The Official JOurnal Of irrigaTiOn ausTralia limiTed

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In ThIs Issue: Fundamentals oF CPlm eFFiCienCy

sustainable gardening For the Futurewater reForm - next stePs

are your indePendent ContraCtors really emPloyees?new ial board direCtors

Five things

The JOurnal fOr irrigaTiOn PrOfessiOnals

lenders look for when assessing your finance application

IAL opposes proposed national plumbing

license regulation

iNTELLiPUMP is the control system with a host of

exclusive features, plus the added benefit of being able to

integrate with a serious monitoring system — all at a very

cost-effective price. Why would you muck around with

anything less professional and efficient for your business?

Applying the correct amount of water at the correct

time reduces crop stress and susceptibility to disease

and pests, plus increases the crop’s long-term

sustainability and profitability.

iNTELLiPUMPiNTELLiPUMP: • isinstalledonaPCreducingthecostfor

expensive field control stations

• issimpletolearn

• allowsyoutobringinalldevicesusedinmonitoring (including weather stations, flow meters,monitoringboresandsoilmoistureprobes)

• hasaneasy-to-readdisplayallowingyoutoinstantlyseehowthingsareworking

• canbeeasilyintegratedintoyourexistingiNTELLiTROLsystemsoyoucanaddcontroltoyourmonitoringsolution

• conversely,iNTELLiTROLcanbeeasilyintegratedintoyourexistingiNTELLiPUMPcontrolsystem

• isaneffectivestand-alonecontrol

• hasbeendesignedbyAustralianagronomistsandengineers,withfarmerinput

• ismadeinAustralia

• allowsyoutoeasilyexpandthesystembyaddingadditionalboardswithnoextrasoftwarecosts

• offers2remotecontroloptions(24VACor12VDC)wherepowerisnotavailable

• letsyoucontrolalimitlessnumbersofpumps(includingfertigationpumps)

• hasfaultalarms

• letsyoucontrolirrigationinthewaythatbestsuitsyou(time,moisture,ET,airtemperature,etc..)

• hasmoresophisticatedrain-controloptionsthanjustsimple“rainswitches”

• letsyouschedulealimitlessnumberofirrigationprogrammes

• offersexceptionalvalueformoney

• ANDcanevenbeusedforautomatingflood-irrigation systems

“We had a look at several different control systems when we were getting ours designed. Our

irrigation designer recommended iNTELLiPUMP as the best one — for its value, as well as all the

things it can do. It’s easy to use and everything’s there for reporting, readily on display. I like how

you can check flow, to see if there’s been any problems.”

— Mark Trzaskoma, Battunga Orchards, Warragul, Vic

“It’s been fantastic: the orchard virtually waters itself. We have 130ha under irrigation, and just

wouldn’t be able to manage without it. It means we can irrigate at night if we have to, or around

the clock if the conditions demand. We looked at other systems, but were keen to keep using

iNTELLiPUMP, and have since added the management side [iNTELLiTROL]”.

— Martin Sebire, Wandin Valley Farms, Boweya, Vic

industriesIrrigation-Management Solutions for Agriculture, Turf and the Environment

Use your computer to automate your irrigation system

“Our customers are our best advertisement”www.mait.com.au

Phone: 1300 739 920 Fax: 1300 739 940 Email: sales@mait.com.au©AllrightsreservedMAITIndustries2011

summer 2012 1

Contents

Chairman's report 2

Ceo's message 3

From the editor 3

irrigation technology: urban 6

the big issue 8

irrigation technology: rural 10

research 12

ial news 24

Contractors Corner 32

Professional development 34

bookshelf 35

smart approved watermark 36

around industry 37

iCid insights 38

state roundup 40

new Products & services 42

CPlm irrigation Feature

the fundamentals of CPlm efficiency 4

business Feature

redundancy: the essentials 10

Five things that lenders look for when assessing your finance application 14

online passwords – you don’t use any of these, do you? 15

are your ‘independent contractors’ actually employees? 16

PumP Feature

is your pump really that efficient? 20

teChniCal Feature

modelling the economic value of water 30

feaTures

regular iTems

on the Front CoVer

ial recently submitted its response to the proposed national plumbing license regulations. if accepted in their present form, major installations like this local government irrigation project could be required to be overseen by a plumber. Photo: brian walters

4

18 32

1036

The production of this publication has been funded by HAL using voluntary contributions from Irrigation Australia Ltd and matched funds from the Australian Government.

iNTELLiPUMP is the control system with a host of

exclusive features, plus the added benefit of being able to

integrate with a serious monitoring system — all at a very

cost-effective price. Why would you muck around with

anything less professional and efficient for your business?

