ACHIEVING EFFICIENT WATER MANAGEMENT A Guidebook for Preparing Agricultural Water Conservation Plans December 1996 Prepared by SECOND EDITION September 2000 Updated by Bureau of Reclamation Table of Contents Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................... iv SECTION ONE – INTRODUCTION ..................................... 1 WHY RECLAMATION PREPARED THIS GUIDEBOOK ................ 2 WATER CONSERVATION VERSUS WATER MANAGEMENT ........... 3 WHO SHOULD USE THIS GUIDEBOOK? ............................ 4 WHAT IS GOOD WATER MANAGEMENT? .......................... 5 WHY DO WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING? ...................... 6 Benefits of Good Water Management Planning ..................... 6 Pitfalls Avoided by Good Water Management Planning .............. 7 Organization of this Guidebook ................................ 7 SECTION TWO – THE PLANNING PROCESS ............................ 9 OVERVIEW ................................................... 10 The Importance of Public Involvement .......................... 15 STEP 1 – INFORMATION GATHERING ............................ 17 Overview ................................................ 17 Checklist of Information Needs ................................ 17 STEP 2 – IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING ISSUES ................ 21 Overview ................................................ 21 Identifying Issues .......................................... 21 Water Budget Concept ...................................... 23 Checklist of Typical Issue Areas ............................... 28 Setting Priorities ........................................... 34 STEP 3 – SETTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ...................... 37 What are Goals? ........................................... 37 Goal Setting .............................................. 37 Example Goal Statements .................................... 39 i Table of Contents STEP 4 – IDENTIFYING CANDIDATE MEASURES CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING SPECIFIC GOALS ........................... 42 STEP 5 – EVALUATING THE CANDIDATE MEASURES .............. 46 Overview ................................................ 46 Describing the Effects of Candidate Measures ..................... 46 Displaying and Comparing Your Evaluations ..................... 50 STEP 6 – DEFINING A PLAN OF ACTION .......................... 52 Overview ................................................ 52 Selecting Measures for Implementation .......................... 52 Other General Considerations ................................. 54 Projecting Results of Selected Measures ......................... 57 Preparing an Implementation Schedule and Budget ................ 58 Preparing a Monitoring Program .............................. 59 STEP 7 – IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN OF ACTION .................. 61 STEP 8 – MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS ............ 62 STEP 9 – EVALUATING PROGRESS AND UPDATING THE PLAN ..... 63 SECTION THREE – CATALOG OF WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES . 65 FUNDAMENTAL WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES ............. 66 Water Measurement and Accounting Systems ..................... 66 Water Pricing Structure ..................................... 68 Educational Programs ....................................... 71 Designating a Water Conservation Coordinator ................... 72 INSTITUTIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES ............. 73 Water Shortage Contingency Plan ............................. 73 On-farm Conservation Incentives .............................. 75 Water Transfers ........................................... 76 Land Management ......................................... 78 OPERATIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES ............... 80 Improved Operating Procedures ............................... 80 Distribution Control ........................................ 82 System-wide Irrigation Scheduling ............................. 83 On-farm Irrigation Scheduling ................................ 86 Conjunctive Use ........................................... 88 FACILITIES-RELATED WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES ........ 92 Construction of Regulatory Reservoirs .......................... 92 Lining of Canals and Reservoirs ............................... 94 Water Reuse Systems ....................................... 96 Installation of Remote or Automated Controls .................... 98 ii Table of Contents SECTION FOUR – ASSEMBLING A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN ....... 99 WHY DO YOU NEED A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN DOCUMENT? . 100 SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR THE PLAN DOCUMENT ............... 101 Management Plan Document – Suggested Outline ............... 101 SPRINGFIELD IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN .......................... Example Plan-1 GLOSSARY ....................................................... G-1 APPENDIX ........................................................ A-1 Resources - Documents .......................................... A-2 Resources - Consumptive Use ..................................... A-6 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: The Planning Process .................................... 11 Table 1: The Process for Preparing and Implementing Water Management (Conservation Plans) .......................... 12 Figure 2: Typical Components of a Water Budget ...................... 23 Figure 3: Ideal Water Measurement System ........................... 24 Table 2: Example Monthly Water Budget ............................ 26 Figure 4: Evaluation Matrix ....................................... 51 Figure 5: Types of Water Pricing Structures .......................... 69 Figure 6: Water Conservation Through Improvements in System-wide Irrigation Scheduling .................................... 84 Figure 7: Irrigation Scheduling Based on Soil Moisture Status ............ 87 Figure 8: Conjunctive Use Program Which Takes Advantage of a Nearby Groundwater Supply ............................... 90 Figure 9: A Possible Demand and Supply Relationship and the Potential Benefit in Flexibility from Regulatory Storage .................. 93 Figure 10: Irrigation Water Reuse Systems to Capture Spills and Drainage ... 96 iii Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviations and Acronyms af acre-foot Act Clean Water Act CAP Central Arizona Project CCID Central California Irrigation District CIMIS California Irrigation Management Information System CVP Central Valley Project Districts Arnold and North Unit Irrigation Districts EA Environmental Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act ET evapotranspiration FIRI Farm Irrigation Rating Index Guidebook Achieving Efficient Water Management: A Guidebook for Preparing Agricultural Water Conservation Plans Handbook Incentive Pricing Handbook for Agricultural Water Districts IMS Irrigation Management Service M&I municipal and industrial maf million acre feet MWD Metropolitan Water District of Southern California NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service NCWCD Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District O&M operation and maintenance Reclamation U.S. Bureau of Reclamation RRA Reclamation Reform Act USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture USGS U.S. Geological Survey Warren Act Warren Act of February 21, 1991 WCUA Water Conservation and Utilization Act iv Introduction SECTION ONE – INTRODUCTION This section provides an overview of what this Guidebook is about, including: L Why the Bureau of Reclamation prepared this Guidebook L Water conservation versus water management L Who should use this Guidebook L What is good water management L Why do water management planning L Organization of the Guidebook 1 Section One WHY RECLAMATION PREPARED THIS GUIDEBOOK The Bureau of Reclamation prepared this Guidebook to help agricultural water districts and irrigation organizations prepare water conservation and management plans to achieve more efficient water use. The Guidebook is aimed at organizations of all sizes and complexities, both Federally-supplied and private. The first edition of this Guidebook was prepared in 1996 by Hydrosphere Resource Consultants under contract with Reclamation. As a result of ongoing experience with districts and other organizations, Reclamation determined that the Guidebook required updating. This “Second Edition” has been updated by Reclamation. Products such as this manual support and strengthen Reclamation's overall water management mission. Through products such as this, Reclamation hopes to cooperatively work with others to improve water resource management and the efficiency of water use throughout the western United States. In particular, this manual supports Reclamation's responsibility under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (Sections 210a and 210b) and other Reclamation law, to encourage more efficient water use by the districts it serves. 2 Introduction WATER CONSERVATION VERSUS WATER MANAGEMENT One objective of this Guidebook is to help districts prepare water conservation plans called for in Section 210(b) of the Reclamation Reform Act. However, the methods and measures described in the Guidebook are more broadly aimed at helping districts improve their overall water management. The term “water conservation” has different meanings to different people. To some, it even has negative connotations. Therefore, when “water conservation” is used in this Guidebook, it means “good water management and efficient water use.” We encourage you to take this broader view as you use this Guidebook. 3 Section One WHO SHOULD USE THIS GUIDEBOOK This Guidebook is meant to be used by irrigators, the managers and staff of irrigation organizations,