Irrigation district service in the western United States

Data were obtained from 61 agricultural districts within the Mid-Pacific Re gion of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, regarding the level of water delive ry service provided to users, water pricing, associated characteristics, an d plans for modernization. A flexibility index was developed and used by th e writers to characterize the degree of water delivery flexibility provided by each district. The flexibility index provides a rating of 3-15 (15 bein g the highest value) based upon the frequency, rate, and duration of irriga tion water delivery service to farmers. The data show that 42% of the distr icts received a flexibility score of 12 or greater, with two of the distric ts receiving almost perfect scores. Based on these results, a program for t echnical assistance to irrigation districts was developed and implemented. A high priority item was supervisory control and data acquisition systems.