District extends successful Mobile Irrigation Lab program

HAVANA – The Governing Board for the Northwest Florida Water Management District recently approved funding for the Mobile Irrigation Lab program for a 13th year.

The Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) helps the agricultural community of northwest Florida increase irrigation efficiency, conserve water resources, and reduce nutrient loading while also reducing operating costs. Since implementing the MIL program in 2004, the District has increased water savings to approximately 9.25 million gallons per day.

The District’s Governing Board approved $71,125 in funding for the program in Fiscal Year 2016-2017. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services also provided $82,364 to help fund the program while the National Resources Conservation Service provided $61,450 in in-kind budget expenses. The total annual cost for the Mobile Irrigation Lab service is approximately $215,214.

“The Mobile Irrigation Lab and programs like it are at the very core or our mission to protect and preserve the natural resources of northwest Florida,” said George Roberts, chair of the District’s Governing Board. “We are grateful for the support from DACS and the NRCS to help continue this highly successful program.”

Since 2004, the MIL program has completed 777 evaluations, covering an irrigated area of over 57,000 acres. MIL evaluations are free and voluntary with the team providing irrigation system checks, meter calibration checks, and irrigation consultations to agricultural producers.

The MIL provides assistance across all 16 counties in the District with priority given to systems within delineated spring recharge basins in Jackson County and within the Water Resource Caution Area in Gadsden County.

For more information on the Northwest Florida Mobile Irrigation Lab, please visit: https://nwfwp.sgssys.info//Water-Resources/Agriculture/Mobile-Irrigation-Lab.