What do you get when 21st century “smart” technology hooks up with a 19th century irrigation ditch?

The short answer: more water-wise farming and a healthier river.

That’s the story of this innovative project on the Verde River in central Arizona, where forward-thinking farmers joined up with the Nature Conservancy and installed a solar-powered “smart” gate and water-level sensor on their 150-year old irrigation ditch.  The automated gate allows the irrigators to take just the amount of water they need for their crops, and leave the rest for the river.

Now, instead of drying up for miles during the irrigation season, the Verde keeps flowing—supporting not only local farms, but fish, river otters, birds, anglers, boaters, and those who just want to appreciate a healthy river.

And as Verde Valley farmer and “ditch boss” Frank Geminden explains in this video, he can monitor the system from his cell phone.   No more late-night runs to the ditch.

Our Change the Course pledge community can take pride in this project, because it’s a prime example of your pledge at work.  Your pledges were matched by dollars from our corporate sponsors, which enabled our Change the Course campaign to invest in this innovative project that shows how productive farming and healthy rivers can exist side by side.

If you’re not yet part of Change the Course, please join us.  Check out our website or text “River” to 77177.

Change the Course is spearheaded by National Geographic, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and Participant Media.   By bringing consumers, corporations, and conservation groups together, we aim to re-define how society uses, manages, and values fresh water.

As ditch boss Frank Geminden says in the video, “There’s a growing realization that we’re all swimming in the same soup.”

Together we can change the course of our water future—beginning with the iconic Colorado River and its magnificent tributaries, like the Verde.

So watch the video, join us, and spread the word.

To learn more about the Verde project, see our story and photo gallery in National Geographic’s Water Currents.

Source: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com

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