Storage seepage and evaporation: a summary of the results from the measurement of seepage and evaporation losses from 136 on-farm storages across the cotton industry

摘要

On-farm storages can be a major source of water loss on cotton farms. Previous studies in the Macintyre valley (Dalton 2001)indicated seepage losses of between 2% and 10% and evaporation losses of between 14% and 40% of all farm water in a year. In order to better understand the range of seepage and evaporation losses across the whole industry, the project 'Measurement to Improve the Water Efficiency of On-Farm Storages in the Cotton Industry', was established in 2008 to undertake storage seepage and evaporation measurements.This project was specifically designed to also encourage the ongoing measurement of storage seepage and evaporationlosses using newly developed measurement technology. A network of consultants was utilised to undertake measurements for 136 storages across all cotton regions using the Irrimate™ Seeepage and Evaporation Meter.