Will we be able to source Irrigation Water ?

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Will we be able to source Irrigation Water ?
Irrigation is Not Possible Without Water !
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St. Joseph, MI LaPorte, IN Elkhart , IN
LaGrange, IN Branch, MI St. Joseph, MI
Kalamazoo, MI Cass , MI Van Buren , MI

• Farmers have benefited St. Joseph river basins,
  rural economies by investing 140,632,345 in
  irrigation equipment in this nine county area.

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Needed Irrigation 5.5
Normal rainfall 34.6
Crop need 15.6 total
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Lyndon Kelley, MSU Extension / Purdue
University Irrigation Management Agent

• Irrigation System Uniformity
• Preventing Irrigation Runoff (comparing
  irrigation application rate to soil infiltration
  rate)
• Irrigation Scheduling
• Record keeping
• Avoiding water use conflicts

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Irrigation System Evaluations for Uniformity

• Over and Under applied areas will likely be over
  or under applied each application multiplying the
  negative effect.
• A 30 deviation on a field in an 8 irrigation
  application year will have areas receiving as
  little as 5.6 and as great as 10.4
• A 15 or less deviation from the average is
  ideal.

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Sprinkler overlap with end gun
Tower 1
Tower 3
Tower 5
Tower 7
Tower 8
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Irrigation Scheduling Checkbook Method
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Think of your soil as a bank
Soil type Heavier soil can hold more water /
foot of depth than light soils
Water holding capacity The soil (bank) can hold
only a given volume of water before it allow it
to pass lower down.
Intake rate Water applied faster than the soil
intake rate is lost.
Deletion Plants may can pull out only 30 60
of the water
Rooting depth The plant can only get water to
the depth of its roots.
Water lost from the bottom of the profile can
wash out (leach) water soluble nutrients and
pesticides.
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http//www.agry.purdue.edu/irrigation/
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Annex 2001

• States and provinces will manage their own
  in-basin withdrawals
• Basin-wide, resource-based standard
• flexible application 
• Each jurisdiction will commit to establishing a
  program, including thresholds, to manage or
  regulate new or increased withdrawals consistent
  with the standard.

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Indiana Significant Water Withdrawal Facility
Regulations

• Water Rights Emergency Regulation
• -Indiana Code 14-25-4
• Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
• Indiana Code 14-25-5
• Significant Water Withdrawal Facility (SWWF)
  Registration - Indiana Code 14-25-7

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Water Rights Emergency Regulation -Indiana Code
14-25-4

• Owners of small capacity water wells are
  protected against the impacts of high capacity
  ground-water pumpage.
• 1)      the small capacity well has failed to
  provide its normal supply of water due a 
  substantial lowering of the ground water level in
  the area, and
• 2)      that the lowering of the ground water
  level was caused by one or more significant
  ground water withdrawal facilities, and
• 3)      that the well and its equipment were
  functioning properly at the time of the failure,
  and
• 4)      that, if installed after December 31,
  1985, the small capacity well was constructed in
  accordance with Nonrule Policy Document
  Information Bulletin 26 (1986 thru 1990) or Rule
  312 IAC 12 (Acrobat pdf file) (1991 to present)

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The DNR director shall, by temporary order,
declare a ground water emergency and require
timely and reasonable compensation be provided to
the owner of the small capacity well. "Timely and
reasonable compensation" consists of, and is
limited to the following

• 1) The immediate temporary provision at the prior
  point of use of an adequate supply of potable
  water.
• 2) Reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred
  by the complainant to do the following
• A)    obtain an immediate temporary provision at
  the prior point of use of an adequate supply of
  potable water
• B)  the restoration of the affected small
  capacity well to its former relative capability
• C)    the permanent provision at the point of use
  of an alternate potable supply of equal quantity
  or
• D)    the permanent restriction or scheduling of
  the high capacity pumpage so that the affected
  water well continues to provide its normal supply
  of water, or its normal supply of potable water
  if the well normally furnishes potable water.

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The DNR Can force you to make it right for the
neighbor

• 1) Provide a temporary source of water, quickly,
  and till the issue is resolved
• 2) Pay the cost for the neighbor to
• to get temporary supply of potable water at his
  house till the issue is resolved or
• to fix his well so he get as much water as he did
  before or
• drill a new well at his site equal to his
  original well or
• Change your pumping practice so he gets the
  volume and quality he had before

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Water Rights Emergency Regulation -Indiana Code
14-25-4

• Over the past 20 years DNR has investigated over
  1700 complaints
• 383 required the SWWF pay for modifications to
  neighbors well (about 23)
• 25 required administrative action to be resolved
• Compensation was limited to correction of the
  well problem and temporary water supply

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Does your well affect neighbors?
Home well
Irrigation well
Groundwater flow direction
Home well
Zone of influence
Irrigation well
Zone of influence
Home well
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Significant Water Withdrawal Facility (SWWF)
Registration Indiana Code 14-25-7-15

• Ground or surface sources
• Registration reporting Threshold gt100, 000
  gallon / day
• Combined capacity of one or more withdrawals
• Dose not include off-stream impoundments
• Registration within 3 month of completion

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Significant Water Withdrawal Facility (SWWF)
Registration Indiana Code 14-25-7

• Water Use Reporting
• All registered ground or surface sources
• Report due March 31, for previous years use
• Customized form sent to each Significant Water
  Withdrawal Facility owner or manager.
• Responciblity of the land owner, can be delegated

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Methods of Estimating Water Use

• water application multiplied by of
  applications, plus estimate of additional water
  use, (Acre Inches)
• pump capacity multiplied by run time or
  fuel/power use per hour,
• flow meter meters actual flow, note maintenance
  and calibration concerns,
• Industry average numbers (Mid West Plan Service
  or ASAE) with appropriate adjustments (not
  appropriate for high variable water uses such as
  irrigation).

