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Agricultural Mobile Irrigation Lab
Counties covered: Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades, and Charlotte
LWC
Quarterly Reports
The Lower West Coast
Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) is a cooperative project of the
Collier Soil & Water Conservation District, South Florida Water
Management District, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation
Service, and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services. The purpose of the MIL is to promote water
conservation. The MIL accomplishes this by providing urban
and agricultural irrigation system evaluations, and by expanding
conservation education and outreach programs.
The Agricultural MIL is
a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL service that serves Southwest Florida.
The Agricultural MIL
evaluations are performed by:
Mark Siverling
Mobile Irrigation
Labs
The Mobile
Irrigation Labs (MILs) conduct extensive irrigation system
evaluations, measuring flow rates and pressures, testing water
quality, and analyzing water management strategies. The
information gathered is used to make recommendations for
improvements to the system for water conservation and for the
health of the plants. Physical improvements that can increase
the efficiency of the irrigation system are detailed, as well as
scheduling and water management recommendations.
Follow-up
evaluations are conducted after improvements are made to measure
actual water savings and to improve MIL procedures. Both
potential and actual water savings number in the millions of
gallons per year, and the MIL is considered to be an effective
conservation program by numerous government agencies.
The MILs also
participate in outreach and education in coordination with the
Rookery Bay Natural Estuarine Research Reserve, the University
of Florida
Best Management Practices program, the
University of
Florida Extension Service, and the Master Gardener program.
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