Engineering Commons^™

Benchmarking Of Flexibility And Needs 2002: Survey Of Non-Federal Irrigation Districts (California Department Of Water Resources), Stuart W. Styles, Daniel Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

ITRC interviewed irrigation district personnel from 17 agricultural districts throughout California. Data were analyzed to determine the degree of water delivery flexibility provided to farmers and the extent of existing and planned district modernization. This report did not include irrigation districts with long-term federal contracts.

Water Delivery Service As A Determinant Of Irrigation Project Performance, Stuart W. Styles, M. A. Marino

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Performance of an irrigation system is represented by its measured levels of achievement in terms of one or several parameters that are chosen as indicators of the system’s goals. The purpose of this paper is to utilize and refine a set of evaluation indicators that can be used to describe the irrigation performance for sixteen international irrigation projects in less-developed countries. The irrigation performance of many international irrigation projects in less-developed countries has been reported as poor. The cause of the poor irrigation performance has been blamed on technical, financial, managerial, social, and/or institutional causes. This study is specifically designed …

Case Study: Installation Of Canal Control Structures On The Government Highline Canal, Ram Dhan Khalsa, Stuart W. Styles, Charles M. Burt, Bob Norman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Government Highline Canal Modernization Study was completed in April 2000 to evaluate options for reducing the flow rate requirement of the Government Highline Canal in order to increase the water supply in the “15-Mile Reach” of the Colorado River, thereby helping sustain habitat for fish species identified as endangered. The intent was to develop a design for which Colorado River diversions could be better matched to on-farm demands. It was determined that canal modernization, in the form of automated canal structures, in-system storage, and new operational procedures could significantly reduce operational spill. A systematic evaluation of the existing canal …

Modernizing Irrigational Facilities At Sutter Mutual Water Company: A Case Study, Frederick F. Schantz, Stuart W. Styles, Beau J. Freeman, Charles M. Burt, Doughlas Stevens

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 1999 Sutter Mutual Water Company (SMWC) began an effort to modernize its water-distribution system in an attempt to reduce operation and maintenance costs and conserve water and power resources. The primary technical support was provided by professionals from the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC), California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo. Additional technical expertise was provided by Concepts in Controls of Visalia, California and Wilson Pumps of Woodland, California. This modernization project was partially funded by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Mid-Pacific Region, Northern Area Office, though a Field Services Program Grant and technical …

Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District Flow Monitoring Program, Dennis Perkins, Stuart W. Styles, Marcus Y. Yasutake

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 1996, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Mid-Pacific Region, Northern California Area Office began the Willows Flow Monitoring Program. The program objective was to monitor, in near real-time, 85% of the Sacramento River Diversions from Shasta Dam to Sacramento. Several site visits were conducted to the District and their diversion points along the Sacramento River by USBR and Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) staff from California Polytechnic state University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo. One of the sites identified for flow monitoring was the Glen-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) canal at the Stoney Creek Siphon. At question was …

Electric Load Shifting In Irrigation Districts - California's Program, Charles M. Burt, Ricardo Amón, Darren Cordova

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

During the 2000-2001 winter, California experienced a severe imbalance in electricity supply and demand that resulted in blackouts and brownouts. The state legislature initiated a number of emergency programs, one of which (Senate Bill 5x) was targeted for irrigation districts. The primary goal of SB 5x is to reduce peak period electricity demand. The California Energy Commission (CEC), acting under authority of Section 5(b) of the legislation, developed the "Agricultural Peak Load Reduction Program". The program was announced on June 1, 2001, and Cal Poly ITRC administers the irrigation district portion of the program for CEC. During the first 9 …

Advances In Plc-Based Canal Automation, Charles M. Burt, Xianshu Piao

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

A short history of canal automation is given. PLC-based canal automation is relatively new. Advances in PLC-based canal automation are listed. Also listed are some of the remaining challenges. Recent advances have been made in understanding unsteady flow simulation procedures, the form of the control algorithms used, the tuning procedures for these control algorithms, and the field programming of the algorithms into PLCs. The experiences of the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) in automating a variety of canals with upstream and downstream control are given.

Breaking The Technology Barriers Imposed By Cast-In Place Concrete Pipe In Irrigation Districts: Case Study Of South San Joaquin Irrigation District, Charles M. Burt, Michael B. Gilton, Kevin Johnson, Keith Crowe

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) in Manteca, California, is beginning an ambitious modernization program to increase its water delivery flexibility. The district has over 200 miles of 30-60 inch cast-in-place (CIP) concrete pipeline that currently allow for little flexibility. SSJID will install four reinforced concrete interceptor pipelines and regulating reservoirs to redistribute water among the CIP pipelines and provide improved flexibility. The district's goal is to improve efficiency and encourage farmers with pressurized irrigation systems to shift from well water to surface water.

Closure To "Flap Gate Design For Automatic Upstream Canal Water Level Control", Charles M. Burt, Russdon Angold, Mike Lehmkuhl, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Side Mounted Doppler Flow Meter For Canals, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Irrigation Training and Research Center has undertaken a performance review of advanced electronic flow measurement technologies in irrigation applications. An example is the SonTek Argonaut Side-Looking (SL) Doppler Flow Meter.

Doppler Flow Meters For Turnouts, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Irrigation districts, farmers and other agricultural and environmental water users need reliable and low-cost flow meters with integrated dataloggers to measure water velocity and depth with a high level of precision. The Irrigation Training and Research Center has undertaken a performance review of advanced electronic flow measurement technologies in irrigation applications. Examples are the Unidata STARFLOW and the MACE AgriFlo Ultrasonic Doppler Meters.

Basic Design Of Replogle Flumes, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

To facilitate accurate flow measurement, this paper describes specific design and construction considerations applicable to Replogle flumes in irrigation applications. A design example is provided to illustrate these concepts.

Evaporation From Irrigated Agricultural Land In California, Charles M. Burt, Andrew Mutziger, Daniel Howes, Kenneth H. Solomon

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Variable Frequency Drives - Planning Your System, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Many irrigation districts are installing Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to increase their level of service to their customers and/or to reduce their energy consumption. This brochure is intended to help irrigation districts properly evaluate what type of VFD they need and how to install it.

However, not all VFDs are the same. The performance quality of a VFD will depend on the characteristics of the particular VFD, as well as how the VFD system is set up. Many times it is the seemingly small details that will have a large impact on performance in the long run. This brochure is …

Variable Frequency Drives And Scada — Are They Worthwhile Investments?, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Managers and personnel from five California irrigation districs were interviewed to determine if installing variable frequency drives (VFDs) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems were worthwhile investments.

Infrared Inspection, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Infrared thermography is the use of infrared radiation to qualitatively and quantitatively express heat signatures and heat differences. Infrared inspection can help identify weak connections in an electrical box, uneven heating of pump windings, overheating of bearings, and many other possibly devastating problems well before any failure occurs. The use of thermography as a preventative tool can increase system reliability and efficiency.