Applying the correct amount of water at the correct

time reduces crop stress and susceptibility to disease

and pests, plus increases the crop’s long-term

sustainability and profitability.

iNTELLiPUMPiNTELLiPUMP: • isinstalledonaPCreducingthecostfor

expensive field control stations

• issimpletolearn

• allowsyoutobringinalldevicesusedinmonitoring (including weather stations, flow meters,monitoringboresandsoilmoistureprobes)

• hasaneasy-to-readdisplayallowingyoutoinstantlyseehowthingsareworking

• canbeeasilyintegratedintoyourexistingiNTELLiTROLsystemsoyoucanaddcontroltoyourmonitoringsolution

• conversely,iNTELLiTROLcanbeeasilyintegratedintoyourexistingiNTELLiPUMPcontrolsystem

• isaneffectivestand-alonecontrol

• hasbeendesignedbyAustralianagronomistsandengineers,withfarmerinput

• ismadeinAustralia

• allowsyoutoeasilyexpandthesystembyaddingadditionalboardswithnoextrasoftwarecosts

• offers2remotecontroloptions(24VACor12VDC)wherepowerisnotavailable

• letsyoucontrolalimitlessnumbersofpumps(includingfertigationpumps)

• hasfaultalarms

• letsyoucontrolirrigationinthewaythatbestsuitsyou(time,moisture,ET,airtemperature,etc..)

• hasmoresophisticatedrain-controloptionsthanjustsimple“rainswitches”

• letsyouschedulealimitlessnumberofirrigationprogrammes

• offersexceptionalvalueformoney

• ANDcanevenbeusedforautomatingflood-irrigation systems

“We had a look at several different control systems when we were getting ours designed. Our

irrigation designer recommended iNTELLiPUMP as the best one — for its value, as well as all the

things it can do. It’s easy to use and everything’s there for reporting, readily on display. I like how

you can check flow, to see if there’s been any problems.”

— Mark Trzaskoma, Battunga Orchards, Warragul, Vic

“It’s been fantastic: the orchard virtually waters itself. We have 130ha under irrigation, and just

wouldn’t be able to manage without it. It means we can irrigate at night if we have to, or around

the clock if the conditions demand. We looked at other systems, but were keen to keep using

iNTELLiPUMP, and have since added the management side [iNTELLiTROL]”.

— Martin Sebire, Wandin Valley Farms, Boweya, Vic

industriesIrrigation-Management Solutions for Agriculture, Turf and the Environment

Use your computer to automate your irrigation system

“Our customers are our best advertisement”www.mait.com.au

Phone: 1300 739 920 Fax: 1300 739 940 Email: sales@mait.com.au©AllrightsreservedMAITIndustries2011

2

ial suPPort oFFiCe

Po box 863, mascot nsw 1460

P (02) 8335 4000 F (02) 8335 4099

www.irrigation.org.au

Ceo: ian atkinson

email: ian.atkinson@irrigation.org.au

Publisher

www.commstrat.com.au

level 8, 574 st Kilda road

melbourne ViC 3004

Po box 6137, st Kilda rd Central 8008

t (03) 8534 5000 F (03) 9530 8911

editorial

editor: anne Currey

design & ProduCtion

art director: annette epifanidis

adVertising

national sales manager: brian rault

e brian.rault@halledit.com.au

t (03) 8534 5014

adVertising

advertising in this journal is managed by

Commstrat on behalf of irrigation australia

limited. irrigation australia limited takes no

responsibility for the technical accuracy of

article content. all contact with businesses

and organisations about advertising is made

by Commstrat sales staff, who must identify

themselves and the fact that they work for

Commstrat on behalf of the ial. no special

consideration will be given to any advertisers

as far as editorial content or front cover

material is concerned. decisions about editorial

content and the front cover are the prerogative

of the editor and the national board of the ial.

advertising enquiries should be directed to the

national sales manager.

chairman’s rePOrT

The challengeThank you to all those IAL members who have wished me well in my role as IAL chairman for the next year. I regard the opportunity as an honour and I look forward to meeting, talking and working with as many of you as possible as we seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges that lie ahead.

This is my first report for Irrigation Australia Journal as Chairman, and on behalf of the Board and all members, I would like to formally say farewell and thank you to two directors who have retired from the Board; Peter Toome, the outgoing chairman, and Scott Barber.

