Alan Harris

Alan Harris is a water management pioneer. With roots in landscape architecture, Alan has worked with irrigation throughout his career experimenting with hydrozones and a variety of high efficiency irrigation systems. Now, over thirty years in the landscape industry, Alan continues to stay apprised of the latest technology even in a sales leadership capacity as our Director of Sales Operations for our landscape maintenance division. In addition to his contributions to this blog, Alan keeps his hand in water management as a regular contributor to Lawn & Landscape Magazine and speaker at WaterSmart Innovations Conference.

Growing up, Alan was protected from the drought that hit his local community due to access to his family water well at which time Alan learned how water distribution can impact supply. A fervent debater, Alan enjoys playing devil’s advocate when discussing topics on water shortages. He gardens and plays tennis in his spare time when he’s not participating in ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) or CAI (Community Associations Institute) functions. At home, Alan collects rain to water his garden. Alan on Google+

  • Top 5 Water Management Posts 2014 final
    01.06.15

    Top 5 Water Management Posts from 2014

    2014 was another great year for water management posts on ValleyCrestTakesOn.com. A total of 53 posts about water management generated over 153,000 page views resulting from almost 113,000 visits. This was just under a 300% increase in traffic from 2013. Clearly there was a high interest in water management in 2014. While most of the visits were from the United Sates, the reach was truly international. Top 5 Water Management Countries United States Canada United Kingdom India Australia As might... MORE >

  • Happy Holidays 2014
    12.24.14

    We Wish You Merry Water Savings

    Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the landscape not a sprinkler head leaked, not even a valve. The smart controller was hung on the wall with care, in hopes the ET information would soon be there. The water bloggers were all nestled in their beds while visions of water savings danced in their heads. And the irrigation tech in her work boots and I in my irrigation app, had just winterized the system for a long winter nap;... MORE >

  • Love of Water - puzzled hearts by Hai Linh Truong
    12.09.14

    For the Love of Water

    Are you like Dory from Finding Nemo and love all things shiny? Good news, according to “Taking a shine to it: How the preference for glossy stems from an innate need for water” published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology¹ (JCP) the love of shiny may be “from an innate preference for fresh water as a resource.” The JCP goes on to recognize “the presence of water has a relaxing and peaceful quality and has a positive influence on people’s level... MORE >

  • Water Message Coaster
    11.25.14

    Water Conservation Message Hits Prime Time

    Water authorities and government agencies are consistently promoting the water conservation message. However, when the water conservation message is picked up by a prominent company in a national commercial it gets much more attention and recognition. If you blinked, went to the restroom or fast forwarded the television last night you may have missed the water conservation message bring broadcast on mainstream media channels. Rain is a 30 second commercial spot for the Toyota Prius playing during primetime television shows.... MORE >

  • WaterSage Cloud Irrigation Controller
    10.28.14

    Cloud on the Floor of WaterSmart Innovations

    We love techie water management solutions…especially water management solutions housed in the cloud. Here are a few of the cloud (and one non-cloud) based water management solutions we saw displayed on the floor of the Expo. WaterSage by OnPointe EcoSystems WaterSage is a WiFi, weather-based, EPA WaterSense labeled, cloud irrigation controller with an intuitive wizard to assist with the programming. The wizard uses text and pictures to guide the user through the information needed for an ET based controller to... MORE >

  • Smart Irrigation Controller Installation
    10.14.14

    3 Brilliant Studies Support Smart Irrigation Controllers

    These three studies supporting evapotranspiration (ET) based smart irrigation controllers were from over 100 education sessions at the most recent WaterSmart Innovations Conference. The first two studies focused on what happens in regards to the way water and smart irrigation controllers are used in the field by real people. The third was a controlled study proving significant water savings from ET based smart irrigation controller. Where the Water Goes Morgan Shimabuku from the Center for ReSource Conservation in Boulder, CO... MORE >

  • Fall Tree
    09.30.14

    Fall Back for Water Conservation

    Fall is in the air and the trees are beginning to show their fall colors. We know when the time comes to change our clocks we will “Fall back an hour”. Now is also the time to “Fall back” on the irrigation run times to minimize water use in the landscape. Fall Means Shorter Days Shorter days means less sun and less time for plants to grow. Less plant growth means most plants need less water. The exception to the... MORE >

  • iPhone 6 plus, Apple Watch and iOS8 will disrupt the way we do many things. Will irrigation management be one of the functions disrupted?
    09.16.14

    How iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch and iOS 8 Will Disrupt Irrigation Management

    Will the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch and iOS 8 really disrupt the way we have approached irrigation management for the past 50 years? Probably not…yet, but if Apple Pay can replace the way credit cards have been used for the past 50 years then why not? If someone told you five years ago you could access your irrigation controller via your smart phone would you have thought it would be possible? App for that Irrigation Controller We reviewed several... MORE >

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