Page 63 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

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

results in additional annual water saving of 26,242 acre-feet. The saving

in water is probably not economically feasible at an investment cost of
$837.68 per acre.

The estimated water savings from both the approaches are
compared. The estimated water savings using an equal water use

approach exceed the savings utilizing an indexed water use approach

under all alternatives. Water savings from MESA is 8.00 percent.
Converting to LEPA, water savings are 18.00 percent and to drip

irrigation the savings range from 19.00 to 20.00 percent of the base
requirement over the next 50 years.

It is anticipated that the water savings calculated with an indexed

water use approach are overestimated because of the assumption that the
crop mix and number of irrigated acres in the region will remain constant

during the next 50 years. The validity of this assumption seems
unrealistic. The water saving estimates need to be verified through

future research. Producers making investments in more efficient
irrigation technology will definitely thrive for cultivating those crops

with higher marginal value per acre-inch of water pumped.

Summary
Six irrigation systems are identified and analyzed with respect to

cost and potential water savings. Irrigation systems analyzed include
furrow, surge flow, mid-elevation spray application (MESA), low

elevation sprinkler application (LESA), low energy precision application
(LEPA) and subsurface drip.

Converting current furrow acreage (60 percent application

efficiency) to surge flow (75 percent) would save between 4.84 and 5.25

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