The South Platte NRD Pivot Conversion Program provides cost share funds to help producers install irrigation flow meters, as required for all wells in the district pumping more than 50 gallons per minute.
The meters are a valuable tool for providing producers with information about the total amount of irrigation water being applied. For details on how to use flow meters as a conservation tool, click here.
The data collected will also help the NRD determine the amount of water being withdrawn from various aquifers across the district and provide information useful to future groundwater modeling efforts. The information may also help make future management decisions on options such as well spacing restrictions or groundwater allocations.
There are an estimated 1,200 irrigation wells across the district. The rules call for phasing in the meters starting in the Lodgepole Creek Integrated Groundwater Management Subarea – essentially the Lodgepole Creek Valley and Sidney Draw – and require metering at least half of each landowner’s wells in a given area in the first year and the second half in the next year. Ending with the tablelands of Deuel County, all wells must be metered by March 1, 2009.
For a map showing the flow meter installation schedule, click here.
For a list of approved flow meter installation contractors, click here.
The cost of the meters and installation is estimated at about $1,000. The NRD is offering 50 percent cost-share funding on the meters by tapping the federal EQIP program, Nebraska Soil & Water Conservation Fund and NRD cost-share funds.
For more information about the SPNRD Flow Meter Installation Program, contact Travis Glanz at the NRD, (308) 254-2377 or toll free (877) 800-1030.