Step-by-Step Guide
Understanding WeatherTRAK's Reporting Capabilities
WeatherTRAK Central offers more than 30 different reports that access all information about your controller management history. These reports are designed to help you manage water more effectively, analyze irrigation performance, and provide visibility into your entire irrigation operation. The reporting tools are divided into two main categories: everyday management reports for routine irrigation tasks, and advanced analytical reports for water management optimization.
Single Controller Run Time History Report
The Single Controller Run Time History Report is designed to answer everyday management questions such as how much you're watering a station or whether a station ran the previous night. This report is essential for irrigation technicians who need to understand how the system is irrigating on a daily basis.
The report displays a bar chart showing each day's scheduled irrigation along with a blue line running across the top that represents the ET (evapotranspiration) or weather information that helps establish these schedules. When viewing the daily report, the ET line may not match up exactly with the irrigation bars due to multiple variables at play. The ET data instructs the controller for its daily irrigation, and then the system waits for the next day's ET. If the reservoir is full from previous irrigation, even though the ET may have dropped, there might be more irrigation. The system might then wait two or three days before irrigating again as the reservoir depletes around the root zone of each station.
Each individual station tracks depletion independently and might not prompt irrigation on any given day. When viewing this up-close perspective, it's like looking through a microscope at the ET correlation for your irrigation. However, when you take a step back and view a larger time period, the correlation between weather information and irrigation becomes much clearer. This visual representation helps customers see that the system is watering according to changing weather conditions.
Multi Controller Alert Report
The Multi Controller Alert Report is one of the most frequently used reports for daily system management. This report helps you keep your finger on the pulse of the system by showing what issues are being raised and identified by the system. Maintenance issues that need attention are often tied directly to these alerts.
The report displays alert information including how long alerts last. The entire alert history is stored in the cloud, which is a significant advantage over many other systems where alert information disappears once an alert is resolved. With WeatherTRAK, when you resolve an alert, it goes into the alert history where you can see specifics about when the alert was raised, when it was cleared, and how long it lasted. This allows you to see management practices in action and track how long it takes to respond to on-site issues.
Controller Settings Change History Report
The Controller Settings Change History Report is important for identifying who is managing the controller. This report provides security by tracking the username and password of any user who makes changes to your controller. If you log in and wonder why your controller isn't programmed the way you left it, you can pull this report to see all changes that were made.
The report shows the person responsible for each change, the time and date the change happened, what the setting was before the change, and what it was after the change. If a change was made in error, this information makes it very easy to undo the change and restore the previous settings.
Single Controller Measured Usage History Report
The Single Controller Measured Usage History Report is similar to the runtime report but measures water usage in gallons rather than runtime minutes. This report provides a month-by-month analysis showing measured consumption (the number of gallons used) in comparison to ET.
On the monthly chart, you can see that as weather spikes on the ET graph, irrigation usage also increases. As the season starts to break, irrigation follows the ET curve very closely, which demonstrates the value of weather-based irrigation. The report shows all different kinds of irrigation, including water delivered through the irrigation schedule, manual operation where the system was being tested, and other irrigation water that flowed through the system while the controller wasn't on during non-irrigation hours. This "other irrigation" category is measured and tracked separately.
The purple bars that might appear in early spring months (March, April, May) typically represent system turn-on activities, such as checking the system while blowing air through it during startup procedures. The report also allows you to compare year-to-year performance. For example, you might notice that you're closer to the ET curve in one year than another, which can indicate that you're learning how to run the system more efficiently, particularly with subsurface irrigation systems that may require a learning curve.
Customizing Reports with Your Logo
You can personalize all reports generated from your WeatherTRAK.net account by adding your own logo. This feature is available at no additional cost and makes reports more professional when sharing them with supervisors or field staff.
1. Prepare your logo file. The logo should be on a white or transparent background and saved as a PNG file with an ideal resolution and file size of less than 100 kilobytes.
2. Send your logo file to support@hydropoint.com. If your logo doesn't meet the exact specifications, the customer support team will help you get it into the right format.
