City Thanks Harvest Landscape Enterprises for Water-Saving Project
From Landscape Management
July 16, 2010
MISSION VIEJO, CA – The City of Mission Viejo has awarded a Certificate of Commendation to a Harvest Landscape project that saved 108 million gallons of water and resulted in a two-year cost savings of more than $251,000 to the Oso Valley Greenbelt Association.
Harvest Landscape Enterprises, Inc., (pictured left), Monarch Environmental Inc., and Professional Community Management (PCM) were on hand to celebrate the award this month, coordinated the Oso Valley landscape maintenance program.
Oso Valley is just one of several sustainable landscape projects being implemented by Harvest. The family-owned business has also been selected to manage and maintain Southern California Edison’s sustainable landscape project planned at the Villa Park Substation in the City of Orange. Harvest is also a key partner in Coastkeeper Gardens, a project of Orange County Coastkeeper now under construction at Santiago Canyon College.
“Harvest strives to apply practical approaches to its projects in order to conserve resources, save money and enhance the beauty of the landscape,” said President Steven Schinhofen.
At Oso Valley, Harvest worked with Monarch Environmental and PCM to upgrade the 25-year-old irrigation system, reduce passive turf areas, remove dead or dying plants, rejuvenate high-impact areas and replant designated areas within the community. Together, the measures saved the association 108 million gallons of water and more than $251,000 in maintenance costs over two years.
“This wasn’t a simple maintenance contract,” Schinhofen said. “It was a systematic long-term project to fine-tune the efficiency and effectiveness of the landscape plan.”
The 150-acre landscape had become wildly overgrown in 25 years. Much of the irrigation system had broken: Lines leaked and broken sprinkler heads had been capped off instead of repaired. Overgrowth blocked many of the lines that did work, which meant the irrigation system had to run longer – sometimes for as much as an hour – to make up for the lack of irrigation elsewhere.
The Certificate of Commendation, signed by Mission Viejo Mayor Trish Kelley, recognizes Oso Valley Greenbelt Association for its “significant water conservation efforts” and for “developing an efficient long-term maintenance plan for enhancing the beauty of the 150 acres of landscape throughout the community.”
