Primary Industries |
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| This category acknowledges achievements in water savings by a primary producer in regional Victoria. Any business engaged in a primary industry can qualify for this award, including (but not limited to): agriculture, aquaculture, extractive industries, forestry, viticulture, horticulture and agroforestry. |
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Darren and Michelle Berryman |
An unusual technique in irrigation technology is saving Darren and Michelle Berryman 50ML of potable water per year on a 10ha block of their commercial dairy farm in the Macalister Irrigation District, Gippsland. That's a saving of 20 Olympic sized swimming pools.*
In an attempt to improve irrigation efficiency on their land, the Berryman’s have been working with the Department of Primary Industries and Monash University to trial the latest High Flow Flood (HFF) technology.
HFF technology relies on very high flood irrigation flow rates, combined with on-farm automation and soil moisture monitoring, to dramatically improve water use efficiency by reducing deep drainage losses.
An irrigation farm plan was completed to ensure that high flow rates from Lake Glenmaggie could be achieved; once the new technology was in place, irrigation water was accurately measured and electronically recorded by a Southern Rural Water Flume Gate.
The high level of water control achieved with the combination of technology has minimised the volume of irrigation run-off. In turn, this reduces the amount of nutrients leaving the farm to contaminate the Gippsland Lakes.
The success of HFF has also prompted two of the Berryman’s neighbours to convert their farm from conventional flood to HFF irrigation with a similar water saving result. |
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Alcoa of Australia, Anglesea Power Station |
Plant efficiency upgrades at Alcoa’s Anglesea power station led to a 50 per cent reduction in potable water use in just five years. The plant used 17.8ML in 2005 compared to 35ML in 2000 – a saving of almost seven Olympic sized swimming pools.*
By the end of 2006, the company had achieved its corporate goal of a 60 per cent potable water reduction, two years ahead of its 2008 schedule.
After signing a water saving agreement with Barwon Water in 2003, Alcoa has installed water saving devices on all potable water appliances, converted toilets to recycled water, and installed new waterless urinals.
Alcoa continues to investigate new water saving initiatives with Barwon Water, specifically the potential use of recycled water from the Anglesea Water Treatment Plant.
In the meantime, Alcoa is being stringent when purchasing new equipment or planning capital projects to ensure there is no increased use of potable water.
Staff at Alcoa have strongly supported the water wise changes, with many implementing similar water saving mechanisms at home.
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* Calculation based on FINA-approved Olympic sized pool of 2.5ML.
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