Salinity, drainage and selenium problems in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California

Highly productive, irrigated agriculturecan be found in California's Central Valleymade up of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, andTulare Lake basins. High water tablesthroughout much of the San Joaquin andTulare Lake portions of the Valley threatenthis highly productive region. Due totopographic and environmental constraintsmuch of the region is currently withoutdrainage. In 1990 State and Federalgovernment agencies combined to produce areport that outlined possible steps to dealwith the drainage issue. These stepsincluded: 1) Source control (practices toreduce the amount of drainage water); 2)Drainage reuse; 3) Evaporation systems; 4)Land retirement (cease irrigation); 5)Groundwater management; and 6) Discharge tothe San Joaquin River. General backgroundinformation to the history and hydrology ofthe Valley as well as a discussion of thefeasibility and constraints of providingdrainage by discharging drain water to theSan Joaquin River are presented. Inaddition a general discussion of thetechnical and political limitations ofproviding drainage in the River arediscussed.     

Time-dependent drainage from root zone and drainage coefficient under different irrigation management levels for subsurface drainage design in Egypt

Drainage water from the lower boundary of the root zone is an important factor in the irrigated agricultural lands for prediction of the water table behavior and understanding and modeling of water and chemical movement in the soil profile. The drainage coefficient is an important parameter for the design of subsurface drainage. On a 33,138 ha of the Nile Delta in Egypt, this study is conducted using 90 irrigation periods over a 3-year crop rotation to estimate the time-dependent drainage from the root zone and the design subsurface drainage coefficient with different cropping seasons and irrigation management levels.The results showed that the cropping seasons and the irrigation management levels as indicated by different irrigation efficiency are significantly affected the drainage rate from the root zone and the design value of subsurface drainage coefficient. Drainage rates from the root zone of 1.72 mm/d and 0.82 mm/d were estimated for summer and winter seasons, respectively. These rates significantly decreased in a range of 46% to 92% during summer season and 60% to 98% during winter season when the irrigation efficiency is increased in a range of 5% to 15%. The subsurface drainage coefficient was estimated to be 1.09 mm/d whereas the design drain pipe capacity was estimated to be 2.2 mm/d, based on the peak discharge of the most critical crop (maize), rather than 4.0 mm/d which is currently used. A significant decrease of the drainage coefficient and the drain pipe capacity ranges from 18% to 45% was found with the increase of irrigation efficiency in a range of 5% to 15%. The leaching requirement for each crop was also estimated.     

Aflaj irrigation and on-farm water management in northern Oman

This paper reports on results from a case study on water management within a traditional, falaj irrigation system in northern Oman. In the planning and design of regional irrigation development programs, generalized assumptions are frequently made as to the efficiency of traditional surface irrigation systems. Although qualitative accounts abound, very little quantitative research has been conducted on on-farm water management within falaj systems. Daily irrigation applications and crop water use was monitored during an 11-month period among 6 farm holdings at Falaj Hageer in Wilayat Al-Awabi. Contrary to the frequent assumptions that all surface irrigation systems incur unnecessarily high water losses, on-farm ratios of crop water demand to irrigation supply were found to be relatively high. Based on actual crop water use, irrigation demand/supply ratios among monitored farms varied from 0.60 to 0.98, with a mean of 0.79. Examination of the soil moisture budget indicates that during most irrigations of wheat (cultivated in the low evapotranspiration months of October–March) sufficient water is applied for the shallow root zone to attain field capacity. With the exception of temporary periods of high falaj delivery flows or periods of rainfall, field capacity is usually not attained during irrigations within the more extensive root zones of date palm farms. The data presented in this paper should provide a better understanding of water use performance by farmers within traditional falaj systems. Moreover, these data should also serve to facilitate more effective development planning for irrigation water conservation programs in the region.     

Methodologies for assessing performance of irrigation and drainage management

This paper presents a framework irrigation managers can use in assessing performance of irrigation, and recommends a specific set of indicators for measuring performance that the authors believe are practical, useful, and generally applicable. Although the primary focus is on the management of canal systems for agricultural production, the paper also discusses indicators that can be used for assessing longer term performance, including physical, economic and social sustainability. Finally, the paper highlights the crucial importance of strategic, as well as operational management performance, and the necessity of having an incentive system that encourages managers to improve performance.     

Strategies for reducing subsurface drainage in irrigated agriculture through improved irrigation

The traditional approach ofinstalling subsurface drainage systems tosolve shallow ground water problems is notfeasible along the west side of the SanJoaquin Valley of California because of thelack of drain water disposal methods thatare economical, technically feasible, andenvironmentally friendly. Thus, optionssuch as drainage reduction through improvedirrigation and drain water reuse are beingexamined as methods for coping with thesubsurface drainage problem. This paperdiscusses options for reducing subsurfacedrainage through improved irrigationpractices. Options are discussed forimproving irrigation system design such asupgrading existing irrigation methods andconverting to systems with higher potentialirrigation efficiencies. Methods forimproving water management are alsopresented. Case studies on upgradingexisting systems or converting to otherirrigation methods are presented along with study results of the effect of variouspolicies on reducing subsurface drainage.     

