Engineering Commons^™

Irrigation Engineering In Seismic Zones - Mexicali Valley, Mexico, Alan Dennis Gracia, Charles M. Burt, Mario Paredes Vallejo

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

On April 4, 2010 an earthquake of Richter magnitude 7.2 occurred with an epicenter south of Mexicali within the irrigated zone of Mexicali Valley. Extensive damage occurred to main and lateral canal structures, plus to field irrigation systems and the main drainage network. This paper describes the engineering for a new major irrigation water conveyance system to service the most heavily impacted zone of 80,000 acres. Considerations included identification of the causes of the damage, selection of canal versus pipeline, relocation costs of people along new routes, and improved flexibility of water delivery. Major investigations regarding soils, topography, etc. were …

Agricultural Irrigation Using Municipal Effluent, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The paper describes the development of a design and management plan for disposing of secondary effluent originating in the urban communities. It highlights the differences in approach that a public utility must take, versus a typical agricultural irrigation application. Costs and requirements for municipal effluent irrigation are many times greater. The complexity of regulations and agency procurement procedures relegates the actual irrigation system design to a relatively small role in the total project.

The Irrigation Sector Shift From Construction To Modernization: What Is Required For Success?, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

External pressures related to environmental protection, commodity prices, energy availability, larger populations, and climate change have combined to require an immediate and substantial improvement in agricultural irrigation performance. Worldwide progression towards modernized irrigation projects has been uneven and slower than desired, but decades of irrigation modernization development have clarified certain requirements for success, as well as illuminated indicators of project failure. Of particular importance are required shifts within the state and national irrigation bureaucracies, as well as universities.

Effects Of Sprinkler, Partial Sprinkler/Drip, And Drip Only Irrigation On Strawberry Transplants 2010-2011, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The purpose of the project is to develop an analysis of the current irrigation practices of the strawberry growers on the Central Coast of California. The primary research evaluation is during the establishment of transplants where sprinklers are typically used even though drip irrigation is available. Growers have been selected from Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Watsonville to provide a good cross section of the different strawberry growing areas.

The specific objectives of the project are to: (1) set up a research areas and control plots on a demonstration scale, (2) determine the key factors that affect the problems in early …

Design Of A Micro Irrigation System For An Almond Orchard, Adam Scheuber

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The owners of Scheuber Farms, a 1,000 acre row crop farming operation located in Patterson, California, wish to convert a 15-acre field into an almond orchard. For irrigating the trees, they would like to use a microsprayer irrigation system. The design I recommend and describe in this paper utilizes proper hydraulic analysis, and is based on the ability to supply enough water to match the amount of water required by the orchard during the peak month of an average year.

All of the major components and parameters of the microsprayer irrigation system were designed at minimal cost while ensuring that …

Strawberries: Effects Of Modifying Irrigation Methods For Transplant Establishment, Stuart Styles, Lynn Groundwater, Curtis Lutje

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 2009, the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Center began a multi-year analysis of the current irrigation practices of strawberry growers on the Central Coast of California. Specifically, the project examines the impacts of salinity on young strawberry transplants and the current practice of sprinkler use during the establishment of transplants for salinity control in areas where drip irrigation is available. The overall goal of the project is to study current practices and determine any conditions where growers can minimize or eliminate sprinkler use on strawberries, thereby conserving water, saving pumping costs, and reducing runoff. Results from the first …

Implementation And Field Calibration Pipeline Doppler Meters In Northern California, Stuart Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA) has been using SonTek Doppler flow meters at approximately 30 installations for about 3 years. TCCA is located in northern California with its headquarters in Willows. The Cal Poly ITRC compared the accuracy of the flow measurement readings from the new Doppler flow meters to the venturi meters that were installed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The venturis were used as the historical standard for flow measurement for TCCA. TCCA has opted to move away from the existing technology for a variety of reasons, especially due to the issue concerning access requirements for …

Characteristics Of Irrigation Pump Performance In Major Irrigated Areas Of California, Charles Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Pumping data was collected from over 15,000 well and non-well pumps throughout the Sacramento, Salinas, and San Joaquin Valley groundwater basins of California. Each of these basins is divided into a number of subbasins. A map of the general layout is shown below (gray lines outside of basins represent county lines; gray lines inside basins represent subbasins).

Data was analyzed by basin and subbasin for well pumps and non-well pumps. For each pump type, averages were calculated based on:

• The whole basin
• Overall pumping plant efficiency (OPPE)
• kWh/AF
• Subbasins

General conclusions were drawn for each set of averages, and a …

Irrigation System Components And Potentials For Energy Conservation, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

On-site electricity conservation in irrigation can be accomplished through a series of general steps. The primary focus of the agricultural energy conservation programs of the utilities has been to improve the efficiency of the pumping plant. In general, the electric utilities have provided or subsidized pump testing, along with some form of rebate for replacement or repair of pumps. There are, of course, other irrigation-related aspects of energy conservation. However, this report focuses on on-site electricity conservation in the field.

