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Water use patterns were explored for three small communities that are located in proximity to agricultural fields and rely on their local wells for potable water supply. High-resolution water use data, collected over a four-year period, revealed significant temporal variability. Monthly, daily, and hourly water use patterns were well described by autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. Model development was supported by unsupervised clustering analysis via self-organizing maps (SOMs) that revealed similarities of water use patterns and confirmed the time-series water use model attributes. The inclusion of ambient temperature and rainfall as model attributes improved ARMA model performance for daily and hourly water use from R2 ~0.86–0.87 to 0.94–0.97 and from R2 ~0.85–0.89 to 0.92–0.98, respectively. Water use predictions for an entire year forward in time was feasible demonstrating ARMA models’ performance of (i) R2 ~0.90–0.94 and average absolute relative error (AARE) of ~2.9–4.9% for daily water use, and (ii) R2 ~0.81–0.95 and AARE ~1.9–3.8% for hourly water use. The study suggests that ARMA modeling should be useful for analysis of temporally variable water use in support of water source management, as well as assessing capacity building for small water systems including water treatment needs and wastewater handling.

Canola has a high nitrogen requirement and optimal nitrogen (N) management in environments with variable rainfall is a challenge. This study investigated the impact of timing of N as a single or split application at different growth stages on seed yield, N uptake and water-use efficiency in canola. Nitrogen rates of 100 and 200 kg ha−1 were applied after sowing when two leaves were unfolded or equally split between the rosette, green bud and first flower stages. The experiments were conducted at two sites with contrasting rainfall and a supplementary irrigation treatment at the low rainfall site, generating a third environment. Nitrogen application increased seed yield by up to 20% at a high rainfall site and by up to 77% at a medium rainfall site, but the timing of N did not significantly affect the yield response to N. Seed yield was closely associated with total dry matter production and seed m−2. N-use efficiency was influenced more by N recovery and uptake efficiency, rather than physiological efficiency, which highlights the importance of soil moisture availability and the ability of the crop to exploit soil water and N reserves. The results suggest that better use of subsoil moisture by overcoming some of the subsoil constraints may be an avenue for further improvements in yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of canola in this environment.