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P e t e r W h i t e Wa t e r
Management
Irrigation management for the 21st Century
The supply of top quality soil moisture monitoring
equipment at excellent prices - permanent remote
multi-depth systems and portable multi-site moniroitng
IMetos Internet weather stations at very keen prices
Excellent Irrimax software for viewing and
interpretation of data
New for 2006 the Solo multi-depth probe
Peter White Water Management
Cloverlea, Nuttery Lane, Aldringham
Leiston IP16 4QW, UK
Tel: 07785 393925
Office Tel and Fax 01728 454 839
Email: PeterWhiteWater@aol.com
www.irrigationworld2000.com
UKIA Irrigation Association
To join the UKIA costs just £40 a year
Benefits include:
• Two news letters and journal on current
irrigation issues
• Annual conference, technical seminars and visits
• Website with members only library/information
section
• Regular email updates on current issues.
Contact: Melvyn Kay Executive Secretary of UKIA.
Tel: 01427 717623 Email: m.kay@ukia.org
Website www.ukia.org
The views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily
those of the UKIA.
page 4
So far so good – irrigation
prospects for 2007
An update from the EA on the current situation in Anglian and Midlands
regions.
The Environment Agency is continuing to monitor rainfall, river flows
and groundwater levels in the wake of the dry summer. Rainfall totals
across much of the Anglian and Midlands regions were at or above
average between August and November and this has helped to kick-start
a recovery. It remains to be seen, however, whether this will be
maintained over the remainder of the winter.
River flows are very responsive to short period, intense rainfall and a
number of short-lived, high flows have been experienced. Longer-term
flows remain very variable with figures ranging from 50% below average
to 100% above average in November.
Groundwater levels are a key indicator of the overall state of water
resources and these remain substantially below average in many places,
although significant recovery has taken place in others.
Low groundwater levels give rise to low river flows, especially during
the summer, when there is little rainfall to supplement flows.
Groundwater is therefore critical to any assessment of the prospects for
irrigation next summer. It is too early to forecast the situation next year
but if we continue to have high rainfall this will help recharge
groundwater and fill winter storage reservoirs. A return to dry weather
in the early part of next year, however, could once again increase the risk
of problems next summer. A reasonable summary of the current situation
might be ‘so far, so good’.
For a weekly update on changes in the water resources situation in
your region visit: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/
Steve Dines, EA Anglian Region
Anne Taylor, EA Midlands Region
1014767/1131486/
Hefce enquires into land-based studies
Concerns about the future of land-based studies in UK has led the
Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) to undertake a
study to consider our future needs. This is an opportunity to get
educators to think about water and irrigation.
The closure of various agricultural courses and colleges up and down
the country has led to Government concerns about education provision
for agriculture and land management. Questions are being asked such
as – do we still have a sustainable educational base to prepare our future
agricultural and land managers? Can we leave future provision for the
market place to decide what happens or is there a need for Government
intervention? Hefce is studying these issues and looking strategically at
the capacity we will need in the future and how it can be provided.
Irrigators are stakeholders in this future. So a recent stakeholder
meeting provided an opportunity for UKIA to stand up and speak about
the importance of water management as a strategic issue in any future
land-based education initiative. It is a sad fact that most agricultural
courses pay little attention to water, which is surprising considering the
importance of water for sustaining many thousands of rural livelihoods
throughout the country and its contribution to the environment. The
growing awareness of the importance of water for high-value irrigated
production and the implications of climate change provide us with a
vehicle for a change in the way in which land-based education is
structured in the future. The report is due in December 2006.
Melvyn Kay, Exec Secretary UKIA
www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/sis/land.htm
Dates for your diary
Issue 32
Following publication of the Stern
Report and another very dry summer, it
is timely that next year’s spring seminar
will focus on climate change. For some
of us, this year has been a ‘tipping point’
in terms of the public’s awareness and
belief that climate change is happening.
