After debating about what I should write in this very first post, I have decided to explain my intent for this blog. It will be advice and information from what I read and my experience with the actual products and practices in the irrigation and water management industry.

To start with I thought I would tell you a little about me and why I feel I am qualified to blog on the subject of water. I’m not a scientist or a professional researcher , but I am passionate about water. In plain terms I am an irrigator – if there is such a thing. My passion for water comes from the horticultural industry. I am a trained horticulturist with a degree is in landscape horticulture. I graduated from the Ohio State University, Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster Ohio back in 1981. After graduating from OSU I started a landscape design build firm in Cincinnati , Ohio. Design build means we provided the landscape designsand we also provided the implementation and construction of the plans, we were a turnkey operation. One of the construction services we provided was landscape irrigation systems. I learned through the hands on methods with the assistance of my product distributor. I had theory training on irrigation while I was at Ohio State. I installed my first irrigation system in 1988 for a new home being built for a doctor and his wife who was a research scientist for the Proctor and Gamble Company.

In 1995 I sold my landscape business to a consolidator, I was the last business he bought, he had managed to piece together a complete green industry service organization, my business provided the landscape design build portion, he had previously bought a lawn fertilization company, and a grounds maintenance company. The combined sales of the new company were about 750,000.00 for the first year and within a couple of year we were billing about 2.1 million in annual receipts.

About 1999 I moved on to other pursuits with in the horticultural field , but none satisfied me intellectually. Then in 2003 I was offered a job with a company that is a wholesale distributor of irrigation products. One of my past employees was working for the company, and when the position of territory manager came open he recommended me for the position. At first I was hesitant accept the offer. It was very different from anything I had done previously, or so I thought. I took the job because I was so unhappy at my previous job anything seemed better. The new job turned out to be very different than it had been explained to me. The position of territory manager was almost like running my own business, I was thrilled. I was responsible for developing my territory; I handled the marketing, the sales, and the distribution of product and nurturing of customers. For a long time I actually thought I would retire from that position.

While working in irrigation distribution I applied myself to learning everything I could about the industry. I decided I should get certified by the American Irrigation Association as a way to demonstrate my knowledge to my customers. I first studied for and earned the Certified Irrigation Contractor certification (CIC). I continued on to achieving the Certified Golf Irrigation Auditor (CGIA). The CGIA started me down the road of water conservation, auditing an irrigation system is focused on water conservation. Next I decided to tackle the 500 pound gorilla of certifications, Certified Irrigation Design (CID) to get this certification you must do the following items, taken from the Irrigation association’s web site at http://www.irrigation.org/

  • Demonstrate a minimum of three years of irrigation-related experience and education.
  • Pass a series of three written exams on general irrigation and specialty topics.
  • Agree to follow the Code of Ethics established by the IA Certification Board.
  • All CIDs must submit 20 continuing education units per 2-year cycle to remain in good standing. For details on CEU requirements, click here.

I coasted awhile on the CID certification but decided I must move forward so I got Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor (CLIA) next I plan on getting the Certified Landscape Water Manager.

Water conservation is at the core of what the Irrigation association espouses to and that belief has been transferred to me though the Code of Ethics I uphold.

So where has this lead me? Why don’t you join me as I explore the world of water and what it means to our planet, to people and to cultures? I am not planning on making this blog an encyclopedia of water facts, my intention is to share with you, through my observations and opinions , what I see as the future of water availability and water use will be, along with current events in water. I hope to challenge you to think and to participate. Today in the world of water politics there are distinguishable camps or ideologies: environmentalists, industrialists, capitalists, socialists, and agriculturalists along with many other smaller groups. If I accomplish my goal I will cover information from all of these perspectives and try to make sense of the big picture . I believe all of these groups have some truth, some fiction and some folklore to them. I would like to expose the truth, ferret out the fiction, and illustrate the folklore.

And if that doesn’t work I’ll think of something else to spout off about! Cheers!