[Editor's Note: This post complements the article "Water-Saving Strategies to Make Every Drop Count" on GreenBiz.com with an overview of some emerging and established solutions.]
 
A growing number of smart solutions to monitor and control water used for landscaping are available to property owners and managers as businesses become increasingly aware of the need to consume the resource more efficiently.

Here's a look at some products from longtime and emerging companies.

ET Water Systems Inc.

Founded in 2002 and based in Novato, Calif., ET Water Systems Inc. has positioned its products as smart, robust options that are affordable and easy to use.

The company, whose flagship product is the SmartBox self-adjusting irrigation control system, solidified its strategy with the recent rollout of its plug-and-play SmartWorks replacement panel for traditional irrigation controllers

SmartWorks cost less than $2,000 to install, has an average annual fee of about $200 and provides a payback on the investment in less than two years, according to the company. In general, water bill reductions using ET products range from 20 to 50 percent and savings can be seen immediately, spokesmen say.

"A lot of people tend to take water for granted because they think it is free and then are very cavalier about its use on landscaping," says  ET CEO Pat McIntyre.

ET Water Systems (the ET stands for evapotranspiration) marry local weather data, horticulture and irrigation science and the power of IT to ensure that landscaping receives only the water it needs based on the type of plants being watered, their root depth, the type of soil, plant microclimate, the slope of landscape, irrigation method and weather, McIntyre says.

"This is a great tool" says Heidi Romppanen, a landscape manager for CB Richard Ellis whose area of responsibility stretches across the greater San Francisco Bay Area from San Jose to Sacramento.

Romppanen hailed the product for its ability to deliver exactly the right amount of water when and where it's needed on properties, regardless of their size and complexity. And for all its sophistication as a tool, it is very easy to use, she says.

Property managers for Autodesk, Adobe Systems and residential properties are among the clients providing testimonials about ET on its website.

Next Page: HydroPoint and Rain Bird