Irrigation

One of the most important jobs when growing grass for hay is irrigation. Through trial and error our irrigation process has evolved. When we first arrived at the property in 2004, we made a visit to the local irrigation office. The Maricopa Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District (MSIDD) is the group that organizes the distribution of irrigation water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal system to us and our neighbors. This CAP started many years ago and the repayment for the project to the federal government by the state was based on the projected price of cotton many years in advance. The state owed the feds for the construction of the canal system and the details have elluded me despite some shallow investigation. "Desert Cadillac" is a book about the wheelings and dealings of the possession of water in the southwest. Water is like gold to people in the desert.

We made a deposit to MSIDD so that we could order water to irrigate our fields. We call at least 24 hours in advance to schedule the amount of water, approximate time duration, and to what water box it should flow through. In 2004 the cost of water was $21.00 per acre foot. That is a foot of water on an acre of land. The water box houses a meter which tells us the flow rate of the water and a numerical reading that informs us of the total acre feet that runs through to our fields.

The guys that drive all over the district monitoring the meters and starting and stopping water, start their day at 7:00am and make it back to the office by 3:00pm. If you need anything done after hours it will cost us $50.00. The start of our water is delayed by the amount of time it takes for the guys to drive from the office to our water box and the shut off is early enough to give them time to get back to the office by 3:00pm. That means that we have between 8:00am and 2:30pm to get assistance. We have to have their personnel open and close the gate for our water or adjust it to increase or decrease the flow rate. That is the rule, and the big padlock on the chain on the wheel that opens and closes the gate enforces that rule.

Before we could begin watering we had to do some modifications to our ditch that runs from east to west at the southern end of our fields. The previous owner had applied for a grant through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to have the ditches (previously dirt) converted to concrete ditches. To make a long story short, the contractor did not do an acceptable job in the opinion of NRCS and told the previous owner not to accept the work. The previous owner told NRCS that he would accept the work, took the check and then told the contractor that he didn't accept the work and wouldn't pay them. So he stole the money. As a result, we can not get any further assistance with the ditches and they are very thin in places and crack easily. We spent time mending cracks and knocked out pre-cut circles in the ditch to attach corrugated pipe to direct the water into the fields at three points on each field. This required hauling a trailer with a generator, concrete mixer, and water in a barrel (gravity fed) to install these. The project seemed endless, but we finally got all but two ports complete. The two remaining port holes are on a field that we have not at this point planted. Donald also spent a great deal of time and energy hand shoveling the ditches of accumulated silt and debris. This has to be done regularly to keep the ditches clear to handle thewater volume, otherwise the water will overflow.

When we started we asked lots of questions about how much water we should expect to use for our fields from local farmers. The advice was to call for shut off when the water reaches 2/3 of the way down the field. Each of our fields are 1/4 of a mile long. The meter measures the amount of water used to calculate our bill. Our very first irrigation was a family affair. We all waited excitedly for the water to make its way down the ditch. Our yellow Lab, Star, was present and made the best of the experience. We even videotaped the "irrigation celebration."

Through the years we have made some changes to our irrigation process. When the mosquitoes hit mid-summer in swarms so thick, the horses had to be put in the barn to prevent them from hurting themselves in their frantic runs to get away from the pests. It was miserable, and we all still dread mosquito season. In attempts to at least minimize the mosquitoes, and decrease water usage (as the price has gradually increased to $45.00 per acre foot by 2009), we began working with calculations of acre feet of water per field. We now take a meter reading and switch water to the next field when the prescribed acre footage has been sent to a field. So at this time we water our 10 acre fields with approximately 1.5 to 2 acre feet per field each irrigation session. This helps to minimize the standing water. Of course, insects have become very adapted to the infrequent rain fall of the desert and complete full life cycles within days when water becomes available. So we still have a mosquito issue, but it certainly is not as bad as when we took the advice of the locals, waiting for 2/3 of the field to be covered.
We have investigated non-toxic products to add to the water in attempts to eradicate the mosquitoes, but haven't found anything that works with our ditch system as of yet. If there is anything that would drive me from this lifestyle it would be the mosquitoes. I just can't tolerate them myself, let alone the severe irritation they are to our animals, and the fear of West Nile disease. We have two Mosquito Magnets running all season long and the horses wear flysheets and fly/mosquito spray. Each horse stall has their own sprayer misting fly repellant intermittently throughout the day and night. As soon as the sun starts to go down, we go inside and don't come out until daybreak through the summer season. The grasses are full of mosquitoes looking for cooler hiding places, so that the horses' noses are covered with mosquitoes while the graze. They have blood spots all over their bodies from smashing blood-filled mosquitoes with their noses.