3. Once processed, your logo will appear at the top of every report you generate instead of the WeatherTRAK logo.
Controller Inventory Report
The Controller Inventory Report is a high-level water management tool that helps you keep track of two main things across your entire portfolio of controllers: whether stations are programmed in auto mode and whether there are active alerts.
To get the best return on investment from WeatherTRAK, all stations should be programmed in auto mode, running weather-based irrigation that adjusts daily and accounts for local weather. While you can override schedules by choice, using auto mode station settings will deliver the highest return on investment. Keeping track of alerts and alert notifications helps identify maintenance or repair issues that can cost time or water.
The report uses color-coding for easy visibility: green means all stations are in auto mode, yellow means some stations are in auto and some aren't, and red means no stations are in auto mode. This provides a quick visual way to oversee a project and ensure stations are staying in auto mode without having to physically check each controller. This is particularly valuable for providing oversight of water management projects across multiple sites.
Controller Estimated Usage Report
The Controller Estimated Usage Report provides detailed water usage analytics by multiplying station runtime by flow rate to create an estimate of how many gallons each station used. This report enables advanced water management analysis and helps identify opportunities for additional water savings.
The report shows water distribution by plant type and water distribution by sprinkler type at the bottom of the first page. After completing a WeatherTRAK project, if you're still looking to manage water more effectively or capture additional savings, you can use this data to determine where your opportunities for next steps in water management are. For example, you can identify whether a particular plant type is consuming a disproportionate amount of water, or whether a particular sprinkler type is less efficient than others.
The second page provides a station-by-station breakdown with detailed numbers. This allows you to identify specific stations that may need attention to save more water, helping you determine where your biggest return on investment for water management improvements will be. Since the report is based on actual irrigation, if you've adjusted stations to receive more water, you can identify where that water is being used or potentially lost.
This report is particularly useful for identifying turf replacement projects. If you see a disproportionate amount of water being used on turf in areas that are not high-traffic zones, you might be able to reduce water consumption by 20% or more by converting those areas to xeriscape, mulch, or other low-water landscaping. Similarly, the report can help justify high-efficiency sprinkler head conversions or drip irrigation installations. For example, if 50% of your water is being used by spray heads, you can calculate the savings from converting a portion of that to drip irrigation.
The report is also valuable for calculating return on investment for pressure regulation and low-flow nozzle upgrades. If a large percentage of your irrigation goes to spray heads, you can determine that switching to high-efficiency equipment will save a specific percentage of that water usage, giving you concrete numbers to put pencil to paper and figure out the ROI for other water management projects.
Accessing and Running Reports
1. Log into your WeatherTRAK.net account and navigate to the Reports page.
2. Click the drop-down menu to see all available reports. While the list of more than 30 reports may seem daunting for new users, there is an information button (i button) that provides a high-level description of what each report contains. Use this feature to help you find the specific information you need.
3. Select the type of report you want to run from the drop-down menu.
4. Customize the report using the available options. Each report has its own customization features with checkboxes and settings that allow you to tailor the report to your specific needs.
5. Select the controller or controllers you want to include in the report. You can run reports for all of your controllers, a single controller, or any subset in between.
6. Once you have customized the report the way you want it, you can immediately render it as a PDF or Excel spreadsheet depending on what you plan to do with the information.
Subscribing to Scheduled Reports
The subscription feature (also called scheduling) allows you to set up reports to automatically generate and be delivered to your inbox at the time of your choosing. This is an underutilized feature that can save significant time by eliminating the need to manually run routine reports.
1. After customizing your report settings, click the Subscribe button instead of immediately generating the report.
2. The system will display all the report information you just set up and give you the opportunity to configure your subscription settings.
3. Set the frequency and timing for when you want the report delivered to your inbox.
4. Enter your email address and add any other recipients who should receive the report. These recipients do not need to be WeatherTRAK users themselves—you can send reports to supervisors, customers, or anyone else who needs the information without giving them access to the system.
