Irrigation Leader Washington State June 2021

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 6 WASHINGTON STATE EDITION

Roger Sonnichsen of the Quincy– Columbia Basin Irrigation District

june 2021

CONTENTS

8

JUNE 2021 Volume 12 Issue 6

Roger Sonnichsen of the Quincy– Columbia Basin Irrigation District

Irrigation Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for July/August and November/December by

an American company established in 2009.

STAFF: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief Joshua Dill, Managing Editor Tyler Young, Writer Stephanie Biddle, Graphic Designer Eliza Moreno, Web Designer Caroline Polly, Production Assistant and Social Media Coordinator Cassandra Leonard, Staff Assistant SUBMISSIONS: Irrigation Leader welcomes manuscript, photography, and art submissions.

However, the right to edit or deny publishing submissions is reserved. Submissions are returned only upon request.

For more information, please contact our office at (202) 698-0690 or irrigation.leader@waterstrategies.com.

5 E xperience and Vision

By Kris Polly

30 W es Long: Bringing HDPE On Site With Tubi Group

8 R oger Sonnichsen of the Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District

36 S tephen Bell of Trojan Technologies: The Advantages of UV Treatment

16 V anessa Winning of Irrigation New Zealand: Bringing a Holistic Perspective to Irrigated Agriculture 22 M GI Pilots New Zealand’s First Emrgy Turbines 26 M ount Difficulty Winery’s LiveRoof: New Zealand’s Largest Green Roof

THE INNOVATORS 40 A ndrew Neill of Onfarm Data: Innovating With Irrigation Data in New Zealand 46 W aterForce: Advancing Irrigation in New Zealand 50 JOB LISTINGS

ADVERTISING: Irrigation Leader accepts half-page and full-page ads. For more information on rates and placement, please contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

CIRCULATION: Irrigation Leader is distributed to irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, Bureau of Reclamation officials, members of Congress and committee staff, and advertising sponsors.

For address corrections or additions, please contact us at admin@waterstrategies.com.

Copyright © 2020 Water Strategies LLC. Irrigation Leader relies on the excellent contributions of a variety of natural resources professionals who provide content for the magazine. However, the views and opinions expressed by these contributors are solely those of the original contributor and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policies or positions of Irrigation Leader magazine, its editors, or Water Strategies LLC. The acceptance and use of advertisements in Irrigation Leader do not constitute a representation or warranty by Water Strategies LLC or Irrigation Leader magazine regarding the products, services, claims, or companies advertised. /IrrigationLeader

Do you have a story idea for an upcoming issue? Contact our editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

4 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

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COVER PHOTO: Roger Sonnichsen, Manager, Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District. Photo courtesy of the Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF QCBID.

Coming soon in Irrigation Leader: July/August: Chris Lynch of the Bureau of Reclamation

@IrrigationLeadr

Experience and Vision

I

n this month’s Washington State edition, we speak with Roger Sonnichsen, the general manager of the Quincy– Columbia Basin Irrigation District (QCBID).

Mr. Sonnichsen’s professional experience spans working for the state government, for Reclamation, and as a consultant for water resources planning, all of which has built his thorough knowledge and skill set. By constantly improving QCBID’s infrastructure, cultivating great employees, and carefully planning for years ahead, Mr. Sonnichsen is building the district’s future.

This month, we also look at New Zealand irrigation, which is known for innovation and adaptation.

Vanessa Winning, who has been CEO of the industry organization Irrigation New Zealand since October 2020, tells us about the importance of understanding irrigation as something that supports entire communities.

We also speak with Craig Evans of the Morven Glenavy Ikawai Irrigation Scheme (MGI), headquartered in Glenavy, New Zealand, and Emrgy Australasia Sales Manager Sheridan Douglas about MGI’s pilot installation of Emrgy hydroturbines, the first in New Zealand.

Greg Yeoman of Stormwater360 tells us about the green roof that his company designed for New Zealand’s Mount Difficulty winery—the largest such roof in the nation.

Wes Long of Tubi tells us about his company’s mobile pipe-manufacturing plants, which can produce 500-foot

By Kris Polly lengths of high-density polyethylene pipe directly in the field.

Stephen Bell, the president of global UV company Trojan Technologies, tells us about his company’s work around the world, including in New Zealand.

We also feature two innovative New Zealand ag tech companies. Andrew Neill of Onfarm Data tells us about his company’s data-based decision-support software, and Paul Donaldson of WaterForce tells us about his company’s work designing irrigation systems.

New Zealand differs from the United States in hydrology, land use, and regulations, but its commitments to innovation and economy will be familiar to all U.S. farmers, and it should be of interest both as a source of ideas and as a potential market for expansion. With this in mind, Irrigation Leader will be launching a New Zealand edition in September 2021.

I hope it will be of interest to our current readers and will help strengthen the connections between our two countries. IL Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

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Roger Sonnichsen of the Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District

QCBID employees replace concrete in a lateral in the Royal watermaster section.

T

he Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District (QCBID) is one of the three irrigation districts operating the Columbia Basin Project (CBP), which brings water resources to the Columbia basin. It serves about 250,000 acres, which grow over 45 crops. In this interview, QCBID Manager Roger Sonnichsen tells Irrigation Leader about QCBID’s current top issues and how it is continuing its essential services during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF QCBID.

Roger Sonnichsen: I grew up in Okanogan County on a small cattle ranch. My dad irrigated about 70 acres of alfalfa with a silage corn rotation. Growing up on the ranch, I first began my irrigation experience helping dad change handline sprinklers along with my brother, Wayne, at an early age. During my high school years, I worked for the neighbors, moving handline sprinklers morning and evening during the summer between haying jobs. Following graduation from Liberty Bell High School, I attended Washington State University (WSU) and received a bachelor of science in agricultural engineering. My focus during college was irrigation. My first engineering job was with Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District as a summer intern. I continued at WSU to obtain

a master’s degree with a focus on water conservation.

My master’s coursework led me to accepting a 2‑year job with the Washington Department of Ecology’s water resources program, working in the referendum 38 grants program and providing funding to irrigation districts to help them develop water conservation planning and funding projects. With constraints at Ecology and looking for a change of view, I accepted employment with Boyle Engineering, a consulting firm in Colorado with a focus on water planning and modeling. Following 4 years of work in Colorado, my wife and I decided to return to be closer to family in the Northwest. This move was made possible by an opportunity at the Ephrata field office of the Bureau of Reclamation on the CBP. I enjoyed my work at Reclamation in irrigation operations, which also came to involve water planning and modeling in the Yakima basin and on the CBP. I always enjoyed working with irrigation districts while at Reclamation, so when an assistant manager position opened at QCBID, I applied. I had worked at Reclamation for 12 years. QCBID Manager Darvin Fales elected to give me a chance, for which I am grateful. Darvin was a great mentor, and it was my pleasure to work under him for 12 years. When he took a position at Columbia Basin Hydropower, I threw my name in the hat to succeed him, and I am humbled that the QCBID directors appointed me as manager in fall 2019.

QCBID employees line a lateral in the Quincy watermaster section.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about QCBID. Roger Sonnichsen: QCBID is located in Grant County in central Washington State, in the rain shadow of the North Cascade Mountains, where the average annual precipitation is 7.5 inches per year. The district was formed in 1939 by the landowners as one of the three irrigation districts that contracted with Reclamation to build the CBP. Our two sister districts are the East and South Columbia Basin Irrigation Districts. QCBID is governed by seven elected directors.

The more than 3,000 landowners who make up QCBID irrigate over 250,000 acres, on which they grow a large variety of crops—over 45 in total. The top crops are alfalfa and hay, apples and other fruit, corn, potatoes, dry beans, wheat, grapes, and various seed crops.

After its initial development under prior contracts with Reclamation, QCBID signed its most current repayment contract with Reclamation in 1969. This contract defines the CBP reserved works that are jointly funded by the three irrigation districts and the transferred works that QCBID is solely responsible for repaying, operating, and maintaining.

QCBID’s transferred works consist of the 86‑mile-long West Canal, designed with an initial capacity of 5,100 cubic feet per second, and the main, 6‑mile-long Royal Branch Canal. The West Canal and the Royal Branch Canal serve a network of laterals, totaling 900 miles in length, which make irrigationleadermagazine.com

deliveries through over 3,000 measuring devices. About half the district lands are higher in elevation than the West Canal, so we have nine large pumping plants that lift water between 90 and 250 feet. These nine plants have 58 pumps and motors as well as the associated transmission facilities and transformers used to supply the 45,000 horsepower of electricity they need to run. Additionally, the district is responsible for thousands of miles of open and buried drains; 70 small relift pumps; and the associated shops, offices, and housing at the six watermaster headquarters.

Irrigation Leader: How different is being manager from being the top engineer of the district?

Roger Sonnichsen: It’s like the difference between a base coach and team manager. As base coach, you are focused on signaling one player around the bases, while as the manager you are focused on the current situation, but also thinking about what has already occurred, what may happen next in the current game, and even what may happen in upcoming games.

As assistant manager, I was focused on the current situation of the canals and facilities, working with my portion of the team to keep systems running as smoothly as possible to make deliveries and pump water. As manager, I coordinate with district directors to gather necessary resources and then coordinate with the whole district team to develop a cohesive June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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QCBID employees pipe a lateral in the Adco watermaster section.

unit to accomplish the directors’ goals. The overall goal of the directors is to deliver water efficiently and economically.

Irrigation Leader: What are the top issues facing the district today?

Roger Sonnichsen: Our oldest facilities were constructed 70 years ago, so maintaining our aging infrastructure is a key priority. Deteriorating concrete and aging pumping plant infrastructure continue to be top issues. Additionally, the capacity of the West Canal at its choke point in Ephrata continues to be an item of focus.

Irrigation Leader: What sorts of infrastructure projects are you carrying out to meet those goals?

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Irrigation Leader: How have your operations been affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic?

Roger Sonnichsen: The biggest change has been social distancing. Right off the bat, we implemented protocols to allow for people to socially distance and to keep as many folks separated from each other as we could. The primary irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF QCBID.

Roger Sonnichsen: For the past 15 years, we have made it a primary focus to line and pipe a few laterals across each watermaster section every year. The district is divided into six watermaster sections. We have been successful in obtaining matching grants from Ecology, grants from Reclamation’s WaterSMART program, and incentive monies from the Bonneville Power Administration for the water and energy conservation realized by these projects. At this point, we have lined and piped approximately 80 miles of laterals and estimate an annual savings of 32,100 acre-feet of water.

Annually, we focus on routine maintenance repairs of a few pumps and motors from the pumping plants. We

have also made major upgrades to large transformers and pumping plant controls.

The capacity of the West Canal has resulted in districtwide water rationing during peak crop growth stages.

We have performed evaluations with HDR Engineering of how best to solve the West Canal capacity issue. The various options included widening the canal, adding additional freeboard, or constructing a reservoir, but the best option appears to be installing a pumping plant at the Frenchman Hills wasteway. This idea was originally proposed by Reclamation in the early planning of the project and was called the Homestead Pumping Plant. Water draining from the irrigated lands to the north passes in front of the Frenchman Hills wasteway outlet; during peak deliveries, this water could be pumped into the West Canal to serve lands on the Royal Slope, thus relieving the need to deliver through the choke point of the West Canal in Ephrata.

