Drought-stricken Kukerin and Pingrup to take part in ‘world first’ dam cover trial

Two drought-stricken WA farming communities will host a pilot project touted as a world first that could reduce evaporation from dams by 70 per cent. It will see a stitched, plastic fabric — dubbed Flexanet — suspended by cables at the high water mark of dams in declared water-deficient shires in the Great Southern and Wheatbelt. After three consecutive dry seasons depleted on-farm and local community water sources, Kukerin, in the Shire of Dumbleyung and the Hamilton’s area (Pingrup), in the Shire of Kent, were declared water-deficient in February. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation then carted 2400kl to Kukerin and 1600kl to Pingrup each week, providing a lifeline to the communities. So when the chance came to take part in the pilot project — which could help save rainfall and build the community’s drought resilience — Dumbleyung Shire president Julie Ramm jumped at it, with plans to cover Kukerin Stock Dam, which ran dry earlier in the year. “It’ll mean they hopefully don’t have to go as far and will secure a long-term water supply for our community, that’s the plan. If we can stop the evaporation, hopefully we can help the community out with a longer-term supply of water.” With growing season rainfall in some areas 40 per cent less than average, Mrs Ramm said it had been a tough year, with some farmers — many of whom had de-stocked — carting up to three times a week. “Kukerin Stock Dam went empty in February-March and then we had to start relying on another dam 5-10km east of Kukerin,” she said. “That eventually went dry as well and that’s when the water authority committed to putting tanks in and carting water in from their supplies to keep the community going.” “It’s the first time East Kukerin has been drought declared in our shire in anyone’s knowledge. It’s very rare that we’ve had this happen. “So if we can become less reliant on other water sources and more have our own, that’s obviously a great advantage for our community.” Architect and Flexanet designer Barry Hall developed the product with his colleague Phil Morrow about 25 years ago, and they have since installed it over swimming pools around the country using a shade sail-like design. Eighteen months ago they realised it could help drought-stricken communities. “The penny dropped that this is a product that would stop evaporation off farmers’ dams,” Mr Hall said. They sent a letter to each of the WA shires which received funding as part of the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program to take part in a pilot project, to which the shires of Dumbleyung and Kent responded. The Shire of Dumbleyung has since received final funding approval, with the Shire of Kent anticipating a response soon, and the project will be advertised as per local government regulations. Mr Hall believed his design — which would involve Flexanet being suspended at the high-water mark by steel cables attached to poles at the dam’s perimeter — could save 9097kl from evaporating from a 100m x 75m x 4.5m dam, allowing farmers to keep livestock and increase their holdings. “In a drought year, most dams in dry-land areas lose about 2m off the top because of evaporation. “We can stop that by 70 per cent.” Mr Hall also anticipated it to have a flow-on effect to farming communities by keeping families on the land and in turn, keeping local businesses afloat and kids enrolled in schools. Shire of Kent chief executive Rick Miller said they were looking to cover the Pingrup Dam, which according to Mr Hall’s calculations, could save about 9 million litres. Mr Miller said that equated to about 600 trucks carting 15,000 litres each. He believed it was a cost-effective solution using long-life and easily maintained materials, based on the “proven science,” that covers reduce evaporation, that could be a “lifesaver” for the town. “We’re looking at doing some innovative things to reduce the loss of water and this is an exciting project which could provide enormous benefits in these trying times,” Mr Miller said. While the trial will be starting small, Mr Hall believed the concept could make a huge difference on farms and in rural communities across the country and hoped the results would encourage more Shires to give it a go. “We have no doubt whatsoever it will work,” he said.