Digital Commons Network^™

Modernization Of The Walker River Irrigation District Water Gauges, Stuart Styles, Robert C. Bryan, Kenneth C. Spooner

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) and Walker River Irrigation District (WRID) collaborated on WRID’s Water Gauge Improvement Project with support from the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Interior in Carson City, Nevada. This paper presents a summary of the proposed plan and implementation for improving water gauges in WRID with strategic engineering recommendations for new hardware and control equipment; water management strategies; flow measurement devices; and integration of a new district-wide SCADA system. Field investigations and engineering analyses were carried out by the ITRC in 2009 to inspect existing WRID infrastructure, to review current operational procedures, and …

Developing And Testing A Greenness-Duration Method For Mapping Irrigated Areas: A Case Study In The Snake River Plain, Blaine C. Dawson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has raised concerns about the interplay between agricultural productivity, water demand, and water availability in semi-arid to arid regions of the world. As these regions cover nearly 41% of the Earth’s surface and are home to more than 38% of the total global population of 6.5 billion, it is important to understand the implications of changes to water use and water availability on the civilizations and industries that rely upon already scarce water resources. Currently, irrigated agriculture is the dominant water user in these regions and is estimated to consume approximately 80% of the world’s diverted freshwater resources. …

Assessing Irrigation Water Quality For Ph, Salts, & Alkalinity, Dara M. Park, Sarah A. White, Nick Menchyk

The Journal of Extension

Proper irrigation management is increasingly critical as demand and competition for high quality, potable water grows. Coupled with identifying all potential stressors, accurate interpretation of water quality reports is essential to irrigation managers because management practices affect both soil and plant health. The complex nature of information given in water quality reports makes interpretation and selection and implementation of appropriate management options difficult for many stakeholders. Therefore, an easy-to-follow flow chart was developed for use by Extension agents to aid in consultations with stakeholders' about their water quality reports.

Integrating Remote Sensing Of Evapotranspiration With Applied Water To Target Potential Water Conservation Projects In Watersheds, Daniel J. Howes, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The overall purpose of the project is to develop a methodology for watershed managers to successfully target and release recommendations to growers that could benefit from improved on-farm irrigation management. Initially it was thought that the methodology could rely on remote sensing of actual crop evapotranspiration, effective rainfall estimates, and water application information (pumped volumes and surface water deliveries) to simply evaluate if fields and farms that applied significantly more water than plants needed could be identified. However, it became clear that, in this region specifically, additional information on water quality, crop sensitivity to salinity, and an assumed good irrigation …

Winegrape Vineyards And Winery Operations: Energy Efficiency/ Sustainability And Expansion, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Sarah Crable

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Southern California Edison (SCE) provides utility services to the greater southern California area. Vineyards and wineries exist throughout the region, and historical data suggests that that they largely do not utilize incentive programs offered by the utility.

As the first phase in a larger study, the Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC), located at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, completed a characterization of the vineyard and winery sector as it pertains to energy and water usage in SCE’s service area, including the following major tasks:

1. Identification of vineyard and winery demographics in SCE’s service area.
2. Identification of …

Citrus Talks-Soils And Subsoils, Charles C. Chapman

Charles C. Chapman Citrus Speeches

Mr. Chapman discusses the cultivation and maintenence of healthy, productive soils for citrus fruit farming. Topics he touches on include soil testing, soil composition, cover crops, fertilizers, drainage, irrigation, aeration and mulching. He emphasizes that neglect of any of these aspects of a growers' soil will lead to unhealthy, diseased trees.

