Consumers are more intelligent today. They demand more information to understand the products they buy.

The Consumer Bill of Rights for Irrigation provides an excellent outline for understanding irrigation products. Consumers will use their dollars to express their trust and confidence in products and manufacturers.

As an industry, we should strive to set a high standard for our products and services. We need to take steps to self-regulate or be subject to additional regulations from lawmakers who know less about irrigation than we do. In addition, most of our work takes place with a high level of trust from individuals.

Most consumers don’t worry about the quality of their water. They trust the food we grow and the landscapes we water are done safely and cause them no harm.

This first of a three-part series will look at the ITRC’s Irrigation Consumer Bill of Rights “General” document that covers all types of irrigation systems and the consumers purchasing them. We will break down the four key sections of the document:

• Designer Qualifications
• Design Features
• Specific Operating/Design Parameters
• Warranties

All to better help irrigation professionals deliver the value that consumers expect for the irrigation industry.