6 Ways Your Farm Can Save Water This Winter
As we receive massive downpours, it’s a good time for your farm to start thinking about how it can save water.
Given the region’s already scarce supply of water, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that the consistent reduction in rainfall has made it hard for farmers to adequately store water and supply it to their farms. Even with the help of irrigation systems, the decreasing availability of water means that farmers will need to get creative to try save as much water as they can.
In order to help farmers to prepare this winter, here are 6 ways to save water:
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Choosing the right irrigation system for your farm
While irrigation is important, making sure your farm has the right system in place is crucial for sustainably managing and storing water in your region. For much of Australia, drip irrigation is the best method to use, as it minimises evaporation and is less water-intensive.
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Utilising weather technology
Planning when your water and fertiliser will be released for grazing areas can be matched with exciting Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The modern capabilities of machines to collect data on soil moisture or rainfall can be used by farmers to plan when they should rely on irrigation and how they can improve the management of resources on their farm.
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Making sure runoff and shed roof water is managed efficiently
When rainwater does come, it’s important that you store it efficiently and effectively by using the right equipment. Firstly, by making sure you have appropriate roofing, gutters and pipes set up, you can direct the flow of water to an area where it can be stored. It’s important that these be made of the right material to minimise evaporation. As opposed to traditional plastics, galvanised steel gutters and pipes deal better with drastic changes in weather and are less prone to allowing water to be evaporated than other piping counterparts.
Then, by connecting to an underground water tank made from materials like Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP), you can ensure that you are minimizing evaporation, storing water efficiently and repurposing water for drinking (if you add a chemical processing system).
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Water recycling
While your runoff water is being stored in tanks, it can also be reused in your irrigation system, or if you’d like to, you can recycle it as drinking water. If you are planning on drinking recycled water, it’s important that you have a system in place to ensure it won’t be infected by microbes or chemical impurities.
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Using water-saving hose nozzles
Although farmers are used to managing massive amounts of water, focusing on the smaller details can really make a world of difference. A household garden tap at standard pressure and length can use up to 2,250L of water in just an hour. Over a year, this adds up and with environmental conditions changing, farmers will need every drop of water they can get. That’s why we suggest making the change to low-pressure hoses if you can or even sustainable nozzles for your hoses. It’s estimated that water-sense nozzles can save users up to 60,000 litres of water every year.
- Checking dams for leakage
Particularly in Western Australia, leaky dams present a consistent and ongoing worry for farmers. Although many farmers will be checking their dams meticulously, we cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring your dam is not suffering from any leakage. If your dam is leaking substantially, then you may have no other option than to fill it in and creating a new dam. However, if your dam is only suffering a mild leak, you do have a number of options available. If you are seeking further information on what to do in this scenario, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development have a useful guide on the choices you have.
If you’re in need of advice on how you can save water this winter and learn how our products can help you, feel free to get in contact today.
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