Impressions of
AUSTRALIA TOUR PARTICIPANTS Dave Blodget, western aquatics manager, alligare Dale Cramer,
board president, frenchmancambridge irrigation district
Stuart Crane, engineer, yakama nation Gary Esslinger, treasurermanager, elephant butte irrigation district
Darvin Fales, secretarymanager, quincy-columbia basin irrigation district
Kathy Fales Robert Faubion, board president, elephant butte irrigation district
Mark Gardner, chief financial officer, alligare Chris Gargan, international water screens
Ian Lyle, executive vice president, national water resources association
Tony Oakes, rubicon water Damien Pearson, rubicon water
Kris Polly, irrigation leader magazine
Roger Sonnichsen, assistant manager, quincy columbia basin irrigation district
Duane Vorderstrasse, board secretary/treasurer, frenchman-cambridge irrigation district
Jim Wood, imperial valley conservation research center
Ben Woodard, assistant engineering manager, kennewick irrigation district
Cheryl Zittle, senior director water services, salt river project
Thomas Zittle
8
From February 17–22, 2018, Irrigation Leader magazine, Rubicon Water, International Water Screens, and Alligare sponsored the 3rd Annual Irrigation Leader Magazine Irrigation Education Tour. This year, the tour returned to Victoria and New South Wales, Australia, to visit Goulburn-Murray Water, Coleambally Irrigation, and Murrumbidgee Irrigation. Stops on the tour included the Great Ocean Road, the Rubicon Water factory, a low energy pipeline installation, a dairy farm, and a irrigation demonstration farm. The tour highlighted how the latest in water delivery technology addresses the challenges of moving water and growing crops Down Under. The following participants shared their impressions of the tour and Australia. Ben Woodard, kennewick irrigation district It was amazing to see the canal automation and modernization of Australian irrigation districts, made possible by Rubicon’s control gates in conjunction with the flat terrain and canal systems. The Rubicon factory tour allowed us to learn more about the control gates and how they are assembled. Rubicon’s staff was very friendly and welcoming and provided useful insights about their gates. When talking about irrigation water rights or entitlements, many of the Aussies referred to them as “liquid gold.” I was impressed with their proactive mentality in dealing with the issues surrounding irrigation and farming. I thought it was unique how they have unbundled the water rights or entitlement from the land, allowing the water to be owned separately from the land. The open-market system in which additional water can be traded or purchased on an as-needed basis appears to allow for greater flexibility and opportunities for irrigators. Roger Sonnichsen, quincy-columbia basin irrigation district Australia has water supply issues. It has taken significant steps politically and technologically to make better use of a limited resource. The open-channel automation implementation by the larger irrigation districts has been a large component of their success. I greatly benefited from seeing these systems and technology in person during the tour. I was impressed by the amount of financial resources the federal and state governments have committed toward improving technology and the amount of water that has resulted for the benefit of agricultural, industrial, municipal, and environmental needs. It’s an example of how using the financial resources of the many and working together can benefit the country as a whole.
Goulburn Weir, located on the Goulburn River 5 miles north of Nagambie, was built between 1887 and 1891 and refurbished in the 1980s. The weir raises the level of the Goulburn River so water can be diverted by gravity to the Stuart Murray Canal, the Cattanach Canal, and the East Goulburn Main Channel. These diversions supply the Shappartan Irrigation and Central Goulburn Irrigation areas. 2018 Irrigation Leader Irrigation Education Tour Participants (left to right): Kris Polly, Mark Gardner, Dave Blodget, Dale Cramer, Thomas Zittle, Cheryl Zittle, Jim Wood, Kathy Fales, Darvin Fales, Gary Esslinger, Robert Faubion, Stuart Crane, Duane Vorderstrasse, Chris Gargan, Ben Woodard, Roger Sonnichsen, Damien Pearson, Tony Oakes (not in photo), and Ian Lyle (not in photo).
IRRIGATION LEADER
