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<br />Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form <br /> <br />Form Revised October 2006 <br /> <br />5. Please provide a copy of the proposed scope of work. Please refer to Part 2 of the criteria and <br />guidance document for detailed requirements. Attach additional sheets as needed. <br /> <br />The results from the ongoing lysimeter project at the Arkansas Valley Research Center will provide field <br />measurements of evapotranspiration for the major crops grown in the Arkansas Valley. The end result <br />will be a data set to help address issues between Colorado and Kansas on water consutnption by crops <br />grown in the Arkansas River valley. <br /> <br />The goals of the lysimeter facility at the A VRC are: <br />1) Evaluate the performance and predictive accuracy of the ASCE standardized Penman-Monteith <br />equation for computing alfalfa reference crop evapotranspiratoin (ET) for the growing conditions in the <br />lower Arkansas Valley, and, <br /> <br />2) Determine crop coefficients (for use with the ASCE standardized Penman-Monteith equation) for the <br />various crops grown in the Arkansas River Valley under well-watered conditions, and <br /> <br />3) Determine the effects of typical local growing conditions (which may include limited irrigation, high <br />water table conditions and irrigation with water of high salinity contents) on crop water use. <br /> <br />The lysimeter construction is complete and calibration of the instrumentation is in process. An initial crop <br />of oats has been seeded to stabilize the site prior to planting alfalfa in the fall of 2007. A standard <br />protocol is being developed for establishing a uniform stand of alfalfa and initiating a furrow irrigation <br />system that will provide water to the lysimeter as well as the surrounding fetch area. Data loggers are <br />employed to record weight changes in the lysimeter as a function of time. Since the objective of the study <br />is to determine crop coefficients for the Pemnan-Monteith equation, accurate meteorological and water <br />use are both critical components. <br /> <br />The oversight and interpretation of ET data from the lysimeter will involve a team of scientists from CSU <br />and USDA-ARS (see table of technical consultants and the appended qualifications ofDrs. Bartolo and <br />Berrada). <br /> <br />The initial operation of the lysimeter requires employment of skilled personnel who are knowledgeable <br />about the intricacies of the lysitueter installation and operation. A research associate has been employed <br />by the Arkansas Valley Research Center and was instrumental in the successful installation and current <br />activities of calibrating lysimeter instrumentation. The operation of the lysimeter facility is also funded by <br />grants from the State Engineers Office and the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute as well as <br />supported by Agricultural Experiment Station staff at the Research Center. <br /> <br />6 <br />