Reading Time: 4 minutes The St. Mary River Irrigation District is putting the sun to work providing water to its users. Solar arrays at two large pump stations have the district in a position to achieve net zero electrical use — and potentially save hundreds of thousands in electricity costs down the road. The inspiration to look at solar came […] Read more
Inspired by farmers, irrigation district aims for ‘net zero’
St. Mary River Irrigation District moves a lot of water and has a big electric bill — but that’s about to change
Full disclosure: Years of water quality data now available
An extensive and detailed store of data collected by irrigation districts is now within easy reach
Reading Time: 3 minutes Information is power, and a new website is making more than a decade’s worth of water quality data available to anyone who wants it. The Irrigation District Water Quality website is the creation of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association, whose members have been participating in a project on water quality since 2006. “The research objective […] Read more
Precision agriculture means less is more for irrigators
Technology has boosted yields while cutting both water use and inputs, says University of Lethbridge survey
Reading Time: 3 minutes Very few studies have examined precision agriculture in Canada, but a new one from University of Lethbridge researchers has put some numbers on the benefits. And they’re big — both in terms of reducing inputs and in boosting yields. Last fall, economists Lorraine Nicol and Chris Nicol surveyed irrigators in the Taber Irrigation District and […] Read more
More wildfires and changes in run-off a challenge for irrigation district
A lack of tree cover can boost run-off volumes but they come sooner and with much more sediment
Reading Time: 4 minutes As wildfire experts peer into the future, they see more — and more severe — forest fires because of a changing climate. But some are also looking to the past and measuring the impact that forest fires have on the quantity and quality of run-off — two factors that could have major implications for Alberta’s […] Read more
Flood protection offers win-win for irrigators
New reservoir could protect both Calgary from catastrophic flood while increasing supply for irrigation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The 2013 “super flood” that hit southern Alberta was the country’s costliest natural disaster — with the bill for damages and recovery measures topping $6 billion. Now, a new report says there are ways to both prevent a similar disaster and also help mitigate the impact of drought. The Bow River Working Group — composed […] Read more
Bringing crops indoors generating research insights
Indoor beds allow scientists to take ‘a peek underground’ to see how subsurface drip irrigation works
Reading Time: 4 minutes Indoors’ doesn’t usually come to mind when thinking of applied irrigation research, but it has its advantages. “We have to be careful (with field studies) because you might harm somebody’s crop or interfere with whatever the farmer had planned,” said Willemijn Appels, a hydrologist and soil physicist. “You can’t push systems and the crops growing […] Read more
Solar-powered irrigation proving its worth for Alberta operation
Cory and Lindsay Nelson are the first in the province to use solar for large-scale irrigation — and they’re happy they did
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cory and Lindsay Nelson have always embraced innovation and after attending a talk on solar energy put on by a producer group, their interest was piqued. So the brothers approached Enmax and a Lethbridge solar installation company called Solar Optix to look at their electrical bills. The numbers seemed to pan out, and it looked […] Read more
Hemp’s prospects are on the upswing
Growing hemp under irrigation can boost yields by a third or more, and demand appears poised to grow too
Reading Time: 4 minutes You can’t get high with hemp, but your profit margins might get a lift if you choose to add it to your irrigated rotation. And recent changes are making hemp even more attractive in Alberta, including a new hemp-processing facility slated for Nisku and a long-hoped-for easing of regulations by Health Canada. “Up until last […] Read more
The threat of invasive mussels draws ever closer to Alberta
Water officials on high alert after positive samples for larval mussels were found in two nearby Montana reservoirs last year
Reading Time: 4 minutes Lakes closed to watercraft; shores fouled with sharp shells and a rotting mollusk smell; millions of tax dollars going to clean up irrigation and hydro-electric infrastructure — that’s the future if quagga or zebra mussels find their way into the province. For decades, Alberta has been protected by a buffer of mussel-free provinces and states […] Read more
Working with producers top priority for irrigation research chair
Willemijn Appels wants to focus on research projects ‘that will really benefit local producers'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Calling all Alberta irrigators — Lethbridge College’s new irrigation science chair wants to know about your experiences and challenges with agricultural water management. In March, Willemijn Appels took up her new posting, which was created with a $3.1-million gift from the estate of Lloyd and Dorothy Mueller two years ago. “My job over the last […] Read more
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