California's Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) has begun implementing an end-to-end pilot of Rubicon's Total Channel Control® automation system on two of the district's key canals.

Oakdale Irrigation District lies in the middle of California's Central Valley, the largest concentrated area of irrigated agriculture in the U.S. OID irrigates an area of 55,000 acres (23,000 hectares) in the east side of the valley.

Implementation of Total Channel Control® will allow OID to better use their water - improving distribution efficiency and enhancing service levels to farmers by providing a near on-demand supply. Farmers will also benefit from consistent flows rates, which the system is able to achieve by closely matching demand and supply.

Total Channel Control® achieves these efficiency and service improvements by using a combination of sophisticated software and control engineering techniques along with wireless communications technology to integrate large networks of remotely controlled, solar powered FlumeGates™.

Efficiency improvements afforded by Total Channel Control® will enable OID to further its ongoing efforts to conserve its water resources and increase water reliability for farmers in drought years. A portion of the conserved water is marketed to neighboring irrigation districts and municipalities to augment their supply and decrease reliance on groundwater.

The system is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of the 2011 irrigation season.