Senix Water Level Sensors Drive Irrigation Automation Project

How do you manage a one-million-square-kilometer area`s water conservation efforts? The solution begins with Senix ultrasonic level and distance sensors.

Australia`s Irrigation Situation

Irrigation management is serious business in Australia, especially within the Murray-Darling Basin, a 1,000,000 square kilometer watershed that`s home to Australia’s most productive agricultural land. The basin’s 23 rivers have some of the lowest and most variable flows in the world. A massive system of dams, lakes, and canals store water from mountain snowmelt and seasonal rains, then distribute it to farms and communities throughout the growing season. 

The Murray-Darling watershed has been under pressure since the 1960s, but a series of environmental and economic crises in the 1990s created momentum for changing the way water resources were managed. In 1991, a 1,000-kilometer outbreak of blue-green algae on the Murray River became a vivid symbol of the environmental stress associated with reduced river flows.

Reduced flows began threatening sensitive wetlands, protected species, and salinity levels throughout the watershed. These water shortages threatened everyone: including farms, municipalities, and tourism.

Ultrasonics Provide a Solution

Murray Irrigation began their Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program (PIIOP) in 2013 with a goal to reduce water distribution losses. In need of an autonomous, rugged sensor, they chose the Senix ToughSonic 14 ultrasonic sensors to provide real-time water level measurements to guide channel control structures in the new system. 

Water is distributed with precision and without the need for large and potentially wasteful contingency releases. Farmers benefit from shorter lead times and more stable flows, allowing them to water crops more precisely, reduce overall water consumption, and maintain healthy crop yields.

Senix modified the ToughSonic 14 sensor to reduce energy consumption and improve surge protection during lightning storms.

"Changing weather patterns—combined with population growth—are creating crippling droughts in many parts of the world," said Doug Boehm, founder of Senix. "Australia is meeting these challenges with effective policy change and major investments in irrigation automation technology."

The more precious water supplies become, the more carefully they need to be managed. Murray Irrigation is implementing one of the most sophisticated irrigation distribution systems in the world with state-of-the-art sensors, gates, and SCADA technology, all designed to reduce waste and improve customer service.

Read the full story and learn how Senix can help with your application here.