Summary
This project was initiated to develop a prototype irrigation water use meter that could be easily installed and used with reliable results on all types of pressurised irrigation systems. The development of this meter was required to significantly increase the applicability and value to agriculture of indicators of sustainable irrigation and the adoption of best management practices currently being developed through MAF Operational Research Project contracts.
Six of the sixteen economic and environmental indicators of sustainable irrigation recommended in MAF Policy Technical Paper 00/03 have water use as one of their components. To calculate these indicators, each day the total volume of water used on a farm for irrigation and the rate at which it is taken must be measured.
It became apparent during testing of the Best Management Guidelines (MAF Policy Technical Paper 00/03), that installation of readily available flow meters at reasonable cost was rarely possible. A recent study by Canterbury Regional Council in the Christchurch-West Melton district (McEwan et al., 1998) confirmed this finding.
There was an urgent need for a flow meter that was robust, easy to install, farmer friendly with simple user controls, and low cost. A flow meter that uses a pressure measurement (which is relatively easy to make) to calculate the flow rate (which is much more difficult to measure), was proposed. Lincoln Environmental was contracted by MAF Policy to develop a prototype meter.
The meter was constructed with a good quality, watertight case to ensure robustness. Installation is very easy, as it can be connected into a system anywhere a pressure tapping is available. The user interface is simple, and should be able to be operated by farmers given limited written instructions. Battery life has been calculated to last for a typical irrigation season. The meter has been designed so that the retail price, including the pressure sensor, is expected to be less than $1000.
The meter is currently undergoing field testing on a frost protection irrigation system, and other than some minor software problems, has performed to specification. These small problems will be rectified and at the beginning of the irrigation season (October 1998), the meter will be installed on an irrigator for further testing.
As we are confident that the prototype meter will fill the need identified, another two meters will be constructed for use on the 1998/99 MAF Policy project to further test the Best Management Guidelines and to calculate the Indicators of Sustainable Irrigation.
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