MANASOTA & PEACE RIVER BBDs Meeting Notebook 10-21-09.docx

B256
Automated Citrus Irrigation Management to Reduce Water
Consumption
Project Type Basin Initiatives
AOR(s)
Water Supply, Flood Protection, Water Quality
Basin(s) Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Peace River, Manasota
Cooperator(s)
University of Florida
Project Manager COHEN, RON
Task Manager(s)
Status Ongoing
Description
Agriculture is the largest permitted water use in the District and citrus production is the largest of those permitted uses.
Over 366MGD are permitted for citrus irrigation and most of that water use is in the SWUCA. This project will help
citrus growers reduce their water use by developing tools to automate and improve irrigation scheduling. These tools
can be used by the District's FARMS program to further expand their conservation efforts. Although citrus acres have
been on the decline it seems to have reached a stabilizing point. With the increase in the recent price of citrus the
District might even see an increase in the number of acres. The permitted acres for citrus is still relatively high and
even a minor reduction in water use or fertilizer application could have a significant impact on the District's water
resources. The proposed project will investigate the use of new low-cost automatic irrigation pump controllers with
wireless remote monitoring and control. This low cost system (