A history of system neglect and overwatering has taken its toll on Niguel Shores’ landscaping and the community association’s budget as well. Things may have looked lush and green, but overgrowth and years of poor irrigation management and repairs had us spending much more than we had to on landscaping.
Late last year, the Association hired Harvest Landscape Enterprises, Inc. to develop a comprehensive strategy for streamlining our landscape maintenance budget. Work is currently underway to optimize our landscape—in both appearance and cost of maintenance—with a complete overhaul.
Initially, in order for the property to get better, it is going to have to get worse. Harvest is busy uncovering and addressing trouble spots. Some landscape areas are being sprayed to remove vegetation and replace it with attractive water-efficient varieties of plants. Overgrowth and weeds are being cleared to ensure that irrigation gets evenly distributed. A complete overhaul of the irrigation system is underway.
Harvest has a strong reputation for creating beautiful landscapes that save communities 50 percent or more on their water and maintenance costs. With water rates continuing to rise, this is clearly a smart decision for our future.
Listed below are some of the tasks being taken or planned as a part of this project:
■ Irrigation mapping to identify inefficiencies in the watering system and correct them.
■ Reprogramming controllers and putting them on a WeatherTrak system that regulates water according to the weather.
■ Developing a water management program similar to what Harvest has done at other communities, saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars on their irrigation costs.
■ Install master valves, flow sensors and smart timers.
■ Remove small strips of turf and fill in with droughttolerant plants.
■ Dethatch the turf.
■ Mulch the planter beds.
We look forward to going through this process in order to raise the standard of water management in our community. In the end, Niguel Shores will be a flagship community for balancing beauty with shrewd practices that are both good for the environment and for the Association budget.
—Deborah Baker, NSCA General Manager
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