In the past few years, Melbourne councils have been required to reduce water allocations to less than 25% of previous water restrictions or to limit irrigating to one in four turf sporting grounds under strict Stage 3a restrictions. After substantial rainfall in the catchment areas, many restrictions have been eased to Stage 2 but monitoring and reporting of irrigation data for sustainable management is now considered best practise regardless. Water scarcity and waste minimisation are issues that are here to stay and councils must be seen to be decreasing water consumption in their facilities. Ground managers and curators need to adopt new initiatives to minimise irrigation waste and optimise precious resources.
The Victorian Government has recently provided $2 million worth of funding under the Sustainable Sporting Grounds Program to help sports clubs deal with the impact of increasingly stringent restrictions and future proof facilities against drought conditions.
The Minister for Sports and Recreation Hugh Delahunty says "This program provides the cash boost needed for sports clubs to develop long term, sustainable, low water use community sporting facilities that are better equipped to deal with future climate challenges.”
Traditionally, councils have simply maintained sporting grounds to the basic standards required by sporting codes. When new restrictions were implemented, one in four playing fields were left to survive on rainfall unless the club or local council could justify having additional water provisions.
Many fields deteriorated under severe restrictions and became unplayable while demand continued to rise for these facilities. Restrictions also led to less competitive or socially disadvantaged users having less access to suitable playing fields. Increased population growth and demand for playing spaces in general have placed additional pressure on those turf based facilities that meet the criteria to benefit from an increase water allocation.
Introduced in April 2007 in metropolitan Melbourne, the policy aimed to achieve an 80% reduction in water use on sports grounds. To qualify for further water allocations, facilities need to develop a ‘Water Conservation Plan’, install water meters, centralise watering systems, audit irrigation systems and publish irrigation schedules. There was a fear that these seemingly harsh restrictions would ultimately lead to increased player injury, undermine community engagement, reduce the health and well-being in the population, and even lead to job losses in the turf industry. Councils were therefore faced with the challenge of utilising limited state and federal funding to optimise limited water allocations.
The impact of water restrictions on playing fields varies greatly depending on the local rainfall, soil types, ground conditions and intensity of activity. The need to know the soil moisture content in a variety of soils and conditions is paramount.
One way to reduce your water footprint is to stop over-watering. Not only is it environmentally more sustainable, it will save money and produce better turf.
Many councils across Australia have invested in the Hydrosense soil moisture monitoring system made by Campbell Scientific to ascertain optimal water coverage and duration. With a release set for September this year, the Hydrosense II is the second generation of this innovative Australian technology.
The Hydrosense II is a handheld display and soil moisture sensor. Featuring a new display and a new easy insertion soil probe, this compact measurement system has a clear, large LCD display with a convenient layout of the buttons to allow for undemanding one-handed operation in the field.
Incorporating Bluetooth connectivity with an onboard GPS, the new and improved Hydrosense II allows for storable geo-tags recording location specific data. This data can be transmitted wirelessly from your handset to your laptop or PC and can then be exported to Google Earth, GPX and CSV (Excel).
Full spacial representation can be achieved allowing gardeners, curators and grounds keepers to selectively irrigate only where and when needed, reducing water costs, improving sustainability and the overall condition of the turf.
According to a report commissioned by the Victorian Government on ‘Ground Conditions and Injury Risk’, the Hydrosense is “easy to use, not subject to operator error”. The new Hydrosense II, which sells from around $1500, also offers the latest communication capabilities coupled with geo-tagging for more precise, three dimensional representation of your playing field and Campbell’s legendary technical and integration support.
The Hydrosense II is recommended for any curator or grounds keeper wishing to comply with sustainability programs while getting maximum mileage from your allocated resource.
For more information about the Sustainable Sports Ground Program, visit www.grants.dpcd.vic.gov.au
Up to $100,000 is available for each project. Applications close Wednesday 10 August 2011.
For pre-sale orders please contact Gavin Hewitt
The Victorian Government has recently provided $2 million worth of funding under the Sustainable Sporting Grounds Program to help sports clubs deal with the impact of increasingly stringent restrictions and future proof facilities against drought conditions.
The Minister for Sports and Recreation Hugh Delahunty says "This program provides the cash boost needed for sports clubs to develop long term, sustainable, low water use community sporting facilities that are better equipped to deal with future climate challenges.”
Traditionally, councils have simply maintained sporting grounds to the basic standards required by sporting codes. When new restrictions were implemented, one in four playing fields were left to survive on rainfall unless the club or local council could justify having additional water provisions.
Many fields deteriorated under severe restrictions and became unplayable while demand continued to rise for these facilities. Restrictions also led to less competitive or socially disadvantaged users having less access to suitable playing fields. Increased population growth and demand for playing spaces in general have placed additional pressure on those turf based facilities that meet the criteria to benefit from an increase water allocation.
Introduced in April 2007 in metropolitan Melbourne, the policy aimed to achieve an 80% reduction in water use on sports grounds. To qualify for further water allocations, facilities need to develop a ‘Water Conservation Plan’, install water meters, centralise watering systems, audit irrigation systems and publish irrigation schedules. There was a fear that these seemingly harsh restrictions would ultimately lead to increased player injury, undermine community engagement, reduce the health and well-being in the population, and even lead to job losses in the turf industry. Councils were therefore faced with the challenge of utilising limited state and federal funding to optimise limited water allocations.
The impact of water restrictions on playing fields varies greatly depending on the local rainfall, soil types, ground conditions and intensity of activity. The need to know the soil moisture content in a variety of soils and conditions is paramount.
One way to reduce your water footprint is to stop over-watering. Not only is it environmentally more sustainable, it will save money and produce better turf.
Many councils across Australia have invested in the Hydrosense soil moisture monitoring system made by Campbell Scientific to ascertain optimal water coverage and duration. With a release set for September this year, the Hydrosense II is the second generation of this innovative Australian technology.
The Hydrosense II is a handheld display and soil moisture sensor. Featuring a new display and a new easy insertion soil probe, this compact measurement system has a clear, large LCD display with a convenient layout of the buttons to allow for undemanding one-handed operation in the field.
Incorporating Bluetooth connectivity with an onboard GPS, the new and improved Hydrosense II allows for storable geo-tags recording location specific data. This data can be transmitted wirelessly from your handset to your laptop or PC and can then be exported to Google Earth, GPX and CSV (Excel).
Full spacial representation can be achieved allowing gardeners, curators and grounds keepers to selectively irrigate only where and when needed, reducing water costs, improving sustainability and the overall condition of the turf.
According to a report commissioned by the Victorian Government on ‘Ground Conditions and Injury Risk’, the Hydrosense is “easy to use, not subject to operator error”. The new Hydrosense II, which sells from around $1500, also offers the latest communication capabilities coupled with geo-tagging for more precise, three dimensional representation of your playing field and Campbell’s legendary technical and integration support.
The Hydrosense II is recommended for any curator or grounds keeper wishing to comply with sustainability programs while getting maximum mileage from your allocated resource.
For more information about the Sustainable Sports Ground Program, visit www.grants.dpcd.vic.gov.au
Up to $100,000 is available for each project. Applications close Wednesday 10 August 2011.
For pre-sale orders please contact Gavin Hewitt
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One thing that I have learned through my environmental management training is that our technology is never going to stop expanding and growing and our need to be more comfortable in our lives are included. But, that doesn't mean that there wont be technology that wouldn't be for the environment. I do hope that people consider such technology (such as alternative sources of energy).
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