Smart Scheduling Helps Bayswater Save Water OPTIMISING SPORTS TURF IRRIGATION IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK!
WHY COUNCILS NEED TO ACT NOW
These data provided some important insights (Figure 1A):
Councils play a key role in maintaining green spaces in cities. Irrigation is essential for keeping these areas healthy. But Perth’s water supply has been under pressure for years. Declining rainfall, urban growth, and heavy use of groundwater have all added stress. The Gnangara aquifer has been hit the hardest.
• Irrigation usually started at the right time in September • Watering ramped up correctly through spring and early summer • But irrigation stayed too high late in summer and into autumn
As part of efforts to protect groundwater, councils north of the Swan River will see a 10% cut to water allocations by 20281. This means they must keep parks and sports fields attractive and fitfor-purpose while using less water. This article looks at how the City of Bayswater is tackling this challenge. They used SWAN Systems software with their Aquamonix Rainman controllers to optimise irrigation schedules and save significant amounts of water.
WATER ALLOCATIONS: A TIGHTENING BUDGET Water licences for public green spaces in Perth usually allow 7,500 kL/ha. These areas include sports fields, parks, gardens, and street verges. Councils have some flexibility with how water is used within a licenced area. For example: • A premium oval might need 10,000 kL/ha • A shaded park could do well with less than 5,000 kL/ha
THE SHOULDER SEASON PROBLEM The data show that autumn offers the biggest chance to save water. But this can be tricky. The weather changes a lot, and turf managers are busy. Even if they check soil data, adjusting irrigation schedules may not be straightforward. They must decide how much to cut back or increase watering, all the while watching for rapidly changing weather conditions. Because of this, managers may keep irrigation high in autumn as a “safety net” against sudden heat. This is where SWAN Sync comes in.
SMART SCHEDULING WITH SWAN SYNC SWAN Sync lets SWAN send optimised irrigation schedules straight to controllers. SWAN predicts how much water the turf will need each day over the next week using weather, irrigation and soil moisture data, along with rainfall and evapotranspiration forecasts.
This approach makes it possible to water each type of space properly without going over the allocation.
The process is simple:
But the coming cut to an average allocation of 6,750 kL/ha in 2028 will make things tough. Councils will need better infrastructure, smarter water management, or both.
1. In SWAN, click “optimise” 2. Review, approve and save the schedule 3. The system sends it to the controllers automatically
FINDING POTENTIAL WATER SAVINGS
This takes about 15 minutes, once or twice a week. It means irrigation aligns with current conditions, saving water without extra effort.
The first step to knowing if water savings are possible is knowing when and where water is used. The City of Bayswater irrigates many sports fields using Aquamonix Rainman controllers. Since 2018, they’ve used SWAN Systems to collect controller data on 15 ovals. SWAN automatically collects and analyses irrigation and weather data, tracks changes in soil moisture and compares irrigation applied to actual turf water demand over time.
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So, February to April became the clear target for savings. Soil moisture readings confirmed this: The sports fields stayed wet longer than needed.
THE OVERFLOW |
DOES IT SAVE WATER? Yes. Starting with the 2022-23 season, Bayswater added SWAN’s schedule optimisation with SWAN Sync to two ovals – Emberson and RA Cook. Comparing the years before and after implementing SWAN Sync:
SPRING 2025