Meters
$1.9 Million Delivered to Support Landowners’ Installation of Meter and Telemetry
Through the Bureau of Reclamation Meter and Telemetry Grant Program, the McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) has provided $1.9 million in rebates to participating landowners, helping offset the cost of installing required metering and telemetry systems.
(more…)Groundwater Pumping Estimates will be Eliminated with Installation of Meters by MAGSA Landowners
To quote MAGSA’s General Manager Matt Hurley, “Estimates and Educated Guesses are tools of fools when attempting to hone the efficient consumption of either water or energy in a groundwater-only groundwater sustainability agency. A variation in data reliability of even five percent can skew results by a wide margin. In irrigation groundwater pumping, management and field application, precise reliable, and temporally relevant data provide the only effective means to achieve the optimal efficiency for either resource.” In other words, MAGSA can’t afford to risk its future with estimates or educated guesses.
With the help of our very motivated landowners, we have done the homework, and we know there are +/- 1,200 agricultural wells located within the MAGSA boundary. As of this post, approximately 1,000 of those wells have been equipped with the requisite meters, telemetry and monitoring contracts and are beginning to report real data into the MAGSA database. As a bonus, most of those landowners have received rebates for their participation by way of a $2.8 million grant from the Bureau of Reclamation
(more…)80% of Eligible Wells in MAGSA Have Meters & Telemetry Installed: What’s Next?
MAGSA continues to make progress toward full well metering and telemetry installation in the region. To date, about 80% of eligible wells are equipped with meters and telemetry systems. MAGSA’s Rebate Program was initially designed to provide rebates for up to 925 wells, but additional funding remains, leaving a limited number of rebates still available.
(more…)Limited Rebates Still Available for MAGSA Landowners – Apply Before Funds Run Out
MAGSA secured grant funding to create a Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program to decrease the cost of meter, telemetry, and monitoring services.
(more…)MAGSA Landowners will Receive Letters Describing Meter & Telemetry Installation Enforcement Measures
The MAGSA Board of Directors adopted a Groundwater Well Metering, Measurement, Monitoring and Construction Policy in February 2021 and a corresponding Implementing Rules & Regulations which required MAGSA landowners with wells producing more than 2 acre-feet of water annually to install meter and telemetry on their wells by January 31, 2025.
(more…)Meter and Telemetry Installation Deadline is Quickly Approaching
MAGSA growers have about 13 weeks (not including holidays) to install meter and telemetry on their wells and meet the January 31, 2025 deadline. Please view the rebate program webpage below to learn how you can secure financial assistance through MAGSA’s Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program.
Irrigation Today Explores the Benefits of Well Meters
“Based on my experience, I believe that metering your irrigation well is a necessary first step to proper management of resources and overall operating costs,” says Gary Hix in his recent Irrigation Today article.
“Proper monitoring of well efficiencies will save a farmer money in the long run… Well performance losses can develop so slowly that many farmers will not see the loss until it’s too late. Spending a couple hundred thousand dollars for an irrigation well and not spending just a little bit more for a water meter and a sounding tube does not calculate.”
Growers Are Required to Install Meters & Telemetry by January 31, 2025. Apply for Financial Assistance Soon.
If you are a landowner in the McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) with wells producing more than 2 acre-feet of water annually, you are required to install meters and telemetry on your wells by January 31, 2025. To alleviate some of the costs associated with this requirement, MAGSA has developed a Rebate Program and negotiated discounts with several irrigation companies.
(more…)Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program Packet Arriving to Mailboxes
The McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program has officially launched! MAGSA landowners who have registered their wells were sent a packet in the mail outlining instructions to apply for the Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program. Landowners who have not registered their wells will receive a packet to their mailboxes at the end of January.
About the Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program
MAGSA landowners with wells producing more than 2 acre-feet of water annually are required to install meters on those wells by January 31, 2025. This requirement is outlined in MAGSA’s Groundwater Well Metering, Measurement, Monitoring and Construction Policy. The policy also states that remote telemetry is an additional requirement.
We understand the financial burden these requirements place on landowners. To lessen these costs for landowners, MAGSA has secured financial support through a Federal grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to create a Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program.
The Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program provides financial assistance (approximately a 40% rebate) for landowners to complete the meter and telemetry installation requirements. The rebate program also includes a discount on a 1-year subscription for monitoring.
The Meter and Telemetry Rebate Program is funded by a Federal grant from the Bureau of Reclamation. This means MAGSA is not managing all the funding requirements, however, we are working hard to make the experience as seamless as possible for MAGSA landowners.
The MAGSA Board and staff are working on behalf of landowners to ensure a sustainable groundwater supply for the future of farming operations within MAGSA. Each project and program are directly linked to achieving this goal. Accurately measuring groundwater use with meters and telemetry provide the best defense against current estimations of groundwater overdraft in MAGSA. In addition, meters and telemetry are crucial to the supply-side solutions we are moving forward including the Aquaterra Water Bank, McMullin Expansion Project, and the future Groundwater Marketing Program.