Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009CA257B

UC Irrigation Water Management - Web-based Research and Information Center

Institute: California
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $30,672 Total Non-Federal Funds: $65,272

Principal Investigators: Steve Grattan

Abstract: The University of California has been at the forefront in research and extension in areas related to irrigated agriculture over the past century. Valuable information has been developed over the years not only on the Davis and Riverside campuses, but within various counties and Research and Extension Centers across the state. This information, however, is scattered among manuals, reports, leaflets, manuscripts and books and much of this information is not readily available to the agricultural community. There are some individuals who have recently developed websites that address their particular area of expertise and some of that website contains valuable irrigation-related information. However there is no central location where users can readily find useful research-based information on all aspects of irrigation water management. Our objective is to develop a user-friendly web-based Research and Information Center (RIC) that will provide users with practical irrigation water management information. Much of the research-based information would be that developed by UC ANR (Davis, Riverside and Counties) but the site will include links to other useful resources. The goal is to develop an easy to navigate website that links the user to useful information while at the same time, showcases the University with its historical and continued leadership in irrigation management, both in terms of leading research and extension activities. The intended users of the website will be the general public, but it is likely that most users will be irrigation advisors, consultants, educators, State, Federal and Local agencies and professionals related to various aspects of irrigation water management and surface and ground water quality as it relates to agriculture. The department of LAWR at UC Davis will house the web-based center and the major construction of the web-based center will be developed over a two-year period. A Steering Committee comprised eight willing and committed individuals that represent various areas in irrigation-related research. These individuals will serve as key resources in their general area of expertise and will provide the Project Manager (the LAWR Outreach Analyst) with key irrigation-related material to be posted or linked to. The steering committee members will take the lead on their respective topic in working with the PI and the Manager to identify the people who have relevant information (website links, reports, manuals, publications, etc) for the RIC and to help retrieve that information. The PI and the Manager will work directly with the ANR web designer/programmer. At the conclusion of the project (Summer 2010), the Steering committee will decide how best to manage and maintain the site.