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(Photo: Frisco Green Living)
The City of Frisco is the winner of the 2009 Municipal Excellence Award in Public Works for cities with a population of more than 25,000. The award recognizes the city for its Smart Irrigation Program.
Earlier this month, Mayor Maher Maso and members of the Frisco City Council presented the award to the public during a City Council meeting. The Texas Municipal League, which is a voluntary association of more than 1,100 Texas cities, presented the award to the City of Frisco during its annual conference held last month in Fort Worth.
“This is quite an accomplishment,” said Mayor Maher Maso. “We’re proud to be recognized by our peers throughout the state. As members of the council, we recognize this award is only possible through the dedication of our Public Works Department employees and with the support of our residents, who support our staff’s innovative efforts.”
Gary Hartwell, Director of Public Works, gives credit to two members of his staff: Melody Emadiazar, Water Education Coordinator, and Mike Barth, Irrigation Specialist, who Hartwell describes as both being ‘critical’ to the success of Frisco’s Smart Irrigation Program.
“The program promotes using water wisely and efficiently,” said Hartwell. “It’s not just about saving water next month or next summer. It’s about making sure we have a water supply for future generations of the City of Frisco.”
Frisco’s Smart Irrigation Program is an innovative approach to improve the community’s outdoor water use practices and help manage summer peak demands. The program includes real-time weekly outdoor watering recommendations, the installation of a weather station, outdoor water usage reports, a rebate incentive to homeowners who replace their automatic irrigation controller with a weather-based smart controller and an ordinance, adopted by the Frisco City Council, requiring the installation of smart controllers in all new homes.
Another popular, yet critical component of Frisco’s Smart Irrigation Program is the free irrigation check-up. During a check up, residents learn how to detect and repair broken or misaligned sprinkler heads, adjust system schedules and retrofit existing systems with ‘smart controller’ devices. Barth says he has performed approximately 3,500 irrigation system audits since the free program began in 2007.
In May, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) also recognized the City of Frisco for its Smart Irrigation Program. For more information, go to www/friscotexas.gov/water.