WILD FLOOD TO GRADED BORDER IRRIGATION FOR WATER AND ENERGY CONSERVATION IN THE KLAMATH BASIN

摘要

A large percentage of pasture in the Upper Klamath Basin is irrigated by "wild flood" surfacernirrigation methods. Efforts underway to improve irrigation efficiency in the basin using federalrnfunds have included conversions to sprinkler irrigation systems and to higher efficiency gradedrnborder surface irrigation systems. With dramatic increases in power rates for agricultural usersrnon the horizon, surface irrigation enhancements have significant promise to increase water usernefficiency without substantially increasing production costs. While these projects generally dornnot solve the basin's water supply problems, they do provide a significant enhancement tornsurface water quality by reducing sediment and nutrient containing surface return flows. In areasrnwhere groundwater levels are declining due to irrigation pumping, these projects can also reducernstresses on groundwater supplies. A project implemented near Sprague River is used as a casernstudy to describe how the simple conversion from ditched to piped laterals, creation of newrnborder ridges, and improvements to irrigation scheduling can dramatically increase irrigationrnapplication efficiency while at the same time reducing pumping costs and groundwaterrnwithdrawals without any increase to daily labor requirements.