For many years I have heard the good and the not so good saga of sprinkler end guns.

Quotes like, “Those are the most inexpensive additional acres on my farm”, to “those acres are the least productive and most water wasting acres in the basin”. Well, which is it?

I have been railing against end guns for years saying that if there were water restrictions, those would be the first acres eliminated.

As long as an irrigator is within the bounds of his or her permit, there is no restriction on how you apply the water to your permitted acres. That may be the case, but I believe 2026 is pointing out something too obvious to ignore. The edges of fields that are irrigated with end guns are striking in how poor they are performing.

Fields with nozzles that have a secure delivery radius have thriving crops right up to the end of the water package while far reaching end guns have withering crops that will produce little if any crop.

This hot summer is the perfect year to take note of this issue. The only impact end guns that have a crop are those that overshot the crop by 30’. They also have a nice weed boundary.

In a time when our water is under scrutiny from every angle, doesn’t it make sense to, at least, make the token effort to eliminate end guns from our sprinklers?

I was told recently that removing end guns would not save any water, because irrigator would just use the same amount of water inside of the old end gun. Under low production wells, that might be the case, but the water that you apply would be more effective. In the case of high productions wells, there would be an opportunity to cut back on irrigation. In any case, irrigation patterns would be better, thus improving sprinkler efficiency.

I also encourage landowners to be part of the solution when it comes to more efficient irrigation. Instead of demanding that you get paid for “end gun” acres, why not demand that end guns come off and adjust your rent accordingly.

In the long run, you will be part of one of many potential solutions to our over pumping dilemma

Rod Lenz

Wray, CO