5. Save your subscription settings. The report will now automatically generate and be delivered according to your schedule.
Using Reports for Field Management
Reports can be used to chase irregularities in the field by showing station-by-station water usage based on actual irrigation. If you've adjusted stations to require more water, reports can help identify where that water is being used or lost, pointing you toward potential savings opportunities.
Field managers use reports to identify turf replacement projects by finding areas where a disproportionate amount of water is being used on turf that may not be in high-traffic areas. These zones can potentially be converted to xeriscape or mulch to reduce water consumption. Similarly, reports help identify opportunities for high-efficiency head conversions or drip irrigation installations by showing which sprinkler types are consuming the most water.
The Estimated Usage Report is particularly valuable for calculating return on investment for equipment upgrades. By showing what percentage of irrigation goes to different sprinkler types, you can calculate potential savings from switching to high-efficiency nozzles or other water-saving equipment and present concrete ROI figures to decision-makers.
Using Reports for Administrative and Budgeting Purposes
Reports provide significant value beyond field operations, particularly for administrative tasks and budget planning. The Controller Inventory Report can be used to track contractual obligations and budget for subscription services. Rather than maintaining separate Excel files to track the number of controllers, installation dates, and contract details, you can pull this report to see all the information needed for budget projections.
For organizations that plan budgets many months in advance (18-20 months ahead in some cases), having this information readily available in report form streamlines the budget submission process. You can quickly determine what needs to be budgeted for the upcoming year without having to manually compile information from multiple sources.
Reports can also be downloaded as Excel files for further analysis. This allows you to combine WeatherTRAK data with other information sources, such as weather data from state mesonet systems, to create comprehensive presentations. You can pull ET data, wind data, and other factors from WeatherTRAK reports and combine them with external data to explain water usage patterns and demonstrate the return on investment for smart irrigation controllers to governing bodies or management.
Comparing Historical Water Usage
Reports enable you to compare current water usage with historical data from before WeatherTRAK installation. If your water department uses a SCADA system or other monitoring system, you can compare those reports with WeatherTRAK reports to demonstrate water savings achieved after implementing weather-based irrigation.
This historical comparison is valuable for showing the return on public or organizational investment in smart irrigation technology. You can pull data from both systems, verify that they're relatively consistent with each other, and then demonstrate the reduction in water usage after implementing WeatherTRAK. This provides concrete evidence of water savings that can be presented to commissioners, boards, or other decision-makers.
Remote Management Capabilities
Reports support remote management of irrigation systems, reducing the need for daily site visits. Rather than having irrigation staff drive around the city checking if systems are running properly or relying on mowing crews or citizens to report problems (which may be forgotten or delayed), reports provide proactive notification of issues.
The alert reporting system identifies problems such as leaky valves that might otherwise go unnoticed for a week or more. This saves water, reduces labor costs for scouting, and enables faster response to problems. Additionally, the remote management capability allows you to schedule irrigation around special events or quickly shut down irrigation if there's a conflict, all without having to physically visit the site or even make a phone call to someone in the field.
Report Time Zone Considerations
Currently, all WeatherTRAK reports display times in Pacific Time because they're generated on servers in that time zone. This is a known limitation that is on the development roadmap to address. In the future, reports will be able to display times in the user's local time zone, but this functionality is still being developed to determine the best implementation approach.
Running Reports for Subsets of Controllers
Multi-controller reports can be customized to include any subset of the controllers you manage. You're not limited to running reports for all controllers or just one—you can select any combination of controllers that makes sense for your reporting needs. This flexibility allows you to create reports for specific properties, zones, or management areas without having to include your entire controller inventory.
Video Walkthrough
Video originally published April 2021.
If you have questions, here are 3 ways to get answers:
1. Search within this WeatherTRAK knowledgebase
2. Visit the WeatherTRAK support page
3. Call 800-362-8774 or email support@hydropoint.com, hours are Mon-Fri 3:00 AM – 6:00 PM PT and Sat 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT.