As Brentwood prepares for the warmer months, Brentwood Water Services is rolling out an Address-Based Irrigation (ABI) plan, aiming for a more spread-out water consumption throughout the week. On a staple midsummer Tuesday, watering can count for up to 75 gallons per hour, but come the next day, under the burn of the Wednesday sun, this number can skyrocket to a staggering 700 gallons per hour, as reported by Brentwood's official website. The challenge lies in the city's automated irrigation schedule, which is set predominantly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.
Chris Milton, Brentwood Water Services Director, suggests that the voluntary ABI initiative could alleviate the burden on Brentwood's water supply and infrastructure. "This would promote a reduction of the peak M/W/F water demands and spread that water usage out more evenly throughout the week," Milton explained in a statement obtained by Brentwood's news release. Odd-numbered addresses are encouraged to set their sprinklers for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while even-numbered ones would switch to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Other cities like Nashville and Nolensville have already implemented similar ABI programs, with some achieving reductions in peak water demand by as much as 40%. While those cities have made participation mandatory, Brentwood is for now taking a more gentle approach, only recommending its residents to adopt the new watering schedule. "Our water capacity is fine. We can provide water. This is more of a long-term, sustainable project we're looking at doing," Drew Muirhead, Assistant Director of Water Services, clarified in an interview with Brentwood communications.
Adhering to this plan could not only help save water but also prevent the city from needing to conduct expensive upgrades to the water system, which could result in additional costs for residents. The usual summer demand can lead to 12 million gallons being pumped in a single day, putting a strain on the city's infrastructure. In contrast, Brentwood typically distributes approximately 3-4 million gallons on non-irrigation days. "This is voluntary," Muirhead stated in Brentwood's news release. "We're not talking about any type of restrictions. It's completely voluntary."
Brentwood Water Services will be reaching out to homeowners' associations and irrigation companies this month with details about the voluntary program. The program encourages residents to continue watering their lawns while following the new ABI schedule. The goal is to manage Brentwood's water resources efficiently.
