Water use for agricultural irrigation in Georgia peaked during the 2011 drought according to USGS analysis of data from the Georgia Agricultural metering program, now available on the USGS Georgia Water Science Center website.
The program monitors annual and monthly irrigation using a network of more than 10,000 meters installed at points of withdrawal and distribution. Since 2007, more than 4,300 meters have been installed and are operating in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in southwestern Georgia.
“Data from the metering network can be used to evaluate the effects of irrigation on streamflows and groundwater levels during the growing season, providing information to help water resources management in Georgia,” said Lynn Torak of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Water use peaked during the drought year of 2011, when total irrigation volume was 10.2 million acre-inches, or 278 billion gallons, enough to cover the entire state of Georgia with slightly more than a quarter inch of water. By 2012, water use decreased to 7.2 million acre-inches or 196 billion gallons, and may reflect changes in crop type and conservation practices by farmers. The area of greatest irrigation use is in the southwestern part of the state, where water is pumped from the Upper Floridan aquifer and streams. Meter readings indicate that groundwater use outnumbers surface water by 3-to-1 and well-to-pond systems by 50-to-1.
The Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, operate a metering network that provides data to the public on a user-friendly website. The program was mandated by Georgia House Bill 579, signed into law on June 4, 2003, requiring the Commission to implement “a program of measuring farm uses of water in order to obtain clear and accurate information on the patterns and amounts of such use.” The Commission reads the meters and maintains the network, while the U.S. Geological Survey quality assures the data and uses geostatistical analysis to estimate irrigation of fields not metered by the program.
“Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry, and access to sufficient water is vitally important for agricultural producers,” said Brent Dykes, executive director of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
The website provides information on annual and monthly withdrawal in an easy to use format available. It includes maps and graphs summarizing water use by Georgia Water Planning Region and by stream basin.
The Georgia Agricultural Water Conservation and Metering Program has been released as USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5126, by Lynn J. Torak and Jaime A. Painter, available online.
