Benefits flow from SA water innovation to irrigation schemes, farms

Abstract

Water use efficiency Benefits flow from SA water innovation to irrigation schemes, farms WAS is used for water distribution management and the calculation of canal and dam operating procedures. It has been developed and refined with mainly funding from the Water Research Commission (WRC). From Vaalharts tot Hartbeespoort users employ it to save time, money and water. Says Dr Gerhard Backeberg, the WRC’s Executive Manager: Water Utilisation in Agriculture, “Over a period of 25 years, WAS has evolved in response to local irrigation water user requirements and to manage water use on demand.” The system was designed for those irrigation schemes that operate on the demand system and distribute water through a network of rivers, canals and pipelines. The system helps to provide just the right amount of water at the right time and place, with the least water loss. The WAS has grown over the years, since starting as a simple water ordering program in 1986 at the then Loskop Government Water Scheme, into the fully fledged integrated water distribution management system that it is today.

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