Cawat – A Catchment Water Allocation Tool For Integrated Irrigation And Aquaculture Development In Small Watersheds, Xueliang Cai, Suan Pheng Kam, Bui Tan Yen, Aditya Sood, Hoanh Chu Thai

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Water resources development has seen little development in the vast rural areas of Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) due to lack of investment, means of access and poor policy environment. In search of sustainable and efficient water resources development, participatory approach is widely accepted as a key strategy for water resources development and conservations in many SSA countries. To encourage bottom-up solutions for local water resources development, a Catchment Water Allocation Tool (CaWAT) was developed to aid rural water resources planning for agriculture in small watersheds. The tool is based on water balance accounting to examine water allocations among different users. It …

Transfer And Survival Of Microorganisms To Produce From Surface Irrigation Water, Stuart Jamison Gorman

Masters Theses

Surface water irrigation sources are widely used for fruit and vegetable crop production in the United States. Surface water is inherently prone to direct and indirect contamination with animal fecal material. Hence, the microbial quality of surface water sources can be highly variable. Water used for irrigation is considered a common source for produce contamination. In addition to this, fruits and vegetables are commonly consumed fresh or minimally processed, thus emphasizing the need for preventative measures in production of fresh produce. This study will examine transfer from naturally contaminated irrigation water to cantaloupes using drip and overhead spray irrigation methods. …

Mitigation Site Soil Characteristics And The Effects Of Inoculation, Nursery Fertilizer Practices And Irrigation On Survival And Growth Of Mesquite (Prosopis Glandulosa) In The Coachella Valley, California, David A. Bainbridge, Marcelle M. Darby

David A Bainbridge

Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana (mesquite, honey mesquite) is a small to medium sized leguminous tree that was once common in the low desert of California. Widespread destruction of mesquite woodlands in the Coachella Valley of southern California for fuel wood, agricultural and urban development, and urbanization has reduced once vast stands to isolated remnants. The rerouting and widening of Highway 86 in the Coachella Valley was a typical example of ongoing mesquite woodland removal. Despite the recognized need for mitigation, relatively little information on mesquite establishment in California is available. This research explored mesquite establishment by replanting on an abandoned …

Envisioning The Farms Of The Future: In Pursuit Of Sustainable Agriculture In The Rio Grande Valley, Matthew Draper

Latin American Studies ETDs

This thesis attempts to define the parameters that characterize sustainable agriculture on the level of an individual farm in the context of the central Rio Grande valley. Using historical sources about New Mexican agriculture, contemporary scientific literature and interviews with practicing farmers in the region, it develops a vision for the shape that farms must take in order to sustain agriculture in the region indefinitely. In doing so, particular attention is paid to how farms can be successful in the present moment and prepare for a future defined by resource scarcity and climate change. It begins with a brief history …

The Applicability Of Vri For Managing Variability In Infiltration Capacity And Plant-Available Water: A Preliminary Discussion And Gis Study, Tsz Him Lo, Luciano Mateos, Derek M. Heeren, Joe D. Luck

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Although variable rate irrigation (VRI) has been researched and marketed for a number of years, research that quantifies the magnitude of VRI’s potential benefits and that are translatable to unmonitored fields is lacking. The potential reduction in seasonal irrigation is proposed as the criterion for beginning to evaluate the use of VRI to improve agricultural water management when infiltration capacity and plant-available water are spatially variable inside a field. An initial geographic information system study using publicly available geospatial data was conducted to examine soil and topographic properties associated with such variability within 1100 center pivots across 11 counties. The …

Micro-Irrigation Design For Avocado Orchard In California, Michael C. Meyer

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design and recommendations for a micro-irrigation system on an avocado orchard owned by Underwood Family Farms in Somis, California. The main objective of this report is to improve the existing irrigation system’s efficiency and uniformity with the new design and recommendations. The analysis includes information about good irrigation practices, irrigation system design and all the processes herein. Although there are many opinions on growing, irrigating and maintaining an avocado orchard, all of the methods, procedures and suggestions must be based on accurate data to provide reliable information to the grower. Evaluating the irrigation system and suggesting …

Cc184 More Corn Profits Through Timely Use Of Nitrogen And Efficient Irrigation, Clinton A. Hoover, Paul E. Fischbach, Paul E. Schleusener

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Campaign circular 184 is about more corn profit through timely use of nitrogen, and efficient irrigation.