Peter has been a strong Board contributor for eight years, including four years as chairman. His leadership, strategic insights and wise counsel will be missed. Scott retires after four years on the Board. Scott always brought a balanced and thoughtful point of view to the Board table. Thank you for generously giving your time to IAL.

I also want to congratulate the newly elected Board members. Peter Hayes and Sean Callaghan are first time members, and Colin Campbell, Simon Cowland Cooper and Karen Murday are returning members.

This year there were eleven nominations for five positions on the Board and I want to thank Peter Brueck, David Wigginton, Liz Mann, Peter White, Paul Johnson and Geoffrey Fenn for nominating. It was great to see such a strong field of candidates vying for the Board vacancies and it is a healthy sign for the future. Regular ‘turn over’ of members ensures that the Board is continually energetic and enthusiastic with new ideas and aspirations.

I believe IAL is a great organisation and it has solid foundations. I am committed to making IAL a stronger industry body but I am under no illusions about the challenges ahead. IAL is in a new era. The global economic downturn, the reduction in IAL’s external project funding and the trends in member associations across Australia are all having an impact on IAL.

One of our key challenges is to ensure IAL has a strong and sustainable future. We need to examine all ideas and options to meet this challenge. IAL is about to launch into its annual strategic planning process and in December the Board and management will be reviewing IAL’s strategies and all aspects of what IAL does.

The aim will be to identify the issues that are important to ensuring IAL has a strong and sustainable future and how we can best address them. This may mean a rethink of IAL’s business model; who we are, what we do and how IAL is structured and run to provide the best value to you, our members.

In the commercial world the flow of decision making is usually downwards from the top. In member associations like IAL, I believe the process of broad strategy and policy decision making should generally flow in the opposite direction, from the body of members upwards. I will be looking at ways to engage with members and get wider input into this strategic review.

In closing, I want to thank our general manager, Trevor Le Breton, for his significant contribution to IAL over the past three years and wish him well in his new role as CEO of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society.

So much of the strength of IAL lies in its members and volunteers and I continue to be impressed by the amount of time and effort members are prepared to give to IAL. I thank you for that commitment which has made IAL the peak body for the professional irrigation industry in Australia.

2013 is looking to be both an exciting and challenging year for IAL.

Ian MoorhouseIaL ChaIrMan

welCome

summer 2012 3

IAL looking to the futureIrrigation Australia Limited is a member-based, not-for-profit organisation with a very diverse range of members who often have differing expectations of it. We have just come through a couple of difficult years and as we move ahead, with a smaller staff and budget, the new IAL Board needs your input into the strategic planning process for the future. I hope you have contributed to the survey seeking your views about the future of your IAL.

The survey, announced in Backwash at the beginning of November, will collect a sample of views from key sections of the membership to guide IAL’s board deliberations in December this year. The IAL Board will be going back out to members seeking review, feedback and validation of any new plan for 2013.

More crop per drop – more than irrigation efficiencyHas a familiar ring, doesn’t it? Like something we in the irrigation game can claim ownership over. Well you might be surprised to hear that this sentiment isn’t unique to those concerned with the use of irrigation water. To quote a recent article in Issue 101 of GRDC’s Groundcover magazine “Available water is the biggest limitation to grain yields across the globe and new research shows Australia is not unique in having a significant gap between actual and achievable crop production per unit of water consumption.”

The article is talking about grain yield in rain-fed (dryland) agriculture – not irrigated production. The benchmark water use efficiency (WUE) in Australia has risen from 20 kg/ha/mm of rain in the 1970s to more like 24 kg/ha/mm now. The increase is the result of agronomic and varietal improvements rather than any of the efficiency measures we traditionally work with in irrigation.

I feel this helps put the “irrigation efficiency” mantra we hear all the time into context. Irrigation efficiency is just a tool; we should not see it as an end in itself. We know that Australian farmers have been able to grow and prosper (mostly anyway) over recent decades as a result of productivity improvements. Even with rising demand for food from both a growing population, and an increase

in the middle classes in Asia, they will have to continue striving for productivity gains without adversely affecting our sustainability.

More lifestyle per drop?Over recent years I have been asking people what the urban/landscape irrigation sector equivalent is to more crop per drop. If we are to look towards a sustainable future and lifestyle underpinned by the use of irrigation then we need better benchmarks than DU% or ML/ha. The turf sector has had a bit of a go at this and the South Australian IPOS (Irrigated Public Open Space) Code of Practice (available at www.ipos.net.au) for instance talks about turf quality and “fit for purpose”. But what about botanic gardens? Some years ago a report found that the Melbourne Botanic Gardens gets more visits a year than the MCG!

