Water Conservation Experiment
Broken Hill, NSW, Australia

View of the power unit, blocks, the tank used to' brew'
to powder blocks and the raw hexadecanol packet.

Rear view of the power unit and Villiers motor.

Close up view of the power unit.

Another rear view of the power unit.

The most famous and largest company operating there was 'the Big Australian' - BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary).

Located 1170km west of Sydney in a semi desert setting, supplying water was, and continues to be, a major challenge. With a permanent population of 21,000 )(2001) water conservation is a serious issue for a desert community.

Water supplies for the town were precarious in the early days of settlement, coming from Menindee Lakes and the Darling River.

It wasn't until the establishment of local dams at Umberumberka Reservoir (near Silverton) and Stephens Creek Reservoir that water supplies became more reliable. However, evaporation contributed to a major loss of water, up to as much as 1 centimetre (1 inch) per day over the surface of the reservoirs throughout the long, hot, dry and windy summer season.

A plan was developed in the late 1950s-1960s to coat the surface of the water with a blocking agent to reduce the evaporation rate. After trials it was determined that a film of processed  'Si-Ro-Seal' (hexadecanol) on the water surface would preserve the precious water and pose no health risks.

The hexadecanol had to be boiled and then cooled into billets which were then required to be powered and spread evenly over the surface of the dam. As can be seen from the pictures taken at the historical; display at the Umberumberka Reservoir above, the means to do this was to have a grinder attached to a Villiers 4 stroke engine mounted over the rear of a small row boat. Billets were fed into the apparatus while an assistant rowed around the dam distributing the flakes, which settled and remained on the surface of the water. Some job!

Initial results were highly encouraging. Evaporation rates dropped significantly. Another triumph of Australian ingenuity and resourcefulness!

However, there, as always, was just one catch. There entire area is also prone to high winds and it was soon discovered that the hexadecanol powder was quickly blown to shore and therefore became ineffective. Trials were disappointedly discontinued shortly afterwards.

Postscript - While major mining activity has since finished, Broken Hill is a fantastic tourist destination and offers a range of industrial, heritage and cultural attractions in a modern city set in a truly breath taking desert environment. It has a railway museum and a very welcoming local stationary engine club with permanent facilities for those so inclined...