation measures

and enacting smart water management programs all

of which may impact whether a development gets a

green light to proceed. Water is an easy target given

that irrigation typically accounts for 50 percent of a propertys water consumption.

That means commercial developers must know and understand use trends, develop

water management plans and incorporate advanced technologies or systems in the

construction process. These new laws go beyond the process of LEED certification or

looking for ways to integrate improved landscape maintenance approaches that yield a

range of dividends on the operations side.

A certified irrigation specialist can

analyze which areas of a landscape

use the most water and create a

customized plan that achieves the

highest level of water conservation

through improved scheduling and

reduced maintenance. Photos credit:

ValleyCrest, Inc. and Jay Graham,


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Positive results occur when developers work closely with landscape design and

construction experts up front to anticipate and meet new water regulations while

adopting best practices in sustainability. In the long run, the value of the landscaped

asset can increase, the costs of maintenance can drop, and more environmentally-

friendly processes can be integrated into standard operations.

The factors shaping how developers view landscaping today are real, and the

economic considerations are profound. Economy, sustainability, drought and water

conservation are giving rise to a host of questions, but the answers need not be

complex or expensive. Whether your properties are as vast as Ciscos, in an arid region

such as Optima Biltmore Towers or as lush as a Fashion Island, forward-thinking

commercial owners are responding to todays challenges head on, drawing upon the

counsel of landscaping design, construction and maintenance experts. They are

approaching their landscaping in ways that can add value and pay wide-ranging

dividends over time.

Dennis Kaiser is communications senior manager, public relations at ValleyCrest

Landscape Companies, the nations largest integrated landscape services company. The

Calabasas, Calif.-based firm is commissioned by architects, developers, commercial real

estate owners, public agencies, property managers and luxury home builders to help

create, build or maintain some of the worlds extraordinary natural environments. For

more information about ValleyCrest Landscape Companies, please visit

www.valleycrest.com.

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