State touts success of its mobile irrigation labs
Agriculture operations saved 12 billion gallons of water in fiscal year.
Florida’s Mobile Irrigation Lab program helped agricultural operations save more than 12 billion gallons of water in the last fiscal year, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said Thursday.
The state’s 17 traveling labs provide free irrigation system evaluations and on-site education in 66 counties. Although the MIL program originally targeted agricultural water use, it also assists residential and commercial water users.
Landscapers, nurseries, and golf courses have benefited from the services provided by the MIL program.
“Florida agriculture is increasing water conservation and productivity with the help of the Mobile Irrigation Lab program’s modern technology and techniques,” Putnam said. “Only through increased efficiency and conservation can the needs of Florida’s diverse water users be met — and Florida agriculture is doing its part.”
Florida could face a 1.3 billion gallon-per-day shortfall of water by 2030, according to estimates developed by Florida’s water management districts, in cooperation with Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The Mobile Irrigation Lab program is a partnership between the Agriculture Department, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and local water management districts.
Between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, the MIL program conducted more than 1,000 evaluations that resulted in the conservation of an additional 1.2 billion gallons of water, bringing the program’s estimated annual water savings to more than 12 billion gallons.
For more information about the Palm Beach County irrigation lab, go to pbswcd.org.