04/07/1994

Auburn-TVA Project a Model for Future Irrigation of the Tennessee Valley

AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have entered into an historic cooperative project aimed at expanding water resources and improving irrigation technology for cotton farmers in the Tennessee Valley, AU President William V. Muse announced.

The $1.35 million, five-year project will be located in Belle Mina at the Tennessee Valley Substation, a unit of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. It will allow researchers to evaluate alternative water resources for irrigation and to conduct research to optimize production and profitability using the latest irrigation technology.

A major component of the project is "off-stream storage," which is designed to take advantage of high stream flows that occur in the winter for most streams in the Tennessee Valley. A model off-stream reservoir will be constructed so that water can be pumped in from nearby Limestone Creek during high flow conditions. This water will be used to irrigate cotton and other crops during the summer, when irrigation demands are high. The 13-acre reservoir will store enough water for 120-150 acres of cotton.

AU and TVA officials believe this concept also will be practical for municipal and rural water suppliers as a backup supply system, especially where water is in short supply during the dry months.

U.S. Senator Howell Heflin of Tuscumbia, Ala., who was instrumental in securing funding for the project, said, "Every year it's the same story: crops in the South are devastated by floods or drought. Every year this happens, Congress is faced with the difficult task of finding funds for crop disaster relief in a federal budget that is getting smaller and smaller. It only makes sense to try and find a solution to the problem instead of continuing to throw money at it."

This joint AU-TVA project will allow researchers to look for ways to curb the damage brought on by the vicious cycle of floods and drought faced by farmers in the Tennessee Valley and throughout the South, he explained.

"If the AU-TVA team is successful in finding a way to harness water, an important yet dwindling natural resource, it would be one of the most significant breakthroughs in southern agriculture since Eli Whitney's cotton gin," Heflin said.

"This project is another example of the long and fruitful working relationship between Auburn and the TVA," Muse said. "We are pleased to be a part of this effort to bring the needed technology to push cotton production to a higher level in the Tennessee Valley and potentially to benefit people in rural communities throughout the state."

Alabama ranks tenth in U.S. cotton acreage, with about half the state's estimated 400,000 acres grown in the Tennessee Valley. If all of the Tennessee Valley's cotton had been irrigated from 1980-90, AU economists estimate the value of those cotton crops would have increased by $625 million.

However, Tennessee Valley farmers are limited in options for obtaining water. A few can irrigate out of nearby lakes or streams, but these options are often not available. Some can drill wells, but the potential for high-capacity wells is limited because of the geology of the area.

"We are excited about the potential benefits of this project to the people of the Tennessee Valley. Though the model is being built in Limestone County, Ala., it will be applicable throughout the Tennessee Valley," noted TVA Water Supply Projects Manager Dan Ferry.

"This model project is timely because water supplies are increasingly critical as a resource. What we hope to demonstrate is that a relatively small stream can support irrigation of high-value crops without harming the stream," Ferry concluded.

Larry Curtis, an agricultural engineer at Auburn and research leader on the project, developed the idea for building storage facilities to harvest excess water in the winter for use in the summer.

"I worked with a cotton grower in Russell County who had an ideal location for an off-stream reservoir, which we have developed over the past seven years. The success of pumping runoff water into this off-stream reservoir and using that water when needed led to my interest in developing a similar system in the Tennessee Valley," Curtis said.

"What we are building at the Tennessee Valley Substation is clearly a model. In its practical application each farmer and/or community will have to adapt the concept to fit their particular needs," Curtis pointed out.

Construction of the reservoir is expected to begin in early June. Subsequent research will include environmental, economic, engineering, and agronomic studies. The cooperative project will include scientists from the TVA and the AU College of Agriculture.

"Success in economic development ventures like this can only be accomplished by consistent investment on a scale that cannot be achieved by universities alone, by government alone, or by industry alone," Muse said. "It takes a partnership of all three, as this water management project demonstrates."

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Roy Roberson

04/07/94