Seeger Water Corporation Delivers Water Savings and Accountability with IQ4

DJ Seeger has deep roots in irrigation. His father, Don Seeger Sr., started Total Irrigation in 1987, and Seeger began helping his dad at an early age. After graduating from high school, he took on roles in customer service, operations, and administration. During this time, Seeger developed a passion for the industry and environmental sustainability. In 2017, Seeger took over the business from his father, and in 2019 he created a new vision for the company, and Seeger Water Corporation was born.  

Seeger uses IQ4 Central Control and other emerging technologies to help fulfill the company mission to manage water responsibility, combat water waste and provide his customers with professional service built on integrity and accountability.

How do you talk about water management with your customers?

“Our focus is irrigation and saving our customers water,” said Seeger. “In San Antonio, the water bill can be the most expensive bill the property managers get. If you are managing a large property where you are irrigating acres worth of grass, then your water bill is a really big deal.

“If you can save water as a property manager, you look golden to the property owner you are representing. And, I lead with that. I tell them we're here to save you water because we have a fiduciary responsibility to the property owner and we're also considering the resource and the sustainability of our aquifer. We also talk to them about the pump station and the amount of energy needed to pull this water out of the ground.”

IQ4 has allowed Seeger and his team to get predicting the water bill down to a science. “I can tell a property manager based on the size of the property and number of zones how much water they will use that month, almost down to the tens of gallons,” said Seeger. “With IQ4 it's even better because if a leak happens in the middle of the night, boom, the system shuts itself down.”

How have you leveraged IQ to grow your customer base?

“The number one selling point is the central control function and the ability to share access with clients," said Seeger. "I've got one building engineer who manages over a dozen buildings, each with an irrigation system. That is a lot to manage, and the fact that our staff, the building engineer, and the property owner all have access to IQ4 is a huge benefit to him. The building engineer loved the technology so much the owner wanted to see it. If he logs in to IQ4 to check it himself combined with his security cameras, he never has to leave his office, and he loves it. When a tenant holds a special event at a property, the building engineer knows shutting down the system is very easy, he doesn’t even need to call us.”

In May, Seeger sits down with customers to discuss the water management plan for their property in the coming year. He reviews water usage and recommends additional system improvements that can save even more. In the Fall, Seeger and his team make irrigation improvements while plants are dormant and temperatures are moderate, keeping his employees busy during the slower months. 

How has IQ4 changed your business operations?

“We've saved a lot of gas with IQ4,” said Seeger. “With an almost 5,000-square-mile service area, the remote capability of IQ4 means myself and my staff don't spend as much time on the road, saving on gas and vehicle wear and tear.”

Seeger’s commitment to managing water sustainably goes beyond installing water-efficient irrigation systems. He is currently working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, University of Texas, and the Texas Water Development Board and water utilities throughout the State on a new groundwater bill. One of the initiatives is to begin to collect and store water usage data in one database to help monitor how water is used throughout the State.