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Davids Engineering offers a wide range of services pertaining to agricultural water management. These services are often utilized in support of environmental restoration initiatives, water supply development, water rights determinations, irrigation system modernization programs, water conservation and transfer programs, and water quality improvement initiatives. Our areas of specialization include the following:
Davids Engineering offers a full range of services for management of irrigation water supplies, usage and discharge. These services include development of comprehensive water conservation programs, strategic planning to improve flexibility and responsiveness of irrigation distribution systems, development of water measurement programs, and operational and facility planning to improve management of spillage and drainage. Irrigation water management studies often involve characterization of historical water use; quantification of existing losses of water from the system to seepage, spillage, and non-beneficial consumption; identification of the system characteristics contributing to losses or operational inefficiency; analysis of the water quality of inflows and discharges; formulation of cost-effective operational and facility improvements; and grouping of individual improvements into practical programs for implementation.
Initiatives involving conservation and transfer of water from irrigated agriculture to other sectors typically require some form of verification to quantify the volume of water actually saved. Similarly, transfers between agricultural users may require verification to ensure that the transferring party actually has conserved the water being delivered to the receiving party. Such verification is designed to protect the interests of the agricultural sector, which is the source of the water, the sectors that are the intended recipients of the transferred water, third parties (groups not directly involved in transfers but who may be affected nonetheless), and the environment. Davids Engineering is a pioneer in water conservation verification based on our development of verification strategies for the landmark conservation agreement between the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).
In recent years, interest in conjunctive water management has grown due to perceived environmental benefits compared to surface water storage projects. Much of this attention focuses on agricultural regions where surface and groundwater resources have already been developed, due to the presence of groundwater supplies and facilities. With its agricultural orientation and technical capabilities, Davids Engineering is uniquely suited to support local agencies in the development of conjunctive water management strategies and programs, especially in irrigation-dominated basins. This support spans the initial characterization of historical and baseline surface and subsurface hydrologic conditions, formulation and assessment of alternative conjunctive management strategies, financial and economic analyses, and environmental screening. Davids Engineering routinely teams with specialists in hydrogeology, economics and environmental sciences to provide the full range of services typically needed for planning and implementing conjunctive use programs.
Increasingly, irrigators and irrigation districts are being called on to modify their operations to benefit water quality in surface and groundwater affected by agriculture. Typical problems deal with total dissolved solids (TDS), sediment, nutrients and related biological oxygen demand (BOD), toxic elements such as selenium and pesticides. Building on its capabilities in irrigation hydrology and management, Davids Engineering is skilled in identifying pollutant sources and in developing irrigation and drainage management programs aimed at water quality improvement. Our activities in the arena of regulatory compliance have ranged from extensive water quality modeling developed to support the water transfer agreement between the Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego to analyses of groundwater quality performed for food processing plants that land apply wastewater streams.
Strategic planning for sustainable water management by agricultural agencies often requires consideration of the agencies' water rights. Water rights related actions range from application for rights to supplement existing supplies to consideration of the implications of current water usage, and of management options such as water conservation and water transfer programs, on the status of existing water rights. While legal expertise is essential to understanding the status of an agency's water rights and the legal implications of proposed courses of action, Davids Engineering performs the technical studies needed to frame management scenarios and to support legal strategies intended to protect or strengthen a district's water rights.
The capability of irrigation districts to provide high levels of customer service and to participate in external activities such as water transfers may be constrained by outmoded water control facilities and operational practices. A first step in rectifying this condition is assessment of district facilities and operations. This assessment lays the foundation for a master plan, a program for improving existing facilities and procedures to enable the district to meet current and projected operational requirements. The master plan then guides a sequenced program likely to include rehabilitation of existing features, installation of new structures and modernization of communication and control facilities to permit more accurate, responsive management of water. A central aspect of system modernization is effective management of flow and water quality data, a capability that grows in importance as district operations are subjected to increasing public scrutiny. Davids Engineering assists districts in developing focused, cost-effective strategies for collection and management of data and in designing data management protocols to ensure quality and compatibility. The aim of both the broad data management strategies and of the detailed protocols is to provide highly reliable information to district managers. Davids Engineering has the expertise to work closely with district staff to develop programs for system modernization that are tailored to the district's specific needs for improved control of water and data. In addition, we are able to assist districts in identifying the financial and technical resources needed to supplement the district's own capabilities for implementation of a modernization program.
Some of Davids Engineering's senior staff have substantial experience as a resident on overseas projects and on assignments as a short-term expert. Coupled with our presence in the American West, our overseas experience makes us uniquely qualified to organize and host study tours of foreign experts designed to educate visitors on the technical and institutional foundations of irrigation in the United States. In addition, we maintain a commitment to providing short-term technical support to international projects when this does not compromise service to U.S. clients.
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