Australian Water Management Review Vol. 1 2014 | Page 70

WatersMart farMs an on farM irrigation
Modernisation
success story

Matthew Plunkett and Peter Conasch, Greater Sydney Local Land Services Penrith, Luke Jewell, NSW
Department of Primary Industries Menangle, Damien Doyle and William Yiasoumi, formerly NSW
Department of Primary Industries, University of Western Sydney-Hawkesbury, Richmond

A

s well as being one of the fastest growing
areas in Australia, the HawkesburyNepean on the western fringe of Sydney
supports a significant irrigation industry
which includes horticultural production
and turf farming. A challenge for these irrigators
is competition from the area’s expanding urban
population for both water and land resources.
One response to improve water use efficiency and
save water was the WaterSmart Farms project,
funded by the Australian Government through
the Water for the Future initiative and the NSW
Government through its Climate Change Fund.
The project used a combination of education and
training and provided incentive grants for on-ground
works. An engagement strategy was developed to
deliver the project goals in an ambitious timeline.
The strategy highlighted the importance of using
existing grower networks, well respected industry
leaders, experienced NSW Department of Primary
Industries (DPI) staff and a proven ‘one on one’
extension methodology.

64 | AustrAliAn water man age m e nt re v ie w

WaterSmart Farms project
– facts and figures
Project delivered by the NSW Department
of Primary Industries in conjunction
with the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment
Management Authority (HNCMA – now the
Greater Sydney Local Land Services) from
June 2009 to September 2011.
131 infrastructure upgrades (92 for
irrigators using river water and 39 for those
using potable water)
5,900 ML of water savings through efficiency
improvements and licence purchases
3,320 ML of water savings secured under
river efficiency component of this project
1,110 ML of river water savings stayed with
irrigators (rest of the savings were achieved
through the potable water component of the
project)

After the project was completed in 2011, a small team
of DPI professionals began a review, the aims of which
were to: assess the change in knowledge, skills and
behaviour of grant recipients, gather data to inform
current and future NSW DPI irrigation modernisation
projects, and verify water and nutrient savings. As
part of this review, a survey was sent to 131 farmers
who received grants, 92 of whom were licensed river
water users and 39, potable water users. The potable
surveys were in both English and Arabic to cater for
the approximately 70% of potable grant recipients who
were of Lebanese background. The response rate to the
surveys was a very high 80%.
What did the project achieve?
Audit important to improving knowledge.
Workshops, field days and technical advice from
independent auditors were the main activities available
to support knowledge change. This approach was
successful in that almost two-thirds of respondents
said their knowledge of irrigation improved as a result
of attending workshops and having a systems audit
done by an independent auditor, which included IAL
certified irrigation agronomists.