Did you know up to 50% of residential irrigation water is wasted due to inefficiency? In fact, traditional irrigation methods, often manually controlled or poorly optimized, are costing homeowners and businesses hundreds of dollars every year. Not only is this increasing your utility bills, but it is also causing water waste and harming the environment.
At Green Turf, we’ve been helping homeowners, commercial property owners, and municipalities in St. Louis, St. Charles, and surrounding areas maintain lush landscapes while minimizing water waste for over 47 years. We believe in smarter, more efficient irrigation systems that conserve water, save you money, and keep your lawn or garden healthy year-round. By upgrading to smart irrigation, you’ll not only improve your landscape’s health but also support water conservation and save money.
What are Smart Irrigation Systems?
Smart irrigation systems use real-time data to automatically adjust watering schedules based on weather conditions, soil moisture levels, and the specific needs of your plants. These systems integrate weather data, soil sensors, and advanced controllers, eliminating the guesswork of traditional irrigation.
In a typical outdated system, your sprinklers or irrigation systems run on a fixed schedule. Whether it’s raining or the soil is already saturated, your system will keep running, wasting both water and money. Smart irrigation, on the other hand, adapts in real time to changes in weather, soil conditions, and plant requirements, so your system runs only when needed.
Green Turf’s Irrigation Expertise
We don’t just install generic systems. Our team customizes every installation based on your unique landscape, soil, and plant needs. We offer trusted installation and ongoing support to ensure your system runs at peak performance, and our expertise ensures you maximize water savings while promoting a healthier, more vibrant landscape.
Smart irrigation systems have many benefits.
Benefits of Smart Irrigation Systems
1. Water Savings
Smart irrigation technology is all about water conservation. On average, smart controllers save 15-30% of outdoor water use. How does this happen? Smart irrigation systems use real-time weather data to adjust watering schedules automatically. For example, when it rains, the system detects this and skips the scheduled watering for that day. No more watering on rainy days or during wet weather, saving you money on your water bill and conserving resources.
2. Lower Bills
Water costs are rising in many areas, including St. Louis and St. Charles. By switching to a smart irrigation system, you can save hundreds of dollars a year on your water bill. The more efficient your system, the less water you waste, so you’ll save more over time. For homeowners and business owners, smart irrigation systems are a wise investment that provides short-term savings and long-term value.
3. Healthier Lawns & Plants
Overwatering can harm your plants and turf by promoting shallow root growth and increasing the risk of disease. When your irrigation system overapplies water, it leads to waterlogged soil, which can suffocate the roots and promote mold or fungus growth. Overwatering also creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Smart irrigation systems maintain the perfect moisture levels for your lawn and garden, promoting deep root growth and overall plant health. By reducing overwatering, you can also prevent soil erosion and runoff, which would otherwise carry away nutrients and damage your landscape.
4. Convenience
Managing your irrigation system has never been easier. With smart controllers, you can monitor and adjust your system from anywhere using your smartphone. Whether you’re at home in St. Louis or on vacation in another state, you’ll have control of your system with apps like Hunter Hydrawise or Rain Bird 2.0. You can adjust watering schedules, get notifications, and even pause the system if you want to skip watering for a day. The app can also act as a remote control, allowing a technician to review the system more quickly and save time.
This level of control and convenience gives you peace of mind knowing your landscape will always get the right amount of water without you having to think about it.
5. Environmental Impact
Runoff from traditional irrigation systems carries fertilizers and other chemicals into our local waterways, polluting our environment. Smart irrigation systems reduce runoff by delivering water directly to the roots, not the street. By using water more wisely, you’re supporting local sustainability and helping us preserve water for our kids and grandkids.
Smart Irrigation Systems in Action
Smart irrigation systems combine multiple technologies to save water. Here’s how they work and what’s involved:
1. Smart Controllers
At the heart of smart irrigation systems is the controller. These Wi-Fi-enabled controllers, such as the Hydrawise Wi-Fi Irrigation Controller from Hunter, let you schedule watering times and durations based on weather forecasts. They adjust watering schedules automatically based on temperature, humidity, and rainfall. This real-time data ensures your system only waters when needed, not when it’s not.
The Hydrawise Controller connects to your smartphone or tablet via an app so you can control your system from anywhere. No matter where you are in the world, the Hydrawise app keeps you connected to your irrigation system and in control.
2. Sensors
Smart irrigation systems use multiple sensors to provide feedback. These sensors include:
- Rain Sensors: Detects rainfall and delays irrigation to prevent watering in wet weather.
- Soil Moisture Sensors: Measure soil moisture and adjust watering to ensure plants receive the right amount of water based on their needs. For example, if the soil is already wet, the system will skip that watering cycle, preventing wasted water.
