Upgrading existing databases: recommendations for irrigation districts

Presented during the Third international conference on irrigation and drainage held March 30 - April 2, 2005 in San Diego, California. The theme of the conference was "Water district management and governance."All of the district in the Lower Rio Grande Valley currently store all of their accounting and water delivery records in computer databases. It has been known for several years that these database systems in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are in need of replacement. The current database systems are not compatible with modern software, including GIS and management software. Due to this lack of software compatibility the districts are unable to directly access the historic watering records in their databases. Without access to these records the districts are losing out on a valuable management and decision making tool. To determine the best upgrade option available, we considered the current database requirements of the district, as well as any foreseeable future requirements. We compared the costs and benefits of several free and commercially available database systems, taking into consideration software compatibility, ease of management, operating system requirements, and future software support. Based on our findings we are recommending upgrading to a Windows server running a SQL Server database. This configuration will give the districts the ability to fully utilize there existing datasets, while giving them the ability to be compatible with GIS and other management software.Sponsored by USCID; co-sponsored by Association of California Water Agencies and International Network for Participatory Irrigation Management

Evaluation of the CRITERIA Irrigation Scheme Soil Water Balance Model in Texas – Initial Results

The CRITERIA model was created in the 1990s in Italy, and is based on the soil water balance computation procedures developed at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands in the 1980s. CRITERIA has been used as an analysis and regional water planning tool (e.g seasonal crop yield and water use predictions, impact of climate change scenarios), and is currently used in Northern Italy to update the regional water balance on a weekly base. The model can handle a multilayered soils and computes daily average values related to the soil water balance (actual evaporation and transpiration, water flow between layers, deep percolation, surface runoff, and subsurface runoff). Automatic algorithms allow for calculation and scaling of data which may not be available such as detailed meteorological data and soil-water properties. Outputs can be readily used in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The required inputs are precipitation, air temperature, soil texture, and crop management data (planting and harvesting dates, irrigation method and applied volumes). The model allows for input of additional data such as actual ET, soil conductivity, and soil-water characteristics. If this data is not available, the model can estimate them. The model requires calibration using a combination of measured soil moisture and actual ET. The purpose of the study was to: Evaluate the performances of CRITERIA in predicting soil water moisture; and, Evaluate its potential for predicting crop water requirement in real time within irrigation schemes using minimal input data We calibrated the model for two (2) sites: the Texas High Plains with conditions representative of the southern Great Plains, and the semi-tropical Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). Additionally, we evaluated the model without calibration for use at the irrigation district level, by simultaneously simulating many fields with different crops and water management strategies. In the Texas High Plains, the model was calibrated and compared to lysimetric data for soybean production at the USDA-ARS Laboratory, Bushland, on soybean, over a two year period (2002 and 2003). In the LRGV, data was collected from a 27-ha sugarcane field within the Delta Lake Irrigation District, over a three years period (2007-2009). As sugar cane was not present in the CRITERIA database, we used one of the available crops (Actinidia) and we modified the default values for some parameters. Data on ETo and soil-water characteristics were not available, therefore we estimated them with the model. We also measured soil-water characteristics in laboratory from undisturbed soil cores collected in the field, and compared them to the values estimated with CRITERIA, and the Soil Water Characteristics Calculator (SWCC), an easy to use tool by USDA and Washington State University. The developed district scale evaluation was carried out at the Brownsville Irrigation District (BID) over a season’s worth of data (year 2010) for approximately 170 individual fields. Soil moisture prediction at the Bushland and Delta Lake sites was in good agreement with measured data (R2 of correlations ranged between 0.7 and 0.8). At the Bushland site, the root growth model did not describe well the actual soybean growth below 30 cm of depth, probably due to the existence of the thick clay layer at 30 cm of depth which caused an atypical shaped root zone. When applied at district scale, CRITERIA accurately predicted changes in soil moisture with estimated input data such as crop planting and harvesting dates, and actual irrigation volumes. One product of this study was a soil moisture status map that could be updated on a daily base. CRITERIA needs additional improvements for application at field level in Texas conditions, particularly the crop management component (e.g. add crops and irrigation methods, improve root growth model). In order to apply the model as real time decision support system at regional scale, additional improvements are needed, including in the scaling algorithms and the automation of data and GIS output. Finally, further evaluation should be carried out to evaluate model algorithms currently used to estimate soil water properties

