PORTLAND — Irrigation districts that convert open canals to more water-efficient pipelines could gain additional revenue by co-locating infrastructure from other utilities such as electrical lines or fiber optic internet cables, according to the nonprofit Farmers Conservation Alliance.

The model is now being put to the test as part of a project with the East Fork Irrigation District in Hood River, Ore., funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

NRCS recently awarded five grants through the state Conservation Innovation Grant program, including $79,194 to the alliance and its proposal to leverage modern irrigation systems for several benefits — from water savings to expanding rural broadband internet service.

Piping leaky canals is already a priority for the group, which is working with several districts across Oregon. One of those is the East Fork district, which plans in July to pipe 56 miles of open canals, saving an estimated 5,287 acre-feet of water every year from seepage and evaporation.

Alan Horton, program development consultant for the alliance, said the group has spent several years working with the irrigation district to develop a watershed plan and access federal dollars for the project. The first phase, covering 3,900 feet of new pipeline, is expected to break ground in January.

As part of the grant, Horton said they also plan to dig two empty conduits alongside the pipeline, which the district could later lease to electric and fiber optic companies.

Not only would it be cheaper for utilities to take advantage of the conduits, as opposed to designing and building an entirely new project, but Horton said the revenue could help the district cover the cost of future irrigation upgrades.

“It is so inexpensive to do it this way,” Horton said. “It is literally pennies on the dollar.”

Cost savings for utilities, in turn, would help to keep rates affordable and bridge the “digital divide” in rural communities.

Horton said the alliance will complete a market analysis to determine how co-location of infrastructure may be most profitable and beneficial. He said they hope to secure a national Conservation Innovation Grant in the future to expand the project into other states they serve, including California, Montana and Nevada.

“In Oregon alone, we are looking at hundreds of miles of corridors of pipelines to be installed over the next couple of years,” Horton said.

The grants are offered by NRCS to encourage innovative projects supporting farmers, ranchers and private forestland owners.

Other grants awarded by NRCS Oregon in 2020 include:

• Sustainable Northwest: $79,675 to help eastern and southern Oregon ranchers with rangeland carbon sequestration and soil health, allowing them to access ecosystem service markets.

• The Understory Initiative: $55,586 to create pollinator habitat beneath solar arrays located on agricultural lands.

• The Beaver Coalition:  $33,585 to develop voluntary, non-lethal solutions to beaver conflicts such as pond levelers, culvert protection systems and tree-wrapping.

• Gilliam Soil and Water Conservation District:  $100,000 to evaluate and develop methods of certifying NRCS conservation practices using drones.