My name is Barry Salmon and I have been employed as grounds manager at the Mercure Inn Continental Broome for the past eight years. The hotel is on a 2 hectare site, consisting of extensive lawn areas, many varieties of palms, flowering shrubs and plants. The site is less than a kilometre from the ocean ( Roebuck Bay ).
In June 2002 I noticed formations of dried salt on bare patches of lawn once dry. There were signs of stressed palms ( fronds drooping ) and flowering plants ( ixoras ) appearing iron deficient ( yellowing of new leaves ). I maintain a regular fertilising and pest control program, so the problem had to be with the water supply.
Water samples were taken from our bore and tested by a local irrigation company. The test came back with a salt reading of 2100 ppm. I was advised that other bore water uses near our property were also having problems with the high salt content ( Broome Hospital, Broome Primary School ).
At this stage we had converted to mains town supply at an additional cost of $4000 per month.
In consultation with the company engineer we were introduced to the Hydrosmart unit. Once the unit was installed, ( quite an easy task ), we tested part of the property, a large lawn area, for six weeks. The water supply to this area through the Hydrosmart unit kept lawn in good condition.
After the six-week trial we converted the water supply to the whole property. I have not had any problems with any plant, lawn, palm, etc since.
This unit does work. It's as simple as that ! The bore water supply is regularly tested and a salt content has reached as high as 3200 ppm.
I can recommend this unit to anybody with a high salt water content problem and would be happy to chat with you about this product.