We need to start acting collectively in
dealing with its possible threats, but we
must also realise that there will be many
opportunities, particularly as water
becomes scarcer, less reliable and more
valuable. Those that protect and use
their resource to best effect will benefit
most. However, we also need to
remember that climate change is
happening elsewhere and in many ways
the offshore impacts of climate change
in other parts of the world are likely to
impact to a greater extent on UK
agricultural production than UK climate
change per se. These and other climate
change issues will be the focus of our
next seminar. As before, it is likely to be
well supported, so those of you wishing
to attend should reserve a place as soon
as possible.
Finally, may I thank you for your
Changing climate
summer season and it can be used to
compare irrigation need between
individual years. Figure 1 shows the
calculated PSMD for the last 44 years at
Silsoe (Bedfordshire). It shows that 2006
was more of an ‘average year’ and not
as extreme as 1976, 1990, 1995 or 2003
in irrigation terms. This was because
although there was a long protracted
dry period with very little rainfall in June
and July, many parts received well above
average rainfall at the end of August
which helped to temper the drought.
However, the real issue now is whether
winter rainfall will be sufficient to
recharge the aquifers over the
remaining winter months. The latest
reports from the EA suggest that
significant amounts of rainfall are still
required. Indeed, it seems that the
heavy intense storms we have been
receiving are the wrong kind of rain;
instead we need gentle precipitation to
infiltrate the soil and percolate, rather
than heavy downpours that only
exacerbate soil erosion and lead to rapid
runoff.
UKIANews
Editorial
This summer was a difficult one for
many businesses dependent on water in
the south east and eastern regions as
the drought started to bite. Many were
impacted by conditions on their licences
restricting their irrigation abstraction,
but for the 70 golf courses who were
subjected to a total drought order
banning irrigation from May 27th the
situation was of course much more
severe. For many other golf courses, this
was a ‘wake up’ call that agricultural
abstractors had experienced in 1995
when widespread restrictions were last
imposed in Eastern England. As a
consequence much is now being done
to help this sector raise their awareness
of water resource issues and to improve
dialogue with both the water
undertakers and regulatory authority
(EA) so that future droughts might be
better managed. The next stage must
surely be to encourage greater
communication and collaboration
between different sectors; through, for
example, the formation of new
abstractor groups in areas where water
resources are under pressure, such as in
the south east.
But one question being asked is really
how dry was this summer compared to
other years. In a previous newsletter I
mentioned the variable potential soil
moisture deficit (PSMD) and its role in
providing an indicator of agroclimatic
variability. PSMD takes into account the
daily balance between rainfall and
evapotranspiration (ET) during the
The drought
News from the UK Irrigation Association
December 2006
As another year draws to a close, it’s
worth briefly reflecting on the various
activities that the UKIA were involved in
over the past 12 months. The year
started with our annual Spring seminar
‘The pathway to efficiency’. This was a
sell-out event for the third year in
succession, providing delegates with the
latest state of play on the changes to
the abstraction licensing system in the
context of licence renewal, as well as
introducing new concepts such as
benchmarking for assessing irrigation
performance. This was followed later in
the year by a technical meeting for a
post-mortem on the 2006 drought, and
its impacts on the agricultural and
sports-turf sectors. It was again very
well attended with 60 delegates. Many
of us remember the presentation by
Billy McMillan, Chairman of BIGGA, who
provided a very personal insight into
the importance and value of irrigation
water for golf, which to many is still
perceived a luxury use of water. There
are clearly opportunities for the UKIA to
engage with the sports-turf sector to
better represent the interests of its
irrigators at various regional and
national fora on water resource issues.
More recently, a group of UKIA
members traveled to Bari in southern
Italy to meet representatives from a
local water user association (akin to our
abstractor groups). These farmers were
using a system of credit card hydrants to
allocate and pay for their irrigation
water. An article on this trip is included
in this newsletter.
UK Irrigation Association Spring Seminar
Thursday 1st March 2007
Climate changing UK irrigation
in a global market
Natural England Promoting Irrigation Efficiency Farmer Workshops
30th January 2-5pm Crown Point Estate, Kirby Bedon, Norwich.
