Project overview
With the ongoing challenges of a drying climate, the demand for reliable water resources in the South-West region of Western Australia is becoming increasingly critical. Local growers and grazers have identified water availability as one of the most significant constraints on agricultural production. A survey conducted through the WaterSmart Dams project revealed that 50% of farms in the region face dry or challenging conditions every five years. Given that most farmers rely on farm dams for their water needs, it is essential to protect and enhance both the quality and quantity of these water supplies.
Key water quality issues in Western Australia include pH imbalance, temperature fluctuations, turbidity, and salinity, all of which can significantly impact the effectiveness of chemicals used in crop and pasture management. Even slight variations in water quality can reduce the efficacy of spraying, leading to decreased agricultural performance. Traditional mitigation practices, such as increasing product application rates or using buffering agents and adjuvants, can be costly and unsustainable in the long term. Innovative methods to improve water quality of farm dams, such as liners, covers, filter strips and desalination techniques, could be considered to address these challenges.
In collaboration with grower group members of the Grower Group Alliance, the project focused on assessing water quality across the South-West region of WA, particularly in the Merredin catchment area. The project’s goal was to identify prevalent water quality issues, evaluate the costs and benefits of potential improvement techniques, and effectively communicate viable solutions to local farmers.
Results and redommendations
123 samples were collected across the South-West region of WA, with 68 of these taken from the Merredin area. The results indicate that the Merredin region’s dam water is characterised by high pH and turbidity levels, while salinity and hardness remain low. In contrast, bore water in the region presents more significant challenges, with elevated hardness and salinity, though it exhibits low turbidity and is slightly alkaline.
In the face of climate change, effective water management techniques are essential to ensure sustained agricultural production. These strategies must address key challenges such as high turbidity in dam water and the issues of hardness and salinity in bore water.
Cropland farming significantly impacts water management, increasing surface runoff, altering sediment loads, and contributing nitrates and phosphorus from fertilisers into nearby streams and rivers. To mitigate these effects, solutions such as enlarging or upgrading dams, reducing evapotranspiration and sedimentation with native vegetation borders and covers, grading the landscape to control water flow into catchment areas, and implementing desalination techniques can be highly effective.
The findings of this research empower producers, agribusinesses, regional communities, and development organisations to collaborate on tailored management strategies that address the unique environmental conditions within their farming areas.
This project is supported by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
FAQs
Why SMART SPRAYS?
Smart sprays have the potential to reduce evaporation and redirect water for increased crop yield and profit.
Smart sprays components:
- Biodegrade in marine, soil, and compost environments into CO₂, water, and biomass.
- Do not degrade into microplastics in the environment.
- Reduce reliance on fossil fuels and have a decreased carbon footprint as no fossil fuel feedstock is used.
- Do not need to be retrieved from the field – they will biodegrade in situ.
The main component of SMART SPRAYS can be produced by microorganisms through the use of a wide variety of renewable feedstocks, like organic wastes, waste canola oil, brewers waste and glycerol, creating a circular economy.
What’s the different between plastics and bioplastics?
Plastics and bioplastics can be categorised based on their origin/feedstock (biobased vs. fossil fuel based) and their degradation properties (biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable).
Feedstocks
Fossil-based feedstocks: Derived from petroleum, natural gas, or coal.
Biobased feedstocks: Derived from plants, algae, or agricultural waste products.
Differences in degradation
Download the fact sheet to learn more about plastics and bioplastics.
What’s the different between compostable and biodegradable?
Biodegradable materials are those that can be fully broken down into natural substances, such as water and carbon dioxide, by naturally occurring microorganisms. In waste management, the term “biodegradable” is broadly used to describe materials that degrade either under composting conditions or in the natural environment. The key distinction is that compostable materials are designed to break down within a specific timeframe under controlled composting conditions, where factors like temperature, moisture, and microbial activity are optimised to accelerate decomposition and biomass formation.
Certified compostable
Compostable refers to a product’s ability to biodegrade into non-toxic, natural elements within a defined timeframe under specific composting conditions. Both fossil-based and bio-based bioplastics can be certified as compostable. However, compostability claims should only be made if the product has been certified to a recognised standard, such as Australian Standards AS 4736-2006 or AS 5810-2010.
Biobased bioplastic biodegradable
Smart sprays belong to this category.
Bioplastics made from bio-based feedstocks that fully break down into natural substances, either under composting conditions or in the natural environment. PHA bioplastics, in particular, are known to degrade effectively in both soil and marine environments.
Fossil-based bioplastic biodegradable
Fossil-based biodegradable plastics make up a relatively small category, which includes materials like PBAT and PCL. While PBAT is both biodegradable and compostable, improper disposal can still have environmental consequences, as its degradation requires specific conditions to occur efficiently.
Biobased bioplastic non-biodegradable
Bioplastics can be derived from bio-based feedstocks while remaining non-biodegradable. These materials are chemically identical to traditional fossil-based plastics.
Conventional plastics non-biodegradable
These materials do not biodegrade. In Australia, 2.9 million tonnes of plastic waste are discarded each year, with only 13% recycled, while the remaining 87% ends up in landfill.
Reference: State of Bioplastics in Australia, CSIRO, 2024 with permission.
Download the fact sheet to learn more about plastics and bioplastics.
News
- Article, Bursary, Bursary - UWA - Huyen Pham
- Article, Bursary, Bursary - UWA - Huyen Pham
Resources
- Webinar
- Podcast
- Webinar
External resources
- Not all Water is equal: Water quality is the key to WaterSmart Dams (and Farms)
- WaterSmart Farms: Reverse Osmosis trials giving rural communities fresh water for the future
- WaterSmart Farms: Unlocking Opportunities with Desalination – From Stockwater to Spray Quality
- WaterSmart Farms Deep Drilling project with Dr. Richard George
- WaterSmart Farms: Wongutha CAPS
Collaborators
The project team would like to thank the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) and the Merredin & Districts Farm Improvement Group (MADFIG) for supporting this project.
Project team
Professor Nik Callow
UWA Centre for Water and Spatial Science (CWSS)
Jane Brownlee
UWA School of Agriculture and Environment
Contact
Nik Callow
Professor, UWA School of Agriculture and Environment
nik.callow@uwa.edu.au
Mary-Anne Glanzlowe
Extension Specialist and Knowledge Broker, South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
mary-anne.glanzlowe@gga.org.au
0400 191 378