Industrial property giant Goodman plans to deploy a “smart irrigation” system at 41 of its Australian sites by June 2020 and at additional sites in 2021, following a successful technology pilot.

That pilot achieved a 160,000 litre or 35 percent reduction in water usage over three months at a Goodman site in Sydney’s outer west, according to a recent Goodman investor newsletter.

Since then, Goodman has installed the irrigation system at an additional 11 properties in NSW. It is using the system to water lawns and gardens.

The system uses wireless connectivity and smart devices to provide real-time fault detection and usage data, and to enable remote control of irrigation systems.

Users can remotely adjust irrigation at groups of properties or at an individual property. A pulse water metre and flow sensing alerts are designed to alert the company about leaks and damaged equipment. Dashboards show real-time water usage and the system also produces reports.

The irrigation system also uses data about local weather and soil moisture to make “predictive watering adjustments”.

Goodman estimates the system could reduce operating expenses by potentially saving 1,900 hours of work. It also estimates the system could remove about $100,000 in capital costs each year associated with plant replacement.

It worked with Israel-headquartered smart irrigation solution provider Galcon and Reece Irrigation to design the system.

Goodman has 159 properties in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and manages more than $48 billion in property assets globally.