Governor’s Task Force to Host Irrigation and Water Conservation Summit
The Governor’s Delta Sustainable Water Resources Task Force will host an Irrigation and Water Conservation Summit at the Capps Center in Stoneville, MS, on Tuesday, December 15th, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The event will begin with a General Session followed by four Breakout Sessions, each with five concurrent presentations. Producers, landowners, consultants, natural resource professionals and other interested parties may choose which presentation to attend during each Breakout Session. After the second Breakout Session, another General Session will be held as lunch is served before resuming Breakout Sessions at 1:00 p.m.
The initial General Session will include introductory remarks by Kay Whittington, Director of the Office of Land and Water Resources at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Whittington will discuss the Volunteer Metering Program and Task Force progress. Dr. Jason Krutz, Mississippi State University Irrigation Specialist, will present results from the 2015 MSU RISER Program during lunch.
The four breakout sessions will include the following presentations on ways to better manage water resources to achieve both personal water management goals and regional goals for more efficient water use and reduced groundwater pumping:
· Alternate wetting and drying in rice production
· Groundwater modeling to evaluating potential solutions to sustain groundwater supplies for irrigation
· Computerized hole selection
· More efficient and effective surface water use throughout he Delta
· Irrigating sealing soils
· Effectively using soil moisture sensors
· Case study of Louisiana’s Red Bayou Surface Water Irrigation Project
· NRCS irrigation management practice Incentives
· Recharging the aquifer with direct Injection.
Breakout Session speakers will include professionals from Mississippi State University, USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, YMD Joint Water Management District, Delta Plastics, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U. S. Geological Survey, and the Louisiana NRCS office. Farmers will also be coupled with several speakers to share their experiences related to the subject matter being discussed. All Breakout Sessions will be offered twice during the day.
Lunch will be provided to those attending the event, but no registration is required. All producers, landowners, consultants, natural resource professionals and other interested parties are welcome to attend.
The Task Force, which includes the Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District, Delta Council, Delta F.A.R.M., Mississippi Farm Bureau, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, was formed to develop and implement actions to sustain water resources for agriculture, fisheries, and wildlife in the Delta.
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