Background Currently, there are some 5 000 ha of green space in Spain. The maintenance of these areas with the existing irrigation and water supply systems entails a water expenditure of some 500 million m3/yr. This represents approximately 2% of the total annual water consumption in Spain. The city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country has various problems with its irrigation systems, largely as a result of the complexity of the infrastructure required to service the widely spread out green areas. This situation is aggravated by the lack of an inventory of the irrigation network of the city, which hampers both its maintenance and the ability to act in case of breakdown or accident. Historically poor water management means that most of the irrigation systems operate inefficiently, leading to some 60% of the water extracted being lost and wasted. This situation is aggravated by the existence of obsolete facilities, the lack of resources, expertise and personnel within municipalities to perform proper maintenance, the occurrence of accidents, cracks and leaks and the lack of an early detection system for such eventualities. Objectives The 'IRRIGESTLIFE' project aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a smart irrigation system that meets the actual needs of a city’s green spaces, whilst minimising water consumption, through the avoidance of leaks, over-watering and human mistakes. It plans to base the system on an accurate measurement of the key parameters. The project will conduct an inventory of all the irrigation units in Vitoria-Gastéiz and identify the key parameters for meeting the exact irrigation needs of each green area. Improved knowledge and understanding of the irrigation needs of the green areas will be provided by a microclimate characterisation and monitoring of climate variables by means of sensors connected to the municipal geographic information system (GIS). The irrigation network will be improved by creating the capacity to identify anomalies in irrigation requirements and irrigation operations on site in real time through a remote management system integrated into the municipal GIS of the city. As well as climate sensors, the project will install autonomous photovoltaic (PV) power units and a data transmission network connecting the city through the gardens. Expected results: The project expects to demonstrate a smart irrigation system based on measurements of climate parameters using data taken from sensors. More specifically it hopes to deliver: Four prototypes that allow maximum use of the existing irrigation infrastructure in the city; An irrigation system integrated in the municipal GIS to enable the management of irrigation efficiently by municipal technicians and incorporating an alarm system for decision-making in real time; Water savings of 30% in irrigating the green areas of Vitoria-Gastéiz; A 20% reduction in the working hours needed to manage the irrigation works; and Energy savings from the installation of autonomous PV power units.