WO2004107850A1

WO2004107850A1 - Tree watering

Info

Publication number: WO2004107850A1
Application number: PCT/AU2003/000723
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Ensbey
Original assignee: Brisbane City Council
Priority date: 2003-06-11
Filing date: 2003-06-11
Publication date: 2004-12-16
Also published as: AU2003233247A1

Abstract

A device for the care and watering of a tree (21) having a root ball (22), said device comprising a perforated distributor (7) to be disposed in the soil and to surround the root ball (22) wherein said distributor (7) is in fluid connection with a sump (3), said sump (3) having an open top for engagement with a kerbstone (25) has whereby water flowing over said kerbstone (25) is collected in said sump (3) for distribution to said tree (21).

Description

TREE WATERING

The present invention relates to a device for the care and watering of trees. In particular, the present invention relates to the watering of trees by diverting and storing stormwater. In urban environments trees are often planted in paved areas adjacent a kerb. The pavement often extends over the soil surrounding the base of the tree and often only a small area of soil is exposed. Rainwater that may fall onto the paved area will quickly run-off to a drain so that the pavement does not collect water. As such only limited amounts of rainwater enter the soil to feed the tree. It is often necessary to provide supplementary watering to trees in this environment, particularly soon after planting and whilst becoming established itself.

Various means have been employed to provide supplementary watering. For example, water tankers may be deployed to provide additional water to the small exposed area of soil. This is a costly, labour intensive exercise that may suffer from high rates of evaporation before the water has a chance to penetrate deeply in the soil. Various systems have been employed for directing supplementary water into the soil, including providing a tube through which supplementary water may be provided where one end of the tube is accessible for filling and the other end is located in the soil adjacent the tree. Such tubes provide increased efficiency by improving the penetration of the water into the soil. However it is still necessary for supplementary water to be fed into the accessible end of the tube.

Various drainage configurations have also been provided whereby water run-off is diverted to the exposed area of soil adjacent the tree. Whilst drainage systems of this type have proved useful, they continue to suffer from a high degree of water loss as a result of evaporation.

We have now found a device for the care and watering of a tree that overcomes or ameliorates one or more of the disadvantages described above, or at least provides the consumer with a useful choice.

In one broad form, the present invention provides a device for the care and watering of a tree having a root ball, said device comprising a perforated distributor to be disposed in the soil and surround the root ball of the tree wherein said distributor is in fluid connection with a sump, said sump having an open top for engagement with a kerbstone base whereby water flowing over said kerbstone is collected in said sump for distribution to said tree. The perforated distributor is preferably in the form of a pipe or tube. Conveniently, the distributor may be formed from a flexible pipe that may be bent into the desired shape. The distributor is disposed around the root ball of the tree. Preferably the distributor is generally circular (or annular) in shape although the distributor may be configured into any desired configuration depending upon the shape of the root ball of the tree to be watered.

The distributor is perforated to allow water disposed within the distributor to egress to the soil adjacent the root ball of the tree. The distributor may be perforated in a uniform array and be in the form of an agricultural pipe or the like. Alternatively, the distributor may be perforated on the inner surface thereof to increase the amount of water provided closer to the root ball.

The distributor is disposed in the soil and surrounds or encircles the root ball of the tree. Preferably the distributor is buried to a depth at which the root ball commences. Thus as the water seeps or egresses from the distributor it seeps down to the remainder of the root ball. Alternatively, the distributor may be positioned so as to encourage the root bail to develop in the area adjacent to the distributor.

The distributor is in fluid communication with a sump. Conveniently the distributor may be connected to the sump by a pipe such as a plastic pipe. PVC drainage pipes are particularly convenient for use to connect the sump to the distributor.

The sump forms a reservoir in which rainwater run-off may be stored. Water stored in the sump is then fed to the soil adjacent the root ball at a rate determined by the size and spacing of the perforations in the distributor. The amount of water present in the soil will also effect the rate at which the water is distributed from the sump.

The sump may be formed integrally with the kerbstone or may be in the form of a plastic insert around which the kerbstone is formed.

The sump has an open top through which rainwater run-off may enter the sump. The top of the sump may include a grille or grate so that the sump does not constitute a hazard to pedestrians, bicycles, cars, and the like. Further, the top of the sump may include a filter to exclude rubbish from the kerb entering the sump.