Cc190 Applying Nitrogen Fertilizer In Irrigation Water, Clinton A. Hoover, Paul Fischbach

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Campaign circular 190 is about applying nitrogen fertilizer in irrigation water.

Diversity And Ecology Of Host-Seeking Mosquitoes In Irrigated Agro-Ecosystems Of Clay County, Nebraska, Alister K. Bryson

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the United States, Nebraska has the third highest incidence of human West Nile virus (WNV). Since WNV was first detected in the state in 2002, 3,422 confirmed cases and 57 deaths have been reported. Irrigated agro-ecosystems, which have been associated with elevated WNV incidences in other states, are prevalent in Nebraska. The objectives of this investigation were to 1) characterize mosquito abundance and diversity in irrigated agro-ecosystems, and 2) evaluate associations of two primary vectors of WNV, Culex tarsalis and Culex pipiens, with irrigation methods (sprinkler vs. surface) and crop type (corn vs. soybean). Investigations were conducted …

Implementation Of New Irrigation Protocols On Strawberry Transplants On The California Central Coast, Stuart Styles, Kerilyn Ambrosini

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

For the past five growing seasons, the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) has conducted research on water use, salinity levels and various other factors related to strawberry transplant establishment. This report summarizes research that can be found online: www.itrc.org/projects.htm.

The project’s goal was to develop an analysis of irrigation practices of the strawberry growers on the central coast of California, primarily during the establishment of transplants. From the analysis, sprinkler use reduction methods were developed. These methods conserve water, save pumping costs, and reduce the runoff that can potentially contaminate local waterways. California growers contributed control and …

Pressure Recorders: Low-Cost, Robust, Low-Battery-Use Field Measurement Techniques For Trending Water Pressure, Stuart Styles, Kerilyn Ambrosini

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Water users across California need robust, low-cost water level/pressure sensors with integrated data loggers for a high level of precision and accuracy. The Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) has installed Telog Instruments devices in California and Nevada over the last 12 years to provide a performance review of the devices. The two devices focused on were the Telog Instruments WLS-31 Level Tracker and LPR-31i Line Pressure Recorder. Over the study period, ITRC has collected several sets of data in varying situations. After 11 years of use on a reservoir, the two Telog WLS-31 units had a 1% …

Drivers Of Spatial And Temporal Variation In Soybean Yield And Irrigation Requirements In The Western Us Corn Belt, Patricio Grassini, Jessica A. Torrion, Kenneth Cassman, Haishun Yang, James Specht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Both rainfed and irrigated soybean production are important in Nebraska (western US Corn Belt), accounting for a respective 48 and 52% of the state’s soybean production of 7 Mt on a respective 55 and 45% share of the state soybean area of 1.9 Mha. To date, no assessment of factors that may account for regional and inter-annual variation in yield and irrigation amount has been performed. To accomplish that objective, we evaluated a database containing on-farm field yields and total irrigation amount used in those fields. These data have been collected annually from ca. 1000 soybean fields in six regions …

Synthetic Turf Surface Temperature Reduction And Performance Characteristics As Affected By Calcined Clay Modified Infill, Eric Hall Reasor

Masters Theses

Synthetic turf research plots containing crumb rubber (CR) infill were established in Knoxville, TN in 2012 and 2013. Calcined clay (CC) was amended to CR in several ratios: a 50:50 (vol vol-1) blend; a 50:50 blend with a polymer coating on CC (50 CR:50 CCC); a 15 mm layer of CC under 15 mm of CR (CR over CC); and a 15 mm layer of CC over 15 mm of CR (CC over CR). A 100% CR and a 70:30 blend of CR to sand (70 CR:30 S) were included for comparison. Surface temperature was measured in the summer of …

Rainwater Harvesting System, Diana Alderbashi, Joel Collins, Jack Wilkes

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

Water is a crucial resource for the survival of life on earth. Unfortunately, with the increasing threat of climate change fresh water is expected to become a pressing issue in the future for many countries, including the southeastern region of the United States (EPA 2013), refer to figure 1. According to the EPA, water management is likely to become a challenging issue, due to rising temperatures, and demand due to economic and population growth (EPA 2013). Increased temperatures are likely to lead to longer, more intense, and more frequent droughts in the Southeast, putting more stress on water resources (EPA …

