Finding and sustaining a water supply that is rich in nutrients can have benefits for nearly all Australian agriculture. However, a large scale solution which can achieve just that has so far proven to be elusive.

Research from the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination (NCED) has surmised that a lack of cost effectiveness is hindering some farmers in their pursuit for better water.

Looking for locations across Australia that could house a large scale desalination plant, the NCED found only 10 per cent of the possible sites to be viable. Furthermore, the supplied water from such a facility would cost farmers around $1 per kilolitre.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) scientist Dr Olga Barron explained why farmers would be reticent to pay more for their water.

“Desalinisation technology is considered to be an expensive option. Desalination is a technology-intensive enterprise, and the idea that a farmer will invest millions of dollars in a desalination program probably is unlikely,” explained Dr Barron.

The average farmer will currently pay around 20 cents per kilolitre of water, a figure which could only be matched by desalinated water if the costs of the infrastructure were massively reduced.

However, the study did find that groundwater – such as that accumulated in bores – can be an incredibly viable source for agriculture. While a country-wide, affordable water conditioning solution may never come to fruition, Hydrosmart can offer the answer for individual farmers today.

Reducing salinity through the use of resonant frequencies and not chemicals, a Hydrosmart water conditioner can unlock the bio-available nutrients within any water, which can subsequently boost the growth and sustainability of crops.

A Hydrosmart solution can also prove to be incredibly cost effective. Unlike the alternative – a reverse osmosis system – there is absolutely no waste, ensuring all of that precious water can be distributed in its entirety across the applicable land and crops.