Keeping Fields Open, Cutting Water Use: ACT Sport & Rec’s Data Upgrade
ACT Sport & Recreation manages over 300 hectares of sports fields across the Canberra region. To reduce water use, maximise field availability and make faster, evidence-based closure decisions, we partnered with Groundworx to deliver a uniform, data-driven monitoring solution.
Impact snapshot
Significant reduction in irrigation water use (early-season).
Fewer manual inspections, faster closure decisions
Aligned with territory & federal water-saving initiatives
From Sensors to Decisions
To enable the ACT Sports & Rec team to monitor their water use more efficiently, we installed 144 Groundworx wireless soil moisture sensors across 97 sites (with a further 30 to be installed).
Each sensor records moisture, ground temperature and salinity every 10 minutes. Standardised metrics and automated collection have removed the need for routine “in-person” inspections and has given the operations teams a real-time, region-wide view and a consistent framework for decision-making.
Impact & Early Wins
Early-season results show a significant reduction in irrigation water use across all sites, alongside more consistent playing surfaces for end users. With clearer thresholds and live, high-frequency sensor data, ACT Sport & Recreation has been able to keep more fields open for longer and act quickly when conditions change.
The program aligns with territory and federal water-saving initiatives and has catalysed a wider irrigation auditing effort now underway across the region.
The GroundWorx autonomous soil monitoring system aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver smarter turf management solutions. This technology will helps our customers, such as the ACT Government, conserve water, reduce inputs, and maintain top-quality playing surfaces across a variety of conditions.
Living Turf’s adoption of GroundWorx wireless soil-sensor technology empowers turf managers with continuous, real-time insights into moisture, salinity, and temperature across every playing surface. By replacing manual inspections with automated, high-resolution monitoring, the partnership enables smarter irrigation, reduced water consumption, and more consistent turf performance. Together, GroundWorx and Living Turf are delivering a data-driven approach that elevates field quality while lowering operational costs.
About the sensors
GroundWorx sensors are advanced wireless soil monitoring devices designed for proactive turf management. They measure soil moisture, temperature, and salinity with high precision, enabling data-driven decisions for irrigation and agronomy.
GroundWorx sensors are completely wireless, eliminating the need for cables, repeaters, or routers. Each unit uses cellular LTE connectivity to transmit data directly to the GroundWorx cloud platform. From there, information is instantly accessible on your smartphone or desktop through the GroundWorx app. API integration into customers’ portals is also available.
The sensor collects up to 144 readings per day, including soil moisture, temperature, and salinity, and sends real-time alerts and trends straight to your device. This means you can monitor conditions anywhere without physically visiting the site, making irrigation and turf management decisions faster and more accurate. The system also supports GPS tracking, so you always know the exact location of each sensor.
Each sensor is compact—approximately 28 cm in height with a circumference of 12 cm—and built to IP67 waterproof standards for durability. Installation is quick and non-invasive, typically taking about 10 minutes: simply dig a small hole, position the sensor in undisturbed soil, and backfill. No trenching or wiring is required, making deployment easy across your sites.