Extending Sustainable Irrigation Opportunities To Socially And Historically Disadvantaged Farmers In The Alabama Black Belt To Support Commercial-Level Production, Raymon Shange, Richard Martin, Victor Khan, Kwesi Daniels, George X. Hunter, Gwendolyn J. Johnson, Steve Musser, William Puckett, Walter A. Hill

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This paper focuses on providing sustainable irrigation opportunities to socially and historically disadvantaged farmers (SHDFs). The ability to provide steady production capacity through the use of renewable energy sources and microirrigation is innovative, in that it demonstrated how to develop and utilize a sustainable irrigation system in both energy and water conservation. This venture is also innovative in that it sought to provide SHDFs with irrigation in a state in which irrigation in agriculture is minimal, while at the same time, offsetting the energy costs that normally accompany irrigation. Several farmers are profiled in their participation in the irrigation program. …

Rainwater Harvesting System: Proposal For A Pilot Rainwater Harvesting System Installment At Booker Hall, Diana Alderbashi, Joel Collins, Jack Wilkes

Geography and the Environment Capstone Projects

Fresh water is expected to become increasingly scarce as temperature and sea levels rise due to Global Climate Change. We believe now is the time to start rethinking our behaviors in terms of water use and start conserving water even if it is on a small scale. One of the best ways to conserve water at a university level is to install small scale rainwater harvesting system for irrigation. We propose for the University of Richmond to utilize Booker Hall to collect rainwater using ten 200 gallon rain barrels. The water will be used to irrigate flowerbeds around campus. The …

Borderline- Part 5, Francis Mckloskey

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Borderline- Part 2, Francis Mckloskey

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Borderline- Part 1, Francis Mckloskey

Architecture Senior Theses

A large transitional body of water shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland Sea on Earth, dried due to Soviet Irrigation practices.

Nine years ago, with the support of the World Bank, the Kazakh government finished the construction of a 14km dyke to raise the level of the sea in the North, restoring its ecology as a massive constructed landscape.

Since then, the water level, and therefore regional ecology, is regulated by a 50m concrete spillway.

As a currently inexistant interface between tourism and fishing industries on site, this project investigated the capacity …

Borderline- Part 4, Francis Mckloskey

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Under-Tree Sprinkler Design In A Walnut/Cherry Orchard, Edward Caminata

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project is to design a permanent under-tree sprinkler system for a 50 acre walnut and cherry orchard in Linden, CA. This will allow irrigation water to be delivered to the trees more uniformly and decrease the labor requirements needed to irrigate. This design will target a value of 0.92 for the Distribution Uniformity of each set throughout the system.

Evaluation And Modification Of Solid Set Sprinkler System For Hirashima Berry Farms, Jeffrey Hirashima

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompassed the evaluation and recommendations for a solid set sprinkler system. This project will determined the distribution uniformity for an existing solid set sprinkler system located on Hirashima Berry Farms. After the evaluation was complete modifications were suggested to the farmer in order to lower watering costs during pre-irrigation and provide salt leaching. The results from the system evaluation show that the current system distribution uniformity is 0.69. The following recommendations and conditions were assumed; normal pre-irrigation practices, an EC threshold of 2.0 dS/m for strawberries, a leaching requirements of 0.15, and an improved DU to 0.80. With …

Curtailment First: Why Climate Change And The Energy Industry Suggest A New Allocation Paradigm Is Needed For Water Utilized In Hydraulic Fracturing, Victor Flatt, Heather Payne

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Energy And Food Security Law, Rhett B. Larson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article argues that making "water security" a more predominant policy aim can help reconcile and integrate energy security and food security. Water security is the condition of a nation and its citizens having reasonable physical and economic access to sufficient and sustainable water, combined with acceptable levels of water-related risks (e.g., drought, flood, and water-related plagues).