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**Mark TONKIN**
**Salt Water Irrigation**
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[**http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-05/01/irrigation-system-can-grow-crops-with-salt-water.aspx**](http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-05/01/irrigation-system-can-grow-crops-with-salt-water.aspx)
**Irrigation system can
grow crops with salt water
By Katie Scott**
A British company has created an irrigation system that can grow
crops using salt water.
The dRHS
irrigation system consists of a network of sub-surface pipes,
which can be filled with almost any water, whether pure, brackish,
salted or polluted. The system can even take most industrial
waste-water and use it without the need for a purification
process.
The pipes are made from a plastic that retains
virtually all contaminants while letting clean water through to
the plants' roots.
It was designed by Mark Tonkin of
http://www.dti-r.co.uk Dsign Technology and Irrigation, which is
based in Brighton. He says that once the pipes have been laid,
the system will require little maintenance and therefore no
significant costs. This is partly because it's fed by gravity
from an elevated supply tank, and partly because water diffuses
through the porous pipe walls, so there are no holes to get
blocked up.
The farmer will occasionally have to lush the
pipes to clean out salt crystals and dirt, but Tonkin says this
is a simple process.
Since the water is delivered directly to the plant
roots, there is much less wastage through evaporation and
run-off than with traditional irrigation systems. According to
the inventor, it is also impossible to over-water plants, as the
system will only release more water as plants draw up clean
water from the soil.
The dRHS system, which has been in development for
ten years, was initially trialled in the UK using tomato plants,
and has since been tried out in the US. The next trials will
take place in Chile, Libya, Tanzania, Mauritius and Spain.
Tonkin says 20,000 metres of pipe are on their way to the Middle
East, where it will be tested with water that's more saline than
sea water. The system has so far supported the growth of
tomatoes, radishes, courgettes, peppers, lettuce, strawberries
and beans as well as three different types of tree - cherry,
olive and prosopis. The company is now trying to grow acacias,
oaks and banana trees among others.
It has also won international recognition for its
work, most recently at the international Water Technology Idol
event in Switzerland, organised by [
http://www.globalwaterintel.com ] Global Water Intelligence
magazine and the [ http://www.idadesal.org ] International
Desalination Association.
Christopher Gasson from Global Water Intelligence
magazine says that the competition was a three-way tie last year
but this year, the winner stood out. "The dRHS irrigation system
addressed a bigger problem than the other technology that it was
competing against," he said. "Agriculture water is where 70 per
cent of water goes. By 2025 two thirds of the world's population
will experience water shortages and so farming will be badly
hit. "Salination is a huge problem. Already 97.5 per cent of the
water in the world is salty, and this is becoming more of a
problem as people in poor countries recycle water, sometimes
leaving the soil with a salty crust. This system will help a
lot."
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[**http://www.dti-r.co.uk**](http://www.dti-r.co.uk)
[**http://web.mac.com/marktonkin/Site/dRHS.html**](http://web.mac.com/marktonkin/Site/dRHS.html)
**The dRHS Technology**
The dRHS Irrigation technology works by a network of sub
surface pipes being filled with water, almost any water.
The water can be pure, brackish, salted or polluted. The
system can even take most waste industrial water and use it
directly without purification.
Water diffuses through the pipe walls, there are no holes or
emitters to become clogged or blocked, virtually all
contaminants are retained within the pipes.
There is no requirement for pressure, the system is gravity fed
from a supply tank.
Plants take water on demand but cannot become over watered.
Plants take more water from the dRHS pipes as the soil dries
out, less if the surrounding soil becomes wetter.
The system is extremely water efficient, there is virtually no
loss of water to evaporation or run-off.
There is no limit to the extent of the system -- it can
irrigate vast areas of land.
There is no requirement for monitoring or planned irrigation
events -- the plants take what water they want when they want it
-- each plant in a row may require a different amount of water
at a different time, the dRHS technology delivers this
individuality.
The dRHS technology is new and different, it requires a new
approach and new techniques.
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**Patents**
**IRRIGATION DEVICE
GB2436222**
2009-01-30
Inventor(s): TONKIN MARK
Also published as: // WO2007105007 // EP2003951 //
CN101404872 // CA2647053 // KR20090010959 (A)
Abstract -- An irrigation system for irrigating a growing
medium. The irrigation system comprises a corrugated tubular
hydrophilic membrane or a helical tubular hydrophilic membrane
which can be buried in a growing medium. The invention also
relates to methods of irrigating said growing medium. The
hydrophilic membrane can be a hydrophilic polymer based on a
polyether.
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**Excerpts:**
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**AU2009201496**
**Water purification apparatus**
Inventor: YOUNG MARK ANDREW ; TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER
2009-05-14
**PT1400166
METHOD OF COLLECTING MATERIALS EXUDED FROM PLANT ROOTS**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2007-04-30
**WO2009044157
WATER PURIFICATION**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER
2009-04-09
**KR20090010959**
**IRRIGATION DEVICE**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK
2009-01-30
**CL11192008
CONNECTOR**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER WATSON
2008-08-29
**GB2450029**
**Irrigation system**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK
2008-12-10
**AU2003204117
Water purification apparatus**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2006-01-12
**DE60032368
WATER STILL AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2008-04-10
**DE60025730
IRRIGATION DEVICE**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2006-09-14
**AU2005247024**
**Water purification apparatus**Inventor: YOUNG MARK ANDREW ; KIRCHNER OLAF
NORBERT
2006-01-19
**AU2005201909
Water still and method of operation thereof**Inventor: ECKERT NEIL DAVID ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2005-06-02
**US2004099601
Water purification apparatus**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2004-05-27
**US2002130078
Water purification apparatus**Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [US] ; YOUNG
MARK ANDREW
2002-09-19
**EP1588986
Water still with prevaporation membrane and method of
operation thereof**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2005-10-26
**EP1530896
Rooting container and use thereof**Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG
MARK ANDREW
2005-05-18
**EP1400166
Method of collecting materials exuded from plant roots**
Inventor: TONKIN MARK CHRISTOPHER [GB] ; YOUNG MARK ANDREW
2004-03-24
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