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As water-use concerns face many areas of the country, the Irrigation Association (IA) has dubbed July “Smart Irrigation Month” in an effort to educate the industry and its customers on proper and efficient irrigation. In related news, the IA announced today that it will be partnering with the National Ground Water Association on scientific, technical and policy issues related to ground water and wells.
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Directors of the two associations signed a mutual cooperation agreement outlining common interests and objectives, including communication on technical and public policy matters.
"Decisions about water are often based on emotions," said IA Executive Director Tom Kimmell. "It is in the interest of the Irrigation Association, our members, and the National Ground Water Association to encourage policy decisions based on science. This agreement allows our organizations to work together to support research and fact-based public policy where ground water and irrigation are concerned."
The IA represents irrigation equipment manufacturers, distributors, dealers, irrigation system designers, contractors, educators, researchers and installers in public and private sectors. With more than 15,000 members worldwide, NGWA is the largest association representing the ground water industry. NGWA membership includes many leading public and private sector ground water scientists, engineers, water well contractors, manufacturers and suppliers.
"Irrigation uses the largest amount of ground water in the United States," said NGWA Executive Director Kevin McCray. "Consequently, our organizations share an interest in the wise use and protection of ground water for those who need it now and in the future. It makes sense that the ground water and well system experts work cooperatively with the irrigation system experts in what inherently is a symbiotic relationship.”
About 70 percent of all ground water withdrawals in the United States go to irrigation, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report from 2004.
According to the agreement, areas of increased cooperation could include joint research, conferences, education and training, policy statements, technical documents or business development.
For more information, visit www.irrigation.org or www.ngwa.org.
| IA SPONSORS AUSTRALIA STUDY TOUR | |
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Irrigation Association is sponsoring its first international irrigation study tour with a 19-day trip to New Zealand and Australia starting in late September.
This exclusive tour will include private meetings with leading irrigation professionals, professors and practitioners, with opportunities to see their results in agriculture, parks and the region's most popular destinations. The itinerary is packed with sightseeing, opportunities to relax and socialize with fellow irrigation and green industry guests plus private tours of farms, orchards, a model farm, parks, botanical garden, a turf-topped Parliament house in Canberra, an irrigation manufacturer, and a golf course. Australia is known as the world's driest continent, so the tour provides an opportunity to learn first-hand how a region with vast ranges of precipitation and water has managed its extremes so well. A sample day includes a visit to Lincoln University's model farm, a stop at the historic French-settled harbor village of Akaroa on New Zealand's Banks Peninsula and a cruise that could provide a glimpse of the rare Hector's Dolphins. The trip departs Los Angeles Sept. 29 and returns Oct. 17, with an optional four-day extension to Cairns in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Applications and a deposit are required before May 1. Contact Doug Fender at doug@dougfendertravel.com or call toll free 888/272-6498 for a brochure or more information. |
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