We have evaluated the possibility of Homestead being a combination power generation and pump plant, but this needs to be further investigated.

focus is to keep isolated and follow the 6‑foot distance rule. In the field, only one person is allowed in a vehicle at a time, and if that’s not possible, then people sharing a vehicle have to wear masks. Upper-management folks have been repositioned from our main office to our field offices so that we can maintain social distance. That way, if there’s an issue with the virus in a particular office, it doesn’t affect everybody at the same time. Our other main focus is to make sure to isolate anyone who has been sick or who has been in close contact with someone who is sick so we can avoid spreading the virus throughout the district. That has been effective. Now that the vaccine is available, we’re actively working on getting vaccinated.

Irrigation Leader: Your experiences include working for the state government, for Reclamation, and as a consultant for water resources planning. What strengths have you drawn from that breadth of experience?

time in Colorado, which has a much more limited water supply, helped me to see how to think about and make use of a valuable resource. Certainly, working at Reclamation helped me build the skill set needed to understand the CBP, Reclamation’s role in it, and how it facilitates working with the irrigation districts.

Irrigation Leader: What is your message to your state legislature and to your congressional delegation?

Roger Sonnichsen: I think everyone understands the importance of feeding our nation and the security of our food supply. Ultimately, QCBID is a group of landowners who collaborate to make it possible to operate and maintain an irrigation project here in central Washington State, creating a vibrant economy, so we can continue to produce food and to provide food security to the people of Washington State, the nation, and the world. Many of our landowners’ products are exported out of the port of Seattle to Asian markets.

Water and energy conservation funding sources, such as WaterSMART, have provided tremendous benefit, allowing the district to extend its critical system improvement work by 40 percent each year. The conserved water and energy are freed up for other purposes at a significant savings compared to new facilities. Continuing to fund these types of projects, from which everyone gains, is encouraged.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future of QCBID?

A lateral is piped in the George watermaster section.

Roger Sonnichsen: I think it has been a cumulative building process. Each of my prior experiences has helped me understand the different areas that collectively make up the system of irrigated agriculture in the United States and particularly in Washington State. My initial work with Ecology helped me understand Ecology’s role with regard to water rights and its focus on the beneficial use of water, in particular for irrigation, which is important to my foundation of knowledge. Consulting work gave me a good understanding of how to apply my technical skills. My irrigationleadermagazine.com

Roger Sonnichsen: The district has great employees, from ditch riders to managers, who are accomplished and skilled.

Many have been with the district for their entire career. As our workforce evolves, my focus is to know each employee and to understand their needs, then to work toward fulfilling these needs. My vision is to focus on cultivating great employees, because they are what makes us successful at improving and repairing our aging infrastructure and allowing us to deliver water reliably.

Also, I continue to work with the directors on water delivery modernization. To be successful in our mission statement of delivering water efficiently and economically, we will need to continue to automate aspects of water delivery.

We have taken small steps through the installation of automated lateral turnouts, which we continue to evaluate. IL

Roger Sonnichsen is the manager of the Quincy–Columbia Basin Irrigation District. He can be contacted at rsonnichsen@qcbid.org or (509) 787‑3591.

June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Vanessa Winning of Irrigation New Zealand: Bringing a Holistic Perspective to Irrigated Agriculture

Irrigated dairy pasture in the Canterbury region on New Zealand’s South Island.

V

anessa Winning has served as the CEO of Irrigation New Zealand (IrrigationNZ) since October 2020.

IrrigationNZ is a member-founded industry organization committed to representing the interests of New Zealand’s irrigation sector and promoting best practices across the industry. In this interview, Ms. Winning tells Irrigation Leader about her background, IrrigationNZ’s current top issues, and the importance of taking a holistic view of the benefits of irrigated agriculture.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF IRRIGATIONNZ.

Vanessa Winning: I went to Auckland University, where I got a bachelor’s degree in commerce, majoring in management and economics, and then got a postgrad degree in marketing. After graduating from university, I spent 18 years in banking. I went into a little startup banking organization called Ergo, which was an offshoot of AMP and was essentially the world’s first internet-only bank. I was a junior product manager, so I got to price and set product features. About 5 years later, HSBC bought us out, and I moved to HSBC with the retail portfolio.

I was lucky to be part of the process of integrating the products into a different system, which required quite a lot of development and customer engagement. I was at HSBC for about 6 years before moving on to ANZ—moving from one of the largest banks in the world to the largest bank in New Zealand—and spent another 6 years at ANZ. I moved into roles that had more to do with marketing than with product development and pricing. I left ANZ as the head of marketing for the institutional, commercial, and ag markets.

That’s where I got more engaged with farming customers and service organizations for farming. New Zealand’s economy is largely made up of food producers and the service industries that support them—when you add it up, it accounted for about 65 percent of business in New Zealand before tourism started to grow.

I went on to do a leadership and governance program with the Agri-Women’s Development Trust, and as part of that, I sat in on DairyNZ’s strategy development. DairyNZ is an industry body in New Zealand that was set up when Fonterra was formed to ensure that there was still a noncommercial support organization for dairy farming. It essentially takes a levy off the milk solids as mandated by government and the Commodities Levies Act and uses it for science, research,

and behavior change programs to support farmers. I joined DairyNZ and spent 5 years there. As the general manager for farm performance, I was responsible for extension, which includes all the farm behavior change programs for farmers as well as marketing and product development. I had a team of about 130 across the country working directly with farmers to introduce them to new technologies and to engage them in what was going on in the market.

When COVID‑19 hit last year, we set up a career changers program with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), DairyNZ, and other entities to get people into the dairy sector. We had strong lockdown restrictions within the country, but the primary production area was considered an essential service, so people were still continuing to produce food and export it. However, we were struggling to get people into the industry because we’ve relied quite heavily on immigration for so long, and as the borders were closed, the people who would normally be coming into the sector to support the industry during high-activity times weren’t available. There was a significant investment to support career changers, but we struggled to get people to move, especially from urban to rural areas. While the pandemic was going on, I was doing a small contract for the Federation of Māori Authorities related to greenhouse gas mitigation as well, trying to get funding support for Māori ag businesses to support a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on their farms.

Keri Johnson, the chair of IrrigationNZ, gave me a call and asked me if I would be interested in applying for the newly vacant CEO position. I’d seen it advertised, but while I am a strong stakeholder manager who is engaged with the community and has strong relationship skills with farmers, customers, and the industry, I am not a specialist in technical irrigation elements. However, IrrigationNZ felt that with its move to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, it had greater needs for advocacy and relationship management, and I was appointed in October 2020. I’m loving it. The great thing about our sector is that there are lots of technical experts who are willing to support you in what you’re trying to achieve, giving freely of their time and support. I have learned a lot, and we are making real headway in our advocacy, too. We have a technical advisory group, and I have just appointed a new principal technical advisor, which will make my job easier. At the moment, we are involved in about six different working groups across government departments, all related to water.

Irrigation Leader: What else can you tell us about your new role as CEO of IrrigationNZ? Vanessa Winning: Every day is different, because at the moment we only have five staff. We have more than 3,800 members, each with different requirements of us.

The job ranges from what is basically office and financial management all the way to dealing with the prime irrigationleadermagazine.com

minister and other government ministers. Our work covers drinking water issues, infrastructure, capture, storage, water application and use as well as the environmental effects of all these things. We cover urban and rural settings, from irrigation in stadiums and parks through to orchards, vineyards, and pasture on dairy and beef farms.

We had a really tough year last year. The COVID‑19 pandemic really affected IrrigationNZ. The cancellation of the main conference, which occurred before I started, significantly reduced revenue. It’s typically around 400 people and was planned to be our main income source for the year.

All the costs had already been sunk into it, and its cancellation had a big effect on the balance sheet. But our members supported us, and we are growing our membership base now, so we are actually bringing back small reserves and have reduced our reliance on large events. We’re bringing resilience back to the organization, and at this point, we would be able to manage another disruption like the pandemic.

I think this year will be quite different for our membership. We’ve grown by probably 10 percent since last year just by delivering submissions, engaging with the government on our members’ behalf, demonstrating our value to our membership with training and support, and engaging with them as much as we can so that they can see that what we’re doing in Wellington is making a difference.

Moving to Wellington from Christchurch was a good strategic decision by the board, because we’re now much more engaged with what the government is doing and are having more influence in the creation of policy rather than just in its implementation.

Irrigation Leader: What is the mission of IrrigationNZ, and who are your members?

Vanessa Winning: We have a diverse range of members, including farmers and growers as well as large irrigation schemes, the equivalent of U.S. irrigation districts. The figure of 3,800 members probably underrepresents the reality, since the large schemes each have a significant group of shareholders. Our membership includes the irrigation service industry as well—companies like Waterforce and PGG Wrightson and the organizations that design and deliver irrigation systems or components. That broad membership also means that we have a broad range of activities. We also do a significant amount of training and develop codes of practice, so we’re kind of the gatekeepers of the industry. We probably make up about 40 percent of all those who could possibly be part of IrrigationNZ. We’ve recently been going through a strategy refresh, and we are making sure that we are focused on water that is for lives and livelihoods. Our focus is on leading the industry by creating credible solutions and sought-after advice and support. In the past, irrigation has been thought of in predominantly economic terms and as a productive tool.

Now, as we move toward asking how we can have a more June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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meaningful influence on the community, we’re thinking of irrigation and water capture and storage as being for people’s lives and the community and iwi (Māori tribe).

That’s first and foremost. Irrigation as a a productive sector is the secondary piece, because you can’t have it without community support and engagement.

New Zealand is resetting the way it looks at resources like our rivers and asking how our communities can work together for better holistic outcomes. IrrigationNZ is moving that way as well. We’re changing the way we talk about irrigation. In New Zealand, over the past few years, irrigation has been framed almost as a form of pollution.

We have to talk about how we are going to reduce environmental damage and improve outcomes and not assume that people understand that irrigation is a powerful enabler. We have some public perception work to do, and that’s what we’re setting up at the moment.

Irrigated wheat in New Zealand.

Irrigation Leader: Aside from interfering with your meeting, how else has the COVID‑19 pandemic affected your organization?

18 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

Irrigation Leader: Can you put a number on the importance of irrigated agriculture to New Zealand’s economy?

Vanessa Winning: Not accurately, which is something that we’re talking with the MPI about. We last produced data in 2012, and while IrrigationNZ doesn’t have the budget to do another proper national economic survey, we feel it is necessary to quantify the opportunity. We are confident we will get new data as water and resilience to climate change become more important, which I am sure you will be seeing in the United States as well. With the changing climate, more parts of our country are drying, including the parts that produce the most fruits and vegetables. Not only is irrigation needed to mitigate the risks of more extreme weather conditions, but for New Zealand, it is also an enabler for increasing hydroelectricity as we move to renewable sources. New Zealand has high levels of renewable energy in its system already, but we also know we are going to need significantly more as we move away from fossil fuels for transport.

As we move to reduce our greenhouse gases, New Zealand will shift from increasing animal agriculture to increasing horticulture, and to do that, we’re going to need more water, too. Fruits and vegetables will require a lot more water per hectare than pastural grass growth at certain times, and reliability of source will become more important. We will need more water capture and storage and more irrigation, especially in the dry and drying parts of the country.

