News

15 February 2008

Stakeholder briefing held with the first year outcomes released.
Click here to view report.

9 January 2008

NO IRRIGATION AT GRASSROOTS

Grass Roots has not been irrigated since mid November. Soil moisture probes have been monitoring water availability at different levels throughout the root zone of the turf. At two points over the previous two months moisture levels fell below the refill points, these were observed from 18 to 22 November and 16 to 20 December. At these two points the turf had basically run out of water. Weather forecasts predicted showers, so we opted to switch irrigation off during these periods until the showers arrived. Both dry events were followed by significant rainfall, 26mm (23 Nov) and 34mm (20-23 December) just at the point when we were to initiate an irrigation event.

Moisture levels have since fallen, and with increases in evaporation and dryness of the turf, irrigation has been switched back on. This has been an interesting couple of months. By utilising some innovative technology we have saved considerable amounts of water and managed our way through rain events. It is interesting to note that leading turf managers in the region have indicated that they too have been able to manage their water efficiently between rain events. One manager in particular has saved 15 Megalitres over the last month by regularly monitoring soil moisture levels.