Ventura County

Resource Conservation District

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Interactive Irrigation Management to Reduce the Leaching of Nitrogen (IIMRLN)

Second Iteration!

The Interactive Irrigation Management to Reduce the Leaching of Nitrogen (IIMRLN) is a renewed program funded by The State Water Resources Control Board. The main purpose of this program is to reduce the amount of nitrogen from nonpoint sources entering our water systems throughout Ventura County. With the specific goal of reducing the amount of nitrogen discharge *leaching* below the root zone of agricultural crops. VCRCD staff will work collaboratively with growers to monitor their data and discuss solutions for reducing nitrogen leaching.

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On-Farm Expectations

Through the IIMRLN grant, VCRCD will set up an interactive Nutrient and Irrigation Management (NIM) station for growers. These NIM stations use (irro-meters) cloud-based technology to provide irrigation data that can be accessed remotely through an online portal. This data is shared with the growers and VCRCD staff to collaboratively identify trends, solve problems, and make irrigation management decisions quickly.

By tracking soil moisture levels at various depths, NIM stations help identify nitrogen leaching occurrences due to irrigation or rainfall events. If leaching occurs, soil-water (lysimeter) samples will be collected by VCRCD and tested to measure nitrogen levels.

What is a NIM Station?

A NIM Station is a unit equipped with various data collection devices installed in an agricultural field. The components typically associated with each NIM station include:
  • Two to three soil moisture sensors for water infiltration depth
  • A pressure switch for irrigation frequency
  • An atmometer for evapotranspiration
  • A rain gauge
  • A lysimeter for soil-water sampling
  • A data logger for infield data
  • A cellular modem for real time data access
  • A solar panel

   

Competitive Application Criteria

Agricultural Operations must be located one of these three watersheds:

  1. Calleguas Creek Watershed (HUC 18070103)
  2. Ventura River Watershed (HUC 18070101)
  3. Santa Clara River Watershed (HUC 18070102)

Site selection will be prioritized based on:

  1. Drainage areas, described by the Ventura County Agricultural Irrigated Lands Group (VCAILG) as Responsibility Areas, that exceed water quality benchmarks as per the 2017 VCAILG Water Quality Management Plan; 
  2. GIS-mapping to identify parcels where nitrogen leaching is most likely to occur; and 
  3. Crop representation and potential for meaningful measures of leaching impacts.

  

Want to learn more or participate?

Contact John Zecua at johnagustin.zecua@vcrcd.org