15 research outputs found
Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California - A Commentary
This is a Commentary on some of the key points that are presented in âMore with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in Californiaâ by Cooley, ChristianSmith, and Gleick of the Pacific Institute, September 2008 (referred to as the âPacInst Paperâ in the remainder of this discussion).
The authors of this Commentary have over 120 years combined of experience in agricultural and landscape irrigation. They have worked world-wide in design and installation of all types of irrigation systems (including automated drip systems from 1975 on), design and implementation of irrigation scheduling programs since 1977; design and implementation of water conservation programs at state, water district, and farm levels; teaching programs regarding water-related energy efficiency in both university and extension environments; and basic and applied research. Summary biographies are attached at the end of this discussio
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Product architecture and the propagation of engineering change
The majority of design activities involve adapting a known solution to meet new requirements. Therefore understanding the issue of engineering changes is of vital importance if companies are to deliver product development projects on time and to budget. Making a change to a product is, in most cases, a relatively simple process. However, unexpected propagation of changes can occur. What may initially appear as a simple procedure can dramatically turn into an expensive redesign that requires alterations to a wide range of components. This paper investigates how product architecture influences change propagation and uses a design case study to highlight the complexity of this issue as faced by designers during product development
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Agricultural water use accounting provides path for surface water use solutions
Agricultural water demands can conflict with habitat needs in many North Coast watersheds. Understanding different water use patterns can help reduce conflict over limited supplies. We measured on-farm crop water use and conducted grower interviews to estimate the agricultural water demand in the upper Russian River and Navarro River watersheds. Annual agricultural water demand was less than 11% in the Russian River, and 2% in Navarro River, of the total annual discharge in each watershed. However, because demands are concentrated in the dry season when instream flows are at a minimum, these relatively small amounts can represent a significant constraint to stream habitat conditions. We have shared our study results in broad basin and community water resource planning efforts, including flow management of the Russian and Navarro rivers and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the Ukiah Basin. Findings and recommendations from this study have influenced on-the-ground solutions to meet water demand in these watersheds, including construction of off-stream wintertime storage capacity to replace summertime stream diversions, and use of a municipal recycled water conveyance system as a replacement for summer diversions