A REMOTE SENSING APPROACH FOR MODELING WATER RESOURCE USE1

Remote sensing data combined with other spatially referenced data were used to predict water resource use in an irrigated area of Central Oregon. Crop type and irrigation method were determined using color infrared aerial photography and thermal infrared imagery, respectively. These data were combined with crop consumptive use and irrigation method application efficiency values to determine total water applied to a transect sample through the heart of the study area. This information, when integrated with data on canal leakage and storage reservoir seepage, allowed the researcher to predict total water use for the entire management unit. The model developed allowed the researcher to attain results accurate to within 92.0 percent of actual values, suggesting that predictive water use models which use such techniques have tremendous potential for providing water resource managers with near real-time statistics required for making wise management decisions.