Improving water use efficiency by reducing groundwater recharge under irrigated pastures

Product Information

Approximately 65% of water extracted for irrigation in Northern Victoria and over 30% in the NSW Murray Valley is applied to pastures. In 1996, Murray Irrigation Limited (MIL) introduced a Total Farm Water Balance Policy which aimed to limit farm water use to sustainable levels and hence to reduce groundwater recharge to the district watertable. The dairy industry had some concerns with the original limit of 4 Ml per hectare and initiated discussions between NSW Agriculture, MIL, Murray Dairy and farmers to evaluate the implications of the policy for the dairy industry in the Southern Riverina. This process highlighted the lack of knowledge of recharge beneath flood irrigated perennial pastures.

This project was developed to measure recharge beneath irrigated perennial pastures on a range of soil types in the region, assess management practices that minimise groundwater recharge and to provide vital information for refinement of policy and adoption of improved practices by irrigation managers and farmers.