Page 59 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

COST ANALYSIS AND WATER CONSERVATION POTENTIAL OF IRRIGATION
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WATER PLANNING AREA

an investment of $346,620 ($2,166.38 per acre) to irrigate the same

number of acres.

Operating Costs of Alternative System

Operating costs have two components, fixed and variable costs.
The fixed costs include depreciation, taxes, insurance and interest

charges associated with the investment (Pflueger, 2009). The variable
costs are comprised of fuel charges, lubrication, maintenance, repair

charges and labor costs.

The annual fixed costs are calculated for corn using an average water
requirement of 18.52 acre-inches per acre. The fixed costs range from

$0.84 per acre-inch to $3.98 per acre-inch for conventional furrow to drip,

respectively when growing high water use crop. The fixed costs to pump
and distribute an acre-inch of water with MESA, LESA, and LEPA for high

water use crop are $1.44, $1.84, and $2.05, respectively. Per acre-inch
fixed costs for low water use crop with MESA, LESA, and LEPA increase

to $3.60, $4.60, and $5.12, respectively because total water pumped in acre-
inches is lower than high water use crop assumption.

The variable costs per acre-inch of water pumped at four pumping

lifts under each alternative irrigation system are calculated. Variable
costs include fuel, lubrication, maintenance, and repair (LMR) charges

and labor costs. The variable costs for four pumping lifts are presented
in Table 4. The variable costs range from $9.96 per acre-inch at 250 feet

to $14.23 per acre-inch at 550 feet for furrow. The variable costs range
from $10.01 at 250 feet to $14.20 at 550 feet for drip.

Impact of Fuel Prices and Pumping Lift on Operating Costs

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