Murray Now

An Australian leader in water saving and infrastructure technology for Murray region irrigators has taken centre stage during the National Annual Irrigation Australia Conference in October.

Cohuna based water control solutions company, AWMA, hosted a tour of the Torrumbarry Irrigation System which delivers an average 500,000 megalitres per year to farms in the Cohuna, Kerang and Swan Hill districts.

Farmers utilise irrigation for a $130 million industry incorporating dairy farms, fat lambs, beef cattle, stone fruit, grapes and vegetables.

Due to severe water shortages a significantly improved accountability of water resources was required by Australian governments and water authorities. This led AWMA to design and construct a world first facility to certify the volumetric accuracy of water control and monitoring infrastructure for open irrigation channels.

Known as FlowLab, this innovation technology enables irrigation authorities and companies to certify water metering infrastructure.

Fifty five delegates from the conference took a tour of FlowLab which is the largest certification facility for irrigation metered outlets in the southern hemisphere. They saw first-hand how FlowLab operates, from testing on-farm meter emplacements to verifying gate variations for entire modernisation programs. FlowLab has even assisted in hydrostatic testing of infrastructure for major urban projects including the Sydney Desalination Plant.

To complement FlowLab AWMA has also developed MagRig, which was also on show at the conference. It is a self-contained mobile unit that performs a similar role to FlowLab, in measuring accuracy of metered outlets, but is portable and can operate on site.

The unit is truck-mounted with a generator to power variable speed pump. A temporary block bank is established downstream of the metered outlet to be tested. Water levels in the channel are maintained using ultrasonic sensors to ensure the test is carried out under true operating conditions.

Water is then diverted through calibrated magnetic flow meters, providing a very accurate recording of the volume of water flowing through the irrigation outlet.

It's been a remarkable journey for the Cohuna company which started operations in July 2000 when founders Brett Kelly and Rick Bilton began exploring ways to assist irrigators achieve greater water control. The company has since attracted new shareholders and is now an Australian leader in being innovative and responsive to the water industry through research, development and customised products.