VIDEO: Water Reuse on Wayne Lording’s Farm

Published January 22, 2015 02:48 by Arthur Ha, Barefoot Economic Services - Economist

This week we consider our series on sustainable farming by talking to Wayne Lording about how he recycles grey- and black-water to replace irrigated water and fertiliser. Key points are:

Treated water is used to irrigate and fertilise olive groves.
The key technology is a small pump, which is readily available.
Water reuse system has a payback period of 18 months.
The more water and fertiliser you use, the more you can save from installing a similar water reuse system.
Wayne's water reuse system also has risk-management benefits by providing a hedge against water and fertiliser price increases.

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Sustainable Agriculture
Water Reuse & Recycling
Agriculture & Forestry

Applicable to domestic / ...

Applicable to domestic / industrial, urban / rural infrastructures as well as farms.

Published January 23, 2015 10:20 by John Doe

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Absolutely. There are opportunities beyond farming.

Published January 25, 2015 23:42 by Arthur Ha, Barefoot Economic Services - Economist

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A good example of an appropriate solution, in the right location. It is nice to see people slowly shifting to grey and black water re-use. Many are uncomfortable about this type of re-use, but done correctly there should be no problems. It is also good to see the same farm adopting solar / geothermal to offset their energy bills.

Published January 22, 2015 13:29 by John Doe

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Hi John Thanks for your comment. Yes, Wayne is a bit of a pioneer when it comes to recognising sustainability improvements are an opportunity for reducing costs. These are achievable ways of improving farm efficiency at relatively low cost. Given that farmers are often having their margins being squeezed by retailers and traders, it would make sense to invest in technologies that reduce ongoing costs and reduce dependency on other inputs (e.g. fertiliser). In the next video, where Wayne wraps up the series. Wayne talks more about his motivation for installing renewable energy and water reuse technologies. Thanks for watching! Arthur

Published January 22, 2015 22:12 by Arthur Ha, Barefoot Economic Services - Economist

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VIDEO: Water Reuse on Wayne Lording’s Farm

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Applicable to domestic / ...

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A good example of an ...

1 Comment