Irving Puts Technology to Work

from Irving City Spectrum, May 2023

Parks and Recreation Activities

Irving Parks and Recreation Expands into Automated Irrigation Technology

The City of Irving Parks and Recreation Department oversees the maintenance and beautification of more than 2,000 acres of land and 80 parks. The sprawling acres of trails and park grounds provide a challenge for the department — irrigation and water conservation.

Now, Parks and Recreation, with the assistance of the Information Technology (IT) Department, is engaging a new automated, central irrigation system that will save money and serve as a backup conservation effort when irrigation lines break or malfunction. The central irrigation system is an IT system that allows for scheduling, flow monitoring and management of irrigation installations from one or several sites through a computer or device. The new technology is part of the city’s Smart Cities Initiative, “Irving Connects.”

Parks and Recreation relies on two irrigation crew members to oversee its vast acreage of park land and 300 irrigation controllers scattered across Irving. This provides a challenge when water loss failures are experienced and there’s a delay in notifying the city to go out and shut off the system. With the new system, irrigation crew members can manage issues directly from their cellphones, saving the city time and money, and ensuring that excess water does not overflow and damage other areas of the park.

Additionally, the system can provide accurate data to irrigators and technicians who go out to address problems. The mobile data can pinpoint the location of broken components, as well as provide weather information to notify irrigators if rain is in the forecast.

Currently, the city has automated central irrigation controllers in place at Heritage Park and is looking to add Centennial Park, Trinity View Park and Irving Boulevard, once construction wraps up in the fall. Central controllers are currently installed at the Irving Soccer Complex, but the athletic fields use a radio system versus the new digital system.

While Irving’s parks follow the same water restriction guidelines as residential areas, the added technology will ensure the city is taking extra steps to conserve water, particularly during excessive heat and drought during the summer.

Visit CityofIrving.org/IrvingInvests for more information on the city’s ongoing infrastructure initiatives. 

Sowing for the Future: Borrow, Grow, Give Back

The Irving Public Library’s Seed Library is a project that keeps on giving. Maintained at the South Irving Library, 601 Schulze Drive, the program gathers and maintains local seeds that have been passed down from generation to generation or from neighbor to neighbor. This practice, around for thousands of years, saves money and helps develop stronger seeds that provide healthy nutrition and are more adaptable to local climate.

Irving gardeners are encouraged to visit the Seed Library collection to check out seeds to plant in their own gardens. There are dozens of plants, flowers and vegetables available for immediate use: carrots, peas, sunflowers and basil to name a few. At the end of the season, let the plants go to seed, save those seeds and donate them back to restock the collection.

The collection is in a card catalog on the South Library’s first floor. Cardholders can select seed packets and check them out at the circulation desk.

Need Additional Help?

Most seed packets come with growing instructions and tips. Ask a librarian about the Seed Library’s donor process or where to find books on gardening and herb growing. Different seeds are available throughout the growing seasons, and patrons can find new selections during various times of the year.

Irving’s Seed Library is dependent on donations, but it’s a different kind of “green” to pay forward. So, dig in and start planting for Irving’s future. 

The City of Irving is recruiting the best and brightest, and the city is paying $3,000 to all new full-time employees hired by June 30.