Reflections on the Tour Experience
PHOTOS COURTESY OF IRRIGATION LEADER.
A view of Lyttelton Harbor, near Christchurch, New Zealand.
Brian Betcher General Manager (Retired), Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District, Pinal County, Arizona Being recently retired from many years of irrigation district management, my focus was somewhat different for this trip. I took more note of bigpicture comparisons between what I saw in New Zealand and the water world of Arizona. Upon my return home, I reflected on the benefits of having served a district that benefited from having one of its main sources of water be a river system that has tremendous storage. That created wonderful operational reliability and resiliency—the system is still half full after a 25-year drought. System
automation and state-of-the-art water measurement are already part of my professional experience, and as such, I was surprised that some things have not been done much yet in New Zealand. I was amazed that only 2Â percent of the water supply is put to beneficial use. This may speak to a lack of system storage, which only now is gaining traction. There are areas that run short of water due to the run of the river or lack of operational storage and other controls to regulate supplies when they are needed. On the other hand, the dramatic elevation changes on the river systems provide energy-free pressurization for many on-farm systems, which is a huge benefit to farm economics. It appears to be better to be uphill on the system for reliability. The relationship between tribal water rights and interests and private-sector needs is similar to what we face in Arizona. There does seem to be a more holistic approach among stakeholders to sharing IRRIGATIONLEADERMAGAZINE.COM
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