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The Lower Colorado Region

The Lower Colorado Region covers nearly all of Arizona, the southern portion of Nevada, and southern California, and encompasses over 1,259,000 acres of agriculture irrigated with Bureau of Reclamation project water (see Figure 1 below).  Within the USBR, the LCR is divided into four geographic sub areas: the Phoenix Area, the Regional Office area, the Southern California area, and the Yuma area.  Multiple irrigation districts exist within each sub area, with many of these districts serviced by local salinity assessment action agencies.

The LCRSAN represents a pilot scale tech-transfer program initiated by the Salinity Laboratory and USBR Lower Colorado Region for the local salinity assessment action agencies within the Yuma area.  Figure 2 displays the locations of each salinity assessment action agency (SAAA) which currently belong to the Lower Colorado Region Salinity Assessment Network.  Additionally, Table 1 lists each agencies local sponsor and corresponding coverage area, and Table 2 presents some brief background information about each sponsor and agricultural region.

External (Out-of-Area) SAAA Locations 

In addition to the LCR geographical area, the LCRSAN also actively incorporates and supports out-of-area locations requesting membership status.  Like all internal members, external members receive their assessment related training, surveying instruction, and hardware integration advice directly from the Salinity Laboratory.  Equipment funding and cost sharing support for these members can either originate from their associated regional USBR locations, other governmental agencies, or via their own internal programs.

The LCRSAN currently includes two out-of-area SAAA programs, both located in Northern Colorado: the NRCS co-sponsored salinity assessment and water management outreach program and the NCWCD salinity assessment program.  More information about each programs local sponsor and corresponding coverage area can be found in Table 3.  Additional sponsor background information and descriptions of the associated agricultural region(s) are presented in Table 4.


 
The USBR Lower Colorado Region The LCR salinity assessment action agency program locations
Figure 1.  The USBR Lower 
Colorado Region.		 Figure 2.  LCR-SAAA 
program locations.
Note: For a detailed map of the Lower Colorado Region operational areas, use the link shown below:


Table 1.  SAAA locations, coverage areas, and local sponsors (Lower Colorado Region).
Location Coverage Area Local Sponsor
Coachella Coachella Valley Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District
Imperial Greater Imperial Valley Imperial Irrigation District
Palo Verde Palo Verde Valley Soil & Water West (private contractor)
Parker CO River Indian Irrigation Project PVNRCD & Bureau of Indian Affairs
Yuma Yuma County University of Arizona, Yuma Agricultural Center


Table 2.  Local sponsor and coverage area descriptions (Lower Colorado Region).
Location / Sponsor Description
Coachella / CVRCD The Coachella Valley contains about 70,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, and markets over 30 varieties of grove and vegetable crops.  The main cash crops include citrus and date groves, table grapes, melons, corn, lettuce, carrots, and broccoli, in addition to a number of specialty vegetables.  The Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District (CVRCD) assists the Coachella Valley agricultural community in the effective conservation of their natural resources.  Important CVRCD conservation / outreach programs include the Mobile Laboratory (for determining the uniformity and efficiency of irrigation systems), the Salinity Assessment program (described on this web site), and the NRCS sponsored Cover Crop Soil Modification program.
Imperial / IID The greater Imperial area encompasses over 1,060,000 acres, including 461,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land.  The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) has historically delivered over 3,000,000 acre-feet of water each year to its customers, with approximately 98% of this water used for agricultural crop production.  The IID is the largest irrigation district in the nation, and the greater Imperial area ranks as one of the top ten agricultural counties as well.  Primary crops throughout the region include sugar beets, wheat, hay, alfalfa, cotton, along with various vegetable varieties.  The Imperial salinity assessment program is administered by the IID, and sponsored by both the IID and Imperial Valley Research Center at Brawley.  To learn more about the IID, use the link shown below.
Palo Verde / SWW The Palo Verde Valley lies along the California side of the Colorado River, and includes about 94,000 acres of irrigated agriculture.  Primary crops grown throughout the valley include alfalfa, hay, cotton, and grains.  About 10% of the irrigated acreage also supports vegetables, orchards, and melons.  The LCRSAN operator in the Palo Verde Valley is Soil and Water West, Incorporated (SWW).
Parker / PVNRCD & BIA The Colorado River Indian Irrigation Project encompasses approximately 78,000 acres of irrigation land.  The Project is operated and maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in cooperation with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT).  Major crops include alfalfa, cotton, wheat, sudangrass, melons, and onions.  The Parker Valley Natural Resource Conservation District (PVNRCD) sponsors a soil salinity assessment, control, and abatement program within the Project area.  This program is also co-sponsored and supported by the BIA, CRIT, and the NRCS.  For more information about the BIA and NRCS, use the links shown below.
Yuma / Yuma Ag Center Yuma County supports more than 180,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land.  Multiple crops are grow throughout the region, including lettuce, cotton, carrots, broccoli, and melons, in addition to citrus groves, fruit and nut orchards, and grapes.  The Yuma Agricultural Center (YAC) is operated by the University of Arizona, and carries out both research and cooperative extension projects in support of the Yuma agricultural community.  Active research areas at the YAC include programs in crop science, entomology, animal science, plant pathology, and soil and water science.  The salinity assessment program in Yuma is administered by the YAC, and sponsored by both the YAC and Western Farm Services, Inc.  To visit the YAC web site, use the link shown below.


Table 3.  SAAA locations, coverage areas, and local sponsors (Out-of-Area).
Location Coverage Area Local Sponsor
CSAIWM
(CO: statewide)		 Upper Colorado, S. Platte,
Arkansas, & Rio Grande
watersheds		 USDA-NRCS
NCWC District
(Loveland, CO)		 NCWC District area N. CO. Water Conservancy District


Table 4.  Local sponsor and coverage area descriptions (Out-of-Area).
Location / Sponsor Description
CSAIWM / NRCS The Colorado Salinity Assessment and Integrated Water Management Group covers the Upper Colorado, South Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande watersheds.  This interdisciplinary NRCS group serves as the primary technology transfer outreach in the Intermountain West for the USDA-ARS George E. Brown Jr. Salinity Laboratory.  The group provides technical assistance and consultation in the following four subject areas: 
  1. Evaluation, adaptation, and implementation of instrumentation and technology for soil salinity assessment, monitoring, and diagnosis with a primary focus of conducting comprehensive salinity assessments in the Arkansas and South Platte River drainage basins,
  2. Promotion and application of comprehensive approaches for maintaining the sustainability of irrigated agroecosystems, 
  3. Development, adaptation, and application of soil vadose zone computerized Decision Support Tools for managing irrigation and fertilizer, and,
  4. Upon request, facilitate and provide training and educational programs on any aspect of saline-sodic soils, their management, and integrative understanding of salt and ion-specific tolerances in agronomic and horticultural crop plants. 
NCWCD Area / NCWCD The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) lies north of the Denver metro area, encompassing a 1.5 million acre service area which follows the South Platte river all the way to the Colorado / Nebraska state line.  Its service area includes Morgan and Logan county, in addition to Weld county, which represents the 5th leading agricultural producing county in the nation. The principal crops grown in the district include grain and silage corn, alfalfa, beans, sugar beets, wheat, barley, and onions.  The NCWCD Irrigation Manage Service (IMS) has united with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in a 7 year program to inventory and monitor salinity levels in irrigation water and soils throughout the district boundaries.  The NCWCD-IMS will be directing and coordinating a regional soil salinity survey program across the district in 2002-2003, which represents a core component of their more comprehensive salinity monitoring activities.  To learn more about the NCWCD, use the link shown below:
 


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