At the moment, the entire east coast of New Zealand, from Gisbourne and the Hawke’s Bay on the North Island down to the east coast of Canterbury and Otago on the South Island, is experiencing what is close to a drought.

That situation makes it all the more important that we’ve got the right infrastructure in place. We get enough rain in this country—we are called the Land of Long White Cloud for a reason—but we don’t always keep that water and use it efficiently. It is an exciting time to be in the water space, because we’re going to need more water, more structure, and more understanding of how to use it, including in places that traditionally have not had to worry about it.

Irrigation Leader: What are the current top issues facing IrrigationNZ and its members? irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF IRRIGATIONNZ.

Vanessa Winning: New Zealand is a producing nation.

People need food, and they need good food. We produce good, healthy products that are desired by the world.

Ninety-five percent of our produce, in terms of value, goes overseas. Agriculture and water have been considered essential services, so the lockdowns have not affected them too terribly. Our society was compliant, and people looked after each other, so our lockdowns were sharp

but short. From an economic perspective, irrigation and food production have fared well. I think that’s really kept New Zealand afloat. We probably haven’t gone through the same economic downturns that most of the world has, solely because of our domestic food production and our ability to keep COVID‑19 restrained. The global dairy trade is crazy at the moment: The price of milk has gone up 20 percent, mainly because China has suggested that milk is nutritious and that people should be increasing their animal protein consumption as part of a balanced diet. This has really helped the overall economy as the largest export earner.

Vanessa Winning: The public perception issue is primary.

I don’t want to say that there is something as stark as an urban-rural divide, but there are misunderstandings between city and country. There is a misperception that more irrigation means more intensive agriculture.

Actually, it means more choice and more opportunity for a community, rather than just for the end users of the water. I’m loath to say that we need to tell our story better, because I don’t like the word story—we just need to tell the truth better. We need to engage better and to be honest about the issues that we have instead of expecting everybody to understand automatically.

I’m on the board of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, and our lifesavers are out on the beaches from October to April every year. In Auckland, for a number of days through summer they have to pull people out of the water not due to rips or dangerous conditions, but so they don’t get sick from storm water and sewage after it rains. That’s just one example of what happens when infrastructure doesn’t keep up with population growth. When that occurs in an urban location, it becomes easy to realize that environmental issues affect us all and that we need new infrastructure and more investment across the country. We need to bring everybody along on the irrigation and water storage and capture conversation as well and talk about it in a holistic way, rather than just focusing on the production of food. It is not only an economic conversation; it also touches on the environment and how the community can benefit.

Irrigation Leader: How do irrigating farmers care for the environment?

Vanessa Winning: I think New Zealand underestimates just how much farmers have changed and adapted in the last 10–15 years. I think that if people could see the changes that have occurred in planting, harvesting, and animal management practices over the past 15 years, they would be impressed. The issue is that we haven’t taken people on that journey with us. We’ve just assumed that we’ll get better, and they’ll understand.

The vast majority of farmers care for the environment, and it’s in their best interest to do so. The last thing they want to do is pollute their rivers, because that affects their ability to use water, reduces the value of their property, and restricts what they can do with that land. There have been farm environment plans in the dairy sector for at least 10 years. They may not have always been used as consistently or as widely as they are now, but they’ve been available for a long time. Other sectors are starting to understand their environmental impacts and improve their outcomes too as we come to know the true effect of farming on greenhouse gas and water pollution. There are 150 years of development that need to be improved on, and that’s going to be an intergenerational journey, but it is one we are seeing real momentum on. irrigationleadermagazine.com

Most of the country has catchment programs in place now.

A community—including farmers, growers, and industry as well as urban dwellers—will work on a particular river or water body, coming up with collective solutions rather than seeking to blame a certain entity, whether agricultural or urban. I think that is the way forward, because each community has a different view of what its water bodies are needed for. Once we start investing more in capture and storage, we’ll rely less on our rivers and on the existing bodies of water, which will also help. That infrastructure investment is needed if we are to move forward as a country and meaningfully improve environmental issues.

I also think New Zealand farmers are some of the most adaptable farmers in the world. They are doing research into greenhouse mitigation, genetically modified (GMO) pastures, methane inhibitors for sheep and ruminants, and other topics. The GMO research is actually taking place in the United States, since New Zealand is GMO free. Those are technologies that we can’t put in place at the moment, but the farmers are investing in the research anyway, because they know that it may be necessary in the future and that all options should be explored.

I’m really proud of our farmers. I think if you took a group of very different farmers, the one thing they would probably all agree on is that they’re ready for change. They just need to know the objectives we are aiming at, and I’m confident they’ll get there.

Irrigation Leader: What is your message to the public and your elected officials about irrigated agriculture in New Zealand?

Vanessa Winning: Irrigation is needed; infrastructure is required; we have underdeveloped areas; and we have underinvested in capture and storage for 40–50 years, and in some cases longer. We don’t have a choice anymore; we actually have to move, and the investment required is going to be community based rather than solely for productive purposes. We have to aim at holistic outcomes rather than just at production. Particularly dry areas such as Hawke’s Bay desperately need large capture and storage options, because right now there are a number of rivers that are particularly dry, and it’s affecting community drinking water as much as it is the production of wine and apples. I think New Zealand needs to have a grown-up conversation around how to increase our infrastructure for our collective benefit. IL

Vanessa Winning is the CEO of IrrigationNZ and can be contacted at vwinning@irrigationnz.co.nz.

June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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MGI Pilots New Zealand’s First Emrgy Turbines

Sheridan Douglas and Craig Evans at the pilot site. The recent end of the New Zealand irrigation season will enable a dry installation of the Emrgy turbines.

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ew Zealand irrigation scheme Morven Glenavy Irrigation Company Ltd. (MGI) has gravity-driven water conveyance canals that gradually drop more than 300 feet over the course of their flow. There is significant untapped energy in that flowing water, and in order to take advantage of it, MGI is implementing a pilot project involving three of Emrgy’s modular hydropower units. In this interview, MGI CEO Craig Evans and Emrgy Australasia Sales Manager Sheridan Douglas tell us about the prospects for this exciting project.

and return to a rural setting. When I became aware of the technology developed by Emily Morris and the Emrgy team in the United States, I jumped at the chance to lead the deployment into New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Not only are there environmental benefits to Emrgy’s clean energy generation, but I see the company’s work as a way of contributing to the agricultural sector by reducing electricity expenditures, which for many farmers and irrigation schemes are a significant operating cost.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about MGI. Craig Evans: We irrigate 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) and contract to manage another 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) in a nearby region. Within our 30,000‑hectare area, we have approximately 165 shareholders and 182 firms of varying sizes.

Our shareholders range from a few small lifestyle blocks that are only a couple of hectares in size up to large stations. The largest shareholder we have is 3,100 hectares (7,660 acres).

There are over 160 kilometers (100 miles) of canals. We’ve also got several pump areas. We have five pump stations and about 60 kilometers (37 miles) of pipelines as well.

There are seven full-time employees, including me, as well as a number of contractors. All our full-time employees are a bit overworked, and we are considering hiring more staff because our regulatory burdens are getting worse and worse. The government and the regulatory agencies want us to report more and more data.

Sheridan Douglas: I was looking for an opportunity to take the skills I developed working in the private sector

Irrigation Leader: What are the primary crops grown on your scheme?

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irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMRGY.

Craig Evans: I’m a geologist and have worked over a long period of time in a range of industries. My work as a hydrogeologist in the water industry was how I became involved in irrigation. When I was younger, I did irrigation water wells for farmers, town water supplies, and industry. I then migrated into the oil and gas industry and started doing more environmental management and a bit of hydrogeology.

I’ve been in oil and gas, mining, and water. I’ve spent time in some of the major mining companies, including Barrick Gold and BHP. I moved from being a geologist in a range of sectors to environmental management and project management.

I was a major international project manager, working on $1 billion–plus projects. Now, I’m in general management as the CEO of a much smaller company in the water industry in New Zealand. I have been at MGI for 6 years now.

Irrigated pastureland on the MGI scheme.

Craig Evans: About 70 percent of the scheme area is dedicated to dairy farming and grass for cows. The other 30 percent are beef, sheep, and deer farmers. Thirty or forty years ago, a lot of the region was just sheep or beef. It wasn’t until irrigation became widespread that the dairy industry took over. There are one or two old-school farmers who still use older irrigation practices. About 15 percent of the land in the north of the scheme is in cropping; some people both crop and have livestock. The majority of the croppers grow wheat and canola.

Irrigation Leader: What are the top issues facing your scheme?

Craig Evans: We’re doing a lot of work at the moment on improving scheme efficiency. Since we have a gravity scheme, whatever water enters the scheme and is not used en route spills out the end. We call that bywash. One of our management targets is to reduce bywash as much as possible so that we only take the water out of the river that we need.

It’s challenging, because the travel time through the scheme can be over 8 hours, and you’re always trying to forecast what someone might use.

We also have a certain amount of leakage from some of the older canals. We have canals that were built in the 1930s and others that were built in the 1970s. Back then, the environmental expectations were much different; leakage rates of up to 15 percent were accepted. Today, regulators would like no leakage at all, but they’re willing to accept up to 5 percent.

We’ve done a lot of work to address leaky areas and to replace inefficient areas with pipelines. We are doing that now, because in 2028 our resource consents will come up for renewal. Those consents, which are like environmental licenses, are generally required for large pieces of infrastructure and can only be granted for a 30‑year term. A lot of the work we’re doing now is to prepare ourselves for that renewal.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your canal-lining work.

Craig Evans: Our main race has the highest amount of water flowing at the highest velocity of any of our canals, but it is also our leakiest canal by far. We did a number of flow-gauging surveys to identify where the losses were occurring and pinpointed certain stretches that were worse irrigationleadermagazine.com

than others. We identified a 4‑kilometer stretch that leaked in an unacceptable way. The leakage itself did not do any harm, and ironically it did good things, such as feeding little streams and wetlands that flowed back into the river that the water in the canal comes from. Nevertheless, it didn’t sit well with our efficiency targets for reducing leaks, so we lined it.

There are a few more lining projects we will likely do in the future. We’re working our way down the list and prioritizing them. There will probably come a point when the remaining leaks in our scheme are so minor that it will not be cost effective to do anything about them. We’re in an area of New Zealand where water is plentiful. We have a major hydraulic river on our back doorstep, the Waitaki River. We need to be frugal about the water we take, but at the same time, we’re not particularly restricted. The hydroelectric companies that operate dams in the upper reaches of the Waitaki release the water that we need to operate with.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your interest in placing hydroelectric turbines in your main race.

Craig Evans: For many decades, MGI’s board has been interested in hydroelectric generation, because we have intakes that start at 100 meters (328 feet) above sea level and run all the way to the coast. There is a lot of energy involved in the movement of the water, and it’s always been considered a shame that we can’t harness that energy efficiently. Most hydroelectric technology requires a dam to be placed at a point where there is a certain drop in the water, but our scheme is at a relatively even grade. That means that when we became aware of Emrgy last year, the board’s interest was piqued.

