On Comparison of Water and Energy Productivities in Pressurized Irrigation Systems

Abstract: Increasing scarcity of water resources to manage climate variability and change has urged countries including Australia to adopt water saving policies for agriculture sector. These policies inevitably involve dependency on high energy demanding solutions to practice more water efficient irrigated agriculture. The energy required for installation and operation of higher water efficient irrigation systems is significantly higher than traditional systems and associated greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly higher. Efficient use of both water and energy resources is vital in terms of productivity of agriculture as well as for environmental sustainability. The energy intensive irrigation systems need to be designed and managed in such a way that delivers maximum water and energy productivity into minimum greenhouse gas emissions while optimizing economic returns. Integrated high pressure (IHP) irrigation system is a hardware and software setup that supposedly delivers savings in water, energy and costs and reduces irrigation’s environmental footprints. This paper discusses a spreadsheet model of horticulture production systems in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) which is a user of surface water diverted from the Murrumbidgee River. The annual water use entitlement for MIA is 1,253,000 mega litre. Horticulture (citrus and grapes) is the major high-return land use following the broad acre crops (rice and wheat) in MIA and constitutes a major portion of Australian Horticulture export. Horticulture contributes around 37 % of total value o