(Wines&Vines) - With water at a premium throughout California, pumps are vital equipment to deliver the ever-dwindling supply to thirsty vineyards. And though they’re crucial to all but dry-farmed operations, these essential systems are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Sonoma County growers gathered at Francis Ford Coppola Winery on Wednesday to learn the ins and outs of irrigation pumps at a seminar sponsored by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, Sonoma County Vintners, Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Northern California utility supplier Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). 

The chief attraction came from The California Water Institute’s Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno. Bill Green, education manager of the Advanced Pumping Efficiency Program funded by PG&E, towed his fifth-wheel mobile unit to an oak-shaded clearing near the Geyserville winery. It resembles a food truck, but instead of a lunch counter, the unit opens to reveal a working pump system complete with electronic testing equipment and a video display.

“Water and energy are two major issues in this state,” Green said. “This drought is historic—there hasn’t been anything similar for hundreds, even thousands of years. California’s water systems were developed in the mid-1960s, when the population was less than 20 million.” Not only has the population nearly doubled that figure, the state’s agriculture industry also has ballooned during the past 50 years.

“We need a comprehensive new program, but that takes years and we haven’t even started yet,” Green noted.

In the meantime, while water conservation is essential, farmers can achieve more efficient delivery and monetary savings by monitoring and improving irrigation systems.

“There are a lot of bad pumps out there,” Green said. “Many are never fixed until they break.”