Experience example
Control of Industrial Scale Irrigation Schemes
“All the water that will ever be is, right now!” – National Geographic
Industry
Water
Sector
Irrigation
Segment
Control Systems
Project
- The client is responsible for development and operation of a suite of irrigation schemes across Tasmania valued at over $1B.
- Due to frequent droughts, and a lack of reliable irrigation water in the Southern Highlands constraining agricultural expansion, an irrigation scheme was proposed.
- The scheme design included three pump stations, 58km of pipeline, a dam and multiple property outlets.
- Control of the scheme needed to be fully integrated into the existing control system and the telemetry system needed to be reliable despite the challenging topology.
- The client recognised they needed a partner who not only possessed wide ranging electrical design, automation and telemetry skills but understood the hydraulic control requirements.
- Cromarty were engaged to develop the entire electrical, SCADA, telemetry, and control design philosophy for the scheme.
Solution
Cromarty worked collaboratively with the client to:
- Design install and commission approximately 60 RTUs monitoring property outlets.
- Design, supply and install all radio telemetry equipment including solar power systems.
- Design, supply and install all electrical systems including MCCs.
- Integrate the scheme into the existing control system.
- Tune the hydraulic operation of the scheme post commissioning.
Outcome
The scheme is now fully commissioned and successfully delivering water into the Southern Highlands region meeting the goal of the project to provide the region with a reliable water resource 365 days a year to promote economic expansion.