Irrigation Mobile Lab Yolo, Solano, & Colusa County Resource Conservation Districts The Yolo Resource Conservation District (RCD) is a farmer-led special district working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to support local landowners’ efforts to sustain local agricultural & natural resources. The Yolo RCD promotes stewardship by demonstrating conservation practices through cooperative land users, educating the public in resource conservation & enhancement, and providing technical expertise.

What is the Mobile Water Lab? Free service offered by the Yolo RCD Includes: Irrigation Evaluations  Optional Source Water Quality Testing  Recommendation on Irrigation Management  Water Quality Management Practices

Application Efficiency and Distribution Uniformity Deprive portions of the crop of needed water Over-irrigate portions of the field A Non-Uniform Distribution can:

Irrigation Evaluations provide: Analysis of the system distribution uniformity (defined as a measure of the uniformity with which irrigation water is distributed to different areas in a field) Determination of application rates Qualitative observations of clogging and emitter wear System map of pressure and flow measurements Suggestions for system improvements and maintenance

District Programs multi-benefit/water quality Water Use Efficiency (WUE) – funding for irrigation evaluations (through Mobile Water Lab) – 10 more NRCS – AWEP (Ag Water Enhancement Program), greater water quality emphasis in 2010, many practices: Pipelines, drip, vegetated systems, sediment traps, etc. CARCD – AWEP: many central valley counties Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Sutter, San J, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern Water Use Efficiency vs benchmark 25.5 A-inches Tomato, tracking/documenting yield & solids

District Programs (cont.) multi-benefit/water quality Yolo-Solano Conservation Partnerships on working lands: Ditch vegetation (with/for irrigation districts) Riparian buffers/reveg – filtering irrigation/storm runoff Cache Creek Geomorphic Assessment & Local Youth Stream Monitoring Capay Valley Riparian Vegetation Management Yolo County Weed Management Area (with Yolo Ag Dept) Yolo-Solano Ag Water Quality Support Program Grant closed, some money for practices went unused.

Conservation Planning and Farmland Protection

Watershed analysis, Support for landowner groups Permit coordination Safe Harbor agreement Watershed Coordination, Planning, Implementation

Restoration and Revegetation Invasive weed control Land management Conservation projects Native, beneficial insect, wildlife habitat Bioengineering Photo credit: Joe DiTomaso

Education and Outreach Annual workshop series Special events and tours School programs

2010 Strategic Plan Priorities Water Resources Farmland Protection and Agricultural Sustainability Soil Erosion Air Quality Energy Efficiency and Conservation Habitat Protection and Restoration Education and Outreach District Operations Geographic priorities: Headwaters, prime farmland and rural/urban interface, alluvial soil areas and riparian areas.

Contact Heather Nichols-Crowell Yolo Resource Conservation District ext.112