by Ben van den Heever, B.Ing (Civil Engineering)
In the past, an irrigation designer was reliant on the surveyor’s data to provide an accurate digital terrain model. In many cases when the data was not available, the designer would proceed as if working on a flat surface or make vague assumptions about the terrain. Looking at the software tools available today, it is safe to conclude those days are over and irrigation designers can produce accurate designs at low cost.
By using Irri-Maker, the designer can now seamlessly interact with Google Earth to produce a very accurate DTM model when doing preliminary irrigation designs. Using a Google Earth produced DTM model has the following advantages.
- There is no cost involved to create the topographical map.
- The initial irrigation design can be done without waiting for survey data.
- Alternatives can easily be analyzed.
Even though the final design should always be based on actual survey data, using Irri-Maker and surface models derived from Google Earth is a logical choice for initial designs and layouts of irrigation systems.
For more information about Irri-Maker, Senninger’s irrigation design software, contact bvdh@senninger.biz
“I grow alfalfa and wheat on real tough soil. Bentonite is unlike other clays, it is has an extreme fineness, and has a highly absorbent nature and curious property of swelling with water. You got to be careful how you apply your irrigation water or you’ll get some serious surface sealing. The Xi-Wob with both the blue and grey deflector seems to do the trick. I really like them.”