There are some regulatory drivers as well. The New Zealand government is doing a lot of work on climate change and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement targets. The New Zealand government takes it very seriously because it wants to hold itself up as a model citizen in the world by striving for the highest environmental standards.

A lot of New Zealand’s electricity is generated by hydropower, though a small amount is still generated by coal, which is being phased out. New Zealand is nuclear free, so we can’t bring in nuclear fission. Wind and solar generation are not going to June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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meet the needs of the whole market. Hydroelectric dams are frowned upon because there is so much environmental damage from blocking rivers and inundating land. The public doesn’t want nuclear, coal, or more hydroelectric. So then what do you do? There’s a real interest in making sure that we’re using any energy opportunities that we already have to our advantage. There are a bunch of irrigation schemes in New Zealand like us that flow water from a high place to a low place for the purpose of irrigation, so why not harness it for electricity as it goes? Turbines like Emrgy’s are exactly what the market is looking for.

Sheridan Douglas: This installation for MGI will be the first Emrgy installation in New Zealand and the first outside the United States, where our turbines are already producing clean, reliable hydropower in areas where conventional methods of hydropower have been deemed unsuitable or cost prohibitive. Emrgy’s turbines are a rapidly deployable, modular alternative to solar and wind. They allow an entire water-to-wire system to be installed seamlessly to harvest energy from flowing water.

Our product is specifically designed for canal applications where no impoundments or dams are necessary, and importantly, they maintain the integrity of canals for their intended purpose of agricultural irrigation.

As Craig commented, New Zealand has many canals and diversions suited to this technology. We can assist organizations to tap into an unused energy resource to reduce grid-energy reliance and to lower electricity expenditures. There’s definitely a growing interest in our turbines, not only as a potential energy generators but also as a combined solution for environmental stewardship and water conservation.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the project you plan to build.

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Craig Evans: MGI has always considered itself to be a market leader. We’re the first irrigation scheme in the company to adopt new technology. Ten years ago, we were the first irrigation scheme in New Zealand to start farm environment plans, which all farmers are now required to have by law. The plans show that the farmers are meeting targets, dealing with effluent properly, applying the right amount of fertilizer, and so on. Being early adopters of environmentally sound technology sits well with us.

Sheridan Douglas: With the country’s strong commitment to clean energy combined with incredible water infrastructure, I see a bright future for Emrgy in New Zealand. I hope to see many of our turbines operating throughout the country in the coming years. Emrgy has also recently received funding to expand the application of our modules and to develop technology for deep water and tidal applications, which will broaden our renewable power generation capabilities. I have no doubt we’ll see New Zealand also being an early adopter and playing an important part in future developments. IL Craig Evans is the CEO of Morven Glenavy Irrigation Company Ltd. He can be contacted at craig@mgiirrigation.co.nz.

Sheridan Douglas is the sales manager for Emrgy Australasia. She can be contacted at sheridan@emrgy.com.au.

Irrigation Leader: What is the time frame for the pilot project?

Sheridan Douglas: The installation of the three twin

24 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMRGY.

Craig Evans: It’s a relatively small footprint at the moment.

We plan to use three units with twin turbines, amounting to six turbines total. The power from these particular units will not be used for the scheme. The scheme has pump stations, but they’re not in the right place. Emrgy has given us a proposal to power those pump stations, and that may be what we do next, but for now, the power will go to the nearest farmers. Those farmers will hopefully look at these turbines and consider making themselves self sufficient.

They may choose to expand the footprint of these turbines at their own cost. We would not object to that, but we would need to develop protocols for how it would work to have turbines owned and maintained by farmers in our canal infrastructure.

turbines is confirmed for mid-August. We’ve got a great team together using local skills and expertise. We’re casting the concrete flumes with a company near Christchurch and working with the scheme’s electrical contractor to ensure that there is a smooth and timely installation. The process itself is relatively simple, and once the irrigation season commences in September, these turbines will be ready to generate clean energy for the local farmers.

We’re so pleased to be working with MGI on this first installation, and the project is a testament to Craig’s determination to be at the forefront of scheme performance and environmental management. We have a long-term plan, beyond this pilot, to deploy turbines to support the power needs of several pumping stations in the scheme. It is also great to see MGI assisting the farmers to reduce their power bills, and in turn their production costs, which can be significant for agricultural operations.

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Mount Difficulty Winery’s LiveRoof: New Zealand’s Largest Green Roof

The Mount Difficulty green roof.

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tormwater360 is a New Zealand company specializing in reducing plastic and other storm water contamination in waterways. It is also active installing green roofs across New Zealand, which dispose storm water and wastewater and can provide other environmental and operational benefits.

In this interview, Stormwater360 Director Greg Yeoman tells Irrigation Leader about one significant project at Mount Difficulty winery on New Zealand’s South Island.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the green roof you constructed for Mount Difficulty winery.

26 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

provide more benefits than rain tanks. Rain tanks catch water, but they don’t have cooling properties or biodiversity benefits.

We’ve completed some fantastic projects and have been able to develop our own media locally. As part of our storm water business, we make different growing media that are free draining, so they’re capable of allowing big storms to go through them but also hold onto the water that is necessary to sustain the life of the plant. For example, if we have only 150 mm (6 inches) of media for a plant to grow in, it has to be lightweight and permeable and remain free draining for its lifetime, but it must also be able to sustain plant growth. In New Zealand, we use pumice as a base ingredient, which is fantastic because it can lock water away and keep it for plants later. We’ve developed the system locally and worked closely with Amber Ponce of LiveRoof for a lot of these projects.

Irrigation Leader: Did you also develop the irrigation system for the Mount Difficulty roof?

Greg Yeoman: We worked on that with local irrigation specialists. Irrigation is not one of our specialties, but it’s important for shallow living roofs, because the vegetation can get stressed or die during prolonged drought events, and green roofs are expensive to replace if they fail. The ideal solution is to work with an onsite water reuse system that draws from a rain tank or an underwater rainwater storage system from a car park or another structure. If customers can reuse that water on the green roof in summer, they dispose of it while also achieving evaporative cooling. That’s the ultimate win-win scenario. IL Greg Yeoman is the green infrastructure director at Stormwater360. He can be reached at greg@stormwater360.co.nz.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIVEROOF.

Greg Yeoman: We have licensed the LiveRoof technology for green roofs in New Zealand and have installed it in a number of projects. The one at Mount Difficulty is the largest extensive living roof in the country. It was installed to achieve a number of environmental outcomes. The winery needs to dispose of wastewater from the winemaking process, and it uses it to irrigate this 900-square-meter (9,687-squarefoot) roof. The plants on the roof then transpire and use that water, and by doing so, they cool the barrel stores, which are effectively dug into the hillside. The climate is quite warm, but because this evaporative cooling method regulates the barrel store temperature so effectively, the winery doesn’t have to expend energy artificially cooling it. Seeds from the plants are also used on the roof to regenerate the hillsides around the site. A number of years ago, there was a gold mining town there, and the miners sluiced the hillside looking for gold, leaving it barren and desertlike. The winery is regenerating it using native plants. The wine tasting room and restaurant sit at the top of the hill and look down on the green roof as well.

A number of the green roofs in New Zealand that have been constructed in conjunction with LiveRoof were intended more for aesthetics than for functional benefits. Unfortunately, storm water control regulations incorporating green roofs in New Zealand aren’t very strong, and because green roofs are expensive to install, they are uncommon. However, they

Mount Difficulty’s barrel stores.

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Wes Long: Bringing HDPE On Site With Tubi Group

P

ipes are a vital element of water infrastructure, and many projects require miles of pipe to complete. The transportation and fusion of large pipe segments is often both expensive and time consuming, and multisection pipes also have more possible failure points. Tubi Group set about to make the fabrication, transportation, and installation of pipes better by creating onsite plants that fabricate pipe at the site where it is needed. In this interview, Wes Long, Tubi Group’s chief operating officer, tells Irrigation Leader how the onsite plants work and their advantages over traditional offsite construction facilities.

Tubi’s dolly system is effective and capable in all terrains.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the history of Tubi.

30 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

Tubi’s dolly system moves large-diameter pipe and eliminates pipe dragging and damage.

Tubi produces 500-foot lengths of pipe on site and eliminates 90 percent of pipe joints.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TUBI.

Wes Long: Marcello Russo began the business in 2009. His father owned a large plastic pipe manufacturing factory in Australia that made PVC pipe, polyethylene pipe, and other types of plastic pipe. When the family elected to sell the business, Marcello obtained a share of it, and instead of rebuilding or opening another factory, he thought there might be a better way to make manufactured high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. He came up with the idea of what we call mobile or onsite extrusion manufacturing.

He designed special modules to house extruders, vacuum tanks, cooling tanks, and all their downstream equipment, creating mobile extrusion plants. These are turnkey plants that use Battenfeld technology, the finest extrusion technology in the world. Our plants have the highest throughput or output rates in pounds per hour of any equipment today.

We don’t sacrifice anything by doing mobile extrusion.

In fact, we have better technology than nearly all the brickand-mortar HDPE pipe manufacturers, a lot of which are still using older equipment and technology that doesn’t run at the highest rates or output or use the in-line quality control that Tubi runs today.

We have two brand-new plants, one in Florida and one in Odessa, Texas, plus an original plant in Odessa, Texas.

The two new plants have the latest technology, the newest extrusion capability, and the newest quality-control systems.

Our new plant in Florida is located at a base site with main electric power in Bartow, Florida, which is a mobile extrusion site but also a permanent location from which we can serve Florida and the entire southeastern United States with truckload deliveries of pipe just like any other pipe manufacturer. We are planning to build an additional base site in Arizona to serve the vast mining business there.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

We have a maintenance, repairs, and operations supply agreement with Mosaic, the largest fertilizer manufacturer in the world. It produces phosphate and turns it into fertilizer. When we received the Mosaic contract, the first project was to manufacture about 7 million pounds of polyethylene pipe of sizes from 12 to 24 inches. We were able to produce all of that in 500‑foot lengths right at the job site. Traditionally, pipe is manufactured at lengths of 40 or 50 feet, so our pipe is much longer. We are also looking to recycle old HDPE pipe used on Mosaic’s sites to produce new HDPE pipe for Mosaic.

Our next step is producing larger-diameter pipe, up to 48 inches and beyond. The 48-inch plant is designed and ready to go, but we are looking for an appropriate project.

Large pipe gives us a greater value in freight savings and savings on joining costs. Larger-diameter pipe requires many more trucks for transport, has higher handling costs, and takes longer to join. Manufacturing at a job site eliminates 90 percent of the fusion welds, which saves an enormous amount of time and money. It also allows us to eliminate all truck traffic and freight.

Irrigation Leader: Approximately how many modules are in one of your mobile plants?

Wes Long: It takes 20 flatbed trucks to move a plant. We bring in a crane and load our containers onto trucks. There are about 8–10 modules, plus other equipment. Two of them are double stacked, because the extruder and the hopper above it are taller than an individual container. There are multiple stacks of containers as well. The silos in which we hold our raw material resin feedstock are mobile and have wheels at the base. They can be lowered to the ground by heavy equipment, hooked up to a tractor trailer, and pulled on the highway.

