The Flint River SWCD received a grant through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's (EPD) Regional Water Plan Seed Grant program. In addition to the District and EPD, project partners include the University of Georgia (UGA), The Nature Conservancy of Georgia, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The purpose of the project is to build on the foundation established in the 2011 CIG project linking the UGA Smart Sensor Array (SSA) and Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) technology. VRI enables the producer to more precisely apply irrigation water and the SSA provides decisions on when and how much to irrigate. Together the two technologies form a dynamic VRI system with remote upload capacity. This project will implement this innovative system and collect data on fields in the Spring Creek Basin.

Photograph courtesy of Matt Hanner

The Flint River SWCD was selected to lead a national USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River (ACFR) Basin in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. This 5-year project seeks to address the natural resource concerns of water quantity and water quality throughout the watershed, working together with over 30 partners from all three states. RCPP is a new program authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Photograph courtesy of Matt Hanner

The Flint River SWCD was also selected to lead a state USDA-NRCS RCPP project in the Lower Flint River Basin of Georgia. Focusing on irrigation efficiency and technology, the goal of this project is to implement agricultural water conservation measures throughout the Lower Flint River Basin with 10 regional partners.

Photograph courtesy of Calvin Perry/UGA

In 2013, the Flint River SWCD received a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to design, develop, and deploy an on-farm irrigation water management project. The purpose of the project is to reduce the cost of advanced irrigation scheduling so that all producers can optimize irrigation decisions by using objective field data such as soil moisture, soil temperature, crop growth stage, and localized evapotranspiration. The final result of the project will be a near real-time recommendation on irrigation scheduling with a smartphone application. Project partners include USDA-NRCS, the University of Georgia (UGA), and USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Lab. 

In partnership with USDA-NRCS, the Flint River SWCD provides technical assistance to area producers through a Mobile Irrigation Lab. The purpose of the Flint River SWCD’s Mobile Irrigation Lab is to evaluate the uniformity of the center pivot irrigation systems by testing the sprinkler application rates of the system. 

In 2011, the Flint River SWCD was awarded a CIG from USDA-NRCS designed to advance irrigation water management tools by linking variable rate irrigation and soil moisture monitoring on 10 field sites (approximately 2,000 acres) in the Flint River Basin. The objective was to maximize irrigation efficiency and offset the impacts of low-flow conditions on aquatic-based ecosystems. A major objective of this project was to develop a set of cost-effective tools to help agricultural producers more accurately and efficiently schedule irrigation. Collaborating partners include USDA-NRCS, UGA, USDA-ARS, The Nature Conservancy, and the Jones Ecological Research Center.

Photograph courtesy of Mark Godfrey/TNC

In partnership with Coca-Cola, the Flint River SWCD sponsors a soil moisture monitoring demonstration project for the Sunbelt Ag Expo each year as well as on farms with local producers in the Lower Flint River Basin. This project has also implemented variable rate irrigation systems for water conservation in the region over the last several years. Through this partnership, Coca-Cola has supported conservation efforts in the Lower Flint River Basin since 2007 as part of their Global Water Sustainability Replenishment commitment.

Partnering with USDA-NRCS, the Flint River SWCD conducted outreach events throughout southwest Georgia to educate and inform local producers, especially those who may not be familiar with USDA programs, about opportunities for conservation. This project also produced new resources for producers, which can be found on our new Resources page.

The AIM project was funded by a federal appropriation with the purpose of advancing irrigation water management in the Basin. AIM was designed to bring together VRI and RSMM on working farms during the 2010 and 2011 crop seasons. Building on research conducted by UGA, the AIM project advanced the use and field functionality of new iterations of RSMM and VRI technology, by deploying it jointly on more than 5,000 acres of irrigated cropland.

Photograph courtesy of Matt Hanner

In 2009, the Flint River SWCD was awarded a 5-year, $10 million USDA-NRCS Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) to fund water conservation practices in the Lower Flint River Basin. The project's key achievement beyond the transfer of innovative irrigation water management practices was in building NRCS standards for each of the AWEP practices. Producers in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina may now access variable rate irrigation and soil moisture sensing technology through the USDA-NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). 

Photograph courtesy of Mark Godfrey/TNC

In 2005, the Flint River SWCD was awarded its first USDA-NRCS CIG to deploy soil moisture sensing equipment on 2,500 acres of irrigated cropland. Because of a lack of vertical structures, the project team used grain elevators and water towers to construct a 100 square mile wireless broadband telemetry network to relay soil moisture data in real-time from the field. The project enabled each participating producer to make proactive irrigation decisions about when to irrigate and how much water to apply. 

Funded by USDA-NRCS EQIP's 2004 ground and surface water conservation provision, the VRI pilot project deployed 22 VRI systems on approximately 3,500 acres of irrigated cropland in the Basin between 2005 and 2007. To achieve this, the District worked with researchers, contractors, and agricultural producers to develop the VRI precision agriculture technology and integrate it into commercial production. 

Photograph courtesy of Bridget Besaw/TNC