Irrigation pilot project could yield fountain of water, energy savings
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Duaine Doddsworth, an engineering technician for Y-W Well Testing Association, uses a collinsmeter to measure the water flow through an irrigation pipe. The association offers technical assistance to help farmers save money, cut energy and water consumption and improve crops.
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An alliance of growers, government agencies and energy suppliers planted an experimental crop in eastern Colorado this spring that could result in a big harvest for the region's agriculture, conservation and electricity industries over the next three years.
The seeds in this case are not some miracle grain but high-efficiency irrigation equipment and the latest water conservation strategies. The anticipated bounty is information on water and energy use that could make farms more efficient while helping to preserve the Ogallala Aquifer.
Grant gives program chance to evaluate total system approach
The Ogallala is the water source for approximately 2,400 irrigation wells in Yuma and Washington counties. Since 1986, the Colorado Department of Agriculture Conservation Board has worked with the soil conservation districts in the two counties, Western, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other partners to protect this valuable resource.
Now, a joint project partially funded by the Colorado Office of Energy Management and Conservation is giving the conservation board the opportunity to evaluate its irrigation water management program "from planting to harvest," as board Irrigation Specialist Dave Keeler put it.
The demonstration updated 10 irrigation systems that draw on the Ogallala Aquifer with the latest in efficient watering technology. Y-W Well Testing Association will collect the resulting water management data for the next three years and measure it against baseline data it has on file.
Formed in 1986 by the conservation board and local soil conservation districts, the association tests area producers' irrigation systems and recommends improvements. "We've done parts of so many systems over the years, we can show the benefits of replacing an old nozzle or scheduling irrigation," explained Keeler. "What's been missing is information on the efficiency of the total system."
Demonstration promises useful findings for many partners
There was no lack of partners interested in getting that information, the conservation board learned. After receiving the $40,000 OEMC grant in April 2003, the board quickly found three growers who were willing and able to match the funding to upgrade their irrigation systems. Other criteria included a record of conservation efforts and a current system evaluation on file with the well-testing association. The irrigation systems had to have identifiable inefficiencies.
Participants agreed to allow researchers access to their production and expense records, before the upgrades for baseline information and after the improvements, for the duration of the study. The Colorado Corn Growers Association provided the demonstration farms with computer hardware and software to track the data.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association paid participants an $18-per-horsepower incentive for replacing old electric pump motors with efficient new ones. The producers' electrical co-ops, Y-W Electric Association, Inc. of Akron, Colo., and Highline Electric Association of Holyoke, offered another $2-per-horsepower rebate to their customers. Y-W Electric contributed additional funding to the project.
"Irrigators are some of our customers' biggest end users," noted Energy Services Manager Peggy Plate of Western's Loveland, Colo., office. "New irrigation technology has the potential to help co-ops with load management while making their customers' operations more cost-efficient."
Western has supported the well testing association since its inception and provides education and technical assistance to the program. "If the project can demonstrate the benefits of the system approach, it may bring bankers to the table to fund improvements," she added. "Information lessens the risk for everyone in the farming industry."
Conservation Director Bob Zebroski of the state agriculture department echoes Plate's hopes for the project with a specific goal in mind. "If we can show that the improvements return the investment in water and electricity savings over the three-year period, we can attract more funding partners," said Zebroski. "Ideally, we would like to see 50 to 75 outdated systems replaced in the next year."
Big picture combines latest technology with good management practices
For now, eyes are on 10 state-of-the-art irrigation systems watering seven cornfields and four mixed grass and alfalfa fields. The well motor and pump on each system were replaced with a new, 100-horsepower model, and the center pivot units were fitted with extended drop nozzles that apply water close to the ground. Those changes alone have been known to boost a system's efficiency by as much as 30 percent.
Participants received help with management strategies, such as irrigation scheduling and using the appropriate amount of water for the type of crop. The test also monitored soil moisture retention with gypsum blocks buried at intervals in a single hole, 54 inches deep in cornfields and 5 feet deep in alfalfa. Association irrigation technicians Keeler, Devin Ridenour and Duaine Doddsworth check the blocks weekly to see if the crops are getting the optimum amount of water. "It's like a gas gauge that lets you know how much is in the tank," said Keeler.
Researchers recorded water and electricity use throughout the 2003 growing season and will compare that data with the well testing association's baseline figures and with data collected from the next two seasons. Western hopes to present workshops on the initial findings as early as spring 2004.
Whatever the final results of the demonstration project, the Colorado Department of Agriculture Conservation Board and its partners can be assured that their experimental crop will be a success. Valuable information that benefits the environment and the economy is never out of season.