Irrigation Leader: How long does it take to dismantle and reconstruct one of your plants?

Wes Long: In New Zealand, we generally moved our plants 30–50 kilometers (18.6–31 miles) and could go from in-spec pipe to in-spec pipe within 56 hours. For a distance greater than that, it would be 56 hours plus travel time.

Irrigation Leader: How does the base site differ from your mobile plants?

Irrigation Leader: How do you transport the 500-foot lengths of pipe you produce, and how far can they be transported?

Wes Long: We have a nonmobile base site in Bartow, Florida, where we have a huge demand for pipe, with Mosaic as an anchor account. Mosaic is the largest user of HDPE pipe in the state of Florida and is a core contract customer. We originally moved to Bartow for a large mobile extrusion project with Mosaic, but we ended up taking out a long-term lease on the base site from Mosaic because of the high demand for HDPE pipe in Florida and the absence of other pipe manufacturers in the area.

In addition to our work with Mosaic, we have a great relationship with a company called Ferguson Waterworks, the market industry leader in the United States for the distribution of water and wastewater pressure HDPE pipe for potable water, sewers, force mains, and so on. Most of what we don’t sell to Mosaic goes to Ferguson Waterworks or to other distributors in Florida.

Wes Long: We recommend our dolly system technology for moving large volumes of long-length pipe. It is a set of trailers with heavy-duty axles that are chained together and can be pulled with a trailer or a piece of heavy equipment. The smaller the size, the greater the quantity of 500‑foot lengths it can fit. We have a design spreadsheet that shows how many lengths of each size pipe we can pull safely based on the weight capacity of the trailers. This system means the pipe does not have to be dragged and potentially damaged.

When we presented our dolly systems to the mines we’ve been dealing with in Florida and talking to in Arizona, they were really excited, because they know the problems caused by dragging pipe. When pipe is dragged, it suffers gouges that often exceed 10 percent of their wall thickness, taking away from the life of the pipe.

Irrigation Leader: What year did Tubi start operating in the United States?

Irrigation Leader: How far would you move the pipe before considering moving the plant closer to the project?

Wes Long: Marcello began operations in West Texas with the oil and gas market in early 2018. Oil prices plummeted in early 2019, bringing all that business to a halt. We were fortunate enough to subsequently move two plants, while most brick-and-mortar factories lay idle. We moved our assets to Florida and won a huge bid with Mosaic, which stayed in operation during COVID‑19 as an essential business. We were deemed essential, too, because we were making the pipes Mosaic needed to make fertilizer for farmers who provide food throughout the world.

Wes Long: We can traverse some pretty difficult terrain in pretty severe conditions with all-terrain-vehicle tires and a big tractor, but the dolly system would not be street legal on a major highway unless the police were blocking traffic. If we had a right of way in a rural environment like the ones we worked in in New Zealand, we could use it to move pipe up to 50 miles. We could set the plant up in a central location and transport the pipe in both directs to minimize how far we had to go. It would always be cheaper to move the pipe, as long as there is a path and an access point for our trailers.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

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We had to move our mobile plant two or three times in New Zealand. Those moves were anywhere from 30 to 50 kilometers (18.6–31 miles) in length. There wasn’t a good way to get the pipe from point A to point B, or we would not have moved the plant. The short distance wasn’t too difficult, and we were able to do the move quickly. We didn’t have main power, so we used diesel-powered generators to run that plant. In Florida, Mosaic has its own power generation system, so we’ve been able to hook up to the main power there.

Irrigation Leader: Once you start the extruding process, does it continue 24/7?

Wes Long: Yes. If we didn’t have to stop, we wouldn’t stop.

Usually, we stop to change sizes or change a die or the calibration sleeves to make a different outer diameter.

Irrigation Leader: What materials do you need to bring into the site, and how do you transport them?

Wes Long: We use resin pellets to make the HDPE pipe, and in sites without a power or water supply, we bring in diesel fuel for the generators as well as water.

We like to transport everything by rail, just like a brickand-mortar factory. Most of the plants have a rail spur at the location or in close proximity. In Florida, our rail spur is about 5–10 miles from our site. We bring in 200,000‑pound rail cars of resin and store the resin on a rail siding. We use hopper bulk trucks to vacuum-convey the resin into trucks and then bring it to our plant and unload it into our silos.

We need about 4,000 gallons of water to start up and then just add water to make up for evaporation and to use in the cooling of the product. Otherwise, it’s recirculated and filtered.

Generally, we need a continuous feed of resin, a continuous feed of fuel, and makeup water, but in Florida, we have electricity and are hooked up to a water supply, so all we need is the resin.

We need wood for packaging if we need to package and ship the pipe, but if we’re making it on site, no packaging material is needed Irrigation Leader: What should irrigation districts in the 17 western states know about your company?

32 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

Wes Long is the chief operating officer for Tubi Group. He can be reached at wes.long@tubigroup.com or (214) 490‑4980.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF TUBI.

Wes Long: A lot of rural irrigation districts need to replace ditches with more efficient pipelines. Heat-fused polyethylene pipe is highly efficient. We’re making pipe with outer diameters from 4 to 26 inches. Soon, we will upgrade one of our plants to do 12-inch and 48‑inch pipe.

Our extruders are big enough to do this bigger pipe, but we need bigger downstream equipment: bigger vacuum tanks, cooling tanks, saws, and pullers. We have a design for

modules that will contain that downstream equipment. That will be attractive to irrigation companies that use largerdiameter pipe. We’ll be able to save them a tremendous amount of money and provide them a higher-quality system by eliminating 90 percent of fusion welds.

In some of those big jobs, the bigger the pipe, the higher the freight cost. There is typically a 45,000‑pound weight limit for a truck on a highway, and with 48‑inch pipe, you can max out the weight limit at four joints on a truck.

With 54-inch pipe, you can only put two joints on a truck.

If you’ve got miles of pipe, you are looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of truckloads of freight shipping from a brick-and-mortar factory to a job site. That entails lots of handling, unloading pipe from trucks, moving it to yards, staging it, and moving it again to where it needs to be installed. We eliminate safety risks by making the pipe on site and eliminating all the freight and handling of heavy polyethylene pipe. We provide a higher-quality product because our pipeline has many fewer joints, which are the most common spots for leaks.

We have tremendous quality-control equipment that most of our competitors do not have. We use a European company called Sikora that has developed radio-wave and X-ray technology. The radio-wave technology allows for continuous monitoring during production, close to the front of the extruder, right behind the first tank.

We put a machine in there that continuously rotates 360 degrees around the pipe as it is being produced. It measures every dimension of the pipe during production, giving us the minimum and maximum outer diameter, the wall thickness, the inner diameter, the ovality, and the eccentricity. Eccentricity is the variability of the wall around the pipe—the difference between the minimum and the maximum wall in a given cross section of pipe.

We try to limit that in order to make pipe in spec as quickly as possible.

We also have the latest die technology, which allows us to make changes in pipe size that were once unheard of.

Before, if we wanted to change from a 6-inch pipe to an 8-, 10-, or 12-inch, we’d have to change the die in all the tooling every time. The new quick-change die technology allows us to change into multiple outer-diameter sizes off one die set. It makes for quicker changeovers and minimizes scrap. IL

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Stephen Bell of Trojan Technologies: The Advantages of UV Treatment

T

rojan Technologies is a leading manufacturer of municipal, residential, and industrial ultraviolet (UV) light water treatment technologies. It has broad experience and a huge install base that includes under-sink systems purifying a few liters of water a minute, major municipal facilities that treat millions of gallons of water a day, and even off-grid installations that ensure safe water supplies in remote locations. In this interview, Trojan Technologies President Stephen Bell tells Irrigation Leader about the advantages of UV treatment’s flexibility and about Trojan’s work around the globe.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the history of Trojan Technologies and about its current product lines.

Stephen Bell: Trojan was founded about 43 years ago as a toolbox manufacturer. Its starting point was that it had a new technology related to the UV treatment of water for contaminants. Over time, it made a number of acquisitions and grew significantly. I received a letter from the founder about a month ago saying, “I remember when we were valued at $285,000 and all the staff would come together on Monday mornings around a coffee table to look at the week ahead.”

Things have grown by more than a thousand times since then.

Trojan has added other businesses that work on industrial water treatment and residential UV water treatment. Our UV technology is not just for municipalities; it includes systems that you may have in your home, especially if you’re drawing water from untreated sources such as a well, borehole, or rainwater collection system. In addition to those, we are treating water in microelectronics and vaccination production facilities. We’ve broadened over the years to filtration technologies as well as pure water and softness technologies.

Irrigation Leader: How does UV light work as a water treatment method, and how does it differ from other treatment methods?

36 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

treatment facility, by contrast, can’t be turned on and off instantly. Likewise, as long as you’re connected to electricity, you have the ability to generate UV and to disinfect water.

You don’t have to worry about transporting truckloads of chemicals. The UV treatment process has also evolved to become energy efficient. Massive strides have been made over the past 40 years in terms of the energy needed to generate a certain dose or amount of UV. In the last few years, I’ve seen some customers who will install a new plant or upgrade their facility and receive a payback in 3 years or less based on electricity savings alone.

Irrigation Leader: How long does water need to be exposed to UV light for the treatment to be effective?

Stephen Bell: Generally speaking, the reactions in simple processes such as disinfection are incredibly fast, on the order of seconds. The question is more about how much UV energy is required to achieve the treatment goal. This relies on a variety of things, such as UV transmittance, which refers to how easy it is for the UV light to get through the water. Distance and intensity are also important. UV is not something like an activated carbon bed or tank that can require a certain amount of settling or contact time. We have small systems that treat 10–20 liters per minute and extremely large municipal systems that involve entire trains or even a 48‑inch diameter pipe that water is traveling through. The sizing and the speed with which water can travel through the system depends on the dose of UV that is required. The calculation is much more critical for large irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TROJAN TECHNOLOGIES.

Stephen Bell: The technology works by sending light through the water that stops the reproductive elements of viruses and other contaminants. It’s all about stopping evolution. That’s what makes UV so flexible: It won’t change the fundamental makeup of water, but it will stop any further contamination or the growth of contaminants.

When UV is used for contaminant removal, it is usually used with an accelerant or some other chemical. UV can be used in a multitude of different applications in many different ways, hence its viability as a treatment method for water types from drinking water to wastewater.

UV’s flexibility is absolutely a key advantage. When you switch on the system, it’s ready to go quickly. A chlorine

A Trojan water disinfection system installed at Wellington Water in Wellington, New Zealand.

installations than for small ones, because there’s usually a safety factor. The pipes themselves are limiting factors in home installations or industrial installations.

Irrigation Leader: What can you tell us about the installation costs, energy consumption, and maintenance requirements of UV systems?

Stephen Bell: Obviously, those costs vary depending on the size of the system. When you have channels, pipes, or plants that are custom built for treating millions of gallons per day, UV forms part of a custom-built treatment train. In the case of smaller systems, people generally don’t build their houses around the UV system. The UV system or filtration system will be plumbed into a home via a normal ½-inch or ¾-inch pipe and generally won’t require much more energy than a simple household light bulb.

