Salinity

Care-Free lowers salinity at Golf Club by 66%

Rising salinity at a Wagga Wagga Golf Club played havoc with the course for several years despite the good river water used for irrigation. The club agreed to set up a trial area using the Care-Free to determine the effect on the surface salts killing the grass. All treatment to the test area ceased during the trial.

CF40 at sprinkler head	Before

Within 6 months	21/2 years later	4 years later

 6 months later

 • surface salt disappeared over entire test area
 • couch grass now showing vigorous growth
 • soil pH had lowered from 8.6 to 7.1
 • sodium in the soil lowered by 25%

2^1/2 years into the trial...

Australian government scientists visited the golf club and took samples of the treated and untreated areas.

Salts were not only significantly lower in the Care-Free treated area, but were in a completely different form to that of the control area.

Below are the results of the initial soil samples taken by the scientists.

Care-Free and soil salinity... what do scientists say?

» I will emphasize that there is no difference in EC from input water to output water from a Care-Free Water Conditioner.

What we have found out at ANSTO by undertaking a range of tests on the device, in relation to particle size analysis, in the colloidal fraction, is that the distribution of the particle size of colloids is reduced significantly.

That there is an increase in the portion of particles at the lower colloidal size once saline water is passed through the deviece.

By reducing the size of the particles, the device influences the impact of the saline water, which has stayed the same EC, and allows the salts, or I should say the ions which also vary in ionic radii, to pass downward through the soils below the root zone.

Hence why there are observed reduction of salinit in the soils where trials have taken place.

The irrigated water has had particle size reduction take place, allowing the ions to pass quicker through the soils and not get caught up in the root zone for plants.

Dr John Bradd
Hydrogeologist - ANSTO
ASAN - National Coordinator

Lab tests confirm Care-Free improves water penetration

» This water percolation test was done by Analytic & Biological Labrotories Inc. over 48 hours.

The test confirmed a change in the makeup of the Care-Free conditioned water that allows it to penetrate the various compositions of soil at a faster rate.

Soil salinity down by 89%

» For several years these paddocks had been irrigated with bore water with a TDS of 1,300mg/l and salinity in the soil was gradually increasing.

After irrigating for only one season with Care-Free Conditioners the Chloride in the soil was reduced by 89% and the Sodium by 53%.

A CF150 and CF100 were manifold together to deliver 4,400 and 2,200 lit/min respectively (9.5 meg/day). Headloss 27kPA - no orifice.

SOILANALYSIS

Before After %Reduction pH (1:5 Water) 7.1 7.3 Sodium - meg/100g 1.3 0.61 53% Chloride - mg/kg 220 24 89% Elec. Cond. - µS/cm 230 70 69%

 

Lucerne crop thrives in 5,600mg/l salt water
Carefree Conditioner returns farmer over 280% every year on investment

The farm manager wrote: "Before we installed the Care-Free, our bore water almost killed our flood irrigated lucerne. Since installing the conditioner, results have been amazing. The first year we cut hay and reaped seed that yielded as good as the district average. The second season we achieved two cuts of hay and reaped 400 kgs/ha of seed and grazed cattle. We are grateful for the advice and assistance you have given." Ted Skewes - Keith, South Australia

A CF75 fitted to a 150mm line

Making the impossible possible

Growing melons in the 4,000mg/l salt water was impossible prior to installing a Care-Free Water Conditioner. However the melons thrived on the "conditioned" water and there was no evidence of salt-encrustation around the entire dripper system.
Al Dharah - United Arab Emirates.

Melons shortly after sowing. No salt encrustation is evident on the drippers.

Before installing a Care-Free Conditioner, the owner could only dream of a melon harvest like this!

Production increases 340% using 11,000mg/l salt water

After installing a 50mm Care-Free Conditioner the production of Salk which is similar to Spinach, increased by 340%. Farm income rose from $40,000 to $136,000.

Director of Care-Free - Robert Uden, with farm manager. Sweihan UAE