A group of Texas A&M AgriLife water researchers, known as the Amarillo Water Management Team, was recently honored with the Blue Legacy Award in the agriculture category for their innovative work in developing a center pivot automation and control system.

a man, Thomas Marek, works at the control box to adjust the center-pivot automation and control system
Thomas Marek makes adjustments to the sprinkler system. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter)

Blue Legacy Awards were created to honor groups whose practices enhance water conservation while maintaining or improving profitability. The three award categories — agricultural, manufacturing and municipal — are sponsored by the Texas Water Development Board’s Water Conservation Advisory Council.

The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District nominated the Bushland-based team consisting of Thomas Marek, Texas A&M AgriLife Research senior research engineer, Amarillo, and Dana Porter, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program leader, Lubbock, both in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; Jiang Hu, Ph.D., co-director of graduate programs in the Texas A&M Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bryan-College Station; Gary Marek, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service agricultural engineer, Bushland; and Qingwu Xue, Ph.D., AgriLife Research crop stress physiologist in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Amarillo. 

The award was presented during a March 18 virtual ceremony that will be aired in conjunction with the Texas Section American Water Works Association’s Texas Water 2021 Conference, March 29-April 1. Porter accepted the award on behalf of the research team.

The Water Conservation Advisory Council promotes Blue Legacy Award winners as credible spokespersons, sharing their success stories and encouraging others in the industry to improve their water conservation practices. The awards spread the message that efficient use of our shared water resources is critical to ensuring a prosperous future for Texas.

Award-winning research

The team created a novel, next-generation, center-pivot automation and control system, or CPACS, by developing innovative hardware, software and logic technologies. CPACS integrates three important components:

 – Center Pivot Control System: High accuracy GPS data guides the center pivot speed and location controls.

 – Weather, Crop and Soil Moisture Data: This data allows the computer software to best prescribe the right amount of water at the right time. It integrates real-time soil moisture monitoring, near real-time and short-term evapotranspiration rates, and precipitation forecasting. Crop models with crop type and growth stage also help the system know how much water the plants need at different times during the growing season.

 – Soil Moisture Sensor Placement: Though soil moisture sensing is not a new technique in the agricultural world, the technology has not always been optimized on a location-specific basis. This methodology recommends sensor placement based on local soil conditions, crop root zone depth, as well as sensor and communications reliability. This assists in balancing data reliability and cost- effectiveness.

Blue Legacy Award-winning irrigation management team - four individuals standing holding plaques after winning the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director's Award
The irrigation water management team – pictured here are Gary Marek, Dana Porter, Thomas Marek, Qingwu Xue – received the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director’s Award in January 2020. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter)

“HPWD congratulates the Amarillo Water Management Team on this honor,” said Jason Coleman, HPWD general manager. “Individuals on this team have made many advancements in agricultural water conservation through their own research. However, this collaborative effort has created a new system and methodology. It is a cost-effective means of making current center pivot technology more water efficient through automation and machine-learning techniques.”

The Amarillo Water Management Team has demonstrated the effectiveness of water-saving technologies and found ways to optimize equipment already on the market. The team has U.S. and international patents pending, and they are ready to work with the irrigation industry to license the CPACS.

This team has also been recognized with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director’s Award.

Other Blue Legacy Award winners

  • North Plains Groundwater Conservation District — Agriculture non-producer category.
  • City of Horseshoe Bay — Municipal with less than 10,000 population category.
  • Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District — Municipal with 10,000-50,000 population category.
  • McAllen Public Utilities — Municipal with 100,000-500,000 population category.
  • Tarrant Regional Water District — River Authority/Regional Water District category.

Portions of this story first appeared in the High Plains Water District newsletter.

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