Energy consumption depends on the method of generating UV light. Medium-pressure lamps, which first emerged a few decades ago, require a large amount of energy as an input and are inefficient but allow you to have a small footprint for a large UV output. What we’ve been working on for the last few decades are low-pressure, high-output lamps, which are much more energy efficient than what we’d seen in the past. Today, customers are getting three times the UV from their lamps at much lower levels of energy consumption by moving to newer technologies. That also affects maintenance requirements. If you have fewer lamps, you require less maintenance. The new lamps are also more reliable, with guaranteed lifespans of up to 15,000 hours, sometimes more.

Fewer lamps, longer lifespans, and higher efficiency mean less maintenance, lower costs, and more energy savings.

Comparing a system from today with a system from 20–30 years ago is night and day. That’s what makes it attractive for some customers to upgrade their plants now.

Irrigation Leader: How does Trojan’s systems and its technology differ from those of other manufacturers of UV technology?

Stephen Bell: What we’ve focused on over the years has been maintenance and energy consumption. First, we work closely with customers to get the sizing right, especially on the larger plants. Second, to make sure that our systems are the most reliable, lowest-maintenance systems out there, we use a lower number of low-pressure, high-power lamps.

If you look at some of our newer municipal products, our TrojanUVFlex and TrojanUVSigna systems require far fewer lamps and have a higher UV output than competitors’ products. That makes these products extremely attractive to customers. We also provide automated cleaning systems, which have chemical and mechanical cleaning elements that minimize maintenance requirements for operators.

Irrigation Leader: Where are your products produced, and how many countries are you active in? irrigationleadermagazine.com

A Trojan municipal wastewater UV disinfection system in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Stephen Bell: We are active in close to 100 countries at this point in time. We have over 10,000 municipal installations and are approaching a million residential units installed.

All our systems produced today in the cities of Guelph and London, Ontario. Our two Ontario production facilities produce our residential, industrial, and municipal units.

There is a single engineering team that shares expertise between these product lines. That’s something that we leverage to bring the best from the municipal side of things into industrial and residential and vice versa.

Irrigation Leader: Are your products are available in or installed in New Zealand?

Stephen Bell: We do have installations in New Zealand.

The majority of the demand in New Zealand for our products has been from municipal customers; however, our residential products have a long history and strong brand position within the private well/borehole and rain catchment markets and have been actively used in New Zealand for well over 10 years. One good example is the Taupō Water Treatment Plant, which uses our Pall water filtration system.

Doing remote installations or installations off the municipal grid is also something we’re incredibly familiar with. In North America, we have thousands of customers, especially on the residential side, who are not living on a grid and who are using UV to ensure that the water they’re receiving, using, and consuming is safe for exactly that reason. Putting a system in without thinking about water content, sizing, maintenance, or cleaning can be quite risky. Consulting with a company like us that has broad, proven experience can be incredibly valuable. You want the system to work not only on day 1, but throughout the product life. IL Stephen Bell is the president of Trojan Technologies. For more on Trojan Technologies, visit www.trojantechnologies.com.

June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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THE INNOVATORS

Andrew Neill of Onfarm Data: Innovating With Irrigation Data in New Zealand

A diagram of Onfarm Data’s Aquaflex soil moisture tape.

K

nowledge is power, and nowhere is this truer than in the need for precise data for irrigation in New Zealand.

The limitations of the country’s freshwater supply, soil, and regulatory regime necessitate precise use of each drop of water. Accurate data also ensure the precise application of water and fertilizer and allow nutrients to be tracked and controlled to prevent contamination of water resources. Andrew Neill’s company, Onfarm Data, is an innovator in this space. Working with farmers, irrigators, and local regulators, Onfarm has supplied data that all parties use to maximize water and nutrient resources with minimal environmental impact. In this interview, Mr. Neill tells Irrigation Leader about his family’s deep roots in agriculture, how Onfarm Data’s products are making a difference in New Zealand, and how they can also help address water challenges in the United States.

Andrew Neill: My forefathers were some of the first settlers to arrive in Christchurch. My parents were originally located around 15 km (9.3 mi) from Christchurch in Lincoln; they then moved to a small dairy farm 100 km (62 mi) further south. They milked 100 cows twice a day in an eight-bail walk-through system. I am one of 6 children; we are all still located on the South Island of New Zealand.

Some of us are still in agriculture; my brother is a partner in a dairy farm in North Canterbury. He’s running 650 cows through a 60‑bail rotary, with water supplied for irrigation via a pressured pipe scheme with 2 wiper pivots and 500 solid-set sprinklers on poles. My sister farms on a dryland deer farm, and my father is semiretired on a small viticulture block just outside of Blenheim in Marlborough, where he grows Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

Irrigation Leader: How long have you been with your company?

Irrigation Leader: How many employees does Onfarm Data have?

Irrigation Leader: How long has your family been in New Zealand?

40 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

Andrew Neill: Onfarm Data currently has seven employees; however, we are part of a group of three companies that share resources. There are approximately 45 staff in the group. The other two companies are ATL and Onfarm Solutions. ATL is an electrical technology company that does everything from domestic, industrial, and commercial wiring to high-end automation, including sound systems or setting up homes with the latest technology for entertainment and home management systems. Onfarm Solutions focuses on farm solutions relating to automation and dairy sheds. It’s technology to reduce the operator’s workload and to provide consistent results day in and day out. Adding technology allows staff to be transferred to other positions that add more value to the farming operation. We share resources, including marketing, engineering, design, and IT, to get the best bang for our irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ONFARM DATA.

Andrew Neill: Onfarm Data Ltd was formed in June 2017.

Originally, the control system was developed by Onfarm Solutions, but with the continuing focus on water and nutrient management and regulation, I joined the other directors to form a standalone company. Onfarm Solutions has been partnering with dairy farmers for 13 years, and its technology is focused on automation within dairy sheds. It has developed technologies such as the Teatwand Exact, Teatwand Stepover, and Teatwand Rapid, which are helping many U.S. customers.

We focus on whole-of-farm systems for irrigation, fertigation, effluent management, data, and control. Today, Onfarm Data is based in Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand.

Eighty-five percent of the consented water takes are within 160 kilometers (km), or about 100 miles (mi), of us.

THE INNOVATORS buck. All the directors are actively involved in each of the businesses where appropriate.

Irrigation Leader: Do you provide users with meters and data collection hardware in addition to the software?

Irrigation Leader: What do you do for farmers with your technology?

Andrew Neill: We provide some of the farms with hardware.

We don’t manufacture things like electromagnetic or mechanical flow meters, but we do manufacture our own telemetry and logger field units. They are sensor agnostic and will connect to a variety of sensors, including those with pulse/state outputs; digital outputs; and SDI-12, 4‑20mA, and RS232 outputs.

We manufacture the Aquaflex soil moisture tape, which is a premium product that gives highly accurate data.

We start by accurately understanding the soil moisture and temperature. What’s happening in the soil world is the key starting point for the application of water; fertilizer; or nutrients, including effluent. Aquaflex was designed at Lincoln University in New Zealand in 2000.

We offer a soil moisture forecasting service based on the data from a specific farm site. We’ve seen a lot of satellitebased technology lately, and some of it is fantastic. The United States is vastly ahead of us on that front. But

Andrew Neill: New Zealand is compliance driven when it comes to water and nutrients, and it is only becoming more so. We provide technology to meet compliance and regulatory requirements, just as other service providers do. However, we look at it from the farmers’ perspective. We need to capture data around the farm, add data from others’ sources where applicable, and provide users with decisionmaking information. Once users have this at their fingertips on a smartphone, they can take action on those decisions via our One Centre Axis platform, which allows them to turn pumps and other equipment on and off. When we take this approach, the compliance and regulatory report requirements are a byproduct, so there is no additional cost. The users benefit from proactive decisionmaking based on accurate, real-time data relevant to their farms. We look at the users’ current and future needs and understand the incoming compliance and regulatory reporting. Our system is modular, so our users can start with what they need right now and add more modules as their systems and needs change.

Irrigation Leader: So you’re using the lemons of compliance requirements to make lemonade.

Andrew Neill: Yes, we are!

Onfarm Data's soil moisture forecasting software.

The farmers have to do compliance work, so we ask what we can do to achieve it’s crucial to ground-truth the data. If we start with those outcomes. One way is to collect good data. It what’s actually happening in the ground, we can make sounds simple, but we have had a steep learning curve in projections. We do a 7‑day rolling predictive forecast, New Zealand. In 2010, it was decided that every single based on evapotranspiration modelling and rain forecasts. water take, whether of surface water or groundwater, Our system updates every hour. This is important in was going to be metered by a data logger making New Zealand, as trying to forecast rain is like picking lotto measurements every 15 minutes, every day of the year. numbers, though perhaps more difficult! We’re an island Even now, some companies are struggling to get complete in the middle of the sea, so it’s a dynamic situation, and datasets, because some of the technology hasn’t been fit for the data have to be live. That may seem like overkill, but purpose, and some service providers have not invested in with our highly variable soil types and their complex onthe correct process and staff to understand technical and farm systems, New Zealand farmers will review these data on-farm issues. We have learned that having correct and a couple of times a day, especially at the start and end of complete data is highly valuable. The data allow farmers to the irrigation season. Our software allows farmers to load improve their processes and scientists to do modeling. This irrigation options into the system and shows them how soil use of data means that valuable resources are being used in moisture will react to these planned events. It is easy and an effective and environmentally responsible way. quick to do on your phone. irrigationleadermagazine.com

June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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THE INNOVATORS Where we differ from other technologies is that we also do control. If a farmer has the data and is thinking, “I know I should irrigate this much today,” they can just go to the pivot control page, set the application rate, and turn the pivot on.

Our New Zealand farms can be complex, so there may be a groundwater resource with an instantaneous take limit, a daily volume, a rolling 7‑day volume, and a total seasonal take volume, along with water supplied by an irrigation scheme through an open channel or pressurized pipe. The farm may have five pivots on a ring main with water supplied by two or three wells and an onsite holding pond. With strict limits and monitoring, farmers want to make good decisions every time they irrigate. If it’s a dairy farm, these pivots may be applying effluent, either from a separate system underslung on the pivot pipework next to the sprinklers or directly injected through fertigation. Onfarm Data’s One Centre Axis control system allows us to individually control the pivot, water pump, effluent pump, and fertigation pump. We also provide a modular exclusion control system that controls individual sprinklers, so they don’t apply water, effluent, or fertilizer into creeks, onto roads or farm tracks, onto hedges, or on other designated areas. Generally, about 7 percent of total irrigated areas can be excluded. It’s good for the environment and is a great way to manage a critical resource.

We record where, when, and how much is applied.

Recording nitrogen is critical, as some farming practices are now limited to applying 190 kilograms (kg), or 419 pounds (lb), of nitrogen every 12 months. Because farmers now need to mitigate the risk of leaching, many will use fertigation to put on 7–10 kg (15.4–22 lb) per pivot per week instead of putting on 60 kg (132 lb) of solid nitrogen. It greatly reduces the risk of leaching and is easy to manage. There’s no magic brush with fertigation in New Zealand—you grow the same amount of grass. The big outcomes we’re seeing are ease of management, better engagement of staff, and easy control of application. We automatically monitor water take conditions and advise farmers if breaches occur. We send the regulated water flow meter data directly to the regulatory authority.

