A unique solution for optimizing irrigation in Prague 2 has great results

The growing shortage of water resources has become a global problem in recent years. Therefore, after the success of the pilot project from last year, Prague 2 extended smart irrigation to Riegrovy Sady as well. Thanks to irrigation optimization, it reduced water consumption by 53% and improved the condition of greenery.

Prague 2 established cooperation with the Czech technology company CleverFarm as part of the Sustainable Two program last year. It supplied the city with Intelligent Irrigation solutions that work on intelligent IoT sensors and up-to-date soil monitoring.

According to the results of the latest analysis, it was a pragmatic solution associated with long-term sustainability, which already has a significant benefit. The smart solution saved Prague 2 more than a thousand cubic meters of water in less than three months, which is more than half of the original consumption.
The systems irrigate at different rates in different places

The pilot project in the Bratří Čapků Gardens met with similar results, where water consumption dropped by 56%. The whole process is based on the idea of ​​so-called variable irrigation. Standard irrigation systems automatically start at set time intervals, leading to unbalanced water dosing and overall inefficiency. Therefore, some places in the park suffered from drought, while a few meters away, with the same amount of irrigation, the soil was soaked.

The CleverFarm solution uses different irrigation rates in different locations. The intelligent system adjusts irrigation in real time to automatically adapt to the measured values. This year, this innovative system also visited Riegrový Sady, one of the most visited places in Prague.

"Once again, we aim to save water, which thanks to our solution reaches more than 50%. And as the results show, these are very real values. In addition, saving water is not at the expense of quality, quite the opposite. Our goals also include higher quality urban greenery, which under standard conditions is irrigated either too much or not enough. An ideal ratio is an almost unprecedented rarity," says Vojtěch Malina, the company's executive director.

The system also responds well to the dry season, it also detected missing sensors

An average nighttime irrigation in Riegrovy Sady consumes 20 cubic meters of water, which corresponds to the equivalent of 1.6 mm of precipitation per square meter. Which is not enough for a dry season with a high rate of evaporation. For comparison - in June, up to 6 mm of precipitation evaporated per day.

Smart sensors show the current level of soil moisture, allowing you to plan and increase the maximum level of irrigation taking into account the current conditions. This mainly applies to the most exposed places in parks, for which the quality of the lawn is crucial.

“We found out that in the project documentation from 2008 there are sprinklers that are missing in the park. The system alerted us to this in time, so we could react immediately. We adjusted the irrigation taking into account whether lawn quality or water saving is primary for a particular location. Subsequently, we found a suitable balance. We thereby reduced water consumption to 7.4 cubic meters per day, and the minimum saving is around 52 crowns per cubic meter," adds Vojtěch Malina.

Prague 2 is investing in a healthy future

High-quality and well-maintained greenery is one of the significant benefits of smart management. Maintaining parks and planting trees are elements that have an ecological and aesthetic impact and shape the quality of life. Especially in cities with higher population. However, investing in the future does not end here. Prague 2 has also decided to take further steps that go hand in hand with environmental benefits for the environment.

"As a modern and progressive part of the city, we fully support the development of modern technologies, which will be used in the care of greenery, public spaces and other property entrusted to us. In addition to smart irrigation, we also use other technologically advanced solutions," says Prague 2 district representative Jan Recman, who is responsible for smart solutions within the Sustainable Two project. "These solutions fall, for example, in the field of energy and waste management, building charging stations for electric cars or installing smart lamps. For Prague 2, these are clearly investments that, according to calculations, will pay us back many times over."

Source: cleverfarm.ag and CTK