Water Gardening Grows Greener

By Alison Bour

Water Garden News, August/September 2008

The Industry seeks ways to help customers keep eco-friendly ponds.

Stop for a minute and listen: green, environmentally friendly, sustainable, energy-efficient – the words echo everywhere. They do not apply to cars and refrigerators. These days, water gardeners want to enjoy their water-dependent habitats while saving Mother Earth.

At Wakoola Water Gardens in Cumming, Ga., the store motto is "We Celebrate Water," said Melissa Cavanaugh, store manager. Georgia has seen its share of water shortages – and even water-usage bans – so Cavanaugh believes that her customers want more ways to enjoy water gardens and ponds while sustain this precious resource.

“There’s a huge movement with green homes and hybrid cars,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s unfortunate that it takes a serious panic, but I see an overall trend across the United States of people who want to be more aware (of saving water).”

Recognizing this trend, International Professional Pond Contractors Association recently developed Resource Smart, a program to help contractors set themselves apart with specialized knowledge, according to Rocke Huntington, IPPCA president and owner of Lincoln, Neb. One of resource Smart’s programs teaches contractors to recycle pond water during cleaning by using double tubs. One tub holds the top water – which retains its ecological base – while the second hold the sludge at the bottom. Reuse the top water, and a sustainable habit develops.

Resource Smart encourages its members to pass this idea on to customers. Huntington said contractors respond well to these and other tips. The knowledge enhances their ability to find and retain regular customers and helps them compete against box stores that likely cannot offer the same value-added know-how.

Manufactures have joined the green movement, too. Firestone Specialty Products in Indianapolis, Ind., produces pond liners and is certified through an International Standardization Organization quality-assurance program similar to the one used by car manufactures and their suppliers, said William Johnson, field technical engineer. The quality assurance program recognizes that Firestone follows certain environmental standards, a commitment that Johnson calls unique in the pond industry.

Johnson believes that the current interest in “green” lifestyles will put pressure on water garden manufacturers and suppliers to become more conservation-savvy. “I think there’ll be more competition to make sure the manufacturers are looking at environmental responsibilities,” he said. “[The trend] will lose a little prominence, but I think it has some staying power. People are reeling about gas prices and that’s making the thought process [about being environmentally friendly] grow among a bigger group of people.”

Smart retailers continue to educate customers on ways to make their water gardens eco-friendly, Johnson said. For example, retailers can explain how substandard products can cause more problems, expense and waste in the long run as well as educate customers on the importance of comparing products and warranties.

Water loss certainly impacts a pond’s environmental friendliness. Improperly installed water features and streams are two big culprits of water loss, Huntington said, losing up to 1.5 inches of water per day. “In a wee, you have 200 to 300 gallons gone,” he said.

Mike Garcia, founder of Enviroscape Inc. and member of IPPCA’s board of advisors, institute environmentally friendly water gardening 20 years ago and predicts and increase in momentum – even in states with no water bans. “California is one of the 10 largest economies in the world,” Garcia said. “What happens here trickles down. Nobody’s an island.”

In addition to advocating water conservation, Garcia preaches the efficient use of energy to move water. By reading labels and learning from experience, hobbyists can discover that a 4.1 amp pump moves as much water as a 10 amp pump and drastically reduces a homeowner’s energy bill, he said. Garcia also warned against the impact of staging, when utility companies reward low-usage customers and penalize high-usage ones. Pond owners who are not careful with equipment choices might as well throw money into the pond with the fish food, Garcia said.

Garcia recommends smart controllers and sprayers that reduce water evaporation during watering and automatically adjust to a landscape’s true water needs. To save water, Cavanaugh recommends cisterns and other rain barrel products. Wakoola Water Gardens recently auctioned off a rain barrel at a seminar day titled Wakoola Rain Water Round-up.

Throughout the store, Cavanaugh creates displays that feature environmentally friendly products grouped with literature about correct installation and water savings.”It really begins to make sense,” Cavanaugh said.

Both Cavanaugh and Joseph Krewer, a program coordinator for Georgia Department of Community Affairs, routinely hear about the dangers of drought. Krewer helped develop online educational programs to help Georgia homeowners enjoy gardening while adhering to restrictions. He also recommended the use of rain barrels, being a user himself.

“Most people don’t realize that our grandparents had them,” he said. “They’re nothing new. In some parts of the world, it’s all they have.”