Minimizing Pollution Risk from Irrigation Management

While many areas in Hawaii are rainy and do notrequire irrigation, other areas are dryer and lack enough rainfall for good crop growth. In the dry areas, irrigation allows agriculture to be productive. Improp-erly managed irrigation can waste water resources and pollute both ground and surface waters. This worksheet will help you to determine the water pollution risks as-sociated with your irrigation practices and to develop an action plan to reduce those risks. Do you apply the right amount of water at the right time? The first step in good irrigation management is to apply the right amount of water at the right time. Apply-ing too much water is costly and increases runoff or leaching. Applying too little water reduces crop yields. Applying water at the wrong time can cause all three o