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Example Acre Inches

• Joe farmer has a 160 acre field with 142 actual
  irrigated acres. He applied .75 inches of water
  at each application. One application was made in
  June and 3 during July and 3 in August.

Month Number of Appl. Rate in Inches Irrigated acres Water Use
June 1 .75 142 106.5 Acre inches.
July 3 .75 142 319.5 Acre inches.
August 3 .75 142 319.5 Acre inches.
Total 745.5 Acre inches.
1 acre inch 27,154 gallons (745.5 Acre
inches ) 27,154 gallons 20,243,307 gallons
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Pump capacity multiplied by run time

• Larry monitors the hour meter to track
  maintenance needs and now water use. Larry
  checked his pumping capacity multiplied by his
  average run time to irrigate one inch water on a
  field (1 on 72 acre in 60hrs ) against the total
  irrigated gallon needed to apply an inch of water
  to that field and found the to be very close at
  (543 gal/min.).

Month Hours of run time. Pumping Rate Water Use
June 70 33,000 gal /hour 2,310,000 gallons
July 210 33,000 gal /hour 6,930,000 gallons
August 200 33,000 gal /hour 6,600,000 gallons
Total 15,840,000 gallons
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Significant Water Withdrawal Facility (SWWF)
Registration Indiana Code 14-25-7-15

• Minimum stream flows and minimum ground water
  levels.
• Can be established by the Natural Resources
  Commission
• Reflect seasonal and regional variation
• Commission has never utilized this provision

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Irrigation Water use 2005

• Surface water 20531.29 million gallons
• Ground water 41532.54 million gallons
• Total 62063.83 million gallons
• 62 billion gallons of irrigation water
• About 7 per irrigated acre.

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• freshwater lake that contains at least ten (10)
  acres ,at normal level
• natural origin or originally constructed to
  permanently retain water
• in existence at least five (5) years before the
  commencement of water withdrawals
• Significant water withdrawal facility withdraw
  capability (100,000) gallons of water in one (1)
  day (70 gpm continuous)

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• significantly below the lake's normal level as
  legally established
• significantly below the water line or shoreline
  as determined by existing water level records or
  by the action of the water that has marked upon
  the soil of the bed of the lake
• believed to be caused by at least one active
  significant water withdrawal facility operated
  within one-half (1/2) mile of the freshwater
  lake

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• If an onsite investigation under section 6 of
  this chapter discloses that        
• (1) the operation of at least one significant
  water withdrawal facility has caused the
  freshwater lake to be lowered significantly below
  a level described        
•  (2) the lowering of the lake level is likely to
  result in significant environmental harm to the
  freshwater lake or to adjacent property
• the director shall, by temporary order, declare a
  freshwater lake emergency.

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• A temporary order may        
• restrict the quantity of water that is extracted
  by the causative significant water withdrawal
  facility and        
• provide for the restoration of the normal water
  level of the freshwater lakeas needed to
  prevent significant environmental harm to the
  freshwater lake or adjacent property.
• A restoration order may allow the significant
  water withdrawal facility to discharge water of
  an acceptable quality into the affected
  freshwater lake.

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• Significant water withdrawal facility may obtain
  relief from a temporary order issued by filing a
  financial responsibility bond in an amount
          
• not lt1,000 or  gt 10,000 for each acre contained
  in the freshwater lake. - not to exceed fifty
  thousand dollars (50,000).
• financial responsibility bond are not an option
  if the lake or an adjacent property contains an
  extraordinary or a unique natural resource that
  is likely to be irreparably damaged as a result
  of the lowering of the freshwater lake.

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• Significant water withdrawal facility and a
  complaining lake owner may enter into a written
  agreement for compensation to the lake owner
  instead of bond forfeiture if
• the operator and lake owner have not entered into
  an agreement within 3 years after a temporary
  order and
• the freshwater lake has not returned to normal
• The director shall order the forfeit to the
  benefit of the lake owner of the part of the bond
  that is needed to provide compensation
• shall be distributed to multiple affected
  complaining lake owners on a pro rata basis.

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Emergency Regulation of Surface Water Rights
Indiana Code 14-25-5

• Since 1994 DNR has investigated about dozen cases
• Three cases met the criteria of cause and effect
• all where public water supplies or quarry mining,
  
• two had significant environmental damage

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Observations

• Avoid wells within ½ mile of lakes
• Keep good records of use
• Be prepared to plead your case
• Remember average evaporation from a water surface
  is gt 30 over the summer.

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