Solar Drip Irrigation & Reservoir System Bulawayo

Queens Park Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation Project

Queens Park

Project Specifications

Location

Queens Park, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Water Use

3 hectares of drip irrigation

Completion Date

6 January – 16 January 2026

Scope

Scope of Work

To maximise crop yield and energy efficiency for a 3-hectare commercial plot, Forster Irrigation deployed an integrated solar-to-field hydraulic system:

Solar Power Generation: Design and mounting of an 18-panel solar PV power system.
Primary Groundwater Extraction: Installation of a 3 kW Aqua Strong submersible pump to lift water directly from the borehole.
Bulk Potable Storage: Construction and integration of a 45 m³ (45,000-Liter) potable water storage reservoir.
Pressure Boosting & Field Delivery: Installation of a 0.75 kW DAB booster pump to drive pressurized water from the reservoir into the drip network.
Drip Reticulation Network: Full lay, connection, and balancing of a 3-hectare precision drip irrigation system.

Project Challenges

Executing precision earthworks and piping during peak summer rainfall in Matabeleland presents extreme physical hurdles:

Persistent Summer Rain Delays: Heavy seasonal rainfall frequently interrupted field operations, threatening installation schedules.
Sticky Red Clay Soil (Vertisols): The local soil structure transformed into heavy, sticky red clay when wet, making manual and mechanical trench excavation exceptionally difficult and slowing down pipe-laying.

The Forster Irrigation Solution

Forster Irrigation utilised flexible project management to maintain velocity and deliver the system in just 10 days:

Weather-Adaptive Work Windows: Technical crews maximised production during dry spells, accelerating structural and electrical tasks whenever rainfall paused.
Dynamic Task Prioritisation: When wet red clay halted trenching, workers temporarily shifted focus to above-ground tasks – such as solar panel frame assembly, electrical wiring, and pump/reservoir fittings – ensuring zero downtime.

Despite heavy rains and sticky red clay soils, Forster Irrigation completed the entire 3-hectare solar drip scheme within 10 days. The system provides zero-running-cost solar pumping from groundwater to reservoir, backed by boosted pressure delivery straight to the crop roots.