What is Smart Watering

Smart Irrigation is Much More Than Just Connected Irrigation

It is generally considered that four main stages must be mastered to truly speak of "smart irrigation":

1. Connected Irrigation: The first stage involves implementing tools that enable connected irrigation, which can be controlled remotely through the real-time, wireless transmission of data.

2. Agronomic Irrigation: The second stage is the implementation of agronomic irrigation. This approach accounts for the actual needs of plants based on data provided by soil moisture sensors installed within the green spaces.

3. Automated Control (Servo-control): The third stage focuses on automated control, allowing for the dynamic adjustment of watering schedules. By interpreting collected data (such as rainfall and soil water status), irrigation frequency is automatically varied to provide only the precise amount of water necessary for the plants that need it.

4. Hydraulic Network Supervision: The fourth and final stage involves supervising the entire hydraulic network. This allows for the detection of hidden leaks in the primary network as well as leaks in the secondary network (broken sprinklers, punctured drip lines, etc.). In fact, a significant portion of wasted water in France is attributable to network leaks.

Implementing a smart irrigation strategy that incorporates these four stages leads to substantial water savings while improving the quality and health of the monitored green spaces.

Beyond one-off experiments conducted in many French cities, Greencityzen has been supporting the large-scale rollout for numerous major cities since 2023—particularly those heavily impacted by the effects of climate change and water usage restrictions.

Project References:

• France: Marseille, Martigues, Istres, Toulouse...

• Spain: Logroño, Tudela...