Whether you have spent time playing hockey, skating, or watching your kids do so, one thing is certain — your irrigation system is probably the last thing on your mind when you are at the hockey rink.
At Conserva Irrigation of the Twin Cities, water usage is something we are always thinking about. At a recent hockey game, we began to wonder, “How much water does it take to fill an ice rink, and how does that compare to the average irrigation system’s water consumption?” The results of our research and calculations were astounding!
According to the NHL’s most recent sustainability report, it takes approximately 12,500 gallons of water to create an NHL regulation ice sheet, which typically is kept frozen for an entire season. That’s a lot of water, right?
How do these 12,500 gallons of water compare to that used by a typical Minneapolis irrigation system each year? A standard ¼-acre lot with four turf zones running 20 minutes per cycle, four days a week would pump out 13 gallons a minute per zone.
20 minutes per cycle x 13 gallons per minute = 260 gallons per cycle
260 gallons per cycle x 4 zones = 1,040 gallons per cycle
1,040 gallons per cycle x 4 days a week = 4,160 gallons of water per week
In Minnesota, the typical watering season lasts approximately 26 weeks. Multiply that by 4,160, which brings the total usage to 108,160 gallons of water per season, enough to fill nine hockey rinks in one season!
Considering the average residential sprinkler system uses twice the amount of water that it needs, improving water consumption of underperforming systems is imperative. Upgrading from an average residential irrigation system to a Conserva Irrigation system can reduce water usage between 40 and 60%, all while maintaining a lush, healthy lawn. A typical upgrade could essentially reduce water output to a little more than four hockey rinks per season, per quarter-acre lot!
Conserva Irrigation will assess your Twin Cities irrigation system, free of charge.
When you visit an icy venue in the future, think about how many hockey rinks your Twin Cities irrigation system might fill each year. Chances are, it is consuming more water than you’d like – much more than a healthy lawn requires, and even to the detriment of your lawn. Call on Conserva Irrigation of the Twin Cities for a free sprinkler system inspection to evaluate how efficiently your irrigation system is running, and never worry about filling too many ice rinks again!
