Effectiveness of Smart Landscape Irrigation Systems in Reducing Water Usage (Case Study: Razi Park, Tehran)

One of the limiting factors for expanding green areas, as the most fundamental factors for wildlife and human beings sustainability in modern life, is the lack of available water resources. This limitation is more significant in arid and semi-arid regions. The growth of Tehran's population will lead to more severe water stress and hence, modification of water usage will be necessary. This study evaluates the effectiveness of smart irrigations in reducing water usage. In this research, a smart irrigation system is implemented for Tehran's Razi Park to compare its performance against the conventional systems. Based on the water demand of the green area, an irrigation schedule was defined to the system controller. The optimum irrigation time was determined using the modification model. Results show a 15% and 6% of water-saving in smart monthly and weekly irrigations, respectively. Moreover, the water-saving for weekly irrigation equals to 26445 liters for a total area of approximately 2500 m2. The water-saving amount in this method is evaluated as 10.6 liters per m2. Considering the total area of the parks in Tehran, improving the irrigation systems for green areas, according to the proposed method in this study, will save approximately 288,000 m2 per month. Using this method is recommended to private and public organisations since it has little complexity and low running cost.