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Show ILSoUo Team Pumping for Facts This summer marks the completion of a three-year three-year Utah State University study on Iron County irrigation pumping systems. Most people not involved in-volved with farming would be surprised at what farmers face in electricity bills to run their irrigation pumps. A typical Iron County farmer pays close to $1,500 to have the pump turned on in the spring. The final bill after a 90-day 90-day season amounts to pump , tested should contact the Iron County Extension Service or call the pump test crew members in the evening (586-0015 or 586-2787). If a . farmer has had his pump tested previously and sincehas had wor done on it, the Utah State team will test the pump without charge, other pumps are $15 ,or two for $25, and $10 a piece for three or more. Beryl, areas have similiar efficiency levels in the higher ranges (58-59 (58-59 percent) while Cedar Valley has around a 53 percent average. Larger units are usually more efficient, and the bigger pumps found in Parowan and Beryl, averaging 100 horsepower, tend to have higher efficiencies than the smaller pumps (35 horsepower average) tested in Cedar Valley. Paradoxically, Cedar Valley farmers usually end up paying less for their water, since it is usually found closer to the surface. The Cedar Valley farmers pump from around 75 feet, whereas Beryl farmers have to pull it 120 feet on the average, and Parowan farmers a whooping 160 feet. More depth typically means higher power bills. On a flow rate of 1,500 gallons per minute, the Parowan farmer who is pumping the water from 85 feet more than his Cedar Valley neighbor will pay $3,000 more per season because of this, and this does not include the higher initial costs of having to drill deeper or the need for a bigger pump. "A good farmer," Herggeler stated, "will have his pump tested. In the case of large operators, they are paying almost as much for their electricity each year as a new tractor costs." Some other interesting facts the Utah State University team has compiled about this area that "booster" pump systems are less efficient than "single turbine" pumps. Also the flow meters, used by the State Engineer to monitor water usage, are often inaccurate, some up to 33 percent off. In addition, ad-dition, the water level has dropped over 20 feet in some areas during the last month because of the peak farmer usage. Frequent causes of poor efficiency, the team reported, are worn impellers im-pellers (often from pumping water with sand suspended in it), the fluctuating water table, and improper conversion of old systems and equipment into a new design (e.g., a system designed for flood irrigating being refurbished refur-bished incorrectly. Unfortunately high costs are usually involved in overhauling pumps since the impellers and bowls which actually do the pumping and pressurizing of the water, are suspended very deep inside the well, and it is a major expense just to pull them. A farmer must make the decision to have work done on the well based on the high costs of pulling the pump versus how much he could be saving over a period of time if he was running at a better efficiency. To help in that decision, team members and faculty from U.S.U's Agricultural and Irrigation Engineeering Department will hold local meetings later this year with area farmers and discuss the results of their individual test results. Farmers in Iron County who wish to have their around $5,000. The project, in cooperation with the Iron County Extension Service, Ser-vice, employs three irrigation engineering students from U.S.U. to test operating effciencies of local pumps. Over 50 pumps have been tested so far this summer in the Parowan Valley, Cedar Valley and Beryl areas. To test a pump, the pumping water level (the distance water is being pulled up from the ground) must be measured, as well as carefully determining the number of gallons per-minute per-minute pumped and the pressure at which it is discharged. This supplies the engineer with data to determine the actual energy being utilized in the system. A stop watch and the electric company's meter can provide information on the exact amount of electric energy going in to the pump; and comparing com-paring both amounts of energy-electric energy in versus the water energy resulting-determines the efficiency of the pump. A good system should operate at 65 percent efficiency. Greg Goewey, Brad Vickers and Joe Henggeler, working on the study report a 81.6 percent with an average of 58 percent. Regions within the county have showndifferences. Parowan Valley and Jk, I. Brad Vickers, a graduate student at Utah State University, installs a flow meter into a pipe to measure the flow rate of a pump. |