Agricultural Water Energy Efficiency: Final Report, Charles M. Burt, Dan J. Howes, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Beginning in 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, contracted with the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program to undertake a large, multi-tiered study on agricultural water energy efficiency in California. The study was broken into the following research tasks: Task 1: Administrative; Task 2.1: Irrigation district energy survey; Task 2.2: Conversion to groundwater pumping with drip/ micro irrigation systems; Task 2.3: GIS-based water scheduling and software system; Task 3: Irrigation component energy analysis; Task 4: RD&D competitive solicitation; Task 5; Technology transfer. The resulting survey, research, …

Economic Analysis Of Reverse Osmosis Desalination Of Water For Agricultural Irrigation Applications, Ashley Hemping

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The combination of an ever-increasing population and a diminishing usable water supply threatens the sustainability of humanity’s existence on a global scale, especially in California, where agriculture is so integral to the state’s economy. Due to widespread recognition of this problem, there has been a growing trend in the development of alternative water resources, one of which involves the desalination of salt or brackish waters. Several different desalination technologies exist, including microfiltration, multi-stage flash, and multi-effect distillation.

This senior project investigates the economic viability of implementing reverse osmosis desalination for treatment of agricultural wastewater or other unusable water sources. These …

Pipeline Design For Reclaimed Spill Water For West Stanislaus Irrigation District, Daniel Bays

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The goal of this project was to design a pipeline that could be installed to replace an existing drain in West Stanislaus Irrigation District. The pipeline would give the district the ability to divert drain water back into their delivery system or send water down the existing drain.

The design attempted to use pipe and material the district already has and provided construction drawings and installation instructions for the construction of this design in the future.

Variable Frequency Drive (Vfd) Controlled Irrigation Pumps – Analysis Of Potential Rebate, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Well pumps, booster pumps, and a combination of the two are used throughout the agricultural sector to provide water for on-farm irrigation. However, the pump discharge pressures for the majority of irrigation systems are excessive, waiving considerable monetary and power consumption savings. This report analyzes the numerous potential benefits of integrating a variable frequency drive (VFD) to irrigation supply systems and modifying system design philosophies.

Low Pressure Drip/Micro System Design – Analysis Of Potential Rebate, Charles M. Burt, Daniel J. Howes

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Drip/micro irrigation systems are often referred to as “low pressure” systems because the required emitter pressures are relatively low (6-12 psi). However, the pump discharge pressures of systems on flat ground throughout California average 40 psi. This report examines readily attainable system losses by examining individual components of the drip/micro system.

Gis-Based Irrigation District Flow Routing/Scheduling, Charles M. Burt, Beau Freeman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

In 2007, the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo undertook to develop a prototype of an intelligent and scalable real-time GIS-based water scheduling and routing software system for irrigation districts, capable of integrating multiple data sources into an information access and management facility featuring collaborative tools with automatic reasoning and analytical capabilities. Improving the infrastructure and management capabilities of irrigation districts in order to provide flexible delivery schedules and increase participation in peak demand reduction programs has been identified as having a significant potential to achieve energy conservation and resource efficiencies.

The …

Canal Lining, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Larry and I thought that some musings about canal lining might be of some interest for some of you USCID newsletter readers. As you know, there are many canal lining techniques – especially if one considers the wide assortment of internationally used lining methods.

Irrigation District Flow Metering, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Most readers of this publication are probably somewhat familiar with USBR Reclamation Reform Act requirements for measurement of water deliveries to farm turnouts, in cases where the water is supplied by Reclamation facilities. Basically, volumes within the Mid-Pacific Region are supposed to be measured within ±6%. This sounds like a fairly straightforward requirement, but the reality is anything but simple.

Characteristics Of Pump Performance In Major Irrigated Areas Of California, Sierra A. Orivs, Charles M. Burt, Luis P. Urrestarazu

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Well pump tests (12,876) in three Central California groundwater basins were characterized and described according to their spatial distribution. The average overall pumping plant efficiency (wire-water, not including column losses and velocity head) was about 56%. Characteristics such as drawdown, total dynamic heads, kW, and flow rate vary greatly between pumps within and between sub-basins. This is the first well pump characterization of its type in California, although irrigation pump tests have been conducted for over 70 years in California. This paper provides a summary of the spatial variation of well pump performance and characteristics.

The Irrigation Sector Shift From Construction To Modernization: What Is Required For Success?, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

External pressures related to environmental protection, commodity prices, energy availability, larger populations, and climate change have combined to require an immediate and substantial improvement in agricultural irrigation performance. Worldwide progression towards modernized irrigation projects has been uneven and slower than desired, but decades of irrigation modernization development have clarified certain requirements for success, as well as illuminated indicators of project failure. Of particular importance are required shifts within the state and national irrigation bureaucracies, as well as universities.