Improve Your Irrigation Efficiency AND Save Water and $$

It is a broad generality that most home owners and commercial property managers over water both gardens and specially turf areas.  We are not speaking about the events around establishing the area where extra water may be needed, but once the area is established.

Ideally, water needs to be available at 100 - 150mm below the surface, and there are irrigation systems that deliver water to that specification eg KISSS systems  see www.kisss.com.au.

But there is usually a lot that can be done with existing overhead sprinkler systems before committing to a major retrofit.

Less frequent but longer irrigation periods are a first option, but often the period itself can be reduced.  And it is not set and forget either - adjust both of these as seasons change, with naturally more water required in hot dry periods than cooler and damp seasons.  And remember to irrigate early morning or early evening, when winds are lower as are temperatures.  Adjusting droplet size and pressure may also be possible and that will improve efficiency too.

And do not forget to adjust the watering systems to avoid watering the hard surfaces where possible.  Grass will not grow in concrete...........except weeds in cracks!

Even raising mowing height will help save water. 

Using a rainstop or similar device to override the irrigation turning on is a very sensible option, as this prevents scheduled irrigation occurring if there has been rain.  Surely it is sensible to not irrigate if it is not needed.  Rainstop is a commercial Australian product used in commercial systems, but there are proprietary systems from major commercial brands.

While these save money, there is a cost to fit them.

But the bigger advantage is the health improvements to your turf or garden areas - with the first and most notable change likely to be reduced sedges in turf areas, an outcome driven by the drier surface conditions that help reduce these problem weeds.  While sedges can be controlled with appropriate herbicides, they are not an instant fix [ maybe 12 -18 months to clean up an area] and really need to be used once irrigation regimes are adjusted, not before.

All of the above changes do not necessarily reduce the aesthetics of your lawn.  Even a small amount of slow release fertiliser can help by improving the root systemof the turf species and thus extracting more water from depth

http://digital.waterefficiency.net/publication/?i=271411&pn=34#{"page":38,"issue_id":271411}

California is experiencing severe drought - somewhat similar to the experience in temperate Australia a few years ago, and this article [ link shown above] gives an overview of experiences there with improved irrigation management.

In north Australia with somewhere around 70% of water used outdoors, it is a very practical and relatively east option to save water used outdoors.  Give it a go!  Your garden and lawn area will benefit! 

Water - for all. An Infographic

Water Use Drops in USA to Level of 45 Years Ago

The latest figures on water use in the United States show that conservation efforts are having an impact.

A new report published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reveals that the volume of water used across the country has reached its lowest recorded level in nearly 45 years.

About 355 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/d) were withdrawn for use in the entire United States during 2010. That's a decrease of 13 percent from 2005 when about 410 Bgal/d were withdrawn.

The news was welcomed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

"Reaching this 45-year low shows the positive trends in conservation that stem from improvements in water-use technologies and management," commented Mike Connor, deputy secretary of the Interior.
Connor pointed out the reduction comes at a time when the U.S. population is continuing to grow, and demonstrates that people are learning to be more water conscious and helping to sustain the limited freshwater resources in the country.

Water withdrawn for thermoelectric power represented the largest use nationally in 2010. The other leading uses were irrigation, public supply and self-supplied industrial water. Withdrawals declined in each of these categories, USGS said.

Thermoelectric power recorded a 20 percent decrease from five years earlier as a result of more efficient cooling-system technologies, declines in withdrawals to protect aquatic habitat and environments, power plant closures and a reduction in the use of coal to fuel power plants.

Looking at industrial withdrawals, the 12 percent decrease since 2005 was put down to factors such as greater efficiencies in industrial processes, more emphasis on water reuse and recycling, and the 2008 U.S. recession, which resulted in lower industrial production in major water-using industries.

Overall, more than half of the total water withdrawals in the United States were accounted for by 12 states: California, Texas, Idaho, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, New York, Alabama and Ohio.

