Agricultural Flow Meter for Small Turnouts and Ditches

One of the key technical issues associated with agricultural irrigation is that effective management of water requires excellent measurement and control. If irrigation districts cannot provide reliable and flexible water delivery, this prevents growers from utilizing modern, efficient on-farm irrigation technologies. Great advances were made to flow measurement technology in the 1980ýýs and 1990ýýs; however, volumetric measurement still remains problematic under many conditions. Flow measurement is extremely important: the water resource cannot be effectively managed unless it is measured and controlled throughout the web of water delivery systems. In the entire western United States there is a need to monitor flow in small irrigation canals that are typically a few inches to a few feet deep. The present practice of flow measurement in these situations either uses inaccurate methods with inexpensive instruments or accurate methods with expensive instruments and time-consuming calibration procedures. There is a pressing need to have an appropriately priced, highly accurate instrument that requires little maintenance or calibration and can be used under a variety of circumstances. SonTek/YSI will apply its expertise in acoustic Doppler technology in developing a flow measurement sensor for small irrigation canals. Doppler technology is uniquely suited to these types of measurements. The new sensor will provide an accurate measurement in a wide range of environmental conditions and will work effectively within existing irrigation infrastructure. Work during Phase II will include improvements in measurement accuracy, new production techniques to reduce the manufacturing costs, application research to minimize the total cost of establishing and maintain a flow measurement site, and the construction and testing of prototype sensors. By the end of Phase II we will be able to quantify the performance of this sensor in a variety of environmental conditions and to provide guidance for its effective operation. We have identified a strong market need for this device for irrigation applications not only in the United States, but also in Australia, Southern Europe, and Central Asia. We are confident that this research will lead to a successful, commercial viable product that provide a valuable tool for improving the efficiency of irrigated agriculture both in the United States and around the world.