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<br />.' <br /> <br />Procurement of high-water-use land by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation has been completed. Citrus lands purchased have been <br />cleared and the trees cut and ch'pped or windrowed to provide <br />wildlife cover. <br /> <br />In addition to its primary purpose, there was another <br />benefit to the acreage reduction. The District's original <br />contract with the United States was for sufficient water for use <br />on 75,000 acres, or for 300,000 acre feet per year, diversions <br />less return flows. It has been demonstrated on this project that <br />300,(~0 acre feet of water is not sufficient to irrigate 75,000 <br />acres in the southwestern desert, where the year-round growing <br />season ma~es double cropping the norm. Even with several <br />thousand acres of the original 75,000 not yet developed, the net <br />usage (yearly diversions, less return flows) had exceeded the <br />o\llolr,ed I imit several times. The reduction in total irrigable <br />area from 75,000 acres to 65,000 acres will make it less <br />difficult to remain within the allowable consumptive use. <br /> <br />B. Irrigation Schedul ing <br /> <br />A major and ongoing feature of the return flow <br />reduction effort was the establ ishment within the District of a <br />prototype irrigation schedul ing service. Over the years, this <br />service has developed the use of neutron probe moisture meters, <br />infra-red gun thermometers, and other sophisticated techniques <br />for determining not only soil moisture content, but rates of <br />depletion and recommended dates and amounts of re-fill. <br />Obviously, the overall effect of th.s program is to el iminate the <br />unnecessary application of irrigation water, any excess of which <br />is lost to deep percolation, thus necessitating groundwater <br />pumping. Measuring flumes were also part of each on-farm ditch <br />rehabi1 itation, to allow the farmer to know exactly how much <br />water waS beIng used ,n an irrigation. Th.s program has led to a <br />more efficient water use by the land operators. <br /> <br />C. Precision Levell ing <br /> <br />Wellton-Mohaw~ saw the development and first widespread <br />use of laser land-levell in9 equipment. In addition to the use of <br />laser equipped tractors in the initial levelling of new ground, <br />operators in this area are now using tOUCh-up laser-controlled <br />field finishing as a routine step between crops. As the great <br />majority of irrigated land in the Wel 1 ton-Mohawk consists of <br />dead-level basins, fields can be irrigated with a minimum <br />appl ication of water, resulting in a significant amount of water <br />being saved. <br /> <br />D. Improved Farm Di tches and Turnouts <br /> <br />Even though the original construction of District <br />facil ,tIes saw only concrete-lined distribution laterals bUIlt, <br />some of the water users' on-farm ditches were unlined or had <br />deteriorated, very thin concrete 1 inings. Publ ic Law 93-320 made <br />