The Yuma Arizona area has a long history of water resources development relating to the Colorado River. This is due to several factors including a supply of high priority Colorado River water, fertile soils, and an availability of a work force. It has prospered because of these factors and because of high agricultural efficiencies and technological innovations.
This presentation will provide a general overview of irrigation management in Yuma County as summarized in the recently completed report entitled A Case Study in Efficiency—Agricultural and Water Use in the Yuma, Arizona Area. Included in this presentation will be a review of recent water use and cropping patterns and factors that impact irrigation infrastructure, management/scheduling, and efficiencies.
Bill Plummer provides consulting services to irrigation districts, towns and cities in Arizona and has been involved in numerous water and water related programs in South and Southeast Asia for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the United Nations. He has served in a number of policy and management positions in Washington, DC, Denver, Salt Lake City and Boulder City, Nevada with the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of the Interior. From 1978 to 1985 he was responsible for all Bureau of Reclamation activities in both the Upper (1978-1981) and Lower (1981-1985) Colorado River Basins. He was the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources from 1988 to 1991 and General Manager of the Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District in 2006-2007. He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont and a M.S. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.
Dr. Paul Brown serves as Extension Specialist and Research Scientist in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, and Associate Director for Arizona Cooperative Extension at the University of Arizona. He educational training includes a B.S. degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Missouri and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Brown developed the Extension Biometeorology Program at the University of Arizona and is responsible for conducting applied research and Extension programming in such areas as agricultural climatology, crop water requirements, irrigation and salinity management, heat stress and frost management. He developed and oversees the operation of the Arizona Meteorological Network (AZMET), a network of automated weather stations that provides weather related information to producers of agricultural and horticultural crops.