5th February 2-5pm Easton Farm Park, Woodbridge, Suffolk.
6th February 2-5pm Oliver Cromwell Hotel, March.
(date to be fixed) Rossi’s Sports and Leisure Centre, N Walsham,
Norfolk.
(date to be fixed) Holt RFC, Holt, Norfolk.
East of England Showground, Peterborough
How can irrigators adapt to the changes?
1st March UKIA Annual Spring Seminar Climate changing UK irrigation
in a global market. East of England Showground, Peterborough.
page 1
2005 Survey of Irrigation of
Outdoor Crops - England
Keith Weatherhead, Cranfield University
The national results (for England) of the 2005 Irrigation Survey, funded by
Defra, are about to be released as this newsletter goes to press.
All agricultural holdings that reported they had irrigated 1 ha or more in the
Defra 2005 June Agricultural Survey or had reported irrigating in the 2001
irrigation survey were asked to complete a voluntary postal questionnaire. The
results identify trends in irrigated areas and water use by crop type, water
sources, irrigation method, scheduling method, and the overall position on
water resources and reservoir storage. This information is important for
planning and for emphasising the importance of irrigation as a water user.
Thank you again to everyone who gave of their time to reply. We will
notify members when the results are available and how to obtain them.
Funding for water-related projects
continued support this year and hope that you
will maintain your membership over the coming
year. As always we welcome suggestions on
how we can improve the range of services we
offer our members. I firmly believe that the
UKIA is going from strength to
strength and your support is
central to this success. We are
also open to offers for site visits,
ideas for technical meetings or
articles for this newsletter or
journal. Your contributions are
all welcome.
Best Wishes for 2007.
Jerry Knox, Cranfield University
Figure 1 Potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD)
from 1962-2006 at Silsoe (Bedfordshire), with
2006 highlighted in a darker shade.
Council member profile
Tim Jolly
Tim started farming in east
Suffolk when he took over the
family farm in the 1980s. In 1989
he moved to Norfolk and now
farms 1000 acres of light
breckland soil growing irrigated
vegetables and potatoes, sugar
beet, and malting barley.
Tim’s father, Philip, was a pioneer of farm scale
irrigation in the early 1950s first using market
garden equipment, then hand-move sprinklers,
before moving onto rainguns – ‘not the easiest of
jobs moving pipes through 4ft potato tops! His
Norfolk farm has five centre pivots which
certainly make life easier.
Tim is very much involved in water resources. He
is a member of his local abstractor group and is
the spokesman for the NFU’s water policy group.
He is particularly concerned about energy use in
The Rural Development Service managed the Rural Enterprise Scheme and was irrigation as he believes there are possibilities for
a recognised funding source for storage reservoirs in many regions. It ran for reducing consumption for the benefit of both
five years before closing in June 2006. What is going to replace it?
farming and the environment.
There is currently a gap but the next round of the Rural Agenda should
address this. In the next phase of the Rural Development Regulations (RDR)
2007-2013, as part of Defra’s Rural Strategy 2004, Regional Development Agencies will
be tasked with managing future funding. So it is important to look at the regional
approaches across the country – they may be different depending on needs and
priorities.
Each region has been tasked with producing a Regional Implementation Plan (RIP)
setting out the region’s objectives and key priorities or themes. The high level themes
will determine where the money is spent and what projects will be supported – water
resources management is likely to fit into a number of the themes.
It is understood that some of the funding will be targeted towards collaborative
projects – situations where a number of existing, or prospective, licence holders are
able to work together bringing wide benefits across an area.
The Environment Agency is keen to encourage high-flow (winter) storage, which in
turn may reduce the pressure on summer resources. Storage reservoirs require
significant investment and financial aid can often make the difference as to whether
or not a scheme is viable. The EA is lobbying to include this detail within the RDR.
