This report been prepared by the CIE as part of the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation. The financial assistance provided by the Program through Land and Water Australia is gratefully acknowledged. Many people have contributed to this study. Murray Chapman, Program Coordinator for the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation deserves praise for his enthusiastic support and assistance throughout the study. Colin Creighton, formerly Rivers Manager, Land and Water

Good asset management practices can significantly increase the life of an irrigation channel and reduce its life cycle costs. This publication provides a guide to methods of construction and refurbishment of earthen irrigation channel banks. The Guidelines provide practical guidance for the construction and refurbishment of earthen irrigation channel banks, which, if followed, should reduce life cycle costs. Throughout Australia the irrigation industry has been undergoing major

Due to environmental and economic pressures, the volume of reclaimed water being used in Australia is increasing (Dillon 2000, Radcliffe 2003). One of the major potential, and current, uses of this water is for irrigation of horticultural crops. In recognition of this, Land and Water Australia funded the present project--Use of reclaimed water in Australian horticulture--, which is intended to position the horticultural industry to both assess and develop reuse schemes. There are two main stages.

Facts and figures about irrigation in Australia.

A key issue identified by the research community working with the cotton industry was the lack of understanding and acceptance of the concept of deep drainage. Deep drainage is defined as the part of the water (applied to the surface and as rainfall or irrigation) that moves past the rootzone. In general the existing paradigm was "cotton soils don't leak". However, the research community related to the Australian Cotton CRC (

This report summarises the major findings which have arisen from the project Knowledge Management in Cotton and Grains Irrigation. This report should be considered in conjunction with the detailed evaluation report prepared by Coutts JR consultants. The lessons learned are detailed and recommendations provided where appropriate. They are discussed under the following headings: Knowledge Management concepts and Extension methodology Training

Soil moisture sensors can be used by irrigators to help achieve efficient irrigation schedules. A survey of irrigators in 1993, however, revealed that less than seven percent of irrigators routinely used a soil moisture sensing device of any kind to schedule irrigation. Given the potential benefits accruing from their correct use a project was proposed which could develop an objective, systematic method to aid selection of a device by an irrigator. It was proposed to develop a value selection method in which the key attributes of most value to decision makers could be identified and weighted.

MEDLI® is a Windows® based computer model for designing and analysing effluent disposal systems for intensive rural industries, agri-industrial processors (e.g. abattoirs) and sewage treatment plants using land irrigation. It was developed jointly by the CRC for Waste Management and Pollution Control, the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.

Appendix 1 - Detailed scenarios

The Goulburn Broken Catchment is known as the food bowl of Australia. It covers 2.4 million hectares and has a population of around 200,000 people (Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2005). Irrigated agriculture is a major business engine in the Goulburn Broken region, producing more than $1.2 billion at the farm gate in 2001-2002 from about 280,000 hectares of irrigated agricultural land. Investment in on-farm and processing infrastructure is about A$100 million per annum (Michael Young