So here is the challenge – to justify the growing dollar cost of using water to support our lifestyles, and to support the use of better technology and better trained staff we need some measurable and arguable benchmarks. More crop per drop works with most people, even people who know nothing about agriculture. Has anyone out there got some ideas on how we do this for lifestyle irrigation? IAL is the obvious place to discuss this because we have said our mission is to lead the development of a professional irrigation industry, embracing best practice to underpin healthy, sustainable, urban and rural communities and lifestyles.

Good luck TrevorFinally - a note of thanks to Trevor Le Breton who has left us to take on a new role as CEO. His time with us was both productive and entertaining; many of you will fondly remember his talent as an MC at functions such as the annual dinner in Launceston. We wish him the best for the future.

Ian atkInsonCeo

ceO message

ediTOrial

here we are nearly at the end of

another year and the final edition of the

journal for 2012.

it’s been another big year for us, with

major editorial and advertorial features

in every issue, along with the many-

paged edition that we published for

irrigation australia conference and

Trade show. in this issue our features

are centre pivots and lateral move

irrigation and managing businesses

better.

While it’s relatively easier to make a

profit when times are good, one of the

things that sorts out the good business

managers from the rest is when the

economy gets tight, as it has this year.

in this situation, paying attention to the

basics (managing cashflow and staff

costs, having the right insurances, going

through the books to trim unnecessary

expenditure and managing debtors

efficiently) is crucial.

Our business feature looks at some

of these issues, particularly those to

do with employment and managing

costs. We also have an article looking

at how many people ignore even the

basics about internet security. i hope

that none of our readers have any of

the passwords identified as those most

common and easiest to crack. if you do,

this should be a prompt to change them

right away!

as part of the cPlm feature, sean

hughes from nelson takes us back to

fundamentals in his article that looks

at the importance of having a system

designed by a professional who selects

the right sprinklers for the job and is

able to specify the correct pressure.

We have our usual regular columns

such as the Big issue and popular new

Products and services so i hope you all

find something to pique your interest.

Thanks to all our advertisers and

authors for your support this year. it is

through this support that we maintain

the quality of our industry journal.

finally, i’d like to wish all our readers a

wonderful christmas this year and all

the best for 2013.

Anne Currey editor in chief

4

in the last few years, the industry has seen a shift from surface irrigation to low pressure systems using centre pivot and lateral move machines (CPlm). Convenience is one of the reasons for this (no need to go change siphons or get up in the middle of the night to change bays). another is the potential for improving application efficiency and uniformity. but this improvement does not happen as a matter of course, rather good performance is based on having a system designed by a professional who selects the right sprinklers for the job and is able to specify the correct pressure. in this article, sean hughes explains why this is so important.

Selecting sprinklersHaving the appropriate sprinkler package is the cornerstone of successful CPLM management. A fundamental principle of sprinkler selection for CPLM is that there are horses for courses. In other words, no one sprinkler produces a satisfactory result on all soil textures and structures; in fact, one sprinkler might cause soil surface degradation where another won’t. This is one of the reasons why sprinklers are manufactured to produce differing stream and droplet characteristics.

This means that selecting the right sprinkler for the job is not a matter of walking into a shop and buying the cheapest or as the result of a one-off observation of device characteristics in isolation. The recommendation of the appropriate sprinkler is done by a professional designer identifying which one will best fit system criteria, particularly which device is the most compatible with the prevailing soil texture and structure in the area to be irrigated.

Consistent pressure essentialMore often than not, modern CPLM systems are supplied with pressure regulators (“regs”) at every outlet to control the maximum allowable pressure at every sprinkler. There was a time when regs were only applied if it was deemed that undulation in the field would cause flow to vary too much across the system.

Fundamentals of CPLM efficiency

sean hughes, nelsOn ausTralia irrigaTiOnselection of sprinkler type is critical and makes the difference between a successfully manageable or problematic system.

Now we know that as well as controlling maximum flow rate of today’s relatively low pressure devices at a given nozzle location, regs serve to control the ideal pressure window the devices see to produce a desired droplet characteristic.

At Nelson we work on the rule of thumb that the higher the flow rate – through either regulator body type – the greater the pressure loss: we recommend adding 35 KPa minimum (5 PSI) on top of the rated reg pressure at the end of the system for the worst case pressure loss.

While this seems to be accepted in the industry, there seem to be some misconceptions surrounding the function of pressure regulators. For example, one widely held belief is that provided the system has regulators, the flow rate must always be constant. This will not be the case if there is insufficient pressure anywhere along the system.

