A newly designed flood gauge by Mississippi State University is helping rice producers conserve water by allowing them to monitor flood depth from a distance.

As a rice field fills with water, the flood gauge indicator rises out of the field and displays a color corresponding to flood depth. Red indicates “add water,” yellow means “prepare to add water,” blue signifies “full flood” and green means “losing money from over pumping.”

The Mississippi Rice Promotion Board had sponsored the research with flood gauges in 2007.