Survey demonstrates
efficiency in farm water deliveries
December 5, 2008
Western Farm Press
Tuscola, Texas 79562-0459
630-690-5600 or 866-505-7173
A new survey of farm water
districts debunks criticism that water is
flowing unmeasured to California farms. Improved
measurement systems are used on more than 87
percent of the irrigated acreage from surveyed
districts, resulting in very efficient
management and delivery of farm water.
The survey was conducted by the
Agricultural Water Management Council, a
non-profit organization that works toward
increasing agricultural water management
efficiency in California. The survey results
represent more than 3 million irrigated acres,
or more than one-third of all irrigated acreage
in the state.
“These numbers prove that farm
water districts have embraced new technology in
order to best manage their water supplies and
deliveries,” said AWMC Executive Director Mike
Wade.
“Efficient Water Management:
Irrigation district achievements” is a 62-page
report available on the Council’s Web site at
http://www.agwatercouncil.org
“Before automation, many
districts were opening and closing delivery
gates by hand,” explained Wade. “As a result,
more water might have been delivered than
ordered by the farmer. It could also result in
operational spill or water that could be lost
from the system operated by the district.
“Automation has enabled district
personnel to remotely monitor and control the
settings of gates, valves or pumps from a
central location. Now, operational spills are
practically non-existent and farmers are getting
the amount of water ordered.”
The increase in delivery
efficiency is one of several efficiencies
documented by the report. Other achievements by
farm water districts include:
Almost 90 percent of irrigated
acreage represented in the survey utilizes
volumetric pricing as a component of the water
pricing structure. Volumetric pricing guarantees
that farmers are paying for every drop of water
delivered to their farms.
More than half of the
transportation systems that move farm water are
either pipelines or concrete-lined canals. Other
transportation systems utilize earthen canals to
deliver water and at the same time recharge the
groundwater supply.
Almost two-thirds of the
irrigated acreage in the responding water
districts has an active program to reuse
tailwater. Tailwater is water not used by the
crop, absorbed into the ground or evaporated and
runs off the field. Tailwater is either reused
by individual farmers or returned to the
district’s supply.
About 70 percent of irrigated
acreage serviced by water districts
conjunctively use both surface and groundwater
supplies. Conjunctive use provides a flexible
management tool for farmers to irrigate their
crops. Not all areas are able to utilize this
practice because of soil conditions.
Almost 90 percent of the acreage
in the survey receives water that is measured at
the point of delivery from the district’s canal
to a farmer’s field.
“The survey also points out that
the greatest obstacle to achieving greater
agricultural water efficiency is cost,” Wade
added. “Responding districts representing 69
percent of the irrigated acreage have developed
financial assistance programs for farmers. Many
of these programs are grants or low-interest
loans for farmers to upgrade irrigation systems,
install drainage-reducing tailwater return
systems or other infrastructure improvements
that reduce water demand or irrecoverable
losses.”
Copyright 2008, Penton Media,
Inc.
Related reading/information:
Efficient Water
Management: Irrigation district achievements
December 1, 2008
The Agricultural Water Management
Council (AWMC)
5999 Freeport Boulevard
Sacramento, California 95822
916-391-5035
Fax: 916-391-5037
The Council has released the
results of the recent Efficient Water
Management Practices (EWMPs) survey.
The survey, which sampled
more than 3.27 million irrigated acres in
California, provides an update on the many
achievements in farm water management that
irrigation districts have accomplished
implementing the Council's EWMPs.
The largest survey conducted
on EWMP implementation to date, "Efficient
Water Management: Irrigation district
achievements," shows how districts are
already investing in appropriate water
management activities, and in some of
the areas they will continue to develop.
The survey, which sought to
develop fact-based information on a topic which
has proved increasingly contentious in recent
months, provides data based in real world
experience and on-the-ground analyses of
agricultural water management.
To download a digital copy of
this report:
http://www.agwatercouncil.org/images/stories/pdfs/AWMC_final.pdf
(64 pages; 5.21 MB)
Copyright 2008, Agricultural
Water Management Council.
AWMC: About Us
"The Agricultural Water
Management Council is a non-profit organization
established in 1996 dedicated to bringing
together all interested parties in agricultural
water management with the expressed goal to
achieve greater water management efficiency. All
those interested in the management of
agricultural water are invited to join the
Council and participate in its program.
The Council works in a
voluntary and cooperative manner to establish a
consistent, unified, and credible process that
will advance agricultural water management in
California and assist agricultural water
suppliers demonstrate that they are using water
efficiently. It is the Council's responsibility
to aid the signatory water suppliers through
development and implementation of Water
Management Plans to increase efficiency.
The Council has formed
partnerships with the California Department of
Water Resources, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
CALFED Bay-Delta Authority, California
Department of Food and Agriculture, California
Irrigation Institute. All are signatories of the
Memorandum of Understanding. Partnerships
strengthen the consensus-based actions of the
Council and insure various points of view are
represented in Council actions. The Council
continues to seek partnerships with those
interested in efficient water management."
http://www.agwatercouncil.org/General/About/menu-id-26.html
