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Ministry of Agriculture & Lands

Proceedings from
Irrigation in the Okanagan Field Day
July 20, 2004 Oliver, BC 

Agenda and Issues

Presentation pdf format* (PDF 174 KB)

Overview of Irrigation in the Okanagan
Denise Neilsen, Researcher, PARC, Summerland

Presentation pdf format* (PDF 1.2 MB)

  • The Okanagan Basin has the lowest per capita availability of water in Canada
  • Some areas are under water restrictions now, i.e. Summerland, Vernon
  • Okanagan region primarily serviced by public water purveyors, but still many private systems.
  • Original irrigation development occurred mainly in the 1920's and 1930's
  • Okanagan serviced by many water purveyors, so that service is fragmented.
  • Oliver/Osoyoos area has 25% of the total water allocation in the valley
  • Global warming may result in warmer temperatures and lower snow and rainfall, which will increase irrigation demand
  • Impacts on irrigation will result in earlier spring freshets and earlier recessions
  • Longer growing season will likely increase irrigation needs
  • Population growth will have increased demands for available water, potentially greater than responses to increased demand through global warming
  • Per acre consumption for agriculture and domestic are roughly equivalent (although there is quite a range in agricultural usage depending on crop).

Challenges for the Irrigation Districts
Andre Miller, Bruce Hamilton and Arvid, Town of Oliver

  • 4,000 acres under irrigation under Oliver system
  • Irrigation canal is fully committed, even though all of the water is not used
  • Expansion of system is limited to wells
  • Currently a ground water survey is underway in the Oliver area
  • Relationships with growers is good
  • Metering is a probable requirement in the future
  • Infrastructure is aging and attention to replacing and improving the canal and pumping systems is needed
  • A fish screen is required by DFO for the intake of the canal, but may have to wait until a grant is available
  • Growers will need to conserve water as best they can.

Design of Efficient Water Delivery Systems and principles of Irrigation Scheduling
Ted van der Gulik, Senior Engineer, BCMAFF, Abbotsford

Presentation pdf format* (PDF 2.2 MB)

  • Water sources in BC are surface (88%) and ground water (12%)
  • Private systems (72%) and purveyors (28%)
  • Agriculture needs to improve water management because:
    • Agriculture is the largest user of water in BC
    • Increasing competition from other users i.e. fish, urban and recreation users
    • Climate change will drive the need for change
  • Agriculture uses 75% of the water in the Okanagan and domestic use is 25%
  • Ways to conserve water:
    • Convert to more efficient systems
    • Manage our water more efficiently
    • Proper irrigation design
    • Irrigation management guide
    • Irrigation scheduling
  • Most growers do not know how to schedule their irrigation systems
  • Most growers over use water during the spring and fall, but irrigate correctly (at peak demand) during July and August
  • Essentially 2 ways to monitor irrigation requirements:
    • Climate monitoring ET measurements
    • Soil moisture monitoring
  • Funding for some on-farm projects may be available through the National Water Supply Expansion Program.

Water and Nutrients
 Denise Neilsen, Researcher, PARC, Summerland

Presentation pdf format* (PDF 990 KB)

  • Full irrigation is required to provide good fruit size and yields
  • Apply water to meet plant requirements
  • Measure evapotranspiration from climate data or by atmometer which correlates very closely with weather station estimates of reference ET
  • Use mulches and drip systems to conserve water
  • Nitrogen in the rootzone can be controlled by irrigation
  • Controlling both N and irrigation can result in better growth control and better fruit quality
  • Apply fertilizer in the spring rather than the fall for tree fruits.

Allan Patton's Orchard

  • Irrigation is scheduled based on evapotranspiration as measured by an atmometer. Water is replaced the next day by the irrigation controller so that the system is fully automated and requires no intervention by the grower in response to changes in reference ET after initial set-up. (This is its advantage).
  • Allan likes the drip system, but also has overhead sprinklers for cooling and cover crop management.
  • Soil moisture measuring devices (Water Mark) were demonstrated as a tool for monitoring soil moisture loss.

Conclusions:

  • Agriculture can conserve water by various means, but the surplus water made available will be needed to provide:
    • extra water for an expected longer growing season
    • extra water for ALR land not currently irrigated.
  • Surplus water may not materialize because of declining water supplies caused by global warming.
  • Growers need to examine their irrigation practices and improve water management.
  • Growers need to ensure their irrigation systems are properly designed.
  • Growers should reduce irrigation application especially during the spring and early fall periods.
  • Growers should consider converting to drip systems combined with possible overhead coverage for cover crops/cooling?
  • Growers should be encouraged to apply mulching particularly to light soils.
  • Growers should be encouraged to replace worn nozzles on a regular basis.
  • Growers should be encouraged to schedule irrigation according to plant use based on evapotranspiration and/or soil moisture losses.
  • Growers and the agriculture industry are concerned about projected population increases, based on projected water availability.

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