Ochoco Irrigation District telemetry case study
Date
2005-10
Authors
Kihara, Kathy, author
Livingston, Shane, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Ochoco Irrigation District with help from Reclamation's Water Conservation Field Services Program installed three water measurement stations with cell phone telemetry at the tail end of three of their main delivery canals in the spring of 2001. The project was funded to improve the district's water management so they could cope with reduced supplies. In the past the district would send a ditchrider to these locations at the end of the day to record and report the amount of water being spilled each day. This information was then used to calculate the releases needed for delivery the next day along with the incoming water orders. The installation of the water measurement structures and cell phone telemetry enabled the district manager and ditchriders to check on the amount of tailwater at any time during the day. This allowed them to then tweak the deliveries to reduce the amount of tailwater. The implementation of the project was done with a combination of technical and financial assistance from Reclamation and in-kind labor by the district. The timeline was: the idea was explored during the fall of 2000, a grant for financial assistance was done in early winter 2001, the designs for the ramp flumes was done at the same time along with the procuring the telemetry equipment, installation of the flumes and telemetry was done in the spring of 2001. The results of the project were that the district was able to make deliveries for the entire irrigation season in spite of the drought water year and have carryover storage in both Ochoco and Prineville Reservoirs.
Description
Presented at SCADA and related technologies for irrigation district modernization: a USCID water management conference on October 26-29, 2005 in Vancouver, Washington.