Using drainage systems for supplementary irrigation

The use of drainage systems for supplementary irrigation is widespread in The Netherlands. One of the operating policies is to raise the surface water level during the growing season in order to reduce drainage (water conservation) or to create subsurface irrigation. This type of operation is based on practical experience, which can be far from optimal.To obtain better founded operational water management rules a total soil water/surface water model was built. In a case study the effects of using the drainage system in a dual-purpose manner on the arable crop production were simulated with the model. Also, the operational rules for managing this type of dual-purpose drainage systems were derived.The average annual simulated increase in crop transpiration due to water conservation and water supply for subsurface irrigation are 6.0 and 5.4 mm.y^–1, respectively. This is equivalent with 520 × 10³ and 460 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for the pilot region (2 Dfl 1 US $). The corresponding investments and operational costs are 600 × 10³ Dfl and 9 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for water conservation and 3200 × 10³ Dfl and 128 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for subsurface irrigation. Hence, water conservation is economically very profitable, whereas subsurface irrigation is less attractive.Comparing the management according to the model with current practice in a water-board during 1983 and 1986 learned that benefits can increase with some 50 and 500 Dfl per ha per year, respectively.     

水田灌排一体化系统的开发与应用

分析国内外农业灌溉和排水领域发展的研究现状和目前常见的灌排装置的特点,针对中国灌溉排水研究领域对节水灌溉、控制排水设施的迫切需求,提出了水田灌排一体化系统的设计方案.该系统能根据农作物不同时期对水位的需求,充分利用灌溉和降雨的水量,较为精确地控制水田的灌溉和排水水位,解决了原有灌排设备无法同时实现灌溉和排水自动控制的难题.实际应用结果表明,水田灌排一体化系统试验区和对照区相比,降雨量增加利用150 mm,降雨利用率提高21%,减少灌水量21%;水稻亩产量增加4.3%;提高肥料的利用效率,减少农业面源污染.该系统结构简单、操作方便,具有可观的经济、生态效益和广阔的应用前景.     

Comparative analysis of main on-farm irrigation systems in Portugal

Traditional irrigation systems still cover a large area of irrigated lands in Portugal. The needs for competitiveness leads to the gradual abandon of traditional systems, resulting in social and economic impacts. Pressurised on-farm irrigation systems provide labour savings but imply important investments. Surface irrigation does not require expensive equipment and is low energy and low labour consuming, if modern systems are implemented. Flexible-pipe, gated-pipe, surge-flow valve and cablegation are the main equipment issues available to Portuguese farmers for modern surface irrigation practice. Conditions for application of these systems have been studied relative to different soil and topographic conditions. Plane land, either horizontal or sloped and undulated fields can be irrigated by surface systems, if a convenient design is accomplished. The adequacy of the irrigation systems has been evaluated and a cost-benefit study was carried out. A case study of a situation with undulated land, representative of South Portugal, is presented in this paper, comparing surface irrigation issues and a sprinkler system. Conclusions show a particular economic interest on adopting surge-valve, gated-pipe and cablegation.     

Economic incentives reduce irrigation deliveries and drain water volume

This paper describes the application of an economic incentive program to achieve water quality objectives by motivating improvements in farm-level water management practices. The program includes farm-specific water allotments, tiered water pricing, and low-interest loans for purchasing irrigation equipment. The implementation of this program in a California water district has resulted in significant reductions in irrigation deliveries and drain water volume. Since the program was implemented, average irrigation depths have declined by 25% on cotton fields, 9% on tomatoes, 10% on cantaloupes, 30% on seed alfalfa, and 29% on grain fields. The average volume of drain water collected each year in subsurface drainage systems has declined from 4.8 million m³ during 1986 through 1989 to 2.6 million m³ during 1990 through 1993. These results confirm that economic incentives can be effective in generating improvements in water quality.     

Controlled water table management as a strategy for reducing salt loads from subsurface drainage under perennial agriculture in semi-arid Australia

Recent community based actions to ensure the sustainability of irrigation and protection of associated ecosystems in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) of Australia has seen the implementation of a regional Land and Water Management Plan. This aims to improve land and water management within the irrigation area and minimise downstream impacts associated with irrigation. One of the plan objectives is to decrease current salt loads generated from subsurface drainage in perennial horticulture within the area from 20 000 tonnes/year to 17 000 tonnes/year. In order to meet such objectives Controlled Water table Management (CWM) is being investigated as a possible ‘Best Management Practice’, to reduce drainage volumes and salt loads.During 2000–2002 a trial was conducted on a 15 ha subsurface drained vineyard. This compared a traditional unmanaged subsurface drainage system with a controlled drainage system utilizing weirs to maintain water tables and changes in irrigation scheduling to maximize the potential crop use of a shallow water table. Drainage volumes, salt loads and water table elevations throughout the field were monitored to investigate the effects of controlled drainage on drain flows and salt loads.Results from the experiment showed that controlled drainage significantly reduced drainage volumes and salt loads compared to unmanaged systems. However, there were marked increases in soil salinity which will need to be carefully monitored and managed.     

