Lake liner benefits for horticulture industry
Despite the high rainfall we have had this year there are threats of rising water bills and water becoming scarcer in the future or periods of drought all of which are due to climate changes. We therefore need to consider water conservation seriously and be well prepared for such possibilities. In addition the Environmental Agency is keen that steps be put in place to reduce the need for clean water or mains water supplies. This particularly applies to industries such as horticulture and farming.
There are many industries that have an opportunity to put systems in place to become less reliant on mains supplies. One such industry is Horticulture with its high water usage for the cultivation of food and non-food crops. Trials have shown that mains water is no longer necessary to irrigate plants.
Garden Nurseries using rainwater-harvesting systems have been able to show savings in water bills. Systems have also been put in place to clean harvested water before it is pumped out to irrigate crops with reports of better crops and fewer incidences of plant diseases. Rainwater can be collected off the glass roofs of greenhouses or in poly-tunnels and stored in above ground water storage tanks or in a man-made reservoir.
The risk of storing water, however is that it must not be left to stand for long periods and become stagnant. Installing a pump to oxygenate the water can solve this. With a reservoir water should enter from one side and exit from the opposite side to establish a flow of water to keep it oxygenated.
Award winning Garden Nursery recently received the ‘UK Water Efficiency Awards 2012’ for their steps taken to reduce mains water usage by 17000m3 within a year and thereby greatly reduce their water bills.
They achieved this by implementing a rainwater harvesting system by building a big reservoir and installing a lake liner to cover the dug out to contain the water. Rainwater was also captured off the roofs of their greenhouses and stored in galvanized water storage tanks to use for irrigation purposes.
They used a biological water cleaning process to improve the quality of the water by filtering out impurities. This has resulted in improved crop growth and reduction in plant diseases versus mains water irrigation systems initially employed. This has proved to offer both financial and environmental benefits.
If you are in the horticulture business and looking to harvest rainwater, contact a Russetts representative to discuss Butyl or Epalyn lake liner availability and techniques for reservoir water containment or their range of water storage tanks and tank liners.