7.5 Hectares vineyard redevelopment

Scope

An established New Zealand wine brand decided to replace old, underperforming vines. This was also the perfect moment to replace the old irrigation system. Think Water Marlborough was assigned as head contractor and partly removed the old pipework after the old vines were pulled out. A new system was installed that fitted the new zone sizes.

Also, the pump system had to be upgraded. The existing bore was too narrow to fit a bore pump into. The water level has dropped over the decades in the region, luckily it was still high enough to work with an end suction pump so that a new bore was not needed.

A relatively small but challenging project!

Project information

Head contractor: Think Water Marlborough

Location: New Zealand

System type: Drip irrigation

Area: 7.5 hectares

Crop: Grapes

My role: Irrigation system engineering, the making of installation drawings, partly project management, customer contact and financial project control.

Digital tools used: AutoCAD for installation drawings and IRRICAD for the hydraulic designs.

Photos

Outdoor steel headworks.

Zone valve.

Newly installed vineyard.