Grants from the Bureau of Reclamation for personnel and infrastructure, support from the California State University, Chico College of Agriculture, and grants from the California Public Utilities Commission have funded the development of a demonstration SCADA system, a Irrigation Training Facility (ITF), and a mediated classroom at the Agricultural Teaching and Research Center (ATRC) in Chico.  These facilities were created to support Northern California water districts in their efforts to implement conservation plans. The location of this facility in the heart of the Sacramento Valley makes it easily accessible to irrigation district personnel.  This facility was developed with assistance and cooperation from of the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), California State University, Fresno.  The project remains closely allied with ITRC.

One of the goals of developing this facility is to support the adoption of new technologies in water measurement and control that will lead to water conservation.  By providing a local facility, local training opportunities, and technical support in Chico it is hoped that Northern California water districts will adopt new water conservation technologies.  The facility at ATRC is unique in that it incorporates a demonstration site where various types of SCADA and water measurement technologies can be shown and SCADA equipment installed on a working 800 acre farm.  This allows the flexibility to demonstrate under field conditions (e.g. demonstrate water flow measurement in unlined ditches, or in field turnouts) as well as the controlled conditions of the demonstration facility.