Drop by drop
IBERS Gogerddan
17 May 2010
Natural water saves thousands of pounds for farms
Aberystwyth
University IBERS teaching and research institute shows the way for
farmers
Whilst many people are becoming used to
harvesting rainwater for their gardens, the University is using natural
sources to provide water on an industrial scale.
The farms, which
are part of the University’s award winning Institute of Biological,
Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), have found ways of meeting
their massive demand for water through a variety of natural means.
The
expansion of the Aberystwyth University Farms dairy herd at Trawsgoed
prompted farms manager Huw McConochie to explore new sources of water to
meet the 50,000 litre daily demand of the farm. “The current system
relied heavily on mains water” said Huw, and was simply not cost
effective. After failing to secure an adequate supply from bore holes
drilled on the farm we turned our attention to rainwater and water
collected in two ponds on the farm.
It means a saving of almost
£22,000 a year when compared to the cost of drawing water from the mains
supply.
“Our experience here shows how farmers across Wales
could use different sources of water on their land to meet their needs
and cut their bills,” said Aberystwyth University farms manager, Dr Huw
McConochie. He continues “our experience has also showed that bore holes
are not the only source of water on the farm.”
“The techniques
we are using here could be easily adapted to other farms. This is an
example of how IBERS can develop new systems and then transfer knowledge
and expertise to the agricultural industry in Wales and beyond.”
This
is how it works; dairy cows at the Lodge farm, the biggest of the two
diaries operated by IBERS consume up to up to 50,000 litres of water a
day.
Drawing water from the mains system at 35 litres a minute
was costing IBERS £21,900 a year.
Now the farms are using a
combination of natural sources:
• The farm lake and stream can
provide 30 litres a minute of drinking water for the cows.
•
Harvesting rainwater provides enough water to wash down the milking
parlour, collecting yard and handling pens every day – about 4 million
litres a year.
• The rest comes from a borehole on the farm.
The
key to the system is storage, “even in Trawsgoed it doesn’t rain every
day! So harvested rain water is stored in a 30,000 litre tank ready for
use, while drinking water from the ponds and bore hole are stored in
separate 28,000 litre tank” says Huw who estimates that the cost of
setting up the system will be covered by the savings in the first year
alone.
“Taking water from the mains system is obviously a strain
on the environment because every drop has to be treated and pumped,”
says Huw McConochie. “Using our own sources is cheaper, enables us to
practice what we preach, and is better for the planet.”