Agricultural News
Water Conservation and Resource Expansion are Vital for Healthy Ag Expansion, Tom Buchanan Says
Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:41:20 CST
The success of agriculture is tied directly the availability of ample supplies of water. Tom Buchanan, the manager of the Altus-Lugert-Altus Irrigation District spoke to Oklahoma Farm Bureau members about water issues at their recent Leadership Conference. After his presentation, he spoke with Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays about how the state should proceed on water issues.
"Without a doubt the first thing we've got to do is to address true conservation measures and they've got to start happening today. In western Oklahoma, in southwestern Oklahoma which I know about, we are running out of water as we speak. Most of our municipal supplies look like they're good for two years, but two years happens real, real quick. And if demand were to increase or if this drought were to escalate, evaporation alone can cut that two years down to where we're looking at very quickly being out of water. So, conservation has to be the first thing that comes to mind. We've got to make it happen today.
"In addition to that, additional development's got to start happening. In Oklahoma w rely greatly on surface water and all our surface impoundments are old, antiquated. Some of the newest lakes we have were built in the mid- to late 70s. So we have our newest infrastructure to store water is old today. And it's incumbent upon this generation to pick up the banner and pick up where the other one left off and do new infrastructure development to store water with for future generations of Oklahomans."
Lugert-Altus did not release any water for cotton irrigation last year, and this year is not looking much more promising, Buchanan said.
"We don't have enough water to make another crop on. However, our historic inflows happen primarily in the May and June time frames. And that's when we will get the significant inflow, historically. So, talking about it today is truly too early to say, but we're still holding out hope. We've got all our fingers crossed and toes, too, because we've missed two cotton crops down there in a row. I don't mean bad crops, I mean missed them. It's been because of a lack of water. And, hopefully, Mother Nature turns this around and we have adequate supplies for the coming summer. Producers need it. Local economies need it. Communities themselves are beginning to suffer. We're really starting to see that agriculture is the driving force in western Oklahoma behind oil and gas or equal with oil and gas. Rains need to come."
When it comes to finding more water for western Oklahoma, Buchanan says one logical place to look is in eastern Oklahoma.
"We would love to have that water. Without a doubt, that's good high-quality water. Western Oklahoma is water deficit. Our ground water is very poor quality and, in many instances, it is so bad quality that you can't use it. So, we're reliant upon surface water. And when we look to eastern Oklahoma and see all that surface water, we think there's an abundance."
Buchanan says that agriculture can play a tremendous part in the future of Oklahoma and access to adequate supplies will determine just how large a part agriculture will actually play.
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