Reading Time: 2 minutes While irrigation districts are thankful that drought was considered in a recent flood mitigation agreement between the province and TransAlta, there is concern that more might be needed in order to ensure adequate water is available during dry spells. The five-year agreement will see TransAlta paid $5.5 million annually for keeping water levels at the […] Read more
Irrigation not forgotten in Bow River flood mitigation agreement
Keeping water levels lower behind the Ghost Dam provides capacity for capturing flood waters, but can mean less water is available later on
Authorities up efforts in the battle to keep out invasive mussels
More inspections, tougher enforcement, and lots of education key to keeping Alberta waterways clear of quagga and zebra mussels
Reading Time: 3 minutes The provincial government and irrigation districts are ramping up their efforts to keep invasive quagga and zebra mussels out of Alberta. Along with more watercraft inspections, the province is also stepping up enforcement — and boaters who fail to stop at an inspection station face a fine of up to $100,000 or 12 months in […] Read more
Neil Dimmock’s big dream — and his really big wagon train
Reading Time: 4 minutes Planning and preparation make for a good road trip — especially if your mode of transportation is 30 horses pulling eight wagons. Neil Dimmock needed porta-potties, campers, dozens of volunteers (and enough food to keep them happy), generous landowners and sponsors, a stack of permits, hundreds of gallons of water, tons of hay and oats, […] Read more
Irrigation technology centre has a wide range of research
Whether it’s research on potatoes, sugar beets, infrared sensors or nozzles, the goal is to get more crop per drop
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just outside of Lethbridge, where ideal location, expertise and cutting-edge technology meet, we find the Alberta Irrigation Technology Centre (AITC). The centre was established in 2000 as a partnership between Alberta’s irrigation industry and the provincial and federal Agriculture Departments. “The main focus of the centre is to support improved water conservation, efficiency, and productivity […] Read more
Economic study shows irrigation pays big dividends
Irrigation adds about $3.6 billion to the provincial economy each year and has the potential to do even more
Reading Time: 2 minutes In these tough economic times, irrigation is a good news story. Irrigation in Alberta is attracting businesses, creating jobs, generating revenue for governments, and bolstering the economy. How do we know this? The Alberta Irrigation Projects Association commissioned a study to look at exactly that. While people in the irrigation industry understand the benefits and […] Read more
Drought years are proof that there’s more ‘crop per drop’
Two very dry years show that investments by both farmers and irrigation districts have greatly increased water-use efficiency
Reading Time: 3 minutes They were the two driest growing seasons in recent times — but when you look at water used for irrigation, 2001 and 2015 are very different. Last year, the amount of water diverted by the Eastern Irrigation District (EID) was almost 200,000 acre-feet less than in 2001, even though the number of acres under irrigation, […] Read more
The big two irrigated crops seeing some competition
Forages and cereals still dominate irrigated acreage, but oilseeds and specialty crops are growing in popularity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Each year, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development publishes a compilation of all 13 of the province’s irrigation districts’ data for the previous year. The latest figures show cereals and forages (pasture, hay and silage crops) still account for two-thirds of the 1,390,000 acres in the districts, but the trend is clear — forage production isn’t […] Read more
Irrigation investments, programs playing a big part in water conservation
A soon-to-be-published study estimates 170 million to 200 million cubic metres were saved from 1999 to 2012
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta producers and irrigation districts are making great strides toward conserving water, with both grants and individual investment producing tangible water and energy savings. Those efforts produced overall water savings of 170 million to 200 million cubic metres in Alberta’s 13 irrigation districts from 1999 to 2012, said Rod Bennett, director of Alberta Agriculture and […] Read more
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