City of Chino Hills, California

Even though Chino Hills, California is neighbor to metropolitan Los Angeles, its rural character sets it miles apart. Blessed with scenic hillsides and a city council that wants to keep them that way, this master-planned suburb includes vast acres of preserved open space. With these environs, Chino Hills does not always have access to electrical power for automatic irrigation systems, nor is such power always desired. In addition, the city’s budget has little room for costly system upgrades and upkeep.

That is why Chino Hills relies on Rain Bird’s UNIK battery-operated controllers. The UNIK system automatically controls the city’s irrigation without AC power, while keeping a low profile at an equally low cost.

A UNIK Alternative to Electrical Retrofitting

The 50,000 residents of Chino Hills enjoy plenty of elbow room within the 46-square-mile limits, including beautifully landscaped greenbelts, nature parks and a 10,000-acre state park.

“We’re a suburban community with a rural setting,” said Bruce Coleman, Community Development Director for Chino Hills. “The city council has decided to protect the scenic beauty and focus development away from the hillside area.”

However, all this space has led to an interesting irrigation challenge. Lots of room between developments has meant that city-maintained landscapes are spread out. Some areas, such as parkways and medians, are as much as one mile from the nearest electrical source.

“In these cases, it’s not feasible to bring in power for conventional controllers because there is no money available in the city’s budget to pay for them,” said Kathy Cochran, Landscape Contract Specialist with Chino Hills Parks and Landscape Department. Also, running the necessary wire from traditional controllers under pavement to valves in median islands is too costly.

The city relies on approximately 65 UNIK modules for its medians, parkways, greenbelt slopes and nature parks. “UNIK modules are so cost effective we’re able to hook up many of them,” said Cochran. “And, UNIK is out of sight and out of mind.”

The UNIK system consists of a handheld, battery-operated field transmitter and a separate, hidden control module. The control module is connected to a DC-latching solenoid that replaces the 24-VAC solenoid found on Rain Bird DV, PGA, PEB, PES-B, GB and EFB valves. Small enough to fit inside a standard-size valve box, the control module can operate up to four valves and comes in one-, two- and four-station models.

UNIK’s handheld field transmitter is used to program the control module. It has a large, liquid crystal display (LCD) with self-explanatory icons that make programming simple. With three independent programs each offering eight start times, UNIK offers a wide range of programming to meet the needs of diverse landscapes. “We just plug the transmitter into the module and download the new watering schedule,” said Cochran.

To operate even in flooded valve boxes, UNIK features resin-encased electronic components, silicon-filled cavities, and a waterproof battery compartment. “I can reach down into a valve box full of water, plug in the field transmitter and UNIK is ready to go,” said Cochran.

UNIK Makes Upgrades Easy

In addition to using UNIK where there is no AC power, Chino Hills has found the system an affordable upgrade to automatic control. For many years the city left its irrigation systems manually operated. “Because so many of the parkways and medians had obsolete irrigation systems, we could only flood the areas,” said Cochran. During the drought years, the water running down the streets would frustrate homeowners who had been told to conserve. UNIK has been an affordable way to turn the valves on for short periods, saving water and keeping the peace.

Some landscapes do have new irrigation systems yet require only a few valves. “It’s not feasible to maintain an automatic controller, enclosure and electrical service for four valves when we can put in one UNIK control module,” said Cochran. “The only maintenance the UNIK requires is to change the 9-volt batteries once a year.”

UNIK Offers Cost-Effective Back Up

Chino Hills has found the UNIK system to be an essential companion to its traditional 120-volt powered, stand-alone controllers. UNIK is used as a convenient temporary option for faulty systems. If an electrical wire or controller is in need of repair, the UNIK installs easily to allow uninterrupted irrigation while repairs are made.

The city also uses UNIK to permanently take over a standard system’s job once a landscape has been established. When a developer cuts into the city’s surrounding slopes, for a housing development for example, the company is required to revegetate those slopes and seed them with native grasses to prevent erosion. The developer will install above-ground irrigation systems and connect them to a 120-volt powered controller. After one or two seasons, most of the irrigation systems are removed and the grass allowed to naturalize. The valves that are left, in a formally landscaped entry, for example, are converted to UNIK, thereby reducing maintenance costs of the controller and eliminating the cost of electricity.

“Our concern as a city is whether we can maintain newly developed areas in the future,” said Coleman. “What we’re grappling with—as is every city these days—is how to find ways to be a cost-effective public entity.”

From its low cost and low profile to its easy maintenance, the UNIK system has contributed to efficient irrigation in Chino Hills. Above all, UNIK has enabled the city to maintain its extraordinary commitment to nature’s resources and a high quality of life.