The Calls estimate a water savings of about 40 percent compared to previous methods. In 1992 surge irrigation saved 12.1 and 23.8 percent irrigation water when compared to conventional furrow irrigation on Colorado corn. Surge Irrigation Saves Water with Top Yields , Jim Valliant, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. Six irrigation systems were evaluated using a variety of factors to establish a net investment per acre. Surge Irrigation Saves Water , Jim Valliant, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service.
Furrow irrigation is used on more than half the irrigated acres in Nebraska.
Some farmers are switching from furrow to center pivot irrigation to reduce labor and improve irrigation performance. Surge irrigation allows furrow irrigators to gain these same advantages without investing in major equipment. Getting over the field during the first irrigation in half or three quarters of the time it normally takes may more than pay for a valve in a single year. By realizing a water savings, pumping costs can be reduced. Fundamentals of Surge Irrigation , Yonts, Eisenhauer, and Cahoon, Cooperative Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.