Asset management modelling framework for irrigation and drainage systems: Principles and case study application

Sustainability of irrigation and drainage infrastructure poses many challenges to many irrigation authorities worldwide due to a mismatch between the actual cost incurred in the provision of irrigation and drainage service and pricing of this service. This shortfall often leads to inadequate expenditure on maintenance in the absence of adequate subsidies from government or other sources.The asset management modelling framework (AMMF) presented in this paper enables the quantification of on-going ownership costs and operation costs. A life cycle cost (LCC) model for the evaluation of alternative irrigation and drainage asset management strategies is also presented. The AMMF is applied to the evaluation of asset ownership costs and LCC for alternative maintenance and interest rate scenarios in the Cu Chi irrigation system, Vietnam. The cost of three renewal strategies was evaluated: linear depreciation, full annuity and partial annuity. The cost ranges between US$ 28.00/ha and US$ 41.00/ha when interest rate varies between 9 and 3%. The average maintenance expenditure during recent years was estimated to be only US$ 1.30/ha which translates into 0.68% of the total asset replacement cost.The application of a simplified LCC model reveals that the least LCC varies with the level of maintenance and interest rate between US$ 353.5/ha for 5% maintenance expenditure and 12% interest rate to US$ 522.3/ha for 3% maintenance expenditure and 6% interest rate. The importance of exercising value judgements in applying the LCC model is also emphasised and discussed.     

基于模糊模式识别的农田排水再利用适宜性评价

以受盐渍化威胁的干旱半干旱地区为研究对象,基于构建的农田排水再利用适宜性评价指标体系,采用模糊模式识别方法建立了农田排水再利用适宜性评价模型;综合分析相关文献和已有标准,制定出评价指标体系各项指标的分级标准值范围和标准值,采用层次分析法确定各评价指标的权重.以宁夏银北灌区5个典型排水再利用区域为例的评价结果表明,除前进农场外,其他区域评价等级均在2级“适宜”排水再利用范围内.其中灌溉中、后期利用排水灌溉的适宜性级别特征值低于前期,即排水再利用的适宜程度好于前期,该时期正是作物需水量较大和灌溉用水紧张期,处于作物盐分非敏感期,适宜地再利用一定量的农田排水是可行的.     

Agricultural drainage: Towards an integrated approach

Drainage needs to reclaim its rightful position as an indispensable element in the integrated management of land and water. An integrated approach to drainage can be developed by means of systematic mapping of the functions of natural resources systems (goods and services) and the values attributed to these functions by people. This mapping allows the exploration of the implications of particular drainage interventions. In that sense an analytical tool for understanding a drainage situation is proposed. The process dimension of the functions and values evaluation and assessment is participatory planning, modelled on co-management approaches to natural resources management. This provides a framework for discussion and negotiation of trade-offs related to the different functions and values related to drainage. In that sense the approach is a communication, planning and decision-making tool. The tool is called DRAINFRAME, which stands for Drainage Integrated Analytical Framework. The implementation of an integrated approach posits challenges for the governance, management and finance of drainage, as well as for research and design of drainage infrastructure and operation. Both have to be rethought from the perspective of multi-functionality. The paper concludes with five main policy messages.     

Predicting effects of drainage water management in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes

Long-term hydrologic simulations are presented predicting the effects of drainage water management on subsurface drainage, surface runoff and crop production in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes. The deterministic hydrologic model, DRAINMOD was used to simulate Webster (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic) soil in a Continuous Corn rotation (WEBS_CC) with different drain depths from 0.75 to 1.20 m and drain spacing from 10 to 50 m in a combination of free and controlled drainage over a weather record of 60 (1945-2004) years. Shallow drainage is defined as drains installed at a drain depth of 0.75 m, and controlled drainage with a drain depth of 1.20 m restricts flow at the drain outlet to maintain a water table at 0.60 m below surface level during the winter (November-March) and summer (June-August) months. These drainage design and management modifications were evaluated against conventional drainage system installed at a drain depth of 1.20 m with free drainage at the drain outlet. The simulation results indicate the potential of a tradeoff between subsurface drainage and surface runoff as a pathway to remove excess water from the system. While a reduction of subsurface drainage may occur through the use of shallow and controlled drainage, these practices may increase surface runoff in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes. The simulations also indicate that shallow and controlled drainage might increase the excess water stress on crop production, and thereby result in slightly lower relative yields. Field experiments are needed to examine the pathways of water movement, total water balance, and crop production under shallow and controlled drainage in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes.     

