Solutions

Precision Greening
- Advanced irrigation management. Think public open space irrigation; crops grown with more yield and less water, less fertiliser and less energy; ecological infrastructure optimising water use and the health of rivers and wetlands. Broader than smart application, precision greening covers delivery, application, sensing, simulation, communications and control.
- The Big Salt Bust
  
  Australian Water Environments (AWE) works extensively in the field of salt interception in recognition of the Australian community’s desire to restore the River Murray.
- Sentek Helps Santos Create Clean Energy
  
  Santos is one of Australia’s leading gas producers, supplying Australian and Asian customers. The growth of the coal seam gas (CSG) sector represents a major opportunity to help Australia and the region move to a cleaner, less carbon-intensive future.
- 1.8 billion litres of water saved
  
  Current estimates reveal that the use of BioCentral’s products PolyCom™, a polymer based material stabilising water additive, and DustChek™, a biodegradable ecologically safe dust suppressant, in the local government and mining sectors has saved approximately 1.8 billion litres of water in three years.
Water Creation
- Diversifying sources of water. Think demand management, rainwater harvesting, wastewater reuse, urban stormwater harvesting, desalination and managed aquifer recharge.
- Leak Busters Save Millions
  
  Australia is enjoying millions of dollars in water savings from advanced water leakage detection and repair programs.
- It's only natural
  
  While global corporations talk of triple bottom line outcomes, the City of Salisbury in Adelaide’s northern suburbs has achieved just that - a sustainable environment, economy and community through Australia’s first integrated water creation management system.
Leading Change
- Creating a different water future. Think independent economic regulation, competition policy, Public Private Partnerships, research and product development, water sector professional development and community education.
- New product development provides entry into French market
  
  Philmac, Adelaide-based innovator and manufacturer of premium quality plastic fittings and valves, has utilised its superior problem solving capabilities in the area of connecting polyethylene pipe to create a unique plastic compression fitting specifically for the French market.
- Global Reach
  
  SMEC is a professional services firm with Australian origins and a global footprint that provides high quality consultancy services on major infrastructure projects.
- Developing World Class Water Leaders
  
  Organisations from around the globe are turning to Australia to train their managers in one of the best water education programs available in the world.
Risk Proofing
- Managing future risks and decision support. Think managing water quality in harsh conditions, market based water trading systems, exploring the nexus of energy and water, advanced social, environmental and economic scenario modelling and optimisation.
- Resources Sector Chooses EnviroSys
  
  Companies within the mining, oil and gas industries rely heavily on water. It is critical that this precious resource is managed responsibly in order for them to maintain their licence to operate.
- What is smart water pricing?
  
  An effective and fair water pricing policy is a challenge water utilities and governments are grappling with around the world as they try to develop water pricing that is sensitive to community affordability, generate sufficient revenue to maintain and invest in providing safe, reliable water, while also engaging users by rewarding water efficiency.
- Dealing with future water uncertainty
  
  If it wasn’t for the option of water trading many Australian irrigators would not have been able to access water and continue to produce crops during recent years of low water availability.

Sentek Helps Santos Create Clean Energy

Santos is one of Australia’s leading gas producers, supplying Australian and Asian customers. The growth of the coal seam gas (CSG) sector represents a major opportunity to help Australia and the region move to a cleaner, less carbon-intensive future.

As a CSG industry leader Santos is at the forefront of this growth, and is working closely with environmental protection specialists of the Queensland Government in the implementation of strict new guidelines in CSG (coal seam gas) water treatment and subsequent beneficial use for aquifer recharge, surface water augmentation, irrigation, construction, dust suppression in the gasfields or stockwater use. Agreement on this balance of beneficial uses has involved close consultation with landholders, local/regional government councils, other community stakeholders and State and Federal Government Agencies.

Santos’ Queensland CSG fields are in the Fairview, Roma and Arcadia Valley areas.
Irrigation will beneficially utilise between 45% and 80% of treated CSG water.

Santos seeks to maximise the environmental, community and business benefits from the irrigation of forage-based grazing systems, forest plantations and native forest regeneration on suitable land and soil systems and is utilising Sentek Technologies precision greening systems to manage the sustainable use of treated CSG water on specific crops on specific soils in a range of catchments.

In the Fairview Irrigation Project Area Santos expects to have by the end of 2012 reached its irrigation target of 2600 ha of irrigated land including Chinchilla White Gum, forest plantation species, native forest regeneration and forages. Irrigation systems currently consist of a mixture of drip, sprinkler and centre pivot. Whilst the dominant forage system on Santos owned land and collaborating landholder properties will be centre pivot irrigated leucaena and well adapted sub-tropical grasses there will be variations involving zero-tilled winter forages to provide a more even demand for irrigation water.

To maintain the fine balance between maximising irrigation volumes, promoting tree plantation and forage crop health and minimising environmental impacts, Sentek soil moisture and salinity sensors, along with a range of other precision environmental monitoring devices, have been deployed across the tree plantation and forage crop areas. Used by both irrigation managers and external advisors, the data from the sensors is continually used to refine and adapt irrigation management to maintain environmental conditions compliance and maximise water use efficiency, achieve target leaching fractions. Technologies including appropriate decision-support computer software, provides continuous data which shows:

how much water the trees and crops are using each day
optimal times for further irrigations
any changes in salt levels and vertical and lateral distribution within the soil profile
how irrigation amount and frequency is managed below to ensure root zone drainage within the guidelines set in the irrigation management plan
that vertical or horizontal movement of below root zone drainage does not impact upon ephemeral streams or shallow or deep groundwater aquifers
appropriate times for further monitoring

With the CSG industry expanding rapidly, these innovative precision management decision making approaches to managing wastewater will support the CSG industry in its competitiveness and in achieving sustainable environmental outcomes.

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