A dry autumn for large parts of southern Australia has led many farmers to consider sustainable water solutions and sparked new interest in the no-maintenance water conditioning technology offered by Hydrosmart.
The South Australia-based manufacturer has been barely keeping pace with increased demand for its innovative electronic systems that soften hard water and highly mineralised water sources such as bores, rivers and saline water, making it suitable for irrigation, livestock watering and domestic consumption.
The Bureau of Meteorology's autumn 2024 update shows rainfall was below average for Victoria, Tasmania, south-western Western Australia and parts of southern and inland South Australia.
The impact on water demand has been clear, with Hydrosmart chief executive Paul Pearce reporting Hydrosmart is currently expanding its Adelaide manufacturing hub into larger premises as new orders for stock and irrigation units flow in.
"We're currently telling customers we have a four- to five-week turnaround for delivery of new orders, something we haven't experienced before," Mr Pearce says.
"The attraction to Hydrosmart's water systems stems from our maintenance-free, electronically produced results and an ever-increasing number of referrals from happy users,” he says.
"I feel like we are hitting a tipping point in acceptance."
Hydrosmart is a family-owned and operated business run by Mr Pearce and his sons Zac and Jai.
The technology developed out of Mr Pearce forming partnerships with scientists and the current team includes a biologist and electrical engineer.
"We found we could add real value to water by using frequencies and a little bit of electricity, without any filters or consumables and no streams," Mr Pearce adds.
“Hydrosmart's technology is based on particle physics research establishing scale layers and corrosion problems are related to how well minerals in water are dissolved.
“It uses computer-generated resonance frequencies to neutralise mineral precipitation and scale deposits in water systems.
“Because our Hydrosmart system dissolves a broad range of minerals that build-up in water-carrying pipes, the water flows more easily.
"When dissolved, the minerals are kept longer in suspension without building-up to form new scale.”
He said the conditioning allows dissolved minerals to run out with water through the pipes, sprayer units or other equipment and become an asset to the land because they are better able to be metabolised by plants and animals.
Hydrosmart has found happy customers across a range of agricultural markets, including livestock, crops, pivots and flood irrigation.
Mr Pearce says one of those customers is Marcollat, SA, lucerne grower Dave Prosser, who was going to retire his pivot due to corrosion and poor lucerne growth.
Instead, he fitted a 225mm HydroMAX system and saw a rapid improvement in crop yield.
“The salts on soil inside the drop zone disappeared and he reported the same treated water used around his homestead on lawns and gardens had them all take off,” Mr Pearce says.
