Submitted
Suwannee Democrat
Live Oak —
The Governing Board of the Suwannee River Water Management District (District) at its January 8 meeting approved an agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to expand the partnership-based Mobile Irrigation Lab Services (MIL).
The MIL is part of the ongoing efforts between the Suwannee River Partnership and the agricultural community to assist farmers in irrigation efficiencies.
The MIL provides free water conservation evaluations to the farmer. The MIL in the District is being expanded to address the enhanced water conservation and water quality improvement efforts in the Suwannee River and Santa Fe River basins.
The MIL services provide site-specific expertise in analyzing irrigation systems and educating property owners on how to improve water conservation and are free-of-charge to the farmer. After the site-specific analysis is completed the farmer is provided with recommendations to improve existing irrigation system efficiencies. The MIL will also provide information on water conservation, irrigation planning, and irrigation management.
During 2012, the MIL conducted 171 site-specific evaluations covering more than 16,000 acres that identified a potential water savings of over 900 million gallons within the District.
The expanded partnership-based agreement will provide for about 20 additional pre-evaluations and post-evaluations at a funding level of $40,000. This increase effort will save an estimated 179 million gallons of water annually or just under 0.5 million gallons per day.
For more information about the District’s Mobile Irrigation Lab Services, please contact Kevin Wright of the District’s Ag Team at 386.362.1001 or KLW@srwmd.org.
