If you’re a visitor to Florida and take a look around you then you could be mistaken for thinking that rainfall and irrigation really aren’t issues. After all, you’re surrounded by lush green vegetation where water features heavily, and well-tended, healthy lawns and manmade landscapes are everywhere. However, what has to be remembered is that at the time of writing – April 2020 – we’re approaching the end of the dry season across Florida. Furthermore, Florida had an exceptionally dry March 2020 and climatologists are predicting more drier-than-normal spells in future.
A Moderate Drought Classification isn't as Moderate as You'd Think
Notwithstanding the various micro-climates which make themselves felt throughout the state and contribute to the amazing array of habitats and wildlife (look at the difference between coastal and inland areas for example), a snapshot at this moment shows that the majority of the state, particularly South Florida, is in a condition characterized as ‘Moderate Drought’. This description comes from the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is the result of a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Although the word ‘moderate’ might seem reassuring, the description given on the site of the U.S Drought Monitor is less so. It talks about factors such as ‘trees and bushes begin browning’, ‘burn bans are possible’ and ‘water supply decreases’.
Given all of this, the vibrant greenery which plays such a part in creating the unique ambience can seem positively miraculous, but the truth of the matter is a lot of it is down to the impact of irrigation. Improving the manufacture and design of irrigation - the delivery of water to where it’s needed - is an area we understand very well here at Hoover. To put it simply, water is taken from where it can be found to where it’s needed, and delivered in exactly the right amount to keep plants of every type in optimum condition. Irrigation solutions range from our irrigation pump stations to Hoover Flowguard, our smart irrigation tool, what we do is the result of modern engineering and 21st-century computing power, but the reality is that irrigation of one kind or another has been practised across the face of the globe for literally thousands of years.
From Farming to Bathing!
Throughout much of this time, the irrigation in question was used to grow the crops on which people depended for food, although the ancient Romans did move water around for more prosaic tasks like filling baths! However, by mentioning the Romans, we’re getting ahead of ourselves, since the history of irrigation dates back much further, to the basin of the River Nile in Egypt up to 5000 years ago.
Working With The Pattern of Natural Forces
This earliest form of irrigation was one which, rather than utilizing the kind of mechanics and tool-based systems which came later, relied on taking advantage of natural forces and harnessing the annual flooding of the river. The excess water flowing along the Nile when it flooded filled basins which took the form of fields surrounded by low walls. These walls also included floodgates built to contain the floodwaters, so that the basin in question could then absorb the water into the soil, making it ideal for planting crops. Once enough water had been absorbed, the gates would be opened, and the excess water returned to the river. This proved to be a highly effective form of irrigation and the food production it powered helped to make the Egyptian civilization the force it was, but the downside was that, since it relied on annual flooding, it could only be used for one crop per year.
Control the Method, the Amount and Timing of Delivery
A similar approach to the harnessing of natural forces can be seen in the use of terrace irrigation, which dates back as far as 3000 years BC, and was widely used in the hilly regions of countries such as Peru, Syria and China. This method featured containment units at the top of hills and mountains which filled with rainwater. The water was then fed down to a system of terraces or steppes, which had been cut into the mountain and used to plant crops. These crops would therefore receive water which would otherwise not be available.
A more advanced system was that which was introduced in Mesopotamia, the historical region which includes most of modern Iraq and Kuwait, as well as parts of Syria and Turkey. This involved creating channels and waterways which ran from a source of water such as a river to the fields in question. This enabled far more control over the irrigation in question and enabled year round planting of crops. Thanks to this, it became an irrigation method that was popular in places like India and the Far East.
The most ‘advanced ‘ of the irrigation systems used in the ancient world involved the use of underground supplies of natural water such as springs and underground canals. As long ago as 300 BC the people in Sri Lanka were able to tap into these supplies and even went as far as creating the first genuine reservoirs to store the water they tapped from underground for later use.
Even before the development of techniques like this, however, human ingenuity meant that tools were being developed to facilitate shifting water from one place to another, rather than simply creating systems to guide naturally occurring water. The earliest of these, dating from around 1700 BC, was the shaduf (sometimes spelt ‘shadouf’ or ‘shadoof’), which consisted of a long pole balanced on a crossbeam. At one end of the pole would be a rope with a bucket attached, at the other end a counterweight. Firstly, the bucket would be lowered into the canal or river being used, then the operator would use the counterweight to raise the water up, the pole would be swung round and the water emptied either onto a field to be farmed, or into a canal to carry it to a field. A development of this kind meant that fields for crops could be irrigated even when a river was not in flood.
The next big leap forward, dating from approximately 77 BC, involves the Noria, also known as an Egyptian Water Wheel. This ingenious device utilized a wheel with buckets or clay pots attached to the outside edge. The flow of the river itself was enough to turn the wheel around, with the buckets filling as they immersed in the water and then emptying through gravity into an aqueduct. The empty bucket would then go round again to be refilled. The Noria was the first lifting device in history that didn’t have to be operated by a human and as such marks a major development in irrigation technology.
If you want an example of an ancient form of irrigation technology which is still in use today, then look no further than the Qanat. This is an engineered method which has been around since as long ago as 800 BC, and involves the digging of gently sloping tunnels down from sources of groundwater – water trapped in layers of rock deep underground – allowing the water to flow to fields at the bottom. The building of the tunnels was extremely difficult and strenuous and required wells to be drilled down to the tunnel at regular intervals to enable efficient ventilation. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated by the fact that there are still at least 20,000 Qanats in operation from Morocco to China.
Irrigation Systems Must Continue to Adapt to Conditions
The need to control the method, the amount and timing of water delivery is still paramount today and what this brief tour of the history of irrigation demonstrates is that human beings have always used their ingenuity and intelligence to access the water they need. Today, that ingenuity results in the highly complex installations developed for use all over the world in a multiplicity of climates and terrains.
At Hoover, we’ve made it our mission to find the irrigation systems and solutions of tomorrow that will continue this long and sustained march toward increasingly effective responses to ever-changing environments and needs. With climate conditions constantly shifting, there’s definitely zero room for complacency and our need for water must also take the needs of wildlife and the environment into account. Irrigation design and manufacture will continue to be of great concern in the world providing never-ending challenges for science and engineering. It will enable us to both sustain and control the environment which surrounds us above and beyond naturally occurring conditions.
How did you survive without it for so long?
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