Estimation and Analysis of Irrigation in Single-Family Homes in Central Florida
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 2
Abstract
There are several studies that have estimated how much water is used for residential irrigation, principally at the national level, with outputs varying from 30 to 64% of total household potable water use. A methodology to estimate irrigation from potable use data in central Florida is presented in this paper. Monthly potable water billing records of single-family homes for the City of Tampa Water Department (TWD) and Orange County Utilities (OCU), Florida, were available from 2003 to 2007. Basic indoor water use at the household scale was estimated using two methods: the minimum month method and the per capita method. A range of impervious surfaces values (5, 15, and 20% from total green area) was considered to estimate the irrigable area. Irrigation was estimated on a monthly basis as the difference of total water use minus the estimated indoor water use, divided by the irrigable area. The estimated irrigation values were compared to a monthly theoretical irrigation requirement calculated by a daily soil water balance. The average total potable water use was 29.2 and in TWD and OCU, respectively. The basic indoor water use ranged from 15.7 to in TWD and OCU, respectively, based on the minimum month method, and from 16.9 to when the per capita method was used. Some inaccuracy in the minimum month method was detected, at least for OCU, and the per capita method would be better for estimating indoor water use. Our results showed that 57–62% and 45–64%% of homeowners overirrigated in OCU, with an estimated irrigation amount of 104–62 mm/month when the per capita method and the minimum month method were used, respectively. In TWD, 31–36 to 22–27% of homeowners overirrigated when the per capita method and the minimum month method were used, with averages of 54 and , respectively. The minimum month method showed the lowest estimated values on irrigation compared to the per capita method. Further work is needed to determine which indoor use method is most accurate.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Tampa Bay Water and Orange County Utilities for the availability of water use database as well as the following funding agencies for their support of this research: Hillsborough County Water Resource Services, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association, Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, South Florida Water Management District, Water Research Foundation, and Orange County Utilities.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 2 • February 2014
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 14, 2012
Accepted: Jul 19, 2013
Published online: Nov 6, 2013
Published in print: Feb 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Apr 6, 2014
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