WASP

Urban irrigation constitutes a significant proportion of urban water demand. With growing pressure
on our water resources and climate change predictions of more frequent droughts, water use efficiency
in urban irrigation is critical for sustaining and maintaining urban green spaces that provide us
valuable environmental and community benefits.

A UWS researcher in the CRC Irrigation Futures has developed a web based tool to manage irrigation. This new tool will allow users to define water quantities based on location and vegetation. The UWS tool is the result of years of research and utilises a 100-year data set.

There are some tools already available for the farmer to plan irrigation strategies but WASP software is different in that it allows an urban irrigator to estimate the amount of irrigation required. The bio-physical requirements of the landscape are met by utilising information about its soil, macro climate, micro climate, planting and functional characteristics.

This innovative software development is very timely, with the NSW government having recently announced its Metropolitan Water Plan that aims to “water proof” Sydney until 2015. Currently being tested by four councils in Sydney as the software is developed, WASP will be well placed to contribute to the government’s ambitious strategy that involves investment in dams, recycling, desalination and water efficiency.

Interested parties are invited to test the Beta Version. Please feel free to contact us at ip@uws.edu.au