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Because a properly designed automatic watering
system, in any of its many forms applies water
evenly and at a designed rate, it is the only way
that water can be applied efficiently and
economically to a garden or landscape. Compared
to hand watering, where the amount applied is
totally haphazard, an automatic watering system
is easily controlled by the adjustment of the time
that the system operates. Automatic watering
therefore has the potential for saving water by
ensuring that it is all used effectively by the
planting. Automatic watering systems also
operate during the night when evaporation losses
are lower.
Night time operation also suits the water supply
companies in that it removes a demand on their
limited capacity distribution systems from peak
times to a period when demand from other users
is minimal. In most areas, restrictions on hose
watering imposed by the water companies are
made necessary by a lack of distribution capacity
rather than a lack of water resources. Automatic
watering allows the water companies to sell water
to gardeners, which is after all their sole objective,
without overloading their distribution systems.
To help in the efficient use of water, the automatic
control systems used with this type of watering
system can incorporate such features as rain-stats,
which prevent operation during and after summer
rains, and soil moisture sensors and monitors.
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