AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Ogallala Aquifer Program hosted a workshop to promote the newest research in water conservation technologies Thursday afternoon.
"Every drop of water that we're able to conserve is like a drop that is equivalent to a drop created. We can do a better job of conserving water on a number of levels," says Texas State Representative, John Smithee.
Engineers, farmers, and scientists gathered in the Ambassador Hotel to review soil water sensors, irrigation scheduling, and water budgeting and allocation. "It's a big concern to be able to conserve that water as well as effectively use that water that we are tapping into from the aquifer", says Water Resource Engineer, Jonathan Aguilar.
Limits on water use from the aquifer is forcing farmers to look at different alternatives for water irrigation, according to Ogallala Aquifer Director, David Brauer. "Most farmers now have a production limit of how much water they can pump out per acre. So for limiting that, they're going to have to use that water as wisely as possible".
"Three-fourths of the water that is being extracted from ground water is used for irrigation. So it just makes sense that we focus our education in terms of having water use efficiency", says Aguilar.
Conservation systems for surrounding areas are being kept in local decision maker's hands. "We're doing our water planning on a region by region basis, rather than out of the state capitol. That allows us to have a whole lot more local control over it", says Brauer.
For more information on Ogallala Aquifer's programs, go to http://ogallala.ars.usda.gov/.
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