Irrigation and drainage in the new millennium

Presented at the 2000 USCID international conference, Challenges facing irrigation and drainage in the new millennium on June 20-24 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.In 1998, eight irrigation districts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas initiated efforts to develop GIS-based District Management Systems (DMS). This paper provides a description of GIS (geographical information system) as applied to irrigation districts, its potential for improving the day-to-day management of districts, and the progress and difficulties encountered by the 8 districts in GIS mapping and implementation. Examples of how districts are using GIS are given, along with the value and use of the DMS in a regional water planning project

Methodologies for Analyzing Impact of Urbanization on Irrigation Districts

The region of Texas along the Mexican border has been experiencing rapid urban growth. This has caused fragmentation of many irrigation districts who are struggling to address the resulting challenges. In this paper, we analyze the growth of urban area and its impact on water distribution networks in three Texas border counties over the ten year period, 1996 to 2006. In particular, we discuss alternative procedures to assess such impacts, and we evaluate their effectiveness in identifying critical areas. Identification of urbanized areas was carried out starting from aerial photographs using two different approaches: manual identification of areas “no longer in agricultural use” and automatic extraction based on the analysis of radiometric and structural image information. By overlapping urbanization maps to the water distribution network, we identified critical areas of impact. This impact was expressed as density of network fragments per unit area, or Network Fragmentation Index (NFI). A synthetic index per each district, District Fragmentation Index (DFI) was obtained by dividing the number of network fragments by the total district length of network. Results obtained starting from manual and automatic maps were comparable, indicating that the automatic urbanization analysis can be used to evaluate impact on the water distribution network. To further identify critical areas of impact, we categorized urban areas with the Morphological Segmentation method, using a software available online (GUIDOS). The obtained categories (Core, Edge, Bridge, Loop, Branch, and Islet) not only improved the description of urban fragmentation, but also permitted assigning different weights to further describe the impact on the irrigation distribution networks. The application of this procedure slightly shifted the areas of impact and grouped them in more easy-to-interpret clusters. We simplified urbanization analysis by identifying a probability of network fragmentation from network and urbanization density maps. Although results were comparable to the ones obtained with the other methods, additional validation is recommended. These methods look promising in improving the analysis of the impact of urban growth on irrigation district activity. They help to identify urbanization and areas of impact, interpret growth dynamics, and allow for partial automation of analysis. It would be interesting to collaborate with irrigation districts to determine the correlation between the real impact on the district operation and the elements of the water distribution network included in the analysis

Evaluation of Smart Irrigation Controllers: Year 2011 Results

A smart controller testing facility was established by the Irrigation Technology Center at Texas A&M University in College Station in 2008 in order to evaluate their performance from an "enduser" point of view. The "end-user" is considered to be the landscape or irrigation professional (such as a Licensed Irrigator in Texas) installing the controller. Controllers are tested using the Texas Virtual Landscape which is composed of 6 different zones with varying plant materials, soil types and depths, and precipitation rates. This report summaries the results from the 2011 evaluations. Nine controllers were evaluated over a 152 day period, from April 11 - May 29, 2011 and August 8 to November 20, 2011. Controller performance was analyzed for each seasonal period (spring, summer, fall). Controller performance is evaluated by comparison to the irrigation recommendation of the TexasET Network and Website, as well as for irrigation adequacy in order to identify controllers which apply excessive and inadequate amounts of water

District management system

Presented at Contemporary challenges for irrigation and drainage: proceedings from the USCID 14th technical conference on irrigation, drainage and flood control held on June 3-6, 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona.Includes bibliographical references.The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas is undergoing rapid population growth and industrial development. No additional water rights are available in the lower Rio Grande River Basin, and future development will depend on water transfers from agriculture. The potential for saving water in irrigation districts is being studied as part of a regional water resources planning project. An Irrigation District Management System (DMS) is under development to aid in this analysis. The DMS is built upon GIS-based maps and databases for organizing and displaying district information on water accounts, fields, and distribution systems. Various other components are being linked to the DMS or are under development to enhance its capabilities, including a crop growth and irrigation scheduling model for determining water use under various water supply scenarios, and a routing model for determining the ability of the distribution systems to deliver the volumes of water needed for each scenario. The implementation of the DMS in the Valley and its use in regional water planning is described

Frank.