Some great developments in water management - but a long way to go still.

Recycling Water Crucial To NT Water Supplies

In the face of global water supply shortages, recycled water has the potential to help us be more climate-independent. And even though it seems novel, reused water is already cycled back into the supply. If you live in a community downstream of another one, chances are, you are reusing its water.

Australians and Americans have embraced “sustainability” in so many aspects of modern life, but not when it comes to water resources.

Recycled or reclaimed water is water that is used more than one time before it passes back into the natural water cycle. Treated wastewater, including sewage and water used for industrial processing, can be cleanly recycled for agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, replenishing a groundwater basin and even for drinking water.

Scientifically proven advances in water technology — including reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection, and oxidation — applied to wastewater allow communities to reuse water for many different purposes, treating the water differently depending on the intended use.

And the best part is: there is huge potential for growth in using recycled water. Thirty-two billion gallons of municipal wastewater are produced everyday in the United States but less than 10 percent of that is intentionally reused and the equation is quite similar in the Northern Territory, particularly in the northern areas, as Alice Springs now does have an aquifer recharge program using treated wastewater from the effluent ponds.  

Also, it is known that the NT uses up to four times water per person more than temperate Australia, and much of that extra water is used outside, where non potable water would do.  It is certainly wasteful to treat all water to drinking standards and then use 70% outside as is common in Darwin.

One key reason that water reuse is not a bigger part of the nation’s water supply is that it is still characterized as a waste product in most places. 

In a progressive move, California in the US recently enacted legislation that reclassifies recycled water as a water resource. The state government also recently streamlined the permitting process for using recycled water for irrigation and allocated $200 million in grants to encourage related projects.  While California uses different legislative systems to Australia, the truth is, Australia could do a lot ore with use of appropriately treated wastewater.  AND......such programs would be sensible infrastructure development in a continent as dry as ours.

In other parts of the USA,communities in dry west Texas have used state-of-the-art technology to augment their drinking water supply with reused water; Phoenix in Arizona has had an aquifer recharge program using treated effluent which is subsequently redrawn for use, for about 50 years; the governor of Oklahoma just signed a law to encourage water reuse; and Florida’s most recent water reuse report indicated that 719 million gallons of water is beneficially reused each day in 2013 — the largest amount in the country.  Yet here in north Australia as we discuss developing the north, there is little discussion about reuse of water, in an environment which is totally dry for 6-8 months each year, while in the other few months water flows away freely [ admittedly it is used by the environment!].

The amount of water intentionally reused in both Australia and the USA still quite low and it will stay that way as long as the public regards reuse as an emergency measure. Citizens have embraced “sustainability” in so many aspects of modern life, but not when it comes to water resources.

Conservation cannot meet future water demands alone and other measures that create new sources of water, like desalination, are still more expensive, with some people believing that it is too expensive although newer technologies are encouraging in possibly lower costs.  Desalination has its advocates though, with WA a champion of the technology, with development being driven by the woman who is the Chair of the WA Water Corporation.

In the Top End of the NT the only avenue seemingly being explored for more water is to develop more dams or other above ground storage systems, such as the pumped off river system discussed for an area in hills north of Adelaide River, and the dam above Adelaide River.  Desalination of seawater is also a possible option around Darwin. 

Water reuse is the easiest and most economical fix. It should be included in the water supply portfolio of the Darwin region, and in fact for all  communities.  It at least should be given equal weight in assessing future water resources for the region.

[ partially adapted from an article by Melissa Melker of the US Water Reuse Association in the NY Times 30 June 2014]

UPDATE - http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/20/solar-technology-californias-water/
This is a solar technology to distill irrigation tailwater from agriculture fields using solar technology to heat a oil filled tube and then use the heat to distill the tailwater.  It works and can be scaled up, with a projected cost of about one quarter the cost of desalination of sea water [ many places say a cost for this of $2 per kilolitre].  Search for Water FX online for more details.

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