Access to a clean and plentiful water supply continues to be a growing challenge for many of the communities in which we operate. At Davey, we are continuing our legacy of environmental stewardship through responsible water use. Further, we are increasingly collaborating with our valued stakeholders to deliver solutions for their water management needs. As an essential element for plant health care, our commitment to water stewardship is critical for the continued success of our business.

Management Approach

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We began tracking our operational water use in 2014, discovering our facilities make up only a small portion of our water footprint. Our largest water consumption happens at the job site, from the mixing of chemicals. As a provider of tree and landscape services, our chemical footprint includes fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and growth regulators.

Chemical Use

WSSI Teaches Water Management

Historically, Davey has led in the responsible selection and use of these chemicals, employing robust chemical safety protocols and following EPA guidance on chemical risk reduction methods. We developed our landscape Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) program to evaluate the overall impacts of chemicals on the environment.

In 2017, we expanded our chemical management processes to include water use, setting an audacious goal to reduce our water consumption per labor hour by 35 percent by 2023 from a 2017 baseline. To accomplish this goal, we must rethink our entire chemical inventory and collaborate with chemical suppliers to identify and develop chemicals that require less or no water. Using our chemical inventory as a proxy, we calculate our 2021 field water use as 182,460 cubic meters. We used 2.27 gallons per labor hour in 2021 compared to 2.8 gallons per labor hour in 2019. The calculation is based off the highest water content mixing ratio for each chemical used.

Modeling Green Infrastructure

Our customers also play a key role in achieving our water goal. Around the United States and Canada, our residential and commercial business units advise clients on how to reduce their water usage through proper landscape maintenance techniques and drought-tolerant landscaping. Davey Resource Group implements water-sensitive restoration plans for wetland and riparian areas, as well as urban forestry projects that improve storm water and runoff management.

In 2021 we continued to expand our Water Management group activities.  We performed landscape sustainability studies and irrigation audits for several clients by following the principal that plants, soils, and water all function holistically together in the landscape.  Clients who implement our recommendations can reduce their irrigation water consumption 25 to 50 percent by only irrigating the plants that need water when they need water.