The Irrigation Association announced that the Frontier Family Park Project has been named the recipient of the 2026 Vanguard Award – Landscape. The IA’s Vanguard Award honors innovative projects in the irrigation industry executed by a team of individuals, companies, organizations or other group entities.
Frontier Family Park in Queen Creek, Arizona, represents a large-scale, collaborative approach to modern irrigation design and implementation. Led by J2 Design in partnership with the Town of Queen Creek and supported by a team of design sub-consultants, contractors and product manufacturers, the 85-acre park required an innovative solution to balance performance, efficiency and long-term sustainability within a complex desert environment. The project integrated advanced irrigation technologies, including smart control systems, multi-point flow monitoring and a high-capacity pump station, while maintaining the reliability of a conventional wired network. Designed and constructed on an accelerated timeline, the system addressed challenges related to scale, water management and operational efficiency, delivering a coordinated solution that supports both the park’s extensive amenities and the Town’s long-term maintenance goals.
“Frontier Family Park is a strong example of what thoughtful planning and collaboration can deliver for a community,” said IA CEO Natasha Rankin. “J2 Design, the Town of Queen Creek and their project partners developed an irrigation system that supports a complex, large-scale public park while balancing efficiency, reliability and long-term maintenance needs. Their work shows how modern irrigation design, supported by strong partnerships, can help communities create public spaces that are both functional and responsible with water.”
Since its completion in 2024, Frontier Family Park has demonstrated strong performance across key operational metrics, including the ability to deliver efficient irrigation within a limited nighttime watering window while maintaining full public access during the day. The system’s flexible design supported phased construction and enabled early establishment of turf areas, ensuring project timelines were met despite the site’s complexity. Widely embraced by the Town of Queen Creek and the surrounding community, the project stands as a model for large municipal landscapes, showcasing how innovative irrigation design and collaborative execution can create resilient, efficient and high-impact public spaces.
In addition to J2 Design and the Town of Queen Creek, this project included the following partners: Munro Companies, Hunter Industries, HydroPoint Data Systems (Baseline), Leemco Piping Solutions, Hunter Contracting and SiteWorks.
The 2026 IA Award recipients will be honored at the 2026 Irrigation Show and Education Week in Las Vegas, Dec. 7-10.