Cost-effective SCADA development for irrigation districts: a Nebraska case study
Date
2010
Authors
Powell, Clinton, author
Gill, Tom, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Irrigation districts across the West face economic hardship brought about by increased maintenance costs, reduced water supplies, and a shortage of skilled labor. One opportunity for a district to offset these challenges is by implementing a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. However, historically these systems have been out of the reach of smaller and less-affluent districts because of the large capital outlays required for adoption. Reclamation's Nebraska-Kansas Area Office in cooperation with Reclamation's Hydraulic Investigations and Research Laboratory is working with the Bostwick Irrigation District in Nebraska to create a monitoring and control system suitable to the needs of a small irrigation district with limited resources. Specifically the project has focused on low acquisition and installation costs, district driven solutions to SCADA operational issues, and minimization of technical expertise for maintenance purposes. This paper chronicles the efforts to develop a SCADA solution for the Bostwick Irrigation District in Nebraska that meets each of these needs through innovative product choices, materials fabrication, and low-cost solutions. Current project status and future project direction are discussed in context of the District's operating environment in light of the complex issues facing all the water users in the Republican River Basin upstream from Kansas.
Description
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.