For nutrients, we work with a couple of other big players that manage and record solid nitrogen applications. We work as a team with other like-minded companies.

Irrigation Leader: Are you currently doing business in the United States?

42 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

We are currently working with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise staff, both in New Zealand and in the United States, to identify and quantify opportunities. We are looking at opportunities to use Aquaflex for extensive soil moisture monitoring at a university site to gather more data around current water application practices. We are also looking at what can be done to reduce water use and mitigate the overuse of fertilizers.

We believe there are real opportunities to use the data not just to enhance current systems but also to drive the more efficient and economical use of water and nitrogen. I was surprised to learn how hugely the cost of water varies across the United States— from $25 to $2,000 per acre-foot. It appears from the outside that in the United States, a key driver is return on investment— and not so much the environment. However, we are starting to see a change in the political environment, especially in California and some of the eastern states. It’s also interesting to see the number of sites in the United States that have high nitrate levels.

Synthetic nitrogen is a growing issue globally, and we want to do our part to be a solution to that. Besides, overusing nitrogen is a waste of money. Every amount of of nitrogen that goes past the crop root zone is a direct cost to the farmer, in addition to the costs of application and water used.

Onfarm Data is also involved in the manufacture of research equipment. The EquiPF is a research-level device to measure the soil moisture release curves of soil types. We also manufacture an automated soil infiltrometer, an easy-to-use device that can accurately measure and record the rate at which water infiltrates soils. The infiltrometers can be set up at multiple sites and should be used before any irrigation solution is designed to ensure that the soils can handle the design parameters. Comparing data from before and after soil conditioning can also clearly demonstrate the effects of the treatment. IL Andrew Neill is the chief executive officer at Onfarm Data. He can be reached at andrew@onfarmdata.com or +64 221832018. For more on Onfarm Data, visit www.onfarmdata.com. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ONFARM DATA.

Andrew Neill: Yes. We do some moisture monitoring in Arizona. We have supplied some Aquaflex tapes that are being used and displayed on a different software platform. There are also a large number of Aquaflex tapes being used in industrial applications for storage pond leak detection. That is a nonagricultural application, but it is absolutely ideal because they take such a large sample. The risk of leaks for U.S. companies is quite substantial these days. It’s nice to see another application for this technology.

An Onfarm Data display at New Zealand’s Fieldays event.

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THE INNOVATORS

WaterForce: Advancing Irrigation in New Zealand

A Waterforce engineer in the field.

W

aterForce is a versatile New Zealand–based water services company that designs and delivers irrigation, water, and wastewater systems for clients including farmers, growers, and sports facilities. Today, one of WaterForce’s focuses is advancing center-pivot irrigation systems through variable-rate irrigation (VRI) and its monitoring and communication system, SCADAfarm. In this interview, WaterForce Director Paul Donaldson tells Irrigation Leader about the company’s history and current services.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the history of WaterForce.

46 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF WATERFORCE.

Paul Donaldson: The three founders of WaterForce— Wayne Bell, Ron McFetridge, and I—worked at another New Zealand–owned company, which was actually acquired by a large overseas corporation in 2000. We didn’t enjoy that company’s corporate approach and felt that the Kiwi farmer needed a hands-on, agile company that could respond to any demand, so we set up WaterForce in October 2002.

Today, we have 13 operations throughout New Zealand, with a large concentration on the South Island, and about 250 staff. Each branch is relatively autonomous and offers a complete turnkey package to service the surrounding

area, including full design, sales, engineering, and service support. Each branch has a sales-design team, a retail store, a workshop facility, and fully equipped service vehicles.

The Christchurch branch, which is one of the largest, has 45–50 staff members, including engineers, service engineers, electrical engineers, technicians, design and sales staff, and administrative staff.

Our clients include farmers, growers, and people in charge of sports facilities. Each area has its own culture and identity, which leads to specific demands. Central Otago, in the deep south of our South Island, has a lot of viticulture, but farmers in the area have also started doing some larger broad-acre irrigation using center-pivot systems. That same area has started to demand quite a lot of residential amenity irrigation as well because of amenity development and the construction of holiday homes in the Queenstown and Wanaka areas.

WaterForce is distinctive because it can move and change direction quickly. We look for new marketplaces and grow them, even if that requires a change in training, culture, or engineering. For instance, after the large earthquakes in Christchurch in 2016, there was a lot of silt movement and damage in wells. We have been working with the local city council to do reengineering around the headworks and pumps of those wells. It’s been lucrative for our business,

THE INNOVATORS and that has been helpful because arable farming and dairy farming have had a bit of a downturn due to environmental pressure under the new government.

Irrigation Leader: What sorts of projects do you work on?

Paul Donaldson: In a lot of countries, irrigation systems are often designed by a consultant and then put out to tender.

In New Zealand, irrigation traditionally has not been seen as a professional engineering discipline, because there have traditionally been few standards. Our irrigation association, Irrigation New Zealand, and three or four other key companies, such as WaterForce, have worked hard for the last 15 years to establish design standards and promote professional operators.

We have tertiary-qualified designers and carry the responsibility of the whole schemes we build, some of which are quite large.

We handle NZ$5–$10 million (US$3.3–$6.6 million) projects.

They’re not your normal on-farm irrigation projects; they often involve large community supplies that are servicing several farms and 20–30 center-pivot systems.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell our readers about the use of center pivots in New Zealand.

Paul Donaldson: The history of irrigation in New Zealand is quite interesting. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a lot of primitive diesel pumping and aluminum spray line. In the 1970s and 1980s, drag-hose-type irrigated guns and rotating booms had evolved. When the hydraulically driven pivots of the 1980s came to New Zealand, they brought some service difficulties. Introducing new technologies to remote areas was quite challenging, particularly in that era. Electric center pivots started coming to New Zealand in the 1990s.

Center pivots arrived in an era when we were used to working in large rectangles with drag-hose irrigators or aluminum spray lines, and we were slow to accept their benefits. New Zealand is an island nation with high-wind issues, so we have a lot of shelterbelts. When a pivot arrives, those shelterbelts have to be cut down, lowered, or removed.

That has caused a lot of consternation over the years. Once our farmers discovered how much more efficient center pivots were at applying water, however, they transitioned.

When you use a rotational machine like a hard- or soft-hose spray-line irrigator, you irrigate on a 6- to 12‑day rotation. However, we often overestimated our soil’s water holding capacity. With pivots, we could do a full rotation in 2–3 days and apply 20‑odd millimeters (0.8 inches) of water.

The production increase was quite significant, which told us that we had been subjecting our crop to moisture depletion by expecting our soils to hold moisture for 6, 8, or 10 days.

Another key benefit of center pivots is that they can easily be turned off, especially if you are doing soil monitoring and using predictive weather data. New Zealand’s weather is exceptionally variable, even in the summer. With a 10‑ or 12‑day rotation system, if it rained, farmers couldn’t irrigationleadermagazine.com

afford to turn their systems off, because the next day, the evapotranspiration rates would climb rapidly again, and with this rotation, any delay in getting back within the 10–12 days would cause production loss due to soil moisture stress.

I estimate that New Zealand has about 750,000 hectares (1,850,000 acres) under irrigation, of which about 600,000 (1,482,632 acres) is arable. That land is used as pasture for dairy cows, sheep, beef cattle, and deer and to grow barley, peas, specialty seeds, wheat, and more. Around 240,000 hectares (593,053 acres) are irrigated by pivots— that’s around 5,000–6,000 pivots.

You may have heard that New Zealand has some extremely long pivots with as many as 29 towers. That is not something to be proud of—it’s foolhardy. During the 1990s, it was a source of pride to have the longest pivot.

Some were 1,000–1,100 meters (3,281–3,609 feet) long. We subsequently found, to our shame, that those pivots had to deliver water at end of the pivots at such a speed that the soils couldn’t actually sustain it. The application rate at the end of a 1,000‑meter half-circle pivot is 60–70 millimeters (2.36–2.75 inches) per hour. There is no soil type in New Zealand that can handle that application rate, and it causes runoff. In the United States, farmers realized that 500–600 meters (1,640–1,968 feet) was the ideal length for pivots before we had caught on to that. We’ve started to learn from that and are focusing on not exceeding the infiltration rate of the soil, which is often 25–35 millimeters (0.98–1.38 inches) per hour. In fact, that is part of our code of practice. We design around that, so often the soil type will determine the length of pivot that we will use.

Irrigation Leader: What new technologies or systems have been developed in New Zealand?

Paul Donaldson: Around 10–15 years ago, we developed VRI technology. My understanding is that it was pioneered by a small Kiwi company composed of a couple of young farmers who had studied robotic engineering. Eventually, the Lindsay Corporation bought that little Kiwi company.

VRI has helped minimize runoff and nitrate leaching. It is wonderful for a square or rectangular paddock regime— which is quite common in New Zealand—in which there are different crops or crops at differing levels of maturity in the different paddocks. VRI allows a farmer to adjust application rates as a pivot passes from one crop to another.

VRI can also turn the sprinklers on a pivot off as they pass over dairy lanes—the lanes that cows go up and down morning and night for their milking—so as to avoid runoff.

Our regulatory bodies, such as regional councils, which have control over the resource consents for farming, often push for pivots to be equipped with VRI. The system costs farms NZ$100,000 (US$66,650) per pivot. We at WaterForce sometimes question the viability and necessity of this. We believe in VRI, but I believe that in some cases, it has been oversold in New Zealand.

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THE INNOVATORS Irrigation Leader: What are your thoughts on the use of fertigation in New Zealand?

Paul Donaldson: I am surprised at the slow speed of adoption. I would say that 5 percent of pivots at most are currently being used for the introduction of nutrients.

Irrigation Leader: What new technologies has WaterForce developed?

A Valley pivot marketed by WaterForce in New Zealand.

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Irrigation Leader: Is it currently available in the United States?

Paul Donaldson: Not yet. We’ve been working with the telecommunications companies Vodafone and Spark to ensure total reliability before we release the product overseas.

WaterForce is the leading Valley distributor for New Zealand. We consider our relationship special, and we have enjoyed tremendous support for what we all consider a superb product. We have a dedicated 86,000-squarefoot yard and warehouse for the distribution of our Valley product. The company has a lot of experience and a quality product. It is interested in our SCADAfarm and is keeping in touch with what we’re doing. Valley, of course, has its own development, which is reliable and free of charge. However, SCADAfarm has greater capacity, particularly when it comes to pumping data and predictive weather forecasting.

Irrigation Leader: What should every irrigator know about WaterForce?

Paul Donaldson: We have striven to create professionalism in our industry; we promote irrigation as a career choice; and we provide a unique cadetship for graduates, something we are proud of. We are committed to high-level technologies like VRI and variable frequency control for pumping systems and train our engineers, electricians, and designers appropriately.

WaterForce is committed to supporting and servicing our clients with our dedicated Valley pivot distribution premises and with over NZ$6 million (US$4,341,090) worth of stock.

We understand the need for efficient, effective service 24/7.