3. Drip Irrigation
Traditional sprinkler systems spray water across large areas, and wastewater and evaporation. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plant’s roots, reducing water use. Drip systems can reduce water consumption by 30-50% and are great for garden beds, shrubs, and even trees. Drip irrigation delivers water to the root zone more effectively, reducing weed growth.
4. High-Efficiency Nozzles & Matched Precipitation
High-efficiency nozzles are a smart upgrade for both spray head and rotor sprinkler systems, offering improved water distribution and significant water conservation benefits. These nozzles are designed to provide more uniform coverage, reduce overspray and runoff, and allow your irrigation system to run more efficiently.
For spray heads, high-efficiency nozzles—also known as precision or rotary nozzles—replace standard fan nozzles with multi-stream, multi-trajectory patterns that apply water more slowly and evenly. This slower application improves soil absorption, reduces misting and wind drift, and minimizes water waste while maintaining full coverage.
For rotor heads, high-efficiency nozzles deliver consistent droplet sizes. They are engineered with matched precipitation rates—meaning each nozzle discharges the same amount of water over a given area, regardless of arc or radius. This ensures balanced irrigation across all zones and head types, eliminating areas of over- or under-watering.
Upgrading to high-efficiency nozzles can reduce outdoor water use by up to 30–35%, making them a cost-effective and environmentally responsible choice for any landscape irrigation system.
Why Upgrade to Smart Irrigation Systems Now?
Now is the time to upgrade to a smart irrigation system. Here’s why:
1. Water Costs Are Rising
In St. Louis, where water is getting tight, smart irrigation is a no-brainer. You’ll be more water-efficient and save money in the long run. In 2023, St. Louis approved a ~44% increase in water rates (split into two phases). The increases were applied in two rounds: a 20% hike effective July 1, 2023, and another 20% on January 1, 2024. Tiered pricing is becoming more common, so with smart irrigation systems, you only pay for what you use.
2. St. Louis Summers: Clay-Heavy Soil and Runoff
St. Louis and St. Charles have clay-heavy soils. These soils are prone to runoff, meaning excess water doesn’t soak into the ground and can wash away valuable nutrients. A smart irrigation system ensures your soil gets just the right amount of water, reduces runoff, and promotes better water absorption. With a system designed for St. Louis soils, you’ll avoid the common mistakes of overwatering and underwatering that lead to unhealthy landscapes.
4. Long-Term Return on Investment
Upgrading to a smart irrigation system is not just an upfront cost; it’s an investment that pays off over time. The money you save on your water bill and the improvement to your landscape’s health make this a wise investment that adds value to your property. With smart irrigation, you’re not just saving money, you’re investing in a sustainable future for your lawn and garden.
The Green Turf Irrigation Advantage
For over 47 years, Green Turf has been the trusted name in irrigation installation and service for residential, commercial, and municipal properties in St. Louis and St. Charles. We offer:
1. Locally Owned and Operated
As a local company, we know the unique needs of St. Louis and St. Charles homeowners and businesses. Our systems are designed for our local climate and soil.
2. Licensed, Insured, and Trust-Certified Technicians
We only hire the best. Our techs are fully licensed, insured, and trust-certified.
3. Custom System Design
No two yards are the same; we design custom systems for your specific needs. Whether you have a small garden or a large commercial property, we build a system that’s efficient and saves you money.
4. Yearly Maintenance Plans
We don’t just install and walk away. Green Turf offers yearly maintenance plans to keep your system running at its best year after year. Our services include system tune-ups, seasonal adjustments, upgrades, and repairs.
5. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
You matter. If you’re not happy, we’ll fix it. We back every installation and service we do. Bottom line, we treat people the way we want to be treated, and our reputation proves it.
Customer Reviews
“We have had a relationship with Greenturf for over 20 plus years. They have designed, installed and maintained with great respect our lighting and irrigation systems in St Louis. We have referred them to our closest business and family members. They are outstanding, accountable, strong communicators, and supportive with emergency issues. We have the very best respect and relationship with Joe, Rich, Tim, Katie, Fred and Don. If you want the very best irrigation, lighting or drainage service, call Greenturf immediately. We are not easy customer and they always listen and are fair with their customer service. During these weather conditions, our gardens and lawns would not survive with out their experience. Bravo!!!!”
“Greenturf installed our irrigation system in the early 1980’s and has annually maintained the system ever since and modified it several times to accommodate various additions. Recently Don , Andrew and Tony were here to diagnose a few problems and make the appropriate repairs. They, like all their predecessors in the past were polite, explained what needed to be done and did so competently, and efficienly . We’ve never considered using another company.”
These reviews show we don’t just install great irrigation systems, we deliver an excellent customer experience. It’s this level of detail we bring to every smart irrigation installation.