Baseline Systems BaseStation 6000 - Manual (Page 73)

P a g e | 65
Controlling Water Usage
The usage control features in the BaseStation 6000 enable you to proactively monitor usage and adjust watering to stay within
certain allowed limits. When you configure the software to monitor usage, you can prevent costly overages from your water
supplier.
Setting Up a Water Budget By Month
Setting up a Water Budget By Month enables you to define and track the total flow for each flow biCoder per month. You enter
a target usage amount for a given month, and then define how the system will react when this amount is reached.
1. On the Main Page of the BaseStation 6000 software, click the Information tab to activate the Main Menu.
2. On the Main Menu, click Flow, and then click Monthly Usage Control. The Flow BiCoder and Pause Device Management
and Configuration window opens.
3. Click the Water Budget By Month tab.
4. Click the arrow in the field under Monthly Usage
Manager, and then click the Flow biCoder that you want
to use to monitor your water budget (1) .
5. In the Usage table, type a number in the Target (2) field
for each month to represent the maximum amount of
water (in GPM) that you expect to use during that
month.
Note: You will notice that either NA or a percentage
displays to the right of the Actual fields. NA means that
the system cannot calculate a percentage based on the
relationship between the target and the actual because
the flow meter has not yet read the actual flow for the
month.
6. Define how you want the system to respond to the flow targets (3) :
• Warn if monthly usage to date meets or exceeds planned usage to date – Allows the system to exceed the target
number but presents a warning so that you can see what is taking too much water.
• Warn if monthly usage total has been reached or exceeded – Warns you if your irrigation system reaches the overall
total target flow for the month.
• Constrain watering by program to meet water usage target – Keeps you from going over your usage targets and can
be handled in the following ways:

Stop when target usage is reached – Waters the system as it is set up. When the target is reached for that month,
they system stops watering and does not resume until the next month.
 Adjust continuously – Uses the system’s setup to determine the total monthly water that will be used and adjusts
your programming as needed.
7. Select one of the options in the Control Method (4) group box:
• Predicted – The system calculates the flow based on each zone’s GPM and how it will water and then compares that
against your monthly target.
• Flow Meter – The system compares the actual flow of the system to the monthly target for each flow meter.