Budget Season – Emergency Storm Damage Awareness

This year’s monsoons have devastated the valley with harsh winds and copious rains. Due to the excessive heat this summer and the 100 plus days with no recordable moisture this year, the desert trees fall dormant and stress, which causes their root structures to stretch to the surface to receive as much hydration as possible.

All too often we come across a community who experiences severe storm damage this time of year and didn’t properly prepare or have a plan in place for restoration. This is where budget planning comes into play. While monsoon season can be predictable as in the time of year it occurs, the strength of its storms cannot. We recently came across a property that lost over 500 trees in the past couple of storms. Yes, I said 500!!

Protect your community’s largest asset by putting a strong emergency storm damage plan in place. Queue BUDGET SEASON! Now is the time to start the discussions for forecasting potential disaster clean-up, replacement options for plant and tree material, property enhancements, etc. Speak with your landscape professional to discuss potential worse case scenario situations and start investing.

So how do I prepare? Here is a list of suggestions to help ensure your community is financially prepared for potential monsoon disasters.

Start with your landscape professional. Landscaping on a property is one of the community’s largest assets and therefore needs to be protected. Speak with your landscape professional about ways to work potential storm damage into the yearly budget and help calculate a suggested reserves deposit.

Speak with your Arbor team. Trees down are one of the most common visuals we see when the storms hit. So many factors can go into weak trees that are more susceptible to falling including, improper pruning, pest infestations in the tree and/or root structure, imbalanced chemicals in the soil, etc. By properly pruning your trees at the recommended time of year, and not just before the storms hit, will allow the tree to re-establish its weight and ground itself prior to the monsoons. It is also a critical practice to pull back drip irrigation away from the trunk of the tree as it grows to improve root growth and deter “balling”.

Speak with your Enhancements team. Another common result of monsoon storms is erosion issues. Make sure to have a plan in place, and budgeted funds set aside, for erosion issues to be repaired and the granite replenished. Other options could also be set in place to help prevent erosion from being so severe and give you a more proactive approach to maintaining your community versus reactive.

It can be challenging at times to try to forecast a community’s needs for the next year, but by speaking with the professionals, they can help guide you to make the most educated decisions for your community’s future.