Bore water and salinity

7 posts
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 20:01 #1

Member for

12 years 6 months
melissaroth
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 06/11/2012 - 19:47

Bore water and salinity

We have just purchased our dream property. The water is supplied by a dam and a bore, which has a windmill. The property has previously run cattle, but I have plans of establishing a mixed fruit orchard, a large vegetable garden and a few grape vines. I've been told that the bore water is quite saline, and I've come across something in my research called a magnetic water conditioner (water magnets) which claim to alleviate or minimise this problem so that it is suitable for domestic and irrigation purposes. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this product? Are they expensive?
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Tue, 06/12/2012 - 17:54 #2
elf
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 09/22/2011 - 21:04

Hi Melissaroth,

I don't have any of these magnets myself but i have heard other farmers talk about and swear by them. I have a feeling that the ones used on farms get attached to the outside of the pipe and do something to the water as it passes through. I think they cost around $800-1000 each.

Sorry I'm not much help, I'm sure some others will have a better idea.

Jen 

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Wed, 06/20/2012 - 09:30 #3
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

Hi Melissaroth,

We use a lot of ground water for our livestock with the water pumped into tanks using solar. The water is very hard (contains lots of minerals) and is also saline, so saline in fact that it will kill chooks. We are forever having trouble with scale building up in the pipes, reducing water flow. In the past we have used dilluted down hydrochloric acid and pumped it through the pipes to clean out the scale.

A few years ago I Iooked into the water magnets you asked about, the ones that attach to the outside of the pipe. They will only stop the minerals from bonding together which helps stop calcification and scale build up but will not remve salt from the water.

My suggestion would be to firstly get a basic water test ($100) done to assess the water quality. The water may not be suitable for vegetables or fruit trees.

Also, it would be a good idea to check the flow rate of the bore/windmill to see how much water it pumps per hour. This will give you an idea of the water supply and the number of trees/vegetables and livestock that can be watered.

Has anyone else had any experience with these water magnets?

Charlie 

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Thu, 06/14/2012 - 15:46 #4
melissaroth
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 06/11/2012 - 19:47

Thanks Jen and Charlie for your responses. Charlie, where should I go to get my water tested? I've looked online but can't seem to find anyone reasonably close who can give me the information that I need. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

Melissa

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Fri, 06/15/2012 - 14:00 #5
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

Hi Melissaroth,

Apologies, I should have included those details in my last post.

For water and soil testing I use a company in Northern NSW, called East West Enviroag. Click here to view a copy of their water testing guidelines and collection information.

Give them a call and explain what you want to use the water for and they will advise wether you need a basic, full or salinity test and the cost.

Regards,

Charlie

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Wed, 06/20/2012 - 19:28 #6
rogermartyn
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 10/20/2011 - 16:16

Hi M

Interesting question.

Here's my 2 cents worth.

The jury is out as regarding  water magnets and their claimed benefits of controlling scale build up in water pipes due to 'hard' water. Hard water is the result of high levels of dissolved calcium in the water that precipitates out in the form of lime-stone like calcium carbonate complexes. Most mainstream water engineers would argue that water magnets have no beneficial effect in reducing this scale build up. Even so, there is a considerable body of peer researched scientific evidence that water magnets do in fact help prevent scale build up from hard water. Not a very satisfying answer I know but these sorts of anomalies of contradictory 'expert' opinion often occur in science, and quite possibly more so in agriculture, I suspect because we are so often dealing with the complexities of nature.

As regards controlling salinity, the research is much clearer, there is NO scientific evidence that water magnets can reduce or control the effects of water salinity. Water salinity is actually a rather broad term, since it refers to salts and salinity in the chemical sense. For example, salts such as potassium sulphate could be contributing to water salinity just as much as the more familiar salts of sodium chloride - as found in common table salt.

Removing salt from irrigation water is invariably very expensive and is likely to involve either resin based ion  exchange water filtration units or reverse osmosis desalination, both invariably far too expensive to consider for anything but water drinking applications. Alternative water sources such as rain filled water dams are probably more practical solutions to consider.

All the same, various plants can in fact tolerate quite high levels of salinity, so long as the 'salts' are leached beyond the root feeding zone at the completion of each irrigation events, as the Israelies have learnt. You can learn more about the tolerance of salinity and different crops from the following link http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8066.pdf This, in conjunction with a water analysis might provide some insight as to the suitability of your water supply.

At the end of the day, if you see convincing evidence that water magnets reduce scale problems in situations similar to your own, it is probably well worth a try to install a unit. But as for reducing water salinity, I would be very wary in paying good money in order to find out if it works.

Good luck and if possible, let us know what you discover.

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Mon, 06/20/2016 - 17:20 #7
jefft104
Last seen: 06/20/2016 - 17:18
Joined: 06/20/2016 - 17:12

I too have done extensive research on this subject.  My bore just went in and measures 3600 ppm.  My understanding is straight magnetics are used commercially to prevent scaling on the inside of pipes which saves a lot of money in maintenance.  For farm use the devices seem to work on turbulance to break up the particles in the water into smaller particles which will allow these particles to leach further into the soil when you water and therefore reduce salt build up at the root base and on top of the soil. 

 

I have been told by one person that his bore measures 4000 ppm and he has used this type of water conditioner effectively for years.  I have purchased one but don't have any personal experience with it as yet.  If it works it is a hell of a lot less expensive than reverse osmosis, hundreds of dollars not thousands.

 

These devices do have a power supply but it is very low current so they are not working on magnetism but it may confuse the perception of them.

 

Hope this helps and any feedback appreciated even if I have it wrong.  :)

 

I did read one scientific paper on this method and while it showed some benefits, they weren't nearly significant enough to explain the results I was told about.

 

cheers
J

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