I tell farmers that I can’t promise them a smooth road with their irrigation systems. We coordinate with so many components and contractors that there will be one or two hiccups. All I can promise them is that we won’t walk away from any problem. We will address it, we will deal with it, we will communicate, and we’ll move on. I think farmers like that—they are used to challenges. I’ve always said that there are three keys to success in an irrigation company: service, service, and service. Promising little and delivering a lot is key. IL

Paul Donaldson is a director of WaterForce. He can be contacted at pdonaldson@waterforce.co.nz.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WATERFORCE.

Paul Donaldson: WaterForce has developed a communication system called SCADAfarm. It allows you to monitor pump systems, pivots, weather data, and soil moisture through a smartphone app. SCADAfarm aims to create predictive weather data. The more weather stations we can install and connect, the better the data. The need for this technology might seem strange to someone in Nebraska, Australia, or Israel, where it doesn’t rain in the summer. But weather patterns in New Zealand are highly variable. A hot wind from Australia can pick up moisture from the Tasman Sea and come over the Southern Alps onto the Canterbury Plains. That dry wind can last for 5 days and quickly deplete the soil moisture. Then, an easterly or southerly wind can suddenly bring cold winds and rain up from the South Pole or from the Pacific Ocean. This happens frequently through even our hot summer months.

Being able to predict the weather of the next 2–4 days can make a big difference for how a farmer plans to irrigate and hence can optimize water use, minimize runoff, reduce leaching, and save on power costs.

A lot of the hardware in SCADAfarm is made by Schneider. The company has an international reputation, and its products are used in major municipal facilities throughout the world. We also use Davis wind station data.

Other pivot manufacturers have got their own remotecontrol systems. Some are good and reliable, but they don’t have the comprehensive overview or the capacities that SCADAfarm does. Those capacities come at a price, however. Nothing made in New Zealand is cheap, because manufacturing is a numbers game. Whereas a lot of U.S.manufactured pivots now have built-in app-controlled devices at almost no cost, SCADAfarm costs NZ$3,000– $6,000 (US$2,000–$4,050) per unit. It’s certainly, in my

opinion, one of the key advancements that we’ve had in the last 10 years and has been developed at great cost to WaterForce. The investment is going take time to recoup, but we believe in it and are positive about the investment returns, particularly as we look at the export market potential.

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JOB LISTINGS

Does your irrigation district have a job listing you would like to advertise in our pages?

Irrigation Leader provides this service to irrigation districts free of charge.

For more information, please email Kris Polly at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

PRODUCTION CONTROL PLANNER - ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY HYDRO POWER EQUIPMENT Location: Mansfield Center, CT Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $40,000–$60,000 RESPONSIBILITIES: +S cheduling usage of production materials to ensure optimal production levels +Q uoting, purchasing, and purchase planning; evaluation of suppliers +M anaging stockroom and inventory levels; identifying and resolving problems relating to inventory and production schedule +T racking and issuing all materials and ensure appropriate locations +U sing automated tools, reporting material costs to bookkeeping and finance +A ssisting with routine production hands-on requirements as needed REQUIREMENTS: +E xcellent verbal and written communication, organizational, and time-management skills +S trong regard for product quality and safety standards +S harp analytical and problem-solving skills; meticulous and diligent +C ompetency with standard office computer applications +A bility to read technical drawings such as machine drawings, product specifications and similar For more information: Email hr@nustreem.com or info@nustreem.com and visit nustreem.com.

EHS LEAN SPECIALIST Location: St. George, UT Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: +T his new role will support the team by implementing and championing safety, lean, production, and environmental initiatives. +T rain and implement solutions to improve productivity, safety activities, and quality. +L ead safety program to ensure employee safety and compliance with OSHA standards. +C onduct weekly safety meetings with the team. +P rovide direction for the production team in the event that unsafe acts or conditions are observed. +O ptimize manufacturing processes to attain maximum

50 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2021

safety, product quality, efficiency, and repeatability.

REQUIREMENTS: + Industrial safety or a technical discipline is desired. + Minimum 3 years business operations, plant engineering, or manufacturing experience, including 1–2 years of proven success with process improvement programs. + Experience delivering OSHA-compliant safety programs in a manufacturing environment. + Understanding of welding concepts and liquid industrial coating applications. + Certification in OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer program. + Certification in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and 5S processes strongly preferred.

For more information: Contact Nick Hidalgo, Talent Acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com and visit www.nwpipe.com/careers.

QA MANAGER Location: Parkersburg, WV Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: + Plans, coordinates, and directs quality control program for the Parkersburg manufacturing facility. + Develops and analyzes statistical data and product specifications to determine present standards and establish proposed quality and reliability expectancy of finished product. + Formulates and maintains quality control objectives coordinated with production procedures to maximize product compliance and minimize costs. + Directs workers engaged in inspection and testing activities to ensure continuous monitoring of production in progress as well as finished product.

REQUIREMENTS: + Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference and the fundamentals of plane geometry, solid geometry, and trigonometry. + Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations. + Bachelor’s degree from a 4‑year college or university and 5 years’ related experience or 10 years’ equivalent combination of education and experience with a minimum of 5 years’ managerial experience. + Active AWS CWI certification.

For more information: Contact Nick Hidalgo, Talent Acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com and visit www.nwpipe.com/careers. irrigationleadermagazine.com

JOB LISTINGS PROJECT DESIGNER Location: Adelanto, CA; Tracy, CA; and Portland, OR (travel 30%) Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: +A ccurately compile the contract requirements, customer preferences, and manufacturing limitations of a given project into a cohesive design drawing package, bill of materials, and track.net. +A bility to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle and prioritize multiple, competing tasks and demands and to seek supervisory assistance as appropriate. +A ctive communication with project managers. +S upport the estimating functions. + I f it is determined that an applicant is qualified for a PD III position, additional responsibilities will include managing assigned low profile projects from start to finish.

REQUIREMENTS: +A bility to read and understand civil and mechanical drawings. +B asic understanding of civil engineering and surveying terms and methods. +S trength in mathematics through trigonometry. +G ood computer skills, including spreadsheets and CAD. +C ollege degree in engineering, mathematics, or other technical subject or equivalent work experience. +P reference for a licensed professional engineer (PE). +E xperience in the engineering, pipe, steel, construction, or heavy highway industries strongly desired. + 1 –5 years of experience.

For more information: Contact Nick Hidalgo, Talent Acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com and visit www.nwpipe.com/careers.

DIRECTOR OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Location: California, Georgia, remote Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $165,000–$215,000 RESPONSIBILITIES: +O riginate and develop project opportunities; lead Emrgy through project development to close deals. + I nterface directly with landowners, PPA counterparties, government officials, and other project stakeholders. +M anage the permitting and interconnection processes and drive stakeholder engagement. +D evelop new relationships with project partners to increase market reach. +R esearch, conduct self-guided analysis, produce reports, and present information clearly to management. +A nalyze, understand, and apply statutory incentives, rules, and standards in the development process. +S upport market discovery and product requirements for new applications and territories. +R egular travel to project site locations and stakeholder meetings will be required.

REQUIREMENTS: +7 + years of work experience in renewable energy project development originating, developing, and closing deals. +B achelor’s degree in business, math, economics, irrigationleadermagazine.com

accounting, finance, or engineering (equivalent experience will be considered in lieu of a degree). + An understanding of resource (land, water) development or acquisition, the electric utility industry, solar and energy storage technology, and/or energy markets. + Direct experience developing/negotiating PPAs and utilizing existing regulatory structures to sell power. + Previous experience interacting directly with landowners, and state government officials, and other project stakeholders. + Working knowledge of project-based financial models. + Top-notch written, verbal, and presentation communication skills. + Initiative and a sense of urgency.

For more info: Contact Lee Humphrey, operations manager, at lee@emrgy.com, or visit emrgy.com/careers/.

PPA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Location: Georgia, Remote Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $75,000–$120,000 RESPONSIBILITIES: + Originate customers to purchase power from the Emrgy water turbines at rates necessary to deliver value to meet project hurdle rates. + Understand and develop strategies to navigate applicable regulatory frameworks to sell power. + Work with legal counsel to develop and negotiate PPAs or other off take agreements with customers. + Coordinate with the broader commercial team to prioritize targets and create strategy to connect water resources with customers to purchase power. + Create customer proposals and presentations demonstrating the benefits, value, and financial payback. +U se financial modeling tools to calculate cost of energy, payback period, and project IRR. +M eet with clients, as part of the sales team, for sales presentations, and to develop customer offering. +P rovide timely response to customer requests during the origination and development process. +D evelop and maintain core knowledge of Emrgy’s technology, product offering, and sales strategy. +A cquire new customers by winning them over from competitors and discovering new opportunities.

REQUIREMENTS: +B achelor’s degree or equivalent experience. +5 + years of energy experience. +D emonstrated success originating, negotiating, and reaching agreement on PPAs or other offtake agreements. +B e curious and excited to learn about the many disciplines of science and engineering involved in hydropower and renewables. +E xcellent written and oral communication. +E xcellent organizational skills and a keen eye for detail. +P roficiency with Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. +N egotiation, problem-solving, and data analysis/ modeling skills. +A bility to travel up 50%.

For more info: Contact Lee Humphrey, operations manager, at lee@emrgy.com, or visit emrgy.com/careers/.

June 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Upcoming Events June 7–8 Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, Papio Basin Tour, Omaha, NE June 7–9 International Water Resources Association, One Water–One Health (virtual) June 7–11 American Society of Civil Engineers, World Environmental & Water Resources Congress (virtual) June 14–17 Nevada Water Resources Association, Well & Water Week, Reno, NV June 16–18 Texas Water Conservation Association, Summer Conference, Horseshoe Bay, TX June 20–24 International Water Resources Association, Singapore International Water Week 2021, Singapore June 22–23 National Ground Water Association, Fate of PFAS: From Groundwater to Tap Water (virtual) July 6–8 Irrigation Australia, Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, Australia July 6–12 International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage 24th Congress & 71st International Executive Council meeting, Sydney, Australia July 9–12 National Association of Counties, Annual Conference and Expo, Prince George’s County, MD, and virtual July 12–13 North Dakota Water Resource Districts Association, Summer Meeting and North Dakota Water Education Foundation Executive Briefing, Dickinson, ND July 13–15 North Dakota Water Users Association, Summer Meeting, Grand Forks, ND July 14–16 Hydrovision International, Spokane, WA July 19–21 American Water Resources Association, Virtual Summer Conference: Connecting Land & Water for Healthy Communities (virtual) August 3–5 National Conference of State Legislatures, Legislative Policy Base Camp (virtual) August 3–6 World’s Large Rivers Conference, Moscow, Russia, and virtual August 9–11 8th International Conference on Flood Management, Iowa City, IA August 10–12 National Water Resources Association, Western Water Tour of the Columbia Basin, Portland, OR August 15–17 Idaho Water Users Association, Water Law and Resource Issues Seminar, Sun Valley, ID August 24–26 Colorado Water Congress, Summer Conference, Steamboat Springs, CO September 13–16 WaterPro Conference, Milwaukee, WI September 14 Husker Harvest Days, Grand Island, NE September 22–29 National Drilling Association Convention, Charlotte, NC September 26–28 Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, Annual Conference, Kearney, NE

Past issues of Irrigation Leader are archived at irrigationleadermagazine.com /IrrigationLeader

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