For more details about funding make contact with your local Development Agency –
details available on website www.englandsrdas.com. Funds are unlikely to be available
before the end of 2007 at the earliest. But many Agencies will now have staff in place
that will be able to handle your enquiries.
Darren Smith, a UKIA Council Member who works with the EA based in Lincoln, is
happy to act as a point of contact on this for UKIA members.
Darren Smith, Environment Agency
darren.smith@environment-agency.gov.uk
page 2
More irrigation training
in the New Year
QUALITY IRRIGATION PRODUCTS FOR
GARDENS & LANDSCAPE
Irrigation training, funded over the past two years by RDS Defra, is
• Unparalleled customer support
continuing this year under the Natural England banner in East Anglia.
• Key Rain Bird Distributors
This is good news for abstractors and demonstrates a continuing
• Stockists of the new Plasson Agrifit range
commitment to the importance of improving water management
Contact us now for details.
practices in the region.
Five half-day workshops aimed at farmers and growers are planned
for January and February 2007 in key catchments across Norfolk,
Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. This is not just more of the same. The aim
LANDSCAPE WATERING SYSTEMS LIMITED
is to build on previous year’s work while continuing to focus on
Dinton • Salisbury •Wiltshire • SP3 5EB
practical and cost effective means of improving irrigation efficiency and
Telephone: 01722 716969 • Fax: 01722 716949
water management practices. Cranfield University, the workshop
enquiries@lws.uk.com • www.lws.uk.com
organisers, will present
the findings of their
(EEDA funded) research
on water auditing undertaken with farmers in the region this summer. So there are
some very practical outcomes to talk about.
The ‘practical’ theme of last year’s workshops was greatly appreciated. So more
practical sessions are included this time on improving soil and water management,
evaluating irrigation systems, and understanding the importance of pipes and
pumps.
Three areas are targeted – three workshops will be run in the Broadland Rivers
CAMS covering both North Norfolk and South Norfolk, one in East Suffolk CAMS
and another in the Middle Level.
The workshops are free and are primarily for abstractors in those areas. But as in
previous years if there are spare places then UKIA members are welcome to attend.
See – Dates for your diary – for details of time and location. Details also on our
website www.ukia.org
Are irrigated crops safe?
An FSA study is underway into the microbiological quality of irrigation water and an assessment of the risks to public health
from different agricultural irrigation practices.
The study aims to identify key pathogens causing food-borne illness and their modes of transmission, and how irrigation
practices impact the quality of water and the level of crop contamination.
The report aims to identify whether there is a need for further industry guidance to reduce risks, and whether sufficient data
exists to enable regulators to do this. If not then areas of further research required to achieve this will be identified.
If you wish to contribute to this study from an irrigator’s perspective or you have data that could assist in risk assessment then
contact Mike Payne on 01366 501068 or Michaelpaynepart@aol.com
Irrigation the Italian way
Melvyn Kay, Exec Secretary UKIA
A successful joint UKIA/ICID trip to Bari, Italy in October to see a ‘credit card’
irrigation system in action (newsletter June 06). But the experience was much
broader than just seeing some automatic water hydrants on a large trickle
irrigation system. We also saw how a large water user association worked.
As one participant put it – ‘On a trip like this with other participants in our group
having a very wide range of irrigation knowledge and experience, you just start to
gain an appreciation of the enormity of the irrigation market in the rest of Europe
and beyond. Also, in the UK, you
see just how specific and localised
are our crops, the growing
conditions, the irrigation need and
the manner in which it is satisfied.
It was also good, and a bit
surprising, to get an insight into
how our Italian counterparts appear to have fewer concerns with regard global
warming and less red tape on the environment and local ecology.
It also seems that by agreeing collectively the extent of the available water
resource and an amicable mechanism for its distribution, they have avoided
governmental agency control of the water for this project. Ah well, back to
reality’.
There will be a fuller report on the visit in the next Journal. But make sure you
are on the next major UKIA visit which is planned for Spain in the New Year.
page 3