Dallas College
Texas

Greening the metroplex: Dallas College’s multi-campus approach to landscape irrigation

How many people make up a town or a city? There’s no officially recognized cutoff for either, though some international organizations suggest cities should be considered densely populated urban areas with at least 50,000 inhabitants, while towns should have at least 5,000 residents.

In the U.S. there are no hard and fast population rules that define what constitutes either a city or town, though the government Census says midsize cities and towns are home to between 5,000 and 10,000 people; as of 2019, only 4.0% (780) of all American cities had a population of 50,000 or more.

All of which is to say that 70,000 people is enough to fill a reasonably sized American city. And that’s approximately how many students and staff convene on Dallas College every year.

It’s a lot of people, in other words. Managing an area with that many people necessitates infrastructure and maintenance similar to that of a city. It also means you need to be prepared for the little mishaps that are bound to happen when that many people are moving around.

That’s further complicated when you consider Dallas College’s geographic makeup, spread over seven campus locations and another 14 workforce centers.

So how do you keep the environment of this heavily populated, geographically disparate institution green and healthy, year-round – even during Dallas’ summer heatwaves and springtime thunderstorms?

***

Irrigation Technician William Henson is part of the team tasked with doing just that. He started work at Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), as it was then, in 2014, as a landscape apprentice. A couple of years later he got involved in irrigation work, helping the lead irrigator with repairs and learning the technical aspects of irrigation. He found it was work that he enjoyed and was good at.

So he took the plunge and became a licenced irrigator, which involved a 40-hour course and an on-site test. Since then, irrigation has been Henson’s vocation.

In 2020, the seven independent colleges which made up DCCCD united to become Dallas College. The landscaping requirements for the college were consolidated, and Henson was chosen to be an irrigator on that team.

Dallas College now offers certificates and two- and four-year degrees in more than 100 areas of study, as well as core credit courses for transfer to public colleges and universities. It’s extremely popular. It’s also a lot of landscaping to irrigate.

***

 

Roughly 300 acres of Dallas College land is irrigated across the properties. Keeping that much area watered and healthy is a challenge in itself. It’s even more so with Dallas College sites spread across the Dallas metropolitan area.

Henson and his supervisor are responsible for the irrigation of 10 unique locations with demands of their own. Each campus also has its own dedicated irrigator.

It’s a complex task, ensuring that the centers are maintained and receiving the right amount of water for plant growth, without waste, while also assisting the primary campus staff as needed.

But, Henson explains, centrally managed smart irrigation is helping to make the whole process more efficient.

“We’re in the process of upgrading the systems on all of our campuses to Calsense smart irrigation controllers,” he says. “We have a master plan we’re working toward, which aims to have all campuses upgraded by 2026.

“That’s exciting for us, because that includes things like full-flow sensing master valves, which will allow us to shut off specific zones if there’s a problem like a leak or a blockage, as opposed to shutting down the whole system.”

With multiple sites, a smart irrigation system offers central control. For Henson and Dallas College, that central control is provided by Calsense’s Command Center software. It provides alerts when issues arise on any of the campuses. In turn, this increases day-to-day efficiency for the irrigation team.

“Knowing where there is a problem or a potential problem is incredibly helpful for me,” Henson says. “I can plan my route on any given day, prioritizing sites with the most pressing issues, where repairs might be required or where investigation is needed.

“That saves on time, fuel, and therefore, money. Without that data, we’re obliged to manually inspect each site, heading to each location in turn to check everything is running as it should be.”

That upgrade process began in 2022, and is almost complete for the centers. The Cedar Valley, North Lake and Richland campuses have all been fully upgraded to Calsense smart irrigation, too. When the process is finished, there will be close to 100 smart controllers across the sites, each capable of controlling multiple zones of irrigation.

***

One of the challenges facing Dallas College irrigation team is that different campuses have different soil types.

