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Irrigation Mobile Lab . Yolo, Solano, & Colusa County Resource Conservation Districts.
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Irrigation Mobile Lab Yolo, Solano, & Colusa County Resource Conservation Districts The Yolo Resource Conservation District (RCD) is a farmer-led special district working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to support local landowners’ efforts to sustain local agricultural & natural resources. The Yolo RCD promotes stewardship by demonstrating conservation practices through cooperative land users, educating the public in resource conservation & enhancement, and providing technical expertise.
What is the Mobile Water Lab? Free service offered by the Yolo RCD Includes: • Irrigation Evaluations • Optional Source Water Quality Testing • Recommendation on Irrigation Management • Water Quality Management Practices
Application Efficiency and Distribution Uniformity • Deprive portions of the crop of needed water • Over-irrigate portions of the field A Non-Uniform Distribution can:
Irrigation Evaluations provide: • Analysis of the system distribution uniformity (defined as a measure of the uniformity with which irrigation water is distributed to different areas in a field) • Determination of application rates • Qualitative observations of clogging and emitter wear • System map of pressure and flow measurements • Suggestions for system improvements and maintenance
Water Use Efficiency (WUE) – funding for irrigation evaluations (through Mobile Water Lab) – 10 more • NRCS – AWEP (Ag Water Enhancement Program), greater water quality emphasis in 2010, many practices: • Pipelines, drip, vegetated systems, sediment traps, etc. • CARCD – AWEP: many central valley counties • Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Sutter, San J, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern • Water Use Efficiency vs benchmark 25.5 A-inches • Tomato, tracking/documenting yield & solids District Programs multi-benefit/water quality
Yolo-Solano Conservation Partnerships on working lands: • Ditch vegetation (with/for irrigation districts) • Riparian buffers/reveg – filtering irrigation/storm runoff • Cache Creek Geomorphic Assessment & Local Youth Stream Monitoring • Capay Valley Riparian Vegetation Management • Yolo County Weed Management Area (with Yolo Ag Dept) • Yolo-Solano Ag Water Quality Support Program • Grant closed, some money for practices went unused. District Programs (cont.)multi-benefit/water quality
Watershed Coordination, Planning, Implementation • Watershed analysis, • Support for landowner groups • Permit coordination • Safe Harbor agreement
Photo credit: Joe DiTomaso Restoration and Revegetation • Invasive weed control • Land management • Conservation projects • Native, beneficial insect, wildlife habitat • Bioengineering
Education and Outreach • Annual workshop series • Special events and tours • School programs
2010StrategicPlanPriorities • Water Resources • Farmland Protection and Agricultural Sustainability • Soil Erosion • Air Quality • Energy Efficiency and Conservation • Habitat Protection and Restoration • Education and Outreach • District Operations Geographic priorities: Headwaters, prime farmland and rural/urban interface, alluvial soil areas and riparian areas.
Heather Nichols-Crowell Yolo Resource Conservation District 530-662-2037 ext .112 Nichols-Crowell@yolorcd.org Contact