Advantageously there may be provided a seal to be removably placed over the sump to prevent run-off entering the sump and consequently the soil adjacent the root ball of the tree. The use of such a seal would allow a road or pavement to be chemically treated without risk of substantial amounts of the cleaning chemicals to enter the soil adjacent the root ball of the tree.

In another embodiment, the top of the sump includes a grate having a plurality of apertures of a size selected to exclude debris from the sump. The apertures are preferably disposed on the upstream end of the grate. At the downstream end of the grate larger apertures are located so as to allow any debris collected in the sump to be readily flushed therefrom. A mesh may be located at the base of the sump through which water is passed to the distributor. Advantageously, the present invention would allow a multiplicity of trees having devices of the present invention installed to be watered simply by flushing water down the kerb where a multiplicity of kerbstones having sumps disposed therein are located. In this way many trees may be watered by simply turning on a hydrant or the like without the need to cart water to each individual tree.

The present invention may also advantageously assist in localised flood mitigation by accommodating a volume of water within many watering devices installed throughout a region.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are provided for illustration only and not to limit the scope of the invention described herein.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a grate for the collection of water.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the grate of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a perspective underside view of the grate of Figure 2.

The watering device 10 shown in Figure 1 includes a distributor 7 formed in an annular shape around the root ball 22 of a tree 21. The distributor 7 is a perforated agricultural pipe wrapped in a filter sock. A connecting pipe 4 connects the distributor 7 to a sump 3. The connecting pipe 4 is fixed to the distributor 7 by a T-piece 5. The T-piece 5 has a rubber socket. The T-piece 5 is connected to the distributor 7 by a joining sleeve 6.

The sump 3 includes a filter 2 and a grate cover 1. The sump 3 is embedded in a kerbstone 25 that is disposed to the side of a road 26.

The soil 20 adjacent the root ball 22 of the tree 21 is fed water from the sump 3 via the distributor 7. The distributor 7 is positioned adjacent the root ball 22 to enable efficient watering of the tree 21.

The volume of water typically required to fill the watering device 10 is about 75 litres. Of course any capacity may be designed into the watering device 10. After the sump 3 and the remainder of the watering device have been filled, such as after rain, the distributor 7 allows the stored water to be released to the soil 20 adjacent the root ball 22 over an extended period.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 show a sump 30 for use in one embodiment of the present invention. The sump 30 is designed for use in a street watering system. The sump includes a receptacle 31 for receiving water. At the base of the receptacle 31 is an outlet 32 having a filter 33 preventing debris passing through the outlet 32. The top of the sump 30 is covered with a grate 34. The grate 34 includes a series of elongate apertures 35 that allow water to pass into the sump 30 but preclude entry of large debris. At the downstream end of the sump is an aperture 36 that allows any debris collected in the receptacle 31 to be readily flushed from the receptacle 31. The positioning of the opening 36 minimises the amount of debris that is inadvertently allowed to enter the receptacle 31 therethrough. The base of the receptacle 31 includes perforated flanges 37 that allow the sump to be fixed into a concrete guttering adjacent a street.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described above may be subject to improvements and modifications that will be apparent without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described herein.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. In one broad form, the present invention provides a device for the care and watering of a tree having a root bail, said device comprising a perforated distributor to be disposed in the soil and surround the root ball of the tree wherein said distributor is in fluid connection with a sump, said sump having an open top for engagement with a kerbstone base whereby water flowing over said kerbstone is collected in said sump for distribution to said tree.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the distributor is in the form of a flexible pipe.

3. A device according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the distributor forms an annular ring around the root ball of the tree.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the distributor is perforated on the inner surface thereof to increase the amount of water provided closer to the root ball.

5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the distributor is connected to the sump by a PVC pipe.

6. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the sump includes a receptacle embedded in the kerbstone.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein the receptacle includes an outlet and a filter wherein the filter is positioned in or on the outlet.

8. A device according to either claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the sump further includes a grate wherein the grate is positioned on the receptacles.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the grate includes apertures of a selected size on an upstream side of the grate and at least one opening on the downstream side of the grate wherein the opening is substantially larger than the apertures.

10. A device for the care and watering of a tree substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.