Agricultural Water Conservation and Metering Program

Mission

The Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall implement, conduct, and maintain an Agricultural Water Use Measurement Program that efficiently utilizes public funds, integrates cooperative arrangements with the private sector and partnerships with other State agencies, and meets the agricultural water-use data needs of the State for effectively managing and utilizing water resources; while, at the same time, is sensitive to and respects the distinctive implications of carrying out actions under the auspices of the State that involve entering onto private lands and installing, maintaining, and monitoring State owned equipment on private irrigation systems.

Guiding Principles

HB 579 is an important and forward-looking State Government action, and must be implemented in a timely and sensitive manner.
Agricultural irrigators and their contribution to the State are important and should be respected.
Efficient use of public funds is in the interest of all, and is the basic premise of this program.
Addressing the complexities of a State water management plan requires water-use data that are statistically and scientifically valid.
Agricultural water-use data must be managed in a manner that provides for access by State policy decision makers and, at the same time, insures privacy rights of landowners involved.
Involvement of the private sector to the greatest extent feasible and appropriate will maximize growth in jobs and income.
Measurement of agricultural water-use is a necessary component of assisting farmers to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the utilization of a valuable resource.
Successful installation, maintenance and monitoring of agricultural water measurement devices require utilization of the most advanced technology that is practical, feasible, and cost effective.

Approach

Measurement of agricultural irrigation withdrawals is a prerequisite for providing data for State leaders to make sound State water management policies. Under the leadership of Governor Sonny Perdue, the State of Georgia is initiating the metering of water-use for irrigation in order to assist farmers with water conservation strategies, while compiling credible information to validate Georgia’s water demands. The Governor has indicated his expectation that the Program for collection and management of agricultural water-use data be based upon an effective ‘business’ strategy, and reflects an understanding that knowledge is an essential asset for corporate or public agency decision making. The data compiled by the aggregate measurement of farm water-use are particularly important for: completing the sound science programs that are currently underway; predicting stream flow estimates required for interstate water allocation agreements; and developing a statewide water management and utilization plan.

The Program is under the auspices of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission and will be carried out through experts (some in-house and some contracted), local specialists, and a small core of quality control staff. The funding for the Program is being provided yearly by the OneGA Authority.

HB 579 directs the Commission to consult with the DNR-EPD as well as other agencies to determine a priority of meter installation among the various hydrological units and approximately 21,000 permitted surface and ground water agricultural irrigation systems in the State. See Appendix A – “Agricultural Water Permits”.

The Commission, with recommendations from the EPD and USGS, selected a basin approach for the program’s implementation. The Commission has consulted with DNR-EPD and other resource agencies to prioritize watershed basins in which irrigation pumping information would be of highest value to the State’s water policy makers. For year 2, activities will center on the completion of meter installations in the Ichawaynochaway Creek Basin and the beginning of meter installation in the Muckalee and Spring Creek Basins, where ground water and surface water interaction information is needed by policy makers.

The Commission is using the Department of Administrative Services and its proven contracting bid methods to solicit and determine successful bidders for the purchasing of meters throughout the duration of the program to implement HB-579. The Commission has worked with DOAS to develop a procedure to prequalify a list of approved vendors to install agricultural water meters.

The ultimate goal of the Program is generating accurate, useful data on water-use by farmers. HB 579 states that the Commission “shall on behalf of the State purchase, install, operate, and maintain water-measuring devices…,” where ‘operate’ is defined to include “reading the water-measuring device, compiling data, and reporting findings.” Data collected will contribute to the sound-science initiative, and provide agricultural water-use data on a crop-by-crop basis in each river basin. Protocols are being established to ensure that information is accurately recorded, compiled, analyzed, and summarized. However, in achieving this goal, privacy rights of irrigators in connection with the water-use recorded at their specific meters must be carefully guarded and individual water-use data will be kept confidential.

Most irrigation occurs in a six-month period between April 1 and October 1. For total water-use during that period, most meters need only to be read at the completion of the growing season. However, there is interest in water-use during critical periods of low stream flow, such as in August and September. Reading of all meters only after the growing season would miss those critical low-flow periods. Thus, a 10 percent sample of meters will be read on a monthly basis. Once meters are installed throughout the State, such sampling can be done in a statistical distribution statewide, or in specific areas that are home to federally listed species and/or areas where surface water irrigation is heavily used (e.g. Ichawaynochaway Creek). This sample will include ground water systems in critical areas, such as the lower Flint River Basin, where ground water use could affect spring flow and thus stream flows.

Farmers will be mailed a yearly report showing the water-use recorded for each field, and the number of acre-inches per acre used on each field. This report can be generated from the database. As the number of meter installations increases, so will the information on water-use. Eventually, it will be possible to give each irrigator information on average acre-inches per acre applied in the surrounding area (e.g., by county). This will enable each irrigator to compare his/her water-use with the average water-use for same crops by neighboring irrigators. (NOTE: Average use reporting will follow a protocol similar to that used for collecting and reporting agricultural statistics, which assures that no individual producer data can be identified -- thus, protecting individual privacy rights.) Only summaries of water-use by the eight digit USGS hydrologic code will be made available to the general public. At all times, the water-use of any irrigator will be kept confidential and information gathered from the meters will not be used by any State agency and/or individual for purposes not intended by HB 579.

The Commission has conducted a series of workshops and information sessions for irrigation water managers at the county and watershed level and will continue to do so throughout the life of the program. These workshops have and will focus on providing farmers specific training – on reading meters and using this information in conjunction with programs such as Irrigator Pro & UGA’s water use tables to conserve ag water use while maintaining crop productivity. Staff from the Conservation Commission and other entities will provide training and/or co-sponsor the workshops. Some of the sessions will be held at fields on which meters were installed previously. The Commission will utilize the volunteer services of local Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors, local Resource and Development Council Members, Farm Bureau and other agricultural and conservation leaders to promote the value of meters as a water conservation tool.

The Commission also developed an Ag Producers Champion’s Program. This program targeted key Ag Producers who are recognized as leaders in their community to assist the Commission in promoting acceptance of Ag Water Metering. During the first year, 40 producers throughout SW Georgia were identified and meters were installed on one of their permitted systems.

Associated Document(s):

	outstanding_in_field.pdf
	Outstanding In Field (PDF)

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