SMART Watering campaign wraps up

SMART Watering campaign wraps up citing strong interest in water efficiency tools

24 February 2016

A pilot water efficiency campaign initiated by IrrigationNZ in four Canterbury districts this summer has concluded with evidence of strong interest in making water savings.

Home gardeners and lifestyle irrigators were the primary targets of the inaugural water efficiency campaign, which ran with the support of Timaru, Ashburton, Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils, Environment Canterbury and inaugural industry partners Water Supply Products and RX Plastics.

The campaign launched in late November with the release of case studies illustrating how home gardeners and community projects can use irrigation tools and technologies to minimise water use and maximise productivity.

The campaign’s website attracted nearly 5000 page views over two months with a quarter of website users returning more than once to seek information about how to water efficiently. A spike in interest in the first two weeks of January reflected people being off work and spending more time in the garden, says IrrigationNZ CEO Andrew Curtis.

Public polling is now underway in the four districts to establish awareness levels of the SMART Watering campaign and gauge support for ongoing education and activities, says Mr Curtis.

“Anecdotally we hear people appreciated the campaign, particularly the local case studies which featured Canterbury schools, community groups, councils and home gardeners talking about their efforts to be “Smart Waterers”. Our factsheets have also been in demand, and although the El Nino didn’t create the prolonged dry expected, having the knowledge and tools to reduce water use means our community was in a better position to adapt to the conditions and water accordingly.”

Analysis of the SMART Watering campaign will be undertaken after public polling is completed next month, with a full review being presented at IrrigationNZ’s upcoming conference 5-7 April in Oamaru.

The SMART Watering campaign teaches home gardeners and community irrigation projects how to apply water efficiently. Its wider roll-out follows on from the successful SMART Irrigation programme which encourages sustainably managed, accountable, responsible and trusted irrigation practice.

Timaru, Ashburton, Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils, Environment Canterbury and industry partners Water Supply Products and RX Plastics, joined forces with IrrigationNZ to support the campaign.

At the campaign launch, IrrigationNZ CEO Andrew Curtis says the wider community would benefit from the sharing of information gleaned from irrigation best practice.

“There are a lot of parallels between home gardeners and farmers. Both need to know how much water their plants and crops require, have efficient systems for application and be monitoring soil moisture levels. The irrigation industry has proven products, technologies and practices that can eke out water supply. We are sharing this knowledge so we can all play our part in conserving supplies this summer,” says Mr Curtis.

The campaign’s resources, including case studies, fact sheets and tips are still available on the SMART Watering Facebook page and website www.smartirrigation.co.nz/smartwatering

ENDS

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