Frank is a graphic novel script written in the official D.C. Comic format. The setting starts in Shawnee, Oklahoma. There a teenage girl named Emily is kidnapped by Lilith (the first vampire ever created) and Frank (the anti-Christ in training). They take Emily with them back to a mansion in Hell. There Emily meets servants who wait on Father (the Devil) and the other important occupants. Ren, Father's personal maid, notices Frank's mannerisms resemble her deceased son's and she becomes obsessed with finding out where her son's soul is. Frank is only a few weeks old and made from pieces of other people that already existed because Father cannot create something from nothing. Frank's intelligence is rapidly growing and he becomes condescending and mean to Emily because she is constantly trying to find a way to get home instead of being content living with him. Father convinces Emily to sign a contract with him that states he will not harm her if she agrees to go home after an allotted amount of time. She is not welcome in Hell because her soul already belongs to God. While trapped in the mansion Emily becomes friends with C.C. (the fallen angel Belial) and Ren. Throughout the story the origin of Father, Lilith, and C.C.'s relationship is revealed; their meddling is what lead Lilith to getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Lilith is lonely inside the mansion so she attacks Emily to try to turn her into vampire also. But her plan backfires because Emily's blood is tainted since she already belongs to God. After the attack, Emily is bed ridden for a short while she heals. During this time Emily relies on Frank for protection and they grow closer together. Frank invites Emily to a ball being held in his honor. Emily grudgingly agrees to attend. At the celebration Emily leads Frank outside so they can speak alone. Her contract ends that night and she tries to persuade Frank to return to Shawnee with her. When she tells him Father is using him and Lilith is a monster, Frank is offended because he views them as his parents. At exactly midnight Emily is ushered to Father's study by C.C. Once in his office, Father sends Emily home. She appears back in the park from which she was kidnapped. She walks to her home and is greeted by her parents who had up till then assumed she was dead. Though she is happy to see her parents, she cannot rest until she checks on her sister Darla. She goes up to her bedroom and kisses her little sister goodnight before she breaks down and cries. Meanwhile in Hell, Father encourages Frank's hatred for Emily. Father sends Frank up to earth with C.C. There Frank is supposed to continue training and cultivate his hatred for the human race. Back in Hell, Ren then confronts Father about him not letting her see her son again like the contract she had signed with him stated. Father reveals that Frank does have her son's soul, but he is making sure she never gets to speak to him again.--Abstract

Real time GIS decision support system

Presented at Meeting irrigation demands in a water-challenged environment: SCADA and technology: tools to improve production: a USCID water management conference held on September 28 - October 1, 2010 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.GIS technology has been utilized in the past years by drainage and irrigation districts mostly for organization of spatial data, and as decision support system. However in some cases, GIS has not reached its full potential due to such factors as lack of interest after initial set up, effort required for and the high costs of keeping the system updated, and a disconnect with daily management. This paper discusses the development of a real time GIS decision support system for the Brownsville Irrigation District of Texas (District). The objectives were to provide the District with a simple tool that would improve the management of water orders, allow access of data by landowners through the internet, and to improve the availability of pump flow data from the existing SCADA system. An important component of the project was to interact and train District personnel. The final product of the project is a website, where water orders and pump operations information are displayed in real-time, along with links to related historical data, and other information. The activity resulted in an expanded interest on the use of GIS as a real time decision support system by District personnel, the identification of solutions for limits in the existing database, and recommendations for further improvement. In this paper, we present the steps that were taken with District personnel to set up the system, the website features, and the initial benefits that have been identified by District personnel and the manager

Chemigation Equipment and Safety.

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Use of GIS as a Real Time Decision Support System for Irrigation Districts

The objectives were to provide the districts with a simple tool that would improve the availability of pumps and gates data from the existing SCADA system, improve the management of water orders, and allow access of data by account holders through the internet. An important component of the project was to interact and train District personnel. The final product of the project is a website, where pump and gates operations and water orders information are displayed in real-time, along with links to related historical data and other information. The on-line tool has three main components: 1) possibility to query real time and historic data from a new reorganized database created in our server; 2) status maps for display in real time of selected spatial information and alarms; 3) interactive maps for display of desired spatial information in real time and query historic spatial information. The main meaning of the status maps is to enable a friendlier and quicker access to the frequently used data. SCADA data include On/Off, current flow, upstream and downstream water level, and gate position. Water account data include pending orders, payment delinquents, and water balances