Regulators are dynamic machines with moving parts and wearing surfaces that seek to find equilibrium at an outlet location – until they wear out or are damaged. While they control the maximum pressure a nozzle sees on the downhill side of a slope, they do not create necessary pressure for the uphill climb – this energy needs to be available by system design.

The difference between ‘flat’ and ‘level’When elevation is unaccounted for, the flow rate per hectare will diminish increasingly as the end tower climbs a slope and in turn the uniformity will deteriorate. This can affect the crop, e.g. decrease yield, as well as having an impact on water and energy use efficiency.

In most cases, when field information is provided to professionals who are designing a sprinkler package for a CPLM, whether there are elevation changes in the field is not specified. That’s fine if a field has previously been laser leveled, but on an even, flat field with a slope of, say, 1:200, the elevation change is barely appreciable by eye, so it is usually considered level.

For a sprinkler package to perform efficiently, one of the factors that should be specified during design is maximum elevation. A reason for this is that it allows the required inlet pressure at the pivot point top elbow to be determined. Without knowing the maximum elevation, the designer can get all the other elements right and the system will still not perform to maximum efficiency.

Consider the example of a package designed for a seven-span system (say 410 m) which is installed on a 1:200 slope (0.5%). If no allowance is made for elevation change, the resultant elevation (or static pressure) change from the pivot point to the end of the system may be 2.05 m (20.09 kPa/2.9PSI). If the sprinkler package is based on a 100 kPa (15 PSI) regulated sprinkler package, the actual residual pressure will be 14.5% lower at the pipe end than the chart design proposes. The result will be lower uniformity and less efficient water and energy use.

Often when this happens, the owner of the system or the dealer assumes that there is a problem with the sprinkler package when this is not the issue at all. Conversely, over-estimating the elevation to ensure that there is always enough residual pressure at the highest point in the field will result in higher than necessary capital and energy costs.

The message is that before the pump and plant is ordered and installed, it is crucial to verify field topography as part of the system hydraulic design process to optimise the system cost and maximise the potential benefit of the sprinkler package.

CPlm Feature

Hattah Lakes Environmental Flows Project Works in progress (Sept 2012)

1,000 ML / day capacity pump station

A hands-on intelligent approachComdain Infrastructure is a leading infrastructure construction and maintenance services business specialising in the water, irrigation and gas sectors.

Our irrigation capabilities include construction of: irrigation meters; regulators (civil works and gates); channel lining; major weir works; gravity and pressure pipelines; civil, mechanical and electrical works; automation control; winter shut-down projects; and developing and delivering on-farm irrigation solutions.

We deliver projects under a range of contracting models including; as a Managing Contractor; D&C; ECI; Alliance and Construct Only.

We place importance on professional excellence and best practice in all aspects of our construction and maintenance services work, most particularly on safety.

Current & Recent projects:

� Goulburn-Murray Water (Vic) – Hattah Lakes Environmental Flows Project: Construction of seven 750mm pump columns, a 2100mm RCP, 900mm PE branch pipeline, large regulating structures, penstock gates and levee banks.

� State Water Corporation – NSW Metering Managing Contractor: Planning and installation of over 1200 river and groundwater extraction meters.

� Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP): Performing irrigation channel upgrades, meter installations and installation of large regulating structures across the Goulburn Valley for the fourth consecutive year.

� Coliban Water - Raw Water Supply System, Serpentine Water Treatment Plant: Construction of above ground 600kl storage tank, pump station and associated pipework.

Intelligent Doers, Dependable Delivery

comdaininfrastructure.com.au

6

teChnology: urban

one thing that underlies life today is that change is unstoppable. From a management perspective, it’s better to envision what the future might look like so your business is best placed to take advantage of the opportunities and to deal with challenges that might arise. in this article, Cilla delacey takes her crystal ball to envision what domestic and community gardens, and how they are irrigated, might look like in twenty years time.

In 2030 household and community gardens will be noticeably different to what they are today. They will be fully self sustaining ecosystems where the best of the urban and natural water cycles are used to support large shady trees, small areas of drought-tolerant lawn and specially bred natives and exotics suitable for small gardens.

All this will be supplemented by an efficient irrigation system smart wired (or indeed wireless) into the home or community garden hub for maximum control, supported by site-based weather stations monitoring evapotranspiration and hooked up to a fit-for-purpose water source - either a rainwater tank, garden bore, grey water system or a locally supplied recycled water system.

