In a $2 million deal, Siemens will supply 365 irrigation flow metres and telemetry systems, which will allow WMI to provide real-time monitoring and control of their entire irrigation system.
According to Western Murray Irrigation CEO, Judith Damiani, it is an investment in the future for the Sunraysia region. “Our priority is to sustain the horticultural producers who provide food, employment, economic and export benefits to our local region, state and Australia as a whole. This new digital water infrastructure is critical to their ongoing success because it is accurate, efficient and will provide real-time data to help them make informed decisions,” said Ms Damiani.This places WMI irrigators at the forefront in implementation of on-farm irrigation management techniques.
The new Siemens Mag8000 flow meters replace an aging fleet of mechanical flow meters. "This new digital water system provides intelligence to optimise water supply and consumption,” said Steve Skuse, project lead from Siemens. The Siemens program is designed to assure best-in-class performance for leakage detection and accurate billing. It is seriously low maintenance, delivering long-term performance with minimal cost of ownership.
“The beauty of digitalising the irrigation system is that the new water meters have intelligent features built-in. There is advanced display of information, on-site data collection and remote monitoring via communication networks. This means WMI and farmers will get all the information they need to optimise water supply,” said Mr Skuse.
This cutting-edge solution provides an open communication platform to make network integration easy. It can be integrated into current farm irrigation systems. And it is open for upgrading to communication network platforms of the future, eliminating the need to re-invest in new water meters, or making a step wise investment.Engaging with local industry and the local community is an important part of this project according to Mr Skuse.“Part of the process was teaming with a local Mildura-based technology company, ‘Datacall Telemetry’ to supply the telemetry to make this project possible. We did extensive trials of the Siemens’ flow meters with Datacall’s telemetry system to prove the integrated solution. It’s been great to collaborate with a local business on a such an important project,” said Mr Skuse. “The combination of global and local knowhow means a great outcome for the region. We also worked with other local companies for various works including steel fabrication.”Siemens in partnership with WMI is managing the project with installation commencing in winter 2019.