“It’s mainly clay, but depending on which site I go to, there might be six inches of topsoil, and then right below there’s just rock,” Henson says. “That obviously affects the way water is absorbed into the soil or runs off. Being on top of those different aspects can be tricky.”

Calsense controllers factor in soil type and incline when they are calibrated for each site, to ensure that water wastage and runoff is minimized. They work in conjunction with weather sensors and rain buckets. These help to factor in weather conditions like rainfall to make sure plants are not over-watered, letting the system know that at certain times an irrigation cycle may not be required.

Different sites may also have different types of plant material, Henson explains, so that also needs to be included when upgrading to the new smart controllers.

“A lot of the campuses have similar plant types, particularly for the centers,” he says. “But others have different types depending on their needs, including sports fields. Luckily, with the Calsense system, I can go in very easily and change settings to be very accurate about what that plant material needs.”

***

Running an education institution the size of a city comes with the reality that people won’t always stick to designated areas. This has significant implications for maintaining irrigation systems, especially during times when school is not in session. “People tend to just make a path where they want to go,” Henson says. “It’s human nature. You see it in parks and in trail areas. So, there’s always a chance that a sprinkler might get stepped on and broken or kicked by accident. Or perhaps even intentionally vandalized.

“When it’s a big problem, we try to work around the students and get repairs done during business hours. But sometimes it’s just easier to do the repair when there are closures like Christmas or spring break.”

He says that most students and staff are pretty good at staying on the sidewalks. But when you have 70,000 people using your facilities, you also need a campus police force. They’re usually the good guys. However …

“When the police drive their carts off the sidewalks to avoid pedestrians, they wear down the grounds and compact the soil too much,” Henson laughs. “Students typically stay on the sidewalk and don’t cut through too much.”

***

Sometimes remote irrigation system access and control can save more than just water.

“Once there was a sign project where a contractor had to drill about three feet down,” Henson says. “I was on my way to dinner, and the contractor called me saying, ‘Hey I hit a big pipe, and there’s water gushing out of it.’

“He told me the site he was at, and I got on a tablet. And I literally told the system to shut down. He said, ‘Oh, the water stopped gushing out.’ He couldn’t believe it, and kept telling people about it.

“That was a big advantage, not to have to drive to a campus because the irrigation is stuck on or something’s broken. And my girlfriend was very pleased it hadn’t ruined our dinner plans!”

That’s not always the case where smart irrigation isn’t in place.

“On one of our sites that hasn’t upgraded to Calsense, I got a call at about 9 o’clock at night, to go shut off running water. Every single valve was stuck on, the mainline under the street was broken and gushing up. If there was central control, we could have shut that zone off remotely and dealt with it during regular business hours.”

***

Like many parts of the country, Dallas College faces water restrictions for much of the year – from March to October in the DFW metroplex. This affects rotary and spray head sprinklers, which are allowed to water two days a week between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., although there are no daytime watering restrictions for drip lines or similar soaker systems.

“You’d better make sure it’s working right, though,” Henson laughs. “Because, if there’s a geyser, you’re going to hear about it! Someone will be on the phone or email to report it, that’s for sure.”

There’s no special treatment for educational establishments. Dallas College is subject to the same water restrictions as DFW residents, although it can ask for a variance, if there’s not enough time to get water down for specific plant materials. That’s aided by the efficiency of the smart irrigation system, which allows them to water multiple zones at once, as required.

Henson and his team take water conservation seriously. Although they’re under no strict budgetary pressure they are always keen to save on water usage. For that reason, they like to give people like the Dallas College energy manager access to the Calsense system, so they can easily see how much water is being used.

It’s all part of treating this sprawling, multi-location educational establishment as a single entity; one that focuses not just on streamlining the student experience, but also on streamlining its approach to water management and conservation.

Let's Talk

Speak with an expert about your current system and how you can improve it.

Let's Talk

Let's Think

Let’s do a free assessment of the challenges you are experiencing and possible solutions.

Let's Think

Thank you for your interest in this content! Fill in your information below to receive an email link for access.