There may also be unique pieces of urban art, a small wetland or a creek leading to a billabong, a raised vegetable patch and unique walkways linking it all. And at night, inconspicuous energy efficient garden lighting will bring domestic gardens to life. This garden of the future will be fully supported by various service providers including utilities, irrigation and landscaping specialists, and alternative water source specialists.

The garden of the future No matter where you live in Australia this future is already in the making thanks to the flourishing partnerships between urban water utilities, landscape architects, garden and irrigation specialists, and hardware stores. According to Phillip Johnson (sustainable landscape designer), the future garden is focussed on ‘community water management’ where garden design centres on water collection and conservation and looks at interlinking neighbouring backyards to create ‘water and habitat corridors’, all fed by non drinking water captured on site.

Such a garden was developed by Phillip in collaboration with the Victorian Government and State water authorities at this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (pictured). Phillip has now been chosen to design the Australian garden at next year’s Chelsea Flower Show (http://www.phillipjohnson.com.au/).

The Great Gardens team in WA take this concept one step further and talk about sustainable gardens; where all household waste is recycled, gardens produce food, the house is shaded from summer sun but open to winter sun and fertilisers and herbicide use is environmentally friendly (http://greatgardens.info/about.aspx).

Achieving this garden of the future is possible. And good information can now be found on the websites of most of Australia’s urban water utilities. There are also various programs like Waterwise Approved (WA) (http://www.watercorporation.com.au/W/waterwise_approved.cfm) and Smart Approved WaterMark (National) (http://www.smartwatermark.org/home/default.asp) that make choosing water efficient garden products and service providers easier.

So what are the specific features of the Australian garden of the future? They include:• agreaterfocusoncommunitygardensandpublicopenspaceas

development densities and the need for locally grown food increase• architecturalinstallationsthatprovidethedualpurposeofshadingand

warming the home, and cool walkways to link garden features• billabongsorsmallwetlandstocapture,treatandreusewater(orletitrun

into the aquifer) runoff in the backyard• maximumuseoflocallysourcedmaterials• permeablesurfacestoreplaceconcreteandallowwatertoseepintothe

garden and improve soil moisture• raingardens(whichcanincludecreeks)toslowdownwaterflow,filterit

and slowly release it into a tank or the aquifer• undergroundrainwatertanks,grey-waterreusesystemsorgarden

bores (operated through the provision of on-site renewable energy and accompanied by energy efficient pumps) to reuse ‘fit-for-purpose’ water

• waterwisevergesthatreplaceneglectedlawnswithfunctioninggardenbedsthat filter stormwater runoff from the driveway and are fully integrated into the front garden

susTaInable gardenIng for The fuTure – a challenge To The IndusTry

• chunkymulchwhichholdslittleornowaterbutreducessoilmoistureloss• wellplacedshadytreesanddeciduoustrees,lowmaintenanceanddrought

tolerant lawn, and native and waterwise plants specially developed for small gardens

• recyclingstations,maybeoldbathsconvertedintowormfarms• efficientirrigationsystems.

Irrigation challengesFor the irrigation industry the challenge for the future will be to design efficient systems that are wireless and controlled through an in-home display and deliver the right amount of water and nutrients to each and every plant when they need them. While many domestic garden irrigation systems already include these elements, sophistication will increase and features such as the following will be standard:• abilitytoalerttheuserwhenthereisaproblem• providerealtimemonitoringofwater,energyandnutrientuse

• supportedbysophisticatedweatherstationsmonitoringtheneedforirrigationand adjust for the season

• selfcleaningandselfmaintainingAnd this equipment will be inconspicuous. For the rest of the garden industry,

future gardens will need:• nativeplantsandhybriddeciduoustreesespeciallybredforsmallgardensand

slow growing, drought tolerant lawn that needs little mowing all year round• summershadingdevicesthatareremovableinthewinterbutdoubleas

architectural features • inexpensiveenergyefficientpumpstooperaterainwatertanksetcalongwith

energy efficient lighting that is cheap and easy to install• greatsoilimprovementproductsthatreduceongoinguseoffertilisersandwater

and new permeable products, preferably made from recycled materials, that promote infiltration in gardens

• newpavingmaterialsthatreducetheheatislandeffect.Those looking for inspiration only need to visit community gardening events

that are run across the country. More and more of these are beginning to showcase the essence of what it means to have a functioning ecosystem as the foundation of the home garden. No matter what style homeowners choose for a garden, that foundation needs to be resilient and adaptable to whatever changes it may have to absorb over the years. For people who live in Melbourne, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne is one place where the Australian Garden has been brought to life across 15 ha.

