The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), an 1890 land grant institution, secured an 871 acre farm in Lonoke County Arkansas in 1991. The farm has been developed into a Center of Excellence as the "Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center" (SFOWWMC). The South Central Water Management Center was established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in 1995 and in 1998 became the National Water Management Center (NWMC). The NWMC and UAPB have developed a partnering relationship to develop and transfer water related technologies. At the SFOWWMC, demonstrations and research is being conducted on soil and water conservation, irrigation water management, traditional and alternative crop technology, aquaculture, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and forestry.

The mission of the SFOWWMC at the UAPB/Lonoke Farm is to enhance the economic status and quality of life for farmers while improving wetlands and protecting water resources in Arkansas. The program focus is on efficient and effective management of water and wetlands on farms. Major components of the program are information and education, small farm incentives, technical assistance, applied research, and training.

The mission of the National Water Management Center is to provide leadership, assistance, information and technology on water related issues to support natural resources conservation. The NWMC functions are in the area of technology transfer, direct assistance/special projects, watershed planning and assessment, water policy and interagency collaboration.

As part of the partnership between UAPB and the NWMC, outreach demonstration farms were selected to take some of the technology and research demonstrated on the UAPB Lonoke Farm and work with small limited resource farmers to improve their farming situation. Mr. Buccie Cline was selected through the USDA 2501 Small Farm Technical Assistance Program at UAPB to be an outreach demonstration farm. Mr. Cline farms 200 acres of the family estate and rents an additional 120 acres north of Humphrey in Jefferson County, Arkansas. Assistance was provided to the land of the family estate in which Mr. Cline had a long term lease agreement. A conservation plan was developed for Mr. Cline’s 200 acres which called for irrigation best management practices of underground irrigation pipeline and land leveling.

Mr. Cline grows rice, soybeans and wheat as the major crops, with peas and sweet potatoes as alternative crops. Mr. Cline also has 12 head of swine on open range. There are 2 tracts of land (1 – 40 acres and 1 – 160 acres) with each tract having an irrigation well. The 40 acre tract could be irrigated using direct discharge from the well and contour levees. The 160 acre tract consists of 7 different fields with 108 acres of cropland. This tract has 3 different high points with the well being located on the high that would irrigate about 70 acres with direct discharge from the well and contour levees. Mr. Cline was using portable aluminum gated pipe to carry water to the other high points on the farm. This was very labor intensive for Mr. Cline. He would irrigate a field; turn his well off; disconnect and move his portable pipe to the next field and reset the pipe to irrigate the next field.

In 1997 through the SFOWWMC (UAPB), we assisted Mr. Cline in installing 1,000 linear feet of 10" PVC underground irrigation pipe, 3 risers, a stand pipe, a dresser couplings, a check valve, a pressure relief valve, air vents, and 2 hydrants, and other appurtenances with a total cost of materials of $5,000. Mr. Cline rented a small backhoe and provided the labor to install the pipe. Technical assistance was provided to Mr. Cline to install the pipe. Once the stand pipe was set and the first 3 or 4 joints of pipe were installed, Mr. Cline was able to manage the completion of the pipe installation.

Mr. Cline is very pleased with his pipeline. He can manage the irrigation by himself. He is more effective and efficient with his water and he has a savings in labor cost.

In 1998, assistance was provided to Mr. Cline to land level a 25 acre field. Maximum cut was 0.66 feet (8 inches) with 6400 cubic yards of material moved at a cost of $5,000. The slopes were flat east and west with 0.15 feet per 100 feet of fall to the south. Mr. Cline applied chicken litter at a rate of 300 pounds per acre to the field to improve the tilth and organic matter of the cut areas. In 1999, assistance will be provided to Mr. Cline for another 30 acres of land leveling.

Cost Share assistance is available at your local Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP). FSA pays 50% of the installed cost of underground irrigation pipeline. If Mr. Cline had signed up for cost share assistance and had been approved; he would have received $4.50 per foot for his 10" underground irrigation pipe for a total payment of $4,500. The 10" pipe actually costs $2.25 per foot, plus the additional risers and appurtenances to install the pipe. The total cost of materials for Mr. Cline was $5,000. Mr. Cline and 2 other men installed the pipe in 2 days.

Rice started being grown in the Grand Prairie of eastern Arkansas in 1904. As early as 1910, more water was being withdrawn from the alluvial aquifer than was being naturally recharged. Water levels began to decline. Over 37,000 wells withdraw ground water in eastern Arkansas. Ninety three percent of the ground water withdrawals are from the alluvial aquifer for irrigation.

Ground water problems in the Grand Prairie and Bayou Metro areas of eastern Arkansas are becoming critical. Mr. Clines farm and the UAPB/Lonoke Farm are located in this area with excessive ground water withdrawals. The Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission has recently designated this area as "Critical Ground Water Areas". Efficient and effective use of irrigation water is necessary to sustain agriculture, which is the economic base of the region.

In developing the irrigation water management plan for Mr. Cline, the first step was measuring his wells. For a well, you can measure the flow from a riser or from direct discharge at the well.

Measuring flows from the well with horizontal discharge we will use chart No. C-15. Measure the diameter of the pipe. Turn on the well. Using a measuring stick with a 13" plumb line, measure the distance from the end of the discharge pipe to the point where the plumb line touches the out fall of the water. Using Chart No. C-15 (see below), find the distance measured along the bottom of the chart. Move up the chart until you reach the pipe diameter. Then move across to the left of the chart and see the range of the flow in gallons per minute.

Measuring well flows from risers with vertical discharge, remove the cap from the riser. Measure the diameter of the riser. Turn on the well and measure the height of the jet from the lip of the riser. Using the table below, find the pipe diameter across the top of the chart to locate the appropriate column. Look down the column until you reach the jet height in inches. This is your flow rate in gallons per minute.