Phase 1 - Identification of risks and development of conceptual models
The purpose of this project is, as part of a larger NPIRD project, to identify potential ecological risks associated with irrigation systems in the Lower Ord River catchment.
Specifically the objectives of this project are to:
Develop a list of up to six ecological consequences of development in the catchment where irrigation is likely to have a significant impact. This is to done in consultation with relevant catchment stakeholders, identified by (more)...
Project objectives
To benchmark the distribution efficiency (DE) of the various components of a small, open channel gravity irrigation system and irrigation return flows from farms to the surface drainage system.
To develop strategies to overcome water losses in the distribution system, including the implementation of smart systems for improved channel operations, system planning and services to improve the integration of distribution systems (more)...
The project is examining issues of water use efficiency (WUE) in the South West Irrigation Area (hereafter called the Harvey Irrigation Area). A significant WUE issue is whether water savings, improved pasture yields and farm productivity can be achieved through sprinkler (centre pivot) irrigation of dairy pasture in comparison with traditional surface bay irrigation (often called flood irrigation).
This project is a case study conducted on (more)...
The Harvey Water Irrigation Area (HWIA) is Western Australia’s prime irrigated dairying area supplying Perth and the south west with more than 40 per cent of its milk. Irrigated agriculture commenced in Harvey with the establishment of a weir in 1916. Since that time, pastures have been watered through surface irrigation of paddocks which over time have been leveled and divided into irrigation bays.
When this project was envisaged in 2001, there were no centre (more)...
Many of the research projects commissioned by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation (NPSI) have adopted innovative approaches to achieve strong connections between the researchers and the rest of the community. Finding ways to include the practical knowledge that comes from the community into research is crucial to achieving a sustainable future.
This research bulletin outlines approaches to engaging with communities that have been successfully developed (more)...
National Program for Sustainable Irrigation Fact sheet 2005/4
As much as 40% of water stored in a farm dam can be lost through evaporation, depending on the depth of the dam and its surface area. Dam design can significantly decrease evaporation by reducing the surface area to volume ratio (deeper, narrower dams) and planting windbreaks to provide shade and reduce wind turbulence.
Over the years, a number of commercial products have also been developed to minimise water losses, including floating plastic covers and chemical products that change the (more)...
A key issue identified by the research community working with the cotton industry was the lack of understanding and acceptance of the concept of deep drainage. Deep drainage is defined as the part of the water (applied to the surface and as rainfall or irrigation) that moves past the rootzone. In general the existing paradigm was “cotton soils don’t leak”. However, the research community related to the Australian Cotton CRC (ACCRC) (more)...
