The Value of Irrigation Water Meters
MEDIA CONTACT:
Marty Strange, retired Hastings Water and Environmental Utilities Manager and NE Soil Health Coalition Stakeholder Visioning Group Co-Lead Email: MartyStange54@gmail.com
As the harvest season begins, producers reflect on their work and are working hard to produce a net profit. However, with increased fixed costs, the reduced margins make it imperative to evaluate inputs that drain resources without adding value. Irrigation water metering is one of the simplest, most costeffective tools that helps producers protect their investment, cut operating costs and safeguard both their livelihood and community health. Through my work at the Hastings Utilities, I have seen the value of water meters to manage resources and pump equipment.
Protecting Your Investment
An irrigation well, pump and supply pipe are significant capital investments that need to be monitored. Just like your truck’s odometer indicates when you need to change the oil, a water meter provides essential data that guides timely maintenance. Without it, producers risk costly repairs or even permanent damage that oftentimes occurs during the worst time—the growing season. Such breakdowns don’t just cost money; they can result in lost production.
Excessive pumping prematurely wears out equipment. In turn, pump or column pipe failures can damage well casings or screens. Routine tracking with a water meter helps detect early declines in efficiency, proactively ensuring repairs can be made during the off-season, extend equipment life and prevent unplanned emergencies.
Improving Efficiency and Reducing Costs
Groundwater is a precious, finite resource — and pumping it is never free. Beyond the fuel or electricity used, the excessive pumping of irrigation water accelerates wear and tear on pumps, increases the maintenance and wastes labor. A water meter yields reliable data to track “water-to-wire efficiency,” or how much water is being pumped in relationship to the energy consumed. These numbers directly impact the “bottom line” of producers and conserve water.
Declining efficiency may also signal problems including: declining groundwater levels, holes in the column pipe, worn impellers or clogged screens. Promptly addressing these issues not only reduces operating costs but also helps maintain long-term pumping capacity. Producers can also use meters to avoid over-irrigation, which is often the biggest source of lost inputs, especially nitrogen fertilizer that’s leached beyond a crop’s root zone (ie., corn).
Safeguarding Water Quality and Human Health
The consequences of excess irrigation extend far beyond the field. When nitrogen is flushed past crop roots, it seeps into the groundwater as nitrates, a serious health hazard for rural communities relying on wells for drinking water. Elevated nitrate levels are linked to health problems such as increased risks of certain cancers and other chronic illnesses.
By preventing unnecessary irrigation, producers can reduce nitrate contamination and preserve clean water for themselves, their families, neighbors and future generations. Water conservation also strengthens local aquifers, delaying or even avoiding government-imposed water restrictions. This stewardship ensures that downstream users and fellow producers continue to have access to safe, reliable groundwater supplies — all aspects that directly benefit future generations. Through work with the NE Soil Health Coalition, nesoilhealth.org, we are interviewing producers and landowners to determine the barriers, incentives and soil health return on investment. We are creating partnerships to support change and not point fingers but focus on increased net profitability and human health.
A Tool for Profit and Stewardship
Water meters are more than just instruments; they are decision-making tools that protect investments, improve efficiency and defend the health of communities. By adopting routine water monitoring, producers can cut unnecessary expenses for themselves and landowners, reduce equipment failures, prevent fertilizer loss, and safeguard the most vital resource of all: clean water that each of us must treasure.
As you plan for future seasons, consider this notion: a simple water meter could be the difference between wasted resources and sustainable profits. This is priceless.
About the Nebraska Soil Health Coalition
We are a collaborative effort to increase sustainable agricultural production and thriving rural communities. As part of that vision, we support Nebraska’s community newspapers. Our mission is to advance producer-centered education, outreach, and adoption of soil health principles to build resilient farms, ranches, and communities across Nebraska.