Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 16, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People -
High-tech irrigation control study funded: Avocado growers leery of satellite linked irrigation system
The Business Press – 5/15/08
Engineers OK Riverside County-O.C. tunnel: Recent findings show tunnel could be built under mountains in Cleveland National Forest
The Orange
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
High-tech irrigation control study funded: Avocado growers leery of satellite linked irrigation system
The Business Press – 5/15/08
By Jamal Peters
The Rancho California Water District was awarded a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's water conservation field services program for a demonstration study using a weather-based irrigation controller to improve irrigation efficiency at avocado groves, but local growers are skeptical.
The district partnered with the California Avocado Commission and Petaluma-based HydroPoint Data Systems Inc.
HydroPoint invented the WeatherTRAK irrigation controller.
Growers are leery of the technology.
"One of the biggest problems we're going to have is putting all the hardware into the valves," said Ben Drake, a local avocado grower. "It's not like a small landscape; it's a nightmare."
The WeatherTRAK system has yet to be installed in an avocado grove. The grant was based on data provided by the water district and HydroPoint.
The WeatherTRAK system allows for real-time, online irrigation control by way of a secure Web site.
With smart controllers, irrigation needs - frequency of irrigation, start time and duration of water --are precisely scheduled, thus promoting irrigation efficiency.
Drake has experience with controllers but has not used the WeatherTRAK system on any of his crops.
But if properly implemented, the system could yield water savings, he said.
"I see a saving, probably not during the middle of the summer because we're trying to put as much water on as we can in the hot months," he said. "But in the early spring and in the fall when we start getting cooler temperatures."
Smart controllers, like WeatherTRAK, are capable of matching water application with changing crop water needs.
"The specific sites have not been chosen yet, we're going to choose specific avocado sites to use them on," said Meggan Reed, a spokeswoman for Rancho California Water District. "The money will be spent on controllers themselves and also on the installation."
The WeatherTRAK controller will be installed by a yet-to-be selected third party contractor.
Forty-eight percent of Rancho
The goal of the study is to demonstrate to avocado growers that smart controllers will provide water savings while maintaining crop health fruit production.
The study will compare water use and fruit yield from five treatments: four with smart controllers set at varying crop water demands and one treatment with no smart controllers serving as a control.
The control treatment will provide baseline data to calculate water savings information.
The project will include workshops to teach farmers about water conservation, irrigation efficiency and to present the study results.
Rancho California Water District is one of 26 member agencies that receive surplus water from Metropolitan Water District as part of its interim agriculture water program.
The Rancho district obtains more than 50% of its water from both the Eastern and Western municipal water districts, both participate in the water program.
Water obtained through the program is used for landscape; the water used through the WeatherTRAK program is strictly for avocados, Reed said.
The program is designed to communicate with satellites to monitor weather changes in the area, another aspect some growers oppose.
"We're going to need some local weather stations and soil devices to figure out how much moisture is left in the ground," Drake said. "If I underwater avocados, I don't have any income." #
http://www.thebizpress.com/news/stories/BP_News_Local_D_bp0519_weather.12f1902.html
Engineers OK Riverside County-O.C. tunnel: Recent findings show tunnel could be built under mountains in Cleveland National Forest
The Orange
By Ellyn Pak
Results from test drillings in the
Last year, the district drilled two 2,000-plus-feet-deep holes to study whether a 12-mile tunnel could be constructed underneath the mountains. The findings, which were presented to a district panel this week, stated that though construction is viable, it may take longer and cost twice as much as expected to build the tunnel.
A 10- to 12-foot-diameter tunnel by today's standards could run up to $680 million to $770 million. Construction could last between 80-90 months, or more than seven years.
Weak, squeezing ground at tunnel level, permitting requirements by the U.S. Forest Service and encroaching development could lead to longer mining time and increased construction costs, according to the report.
The district will now monitor the land and work to protect the right of way, according to district spokesman Bob Muir. The water line is not needed until after 2040. Currently, water travels through various conduits around the mountains.
Though the tunnel may not be built for years, the test results could prevent further development in the mountains. The findings could also be used to determine if constructing a tunnel for vehicles is feasible.
In addition, the Orange County Transportation Authority and Riverside County Transportation Commission are exploring the option of excavating a possible underground road that could link the counties and bring relief to 91 freeway commuters.
The agencies began drilling two holes in early April and started another this week in the national forest. Crews will start drilling two more in early June. Drilling is slated to be complete by this fall, and a report will be compiled for agency officials by the end of 2009, said Joel Zlotnik, OCTA's spokesman.
In addition to their own separate findings, the agencies could use the water district's results. #
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tunnel-district-water-2043427-report-mountains
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment