Case studies
Savings you can point at in a utility bill.
Real deployments, real meters, real numbers. These are results measured against a billed baseline, not a projection from a model.
Equestrian · University grounds
2.4 million gallons saved in five months.
Cal Poly Arabian Horse Center · California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
The Cal Poly Arabian Horse Center compared five months of metered water use against the same five months a year earlier, with GroundWorx root-zone sensing informing irrigation decisions. Consumption fell from 32.32 acre-feet to 24.81 acre-feet — a 7.51 acre-foot reduction, or 2,447,141 gallons, across the same footprint and the same season.
Water saved
2,447,141gallons
7.51 acre-feet, January through May
Reduction
23%
Year over year, same five-month window
2025 baseline
32.32acre-feet
January – May 2025
2026 with GroundWorx
24.81acre-feet
January – May 2026
Comparison window: January – May 2026 vs. January – May 2025
The challenge
- Equestrian surfaces sit in a narrow band — too dry and footing turns loose and dusty, too wet and it goes heavy and unsafe for horses.
- Irrigation decisions were made on schedule and appearance, with no continuous record of what the root zone was actually holding.
- As a public university under California water pressure, the center needed documented reduction, not an estimate.
What GroundWorx did
- GroundWorx sensors were installed to report soil moisture, temperature, and salinity from the root zone continuously, roughly every ten minutes.
- GAIN combined those readings with AI-modeled weather to learn how each location gains and loses moisture, and to forecast where it was heading.
- Irrigation run times were cut where the root zone was already at target instead of watering the whole area to protect the driest corner.
- Existing utility meters provided the independent record, so savings could be verified against a billed baseline rather than a model.
The result
- Metered use dropped from 32.32 acre-feet to 24.81 acre-feet across the identical five-month window.
- 7.51 acre-feet — 2,447,141 gallons — of water was not applied, a 23% reduction year over year.
- Surface conditions were maintained throughout, with moisture trends replacing spot checks and guesswork.
- The reduction is documented in utility records, giving the university a defensible sustainability figure.
Methodology. Figures reflect metered water consumption for the Cal Poly Arabian Horse Center over January through May 2026 compared against January through May 2025. The 7.51 acre-foot difference converts to 2,447,141 gallons at 325,851 gallons per acre-foot, representing a 23.2% reduction. Results at any site depend on soil, climate, irrigation infrastructure, and operating practice.
Want a number like that from your own meter?
Paid pilots run at discounted rates, and what you pay is credited toward your final purchase. We will build the baseline with you so the savings are documented, not estimated.