农田水利与排灌事业

论述了发展农田水利的技术要求和从事排灌事业的基本依据；简述了有待石拓的污水灌溉和生物排水以及可以更科学地指导排灌技术的土壤－作物－大气连续体理论。     

Selection of drainage and its phased implementation for salinity control

Soil salinity has often become a long-term problem associated with irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions. But the problem can be controlled by good management of surface and groundwater resources. Management of groundwater is achieved through drainage, although drainage may not be necessary for some time after the initial construction of a scheme. This paper introduces a regional model for predicting expected soil salinity conditions and groundwater depths over an irrigation scheme. The model considers all the main hydrological systems which influence soil salinity and makes optimal use of sparse point field data from grid surveys. The model can be used to identify priority areas for reclamation measures, ie areas where conditions combine to produce high salinity levels. Thus drainage development can be phased over a period of time and targeted where it will be most effective.     

Performance indicators for irrigation and drainage

This paper summarises the performance indicators currently used in the Research Program on Irrigation Performance (RPIP).Within this Program field data are measured and collected to quantify andtest about 40 multidisciplinary performance indicators. These indicatorscover water delivery, water use efficiency, maintenance, sustainability ofirrigation, environmental aspects, socio-economics and management. Theindicators now are sufficiently mature to be recommended for use inirrigation and drainage performance assessment.     

外包滤料对暗管排水与土壤脱盐效果的影响

为了探究不同外包滤料条件下的暗管排水性能和土壤脱盐效果,基于室内试验研究成果,在田间设置4种暗管排水系统(各系统中暗管埋深均为80 cm,间距均为20 m),所用外包滤料分别为68 g/m²土工布(L)、砂滤料(S)、68 g/m²土工布+砂滤料(LS)和无外包滤料(W),以当地常规明沟排水(CK)作为对照,通过田间试验分析了春灌过程中各暗管系统的排水性能指标及土壤脱盐效率.结果表明:相比处理W,处理L,S和LS平均排水速率提升了7.44%,12.55%和15.75%,平均流量衰减度降低4.07%;处理S和LS累积排水量提高了5.11%和8.31%(P<0.05).各暗管处理春灌后平均土壤脱盐率均达47%以上,较CK提升显著,其中处理LS效果最优,为50.94%.综上,应优先选择处理LS作为河套灌区暗管排水系统外包滤料布设方案.该研究结果可为河套灌区暗管排盐技术的推广应用提供理论支撑和科学指导.     

膜下滴灌结合暗管排水技术改良新疆盐碱地效果综述

膜下滴灌技术的大面积推广和应用,为新疆乃至西北干旱地区作物高产提供了强大的技术支撑。应用在盐碱地改良中,膜下滴灌“有灌无排”模式仅调节耕层盐分分布,并不能将盐分排出土体,长年灌溉容易引起爆发式积盐的风险,而暗管排水是目前公认的改良盐碱地最直接、最有效的方法。目前,将膜下滴灌与暗管排水有机结合形成的新型灌溉技术,充分利用膜下滴灌良好的抑蒸增温、节水抑盐等优势,同时利用暗管将淋洗盐水及时排出土体,使盐碱化土层产生新的水盐平衡,已在新疆盐碱地区开发利用中得到长足发展。本文重点分析并总结了新疆灌区膜下滴灌结合暗管排水系统的设计参数及土壤水盐运移规律,并综述了土壤理化性质及作物产量对该灌排技术的响应研究,以期为新疆盐碱地农业可持续发展提供理论依据和技术指导。     

沿江圩区局部洼地排涝模数关联因子分析及应用

沿江圩区局部洼地涝灾频发,是目前圩区涝灾治理的重点.针对局部洼地排涝特点,以扬州江都沿江开发区为例,通过排涝水文分析计算得到排涝模数与排涝面积、水面率、调蓄水深、暴雨重现期4种关联因子之间的关系,选取典型区对局部洼地涝灾进行成因分析,并在此基础上提出圩区内局部洼地涝灾的防治措施.结果表明:排涝面积与排涝模数的偏相关系数为-0.905,相关性最大;局部洼地排涝面积小,洪水汇流速度快,洪峰径流模数和排涝模数较大;局部洼地区缺乏小型河网、河流间距过大、水系布置不合理和采用排涝模数较低,是涝灾频发的主要原因.以关联因子分析和成因分析为基础,提出了通过缩小河流间距、增加水面率、充分发挥河道的调蓄作用等措施以防治涝灾的产生,并且提出了符合圩区局部洼地水情特征的一种排水管网与河道布置模式.