Use of software to model the water and energy use of an irrigation pipe network on a golf course

Generally, most pressure irrigation systems require efficient management of water and energy, particularly in systems installed on golf courses. Golf courses have high water requirements throughout the year because the grass has to be maintained in optimum conditions for adequate play development and for aesthetic reasons. Thus, the duration and frequency of irrigation varies to obtain the optimum water supply. The primary objective of this paper is to study the improvement of irrigation management on a golf course by modelling the irrigation network and pumping station. The simulation results are related to the individual and simultaneous opening of sectors, the water and energy consumption, and the efficiency of the pumping station. Several water and energy consumption patterns have been obtained and quantified. These patterns are related to the opening of individual and simultaneous sectors in the golf course pipeline network. The results indicate that the water and energy consumption are increased with the simultaneous opening of sectors, but the efficiency and the irrigation time are decreased.