A challenge, particularly around the racing chutes, was to be able to water across the 40 m width of the course, limiting which sprinklers could be specified.
The central control is via a Rain Bird SiteControl, installed using a two-wire decoder system. Ben emphasised how important having the weather station was, not only for calculating ET, hence saving water, but also for controlling areas of sprinklers affected by wind. “As racetracks are open spaces, wind plays havoc when it comes to irrigation uniformity, let alone keeping the water on the tracks where it is meant to be,” he explained. “In many cases, there is also very expensive real estate close to racetracks, and this is certainly the case at Doomben. To keep spray from being blown into these areas, we need to be able to suspend sprinklers in specific areas around the track when the wind reaches a pre-set velocity.” The skills Something that most people in the industry appear to agree on is the fact that smart irrigation, which uses inputs from various digital sources such as soil moisture equipment and weather
stations, requires a higher skill level, both of managers and those doing the designing and installing. Ben said that he has found racetrack managers are “top shelf ” when it comes to managing track turf.
“They are highly skilled operators, but they still need training in using the equipment and management, especially things such as how to achieve application uniformity and how much water needs to be applied,” Ben said. And this acquisition of technical skills, including in digital technology, is equally important as far as Ben’s staff are concerned. He makes sure their skills are up to date through professional development activities such as training courses. “We are proud of the work we do and provide professional backup and support to our clients,” said Ben. “Ensuring we all have a high level of skills gives us an edge and ensures that our clients are confident in our support and technical expertise.” Anne Currey, Irrigation Australia
Staff from Doomben racecourse receiving training in use of the smart irrigation system.
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