Irrigation System Modernization
Helping water users evaluate infrastructure improvements that conserve water, create energy opportunities and strengthen rural communities.
Opportunities for Irrigation Modernization
Irrigation canals and pipelines deliver water to nearly 60 million acres of U.S. farmland. Much of this infrastructure is aging, creating maintenance, water-management and financial challenges for the organizations that operate it.
Modernization projects—from lining or piping canals to adding hydropower and solar generation—can improve water delivery, reduce losses, lower operating costs and create new sources of revenue. INL helps irrigation districts and other water users explore these opportunities and identify projects that fit their systems, priorities and communities.
How INL Supports Irrigation Modernization
INL works with irrigation districts, canal companies, farmers, utilities, technology providers and government agencies to evaluate irrigation modernization opportunities.
INL is seeking irrigation districts and water users interested in using IrrigationViz and collaborating on irrigation modernization projects.
Infrastructure mapping and visualization
Map irrigation infrastructure, system features and potential improvement opportunities.
Water-conservation analysis
Assess opportunities to reduce water losses through infrastructure improvements.
Hydropower and solar-generation estimates
Estimate potential energy generation from hydropower and solar technologies.
Project cost and benefit comparisons
Compare potential costs, savings, revenue and other project benefits.
Modernization scenario development
Develop and compare improvement scenarios based on system needs and priorities.
Data integration and export
Combine public and local data for analysis and use in other software.
Technical assistance and stakeholder engagement
Provide technical support and engage stakeholders in modernization planning and evaluation.
IrrigationViz
Developed by INL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, IrrigationViz is an online planning and visualization tool that helps water-delivery organizations explore potential improvements to their systems.
Users can combine publicly available information with local data to map existing infrastructure, compare modernization scenarios and identify high-priority projects. The tool allows water users to explore “what-if” scenarios before committing significant resources to engineering, permitting or construction.
IrrigationViz can help users:
- Compare canal piping and lining options
- Estimate potential water and cost savings
- Evaluate hydropower, ground-mounted solar, floating solar and canopy solar opportunities
- Examine proximity to electric transmission infrastructure
- Estimate potential energy generation and revenue
- Map boundaries, canals and other system features
- Export project data for use in other software
- Develop early-stage concepts that may support funding applications
Modernization Opportunities
Depending on local needs and conditions, irrigation modernization can support:
Water conservation
Reduce seepage, evaporation and other water losses through piping, lining and improved system management.
Energy generation
Evaluate opportunities to incorporate hydropower, solar or floating solar into existing infrastructure.
Operational efficiency
Improve water delivery while reducing maintenance demands and operating costs.
Financial resilience
Identify projects that could generate revenue or strengthen applications for federal funding.
Environmental benefits
Explore improvements that may support habitat restoration and healthier waterways.
Community resilience
Strengthen the infrastructure supporting farms, rural economies and local water supplies.
Turlock Irrigation District
Turlock Irrigation District in central California helped INL and PNNL improve IrrigationViz by providing operational insights and real-world system data. The district manages more than 250 miles of gravity-fed canals serving approximately 150,000 acres of farmland and also operates an electric generation and distribution system.
The partnership helped researchers expand IrrigationViz to evaluate additional energy technologies, including ground-mounted, floating and canopy solar installations. By incorporating feedback from a large, complex irrigation district, the team improved the tool’s usefulness for water-delivery organizations of different sizes and configurations.
Connect with our Team
Interested in modernizing an irrigation system, evaluating a potential energy project or helping improve IrrigationViz? Contact INL to discuss your organization’s needs and opportunities to collaborate.
Additional Resources