Water storage
Survey your irrigation lake once, then see how much water you can actually pump, roughly how many nights it will last, and when to check the level again
On this page
Water Storage turns a handful of depth measurements from your irrigation lake into a daily estimate of how much water is left, how much of it your pump can actually reach, and how many nights of watering that is.
Premium
The Lake page is part of Premium. On Core the page shows a Premium panel. See Core and Premium plans.
Where do I find it?
Click Irrigation in the top bar, then Water, then Lake.
The first time you visit, you'll see "Turn a few field measurements into a daily water estimate" with the three stages: Draw the shorelines, Measure depths across the lake, and Model — review before publishing. A status pill at the top tells you where you are, from Setup required through to Operational.
Take a laptop or tablet to the lake
The survey is done on a map, and you can tap to add depths as you go. If you lose signal, depth readings are kept on your device and sent when you're back online — you'll see Saved on this device.
How do I set up my lake?
Set up the water source
Click Set up water source. On the map, use Draw full shoreline to trace the edge of the lake when it's full, then Place inlet for the pump intake and Place gauge for your level post. You can also Enter coordinates manually.
Describe the lake
Give it a Water source name (for example "North irrigation lake") and, if you can, link it to an Irrigation system. Choose your Full-level reference — Spillway, Fixed marker, Staff gauge or Visual estimate.
Under Pump inlet, enter the Water that must stay over it (m) — below this the pump draws air. Under Level gauge, note its Fixed reference. Click Save water source.
Mark today's waterline
Trace the current water's edge on the map (at least three points). Then answer How far below full is the water today? in metres — enter 0 if the lake is full. Click Save and start dipping depths.
Take depth soundings
Tap the map wherever you measure the depth, enter the Water depth at this point (metres) and click Save depth. Tap an existing dot to edit or delete it.
You need at least six readings. The sidebar shows how well you've covered the lake lengthways and widthways, flags any gaps — including around the pump inlet — and suggests where to measure next.
Generate and review the model
Click Generate model preview. TurfWise shows Usable water — what you can actually pump and Total in the lake, each as at least, most likely and at most. Check it looks sensible, then click Publish measured model.
Spread your readings out
Readings bunched in one corner give a rough answer. The more evenly you cover the lake, the more confident TurfWise can be — a model with more than 20 well-spread readings scores far higher than one with six.
If something's not right before you publish, use Redraw the water's edge, Back to the readings or Discard this survey.
What does the storage overview show?
Once the model is published, the page becomes your storage dashboard.
Nights left
The big figure reads About N nights left, with a range underneath ("Could be as few as… or as many as…"). It's worked out by dividing the water you can pump by your recent average daily use.
If TurfWise can't work that out yet, you'll see how much you can pump and "log some watering and this becomes a countdown".
Link the lake to your irrigation system
Water use is only counted when the lake is linked to an irrigation system. TurfWise takes it from your water meter readings first, then logged irrigation volumes, then pump run times. An unlinked lake never gets a nights-left figure.
How sure is it?
Next to the figure you'll see Measured, Worked out or Rough estimate, and How sure: N out of 100. If it's rough, a line explains why. The date line tells you when the figures are from and when to check the lake again.
The three cards
- Water above the pump inlet — how far the water level is above the point where your pump stops.
- How wrong this could be — the range of uncertainty in m³.
- Level post last read — how long ago someone read the gauge.
The cross-section
The A–A′ cross-section draws a slice through the lake showing the full bank, the current water, the pump stop level and the dead storage below it. Click Slice a different way to cut it at another angle. Each depth reading is marked, and the bed is shaded to show where it was measured and where it's been filled in between readings.
A planning tool
This is an operational planning estimate. It isn't a survey or a dam-safety assessment.
Make this number tighter
This list tells you what's holding the confidence score down — for example readings bunched together, an estimated full-level mark, or water use worked out from run time — and how many points fixing each would add.
How do I record the lake level?
Click Record measured level on the dashboard. Choose the Gauge, type What the post reads — the number on the post at the waterline — and pick the Units (metres, cm, feet or inches). Click Save measured level.
TurfWise tells you what the survey expected the post to read. If yours is different, your reading wins and the storage estimate is recalibrated.
If the lake has no gauge yet, you'll see No level gauge is set up yet with an Add a gauge button.
Level readings are desktop-only
Level readings are recorded on this page. The TurfWise mobile app doesn't record lake levels.
Can I change things after publishing?
- Intakes and level posts — edit an intake's position and the water that must stay over it, or a post's position and what its readings are measured from.
- Network link — enter the Lake bed elevation (m) and choose the Hydraulic water source, so pressure checks can use the lake's measured level. The lake must be linked to an irrigation system first.
- Re-survey — lakes silt up. Use Fix a depth reading to correct the published survey, or Start new survey to measure again.
Changed an intake or post?
Positions and cover depths are fixed into the model when you publish it. After moving an intake or post, run a new survey or fix a reading so the figures pick up the change.
If your club has more than one lake, a Water source picker appears at the top of the page.