ITC conducts first educational program
By Rachel Alexander
Locating underground pipelines, measuring irrigated acreage, resolving boundary disputes and installing pipelines based on elevation mapping; this is how irrigation district employees in the Lower Rio Grande Valley intend to use what they learned at a Global Positioning System (GPS) short course offered through the recently established Irrigation Technology Center.
The Texas A&M University System established the Irrigation Technology Center to coordinate its water conservation programs throughout the state, said Guy Fipps, agricultural engineer with Texas Cooperative Extension. "The statewide network coupled with the proposed new facility in San Antonio gives the Rio Grande Basin and other regions the type of capability needed to improve irrigation technology, practices and innovation to help meet our future water demands," he said.
The GPS Short Course, the first educational program offered through the center, helped attendees learn the basics of mapping and surveying with GPS equipment. The advantage to these systems is quick and accurate mapping–the data obtained with GPS equipment can be used by computer- aided design (CAD) and geographic information system (GIS) software.
"Using GPS, the irrigation districts can do much of their surveying and engineering work without having to hire an outside firm," said Eric Leigh, course instructor and Extension associate.
In addition to two classroom sessions, the short course included a field training session. The cost of the course was underwritten by the Rio Grande Basin Initiative.
"We are interested in anything we can do to get the job done better, faster and more efficiently," said Bruce Thomas, short course attendee and residential water manager with La Feria Irrigation District. "The use of laptops in our trucks is one tool we have started using. GPS is another tool that will help us do our jobs better."
Learn more about the Irrigation Technology Center at http://itc.tamu.edu.
