8
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
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March/April 2022
MISSION
VISION
EXPERIMENTAL SOIL MOISTURE MONITORING STUDIED
The Davey Institute collaborated with the city of Los Angeles
and the Korean Youth and Community Center (KYCC) to
establish a three-year experimental soil moisture monitoring
project for establishment of newly planted trees.
A three-year watering program was established prior to
this experiment. City crews water trees in the right-of-way,
and residents are asked to water trees planted near their
homes. One of the goals of this experiment is to see if
increased residential engagement will improve the likelihood
of residents maintaining the designated watering schedule
for their trees. The second goal is to see if a tapered water
schedule, where the frequency of watering is reduced over
three years, will help the trees become better established
and increase their survival.
For the experiment, soil sensors were placed at 32 newly
planted African sumac trees. The 32 trees were divided
between four irrigation treatments. The treatments include
city crew watering on a standard schedule or on a tapered
schedule and resident watering with standard engagement
or enhanced engagement. This experiment is still ongoing.
African sumac was selected as the trial tree for this experiment because
of the number of trees planted and the diversity of planting locations.
HURRICANE IDA UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE ASSESSED
Davey Resource Group partnered with Entergy Louisiana
in January for a post storm damage assessment following
Hurricane Ida. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane
with sustained winds of 150 mph near Port Fourchon,
Louisiana, in 2021.
"We're going to literally walk out Entergy's entire system
pole by pole and notify them of all the changes – if pole
locations have changed, or if new poles have been set.
They estimate over 31,000 poles were set for this storm,
which is about double what Hurricane Katrina was. They're
estimating about 350,000 poles in total that we'll visit during
this pass, which encompasses 10 local areas," Roland Pratt,
account manager, Utility Asset Management services, said.
"We'll basically remap the system or verify what's in the GIS
as to what's in the field," Scott Anderson, project developer,
Utility Asset Management services, said.
In direct response to Hurricane Ida, Pratt led the storm
response team to assist Entergy Corporation with restoration
efforts in Louisiana. A total 35 DRG employees responded.
"We were there for a month," Pratt said.
Left: Crews from DRG UAM work with Entergy Louisiana to restore power.
Right: Hurricane Ida destruction in New Orleans.