The Cranbourne garden design ‘follows the journey of water from the red centre of Australia, along dry river beds and down mighty rivers to the coastal fringes of the continent. Water is the main storyteller in the Australian garden; it leads visitors through the garden expressing the main design themes and the heart of our historic and future relationship with the Australian landscape.’ The aim is to share with visitors the beauty and diversity of Australian plants. It’s a place where you can explore the evolving connections between people, plants and landscapes, and discover inspiration and information about how to use Australian plants in the home garden.

cilla delacy, Wsaa melBOurne

efficient irrigation systems will be fundamental to domestic gardens in the future. design elements will include billabongs or small wetlands to capture and treat reuse water that can be used for irrigation and other purposes, and verges and garden areas that replace lawns with functioning garden beds and integrated solutions for managing runoff.

BEYOND THE CROPFLATNET™ & POLYNET™ FLEXIBLE PIPES

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For more of Netafim’s flexible pipes benefits, please visit our website www.netafim.com.au or contact us P | 03 8331 6500E | netinfo@netafim.com.au

www.netafim.com.au

8

the big issue

ACCORDING TO JOINT editor of the report, Uniwater Professor John Langford, while Australia has a relative abundance of water as a result of drought breaking rains in last year and good follow-up falls, it is important not to be lulled into a sense of security about the future. Rather, now is a good time to review the lessons of the recent extended drought, identify policy failures and implement water policy reform before the next drought begins.

Taking advantage of increasing demand for foodThe key recommendation for irrigated agriculture was to review the food supply chain, to ensure Australia can take advantage of increasing international food demand, especially from emerging economies in Asia. This theme has also been taken up recently in the Australian Government’s Asian Century White Paper, which identified the potential for Australia to be an important supplier of food to the growing middle classes in Asia countries.

“That is why a key recommendation of the report is a full review of the food supply chain, from international markets back to water supply for crops. This review should include stress testing, by increasing demand and reducing water availability, and examining trade policies, transport, storage and water infrastructure to identify and remedy blockages and constraints,” John Langford explained.

Water management needs a revampTo improve the operation of existing water markets we need to standardise the allocation system.

“How can you have a market with this plethora of different entitlements to water?” asked John.

Related to this is the suggestion to allow trading in storage entitlements. The report identified that storages are what provides the reliability of supply; and allowing trading in them would provide more flexible use and better water management as a consequence.

anne currey, irrigaTiOn ausTralia

waTer reform: nexT sTeps

in october the Committee for economic development of australia (Ceda) released a report examining the big issue of how we will manage water in australia in the future. the report, The opportunity of crisis: A water reform agenda, includes key recommendations around agricultural, environmental and urban water use.

now is a good time to review the lessons of the recent drought and determine what policy and management changes are needed for the future.

It also makes a number of recommendations around water management in the Murray–Darling Basin, and highlights the importance of environmental water.

“If we dry up our rivers we do a lot of damage to the health of those rivers which in turn does a lot of damage to the health of the water resource on which we all depend. So sufficient water has got to be provided to the environment,” John said.

In this context, more funding was identified as an urgent need for monitoring and evaluation of environmental water allocations to the Murray-Darling Basin to measure the condition and response of ecosystems. A stronger scientific understanding would provide the ability to adaptively manage environmental water allocations and provide a stronger base for policy makers for future adjustments.

Another recommendation was that more flexible water delivery for irrigators and environmental water holders is needed to allow water to be delivered on demand, e.g. timed for crops to ensure optimum growth.

“River operators should provide a menu of choice for irrigators and environmental water holders, for example, when, where, how much and at what flow rate, allowing more productive and innovative use of water,” he said.

The report also recommends enabling counter-cyclical trade in environmental water holdings.

Pricing water according to valueOn urban water, a key recommendation was based on the model of insurance premiums, i.e. the insurance premium that has historically been embodied in physical water infrastructure should be quantified to guide future augmentation and pricing decisions. A possible model for calculating this insurance premium was included in the report.

According to John Langford, the advantage of this is that it would allow the value of different water sources to be better priced.

“Previously, all urban water customers received the same reliability of supply. However, if the insurance premium could be calculated customers could be offered, for example, a lower insurance premium – and lower water prices – for accepting water restrictions earlier or alternatively, pay a high premium and delay having water restrictions applied,” he said.

note. This project was a joint collaboration between CEDA, Harvard University and Uniwater (a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Monash University). CEDA is a national, independent, member-based think tank whose membership includes more than 800 of Australia's leading businesses and organisations, and members of academia. You can download the report at www.ceda.com.au

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10

precIsIon agrIculTure IrrIgaTIon of vegeTable crops: whaT are The savIngs?

