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The website resulted from a research project funded from 2007 to 2012 by the Water Research Commission of South Africa (WRC) entitled "Awareness creation, implementation plans and guidelines for management of sustainable on-farm and on-scheme water measurement" (WRC Project nr K5/1778//4). This project followed the publication of the "Guidelines for Irrigation Water Measurement in Practice" published in 2005 by the WRC, and was aimed at facilitating a process towards effective implementation of water measurement at river, irrigation scheme and farm level in South Africa.
The National Water Resource Strategy suggests that more than half the catchments in South Africa are currently in an over-allocated position. All viable options to address the over-allocation are being considered. One of these options is direct measurement of water use. Water meters on their own will not solve the water scarcity challenges in South Africa. Water meters are however an essential component in a set of related water management tools and methods, which include amongst other things; water apportionment rules (institutions) and computerized systems to solve the rules over time and to continually communicate the outcomes to stakeholders, information management systems to store water meter data, billing systems as well as real-time operational systems and auditing systems.
The WRC project activities consisted of data collection on the current status and available knowledge on water measurement in practice at irrigation scheme level on a national basis, the development of implementation plans for selected regions, and implementation of the plans at selected pilot study sites. This website has been developed specifically for the purpose of collecting and sharing information about irrigation water measurement from the WRC project.
Why should irrigation water use be measured?
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