U.S. Water News Online
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Gov. Dave Freudenthal and University of Wyoming researchers demonstrated a new wind- and solar-powered water pumping system they say will make water supplies more reliable and ranches more efficient.
The system, developed by the University of Wyoming Electric Motor Training and Testing Center, aims to make groundwater available where surface water isn't.
"With Wyoming's ongoing drought, surface water is not as readily available as we might like," Freudenthal said during the demonstration on the Capitol's west lawn. "My hope is that this new technology can help ranchers water their livestock using the means and areas that make the most sense for their operations."
Many Wyoming ranchers use diesel-powered pumps to get groundwater for their livestock, but the project aims to replace those pumps with new ones powered by renewable resources.
Some ranchers use windmills, but John Etchepare, director of the Wyoming Agriculture Department, said windmills alone weren't always reliable.
"In all of the years I was in ranching, we were almost totally dependent on our windmills for our livestock and wildlife water," Etchepare said. "Let me assure you that the wind does not always blow in Wyoming. This new technology comes highly recommended and looks to be a very valuable resource for Wyoming's farmers and ranchers."
Charlie Stith, who ranches near Laramie, and Lingle rancher Mark Morel said the trial systems installed on their southeast Wyoming ranches were quite successful.
"We've been able to pump water through the winter," Stith said. "This is how my cows drink all winter. I was chopping ice."
And because livestock tend to stay close to water supplies, installing multiple pumps around a ranch can help make sure land is evenly grazed, the demonstrators said.
"It really did help us spread our cattle out and better use our rangeland, and the wildlife have really benefited from it as well," Morel said.
Now the university wants to install at least two demonstration systems in each county.
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