ONE OF THE key financial pressures faced by vegetable growers throughout the industry is the rate of rising input costs; particularly, the cost of crop irrigation. A project in Tasmania examined the results of retrofitting two irrigation technology systems with the aim of improving water use efficiency, and reducing energy costs and environmental impact during production.

commonly used sysTems examInedTwo irrigation systems common to vegetable production in Tasmania were used in the project - a linear move irrigator and a big gun travelling irrigator.

Although big gun travelling irrigators are relatively inefficient in terms of energy and water consumption – as well as being an aging technology – they are

popular in the vegetable industry because of their effective portability and low capital cost. The research also retro-fitted a linear move irrigator with new technology to enable communication with a network of soil moisture sensors across the field (provided by CSIRO ICT) and the foundation of a decision support system to enable site-specific irrigation.

A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to compare the technology to current irrigation practices over a three-year rotation of vegetable crops at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture - Vegetable Research Facility.

beTTer conTrol saves waTer and energyProject Leader Dr Susan Lambert said trials conducted over three consecutive vegetable growing

seasons (2010-2012) using a pressure control system retro-fitted to a travelling gun irrigator indicated energy savings of between 17 and 21.8% and water savings of from 5 to 10%.

“If a crop receives 4 ML/ha of irrigation, and the cost of electricity is sitting at $0.22/kWh (day rate) then a seventeen to twenty-one per cent saving represents $64.30-$82.45/ha,” she said.

Frequent rain in 2012 reduced the requirement for irrigation applications but still resulted in estimated water savings of 10%.

The project also investigated the integration of soil moisture measurements collected in real-time from a wireless sensor network (WSN) developed by CSIRO ICT to schedule irrigation events applied with a linear move irrigator fitted with variable rate irrigation (VRI). Over the three cropping seasons the variable rate system operated with estimated water savings of between 10 and 15%. Challenges across the differing growing seasons, 2009-2011, included high rainfall which fell often and hampered efforts to examine the irrigation work.

“In all three seasons yield was significantly higher from the modified irrigation systems when compared to the conventional traveller gun irrigation treatment, with increased yields of 14.6% in beans in 2010, 10% in carrots in 2011 and 14.8% in beans for 2012 growing seasons, respectively,” said Susan.

Economic evaluation results from the study suggest the pressure control system for the travelling gun irrigator was economically beneficial under the trial conditions. She cautioned that it is essential to know the soil moisture variability within a field in regards to site-specific irrigation management, given that different water holding capacity occurs in different soils.

“The retro-fitted component of the technology developed in this project demonstrates an innovative approach to address issues of sustainable natural resource management, adapting to climate change challenges and responding to increases in energy costs,” Susan said.

With the proven savings in water expenditure and energy consumption displayed in the project work, it is plausible to estimate that the cost of the modified traveller irrigation system could be recouped in between two and three years.

retrofitting a pressure control system to the travelling gun irrigator resulted in significant water and energy savings.

teChnology: rural

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do your homework before adopTIng new TechnologySeveral considerations need to be taken into account before growers adopt new technologies to save energy and water. These include:• assessingthevariabilityandsuitabilityofvegetable

cropping fields for retro-fit irrigation technology such as VRI

• individualon-farmassessmentstodeterminepotential economic benefits of VRI for growers, sensor placement and selecting the number of sensors require careful planning to maximise VRI potential

• auditingirrigationenergyuseon-farmanddistribution uniformity of irrigation equipment to ensure irrigation systems are performing to their optimum before any retro-fit irrigation technology.

The boTTom lIne• Usingapressurecontrolretro-fittedsystemtoa

travelling gun irrigator showed an energy saving of between 17 and 21.8% and water savings from 5 to 10%.

• Withtheprovensavingsinwaterexpenditureandenergy consumption displayed in the project, it is reasonable to estimate that the cost of the modified irrigation system could be recovered in between two and three years.

• VRIusinganetworkofsoilsensorsandamodifiedlinear move irrigator also led to water savings.

acknowledgmentsProject VG08029 was funded by HAL using the National Vegetable Levy and matched funds from the Australian Government. It aims to develop and investigate two retro-fit irrigation technology systems to improve water use efficiency, reduce energy costs and reduce environmental impact during vegetable production.

Photos. Dr Susan LambertThe variable rate irrigation system on the linear move irrigator. distribution uniformity is checked using catchcans.

teChnology: rural