We receive a monthly statement from MSIDD which informs us of our usage and the balance. We must maintain money in the balance in order to receive water. There are mistakes that appear at times, so it is very important to keep accurate records of the meter readings to compare to the statements. We currently have four land owners that share the leg off of the canal in which the same water box provides the meter readings. It is manageable at this point because for the most part we are able to communicate when we are planning to water and coordinate any "handing off" of the water. I always will call into the dispatcher to make them aware of the meter readings and time at which any exchange from us to another or vice versa occurs. In the future as we increase the number of users on the ditch, it will be necessary to start our own group with a designated water master to coordinate water assignments with the locals and MSIDD. We still haven't gotten too far with this project, probably because we know it involves a great deal of research and clarifying the legal ramifications of the responsibility.

One of the on-going challenges of the irrigation process, particularily for me, is the tumbleweeds that tumble across the desert and into the ditches. There are points along the ditch that have turns or piping that the debris will get clogged. I try to clear the ditches when they are dry. I am strong enough to toss dry tumbleweeds, but if the wind is blowing them in once the water is in the ditch, I am in for a weight lifting experience. There have been times that a clog has overflowed and I have to fork the compressed debris out as fast as possible, so as not to wash out a roadway or waste gallons of water (that we pay for). I have been in tears struggling to continue pulling debris out, laughing at myself crying in self pity and from the burning pain in my shoulder muscles. See I irrigate during the week when Donald is away at work, and I am on my own to do the job. I am very thankful when there is no wind on an irrigation day.

Another challenge to the ditch system is the gophers that dig from upwards of 50 yards away, up to the concrete ditch. They dig out vacancies below the ditch that make it vulnerable to cracking. Once a crack occurs the water will leak through the gopher's tunnel system to a lone hole yards away, where the water accumulates quickly. The vegetation is always thriving in these areas. We have tried to pour concrete into the holes to fill, but the space is so vast that we discovered that it never fills. We patch cracks now. We also drive heavy equipment next to the ditches in order to crush any pockets that the gophers have dug and to smash the tunnel systems to stop up the water passages.

At this time we have developed a day to day irrigation which allows us to sleep through the night, or a one-nighter that requires us to switch from field to field after approximately 5-6 hours if the flow rate is 5 cfs. The flow rate has to be below 7 cfs or the water will overflow the ditches. At that speed the water can't force itself through the port holes fast enough and will eventually spill over the ditch. We have worked it out so that the 4.5-5 cfs flow rate allows us enough time to water the three planted fields overnight with out requiring the assistance of the irrigation personnel that would cost additional money. This is assuming that they get the cfs set correctly before they leave or that there are no scheduled changes in the night that may increase or decrease the flow rate. Decreases are less of a problem. We just water longer. Increases are a problem. If the water is coming too fast we finish watering before any one is on duty and we have no where to send the additional water.

Today is and irrigation of one of the horse pastures. This field only requires approximately .5 acre feet to irrigate sufficiently. However, today I will be testing the tree watering trench that cuts into the northern or low end of the pasture and feed northward to all of our newly planted trees. I am hoping to use this method of watering so that I can eventually discontinue the process of hauling water from our well in the front loader of the tractor to water each individual tree. I will have to do so until the trees are established and from time to time when the summer temperatures become extreme this first year. Eventually, I would like to add trenches with tree wells around the various horse areas (arenas, roundpens) in order to provide some shade and of course the beauty of trees.

I have to go and close the neighbor's gates so that the water will make its way to our property and dig out a few clumps in my tree trench, so the water will make its way to the trees this morning. Nothing like a little manual labor to start my day.