Use of treated municipal wastewater in irrigated agriculture—Review of some practices in Spain and Greece

Approximately, seventy (70) percent of world water use including all the water diverted from rivers and pumped from underground is used for agricultural irrigation, so that the reuse of treated municipal wastewater for purposes such as agricultural and landscape irrigation reduces the amount of water that needs to be extracted from natural water sources as well as reducing discharge of wastewater to the environment. Thus, treated municipal wastewater is a valuable water source for recycling and reuse in the Mediterranean countries and other arid and semi-arid regions which are confronting increasing water shortages. Treated wastewater reuse in agriculture is a common practice in the Mediterranean countries and there is a considerable interest in the long-term effects of treated wastewater on crops intended for human consumption. This paper reviews the fundamentals of agricultural irrigation using treated municipal wastewater and the status of municipal wastewater reuse in Greece and Spain with studies related to the effects on soils and plants.     

DRAINMOD-S: Water management model for irrigated arid lands,crop yield and applications

The primary objective of an agriculture water management system is to provide crop needs to sustain high yields. Another objective of equal or greater importance in some regions is to reduce agriculture impacts on surface and groundwater quality. Kandil et al. (1992) modified the water management model DRAINMOD to predict soil salinity as affected by irrigation water quality and drainage system design. The objectives of this study are to incorporate an algorithm to quantify the effects of stresses due to soil salinity on crop yields and to demonstrate the applications of the model. DRAINMOD-S, is capable of predicting the long-term effects of different irrigation and drainage practices on crop yields. The overall crop function in the model includes the effects of stresses caused by excessive soil water conditions (waterlogging), soil water-deficits, salinity, and planting delays. Three irrigation strategies and six drain spacings were considered for all crops. In the first irrigation strategy, the irrigation amounts were equal to evapotranspiration requirements by the crops, with the addition of a 10 cm depth of water for leaching applied during each growing season. In the second strategy, the leaching depth (10 cm) was applied before the growing season. In the third strategy, a leaching depth of 15 cm was applied before the growing season for each crop. Another strategy (4th) with more leaching was considered for bean which is the crop most sensitive to salinity. In the fourth strategy, 14 days intervals were used instead of 7 and leaching irrigations were applied: 15 cm before the growing season and 10 cm at the middle of the growing season for bean. The objective function for these simulations was crop yield. Soil water conditions and soil salinity were continuously simulated for a crop rotation of bean, cotton, maize, soybean, and wheat over a 19 years period. Yields of individual crops were predicted for each growing season. Results showed that the third irrigation strategy resulted in the highest yields for cotton, maize, soybean and wheat. Highest yields for bean were obtained by the fourth irrigation strategy. Results are also presented on the effects of drain depth and spacing on yields. DRAINMOD-S is written in Fortran and requires a PC with math-coprocessor. It was concluded that DRAINMOD-S is a useful tool for design and evaluation of irrigation and drainage systems in irrigated arid lands.     

The challenges of wastewater irrigation in developing countries

The volume of wastewater generated by domestic, industrial and commercial sources has increased with population, urbanization, improved living conditions, and economic development. The productive use of wastewater has also increased, as millions of small-scale farmers in urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries depend on wastewater or wastewater polluted water sources to irrigate high-value edible crops for urban markets, often as they have no alternative sources of irrigation water. Undesirable constituents in wastewater can harm human health and the environment. Hence, wastewater irrigation is an issue of concern to public agencies responsible for maintaining public health and environmental quality. For diverse reasons, many developing countries are still unable to implement comprehensive wastewater treatment programs. Therefore in the near term, risk management and interim solutions are needed to prevent adverse impacts from wastewater irrigation. A combination of source control, and farm-level and post-harvest measures can be used to protect farm workers and consumers. The WHO guidelines revised in 2006 for wastewater use suggest measures beyond the traditional recommendations of producing only industrial or non-edible crops, as in many situations it is impossible to enforce a change in the current cash crop pattern, or provide alternative vegetable supply to urban markets.There are several opportunities for improving wastewater management via improved policies, institutional dialogues and financial mechanisms, which would reduce the risks in agriculture. Effluent standards combined with incentives or enforcement can motivate improvements in water management by household and industrial sectors discharging wastewater from point sources. Segregation of chemical pollutants from urban wastewater facilitates treatment and reduces risk. Strengthening institutional capacity and establishing links between water delivery and sanitation sectors through inter-institutional coordination leads to more efficient management of wastewater and risk reduction.     

Non-conventional water resources and opportunities for water augmentation to achieve food security in water scarce countries

Given current demographic trends and future growth projections, as much as 60% of the global population may suffer water scarcity by the year 2025. The water-use efficiency techniques used with conventional resources have been improved. However, water-scarce countries will have to rely more on the use of non-conventional water resources to partly alleviate water scarcity. Non-conventional water resources are either generated as a product of specialized processes such as desalination or need suitable pre-use treatment and/or appropriate soil–water–crop management strategies when used for irrigation. In water-scarce environments, such water resources are accessed through the desalination of seawater and highly brackish groundwater, the harvesting of rainwater, and the use of marginal-quality water resources for irrigation. The marginal-quality waters used for irrigation consist of wastewater, agricultural drainage water, and groundwater containing different types of salts. In many developing countries, a major part of the wastewater generated by domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors is used for crop production in an untreated or partly treated form. The protection of public health and the environment are the main concerns associated with uncontrolled wastewater irrigation. The use of saline and/or sodic drainage water and groundwater for agriculture is expected to increase. This warrants modifications in the existing soil, irrigation, and crop management practices used, in order to cope with the increases in salinity and sodicity that will occur.     

Reuse of tertiary municipal wastewater effluent for irrigation of Cucumis melo L.

The reuse of tertiary wastewater for crop irrigation presents itself as an alternative to the scarcity of quality water suffered by many countries in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, this resource can provide an important saving of fertilizers as well as benefits to the environment, as it avoids the discharge of contaminated water into public waterways. This study focuses on the effect of irrigation with ozonized wastewater on the melon crop. In this study, melon crops were irrigated with either ozonized wastewater or ground water commonly used in the agricultural area (control treatment). Fertigation, by means of drip irrigation, was delivered according to the crop’s needs, evaluating the fertilizers contributed by each of the waters and that added in mineral form. Throughout the crop’s development, the characteristics of the water, soil and plant (leaf and fruit) were studied from a chemical, physicochemical and microbiological perspective. The results obtained show that irrigation with ozonized wastewater, in these conditions of crop growth, produces similar effects as ground water on the soil properties, on the concentration of macroelements in the leaf and fruit and on the yield of melon fruit. Furthermore, the reuse of this effluent leads to a greater saving in nitrogenous and potassium fertilizers compared to fertigation of the crop with ground water.     

变化环境下农业需水量演变趋势及驱动力

根据宝鸡峡灌区11个气象站近30 a的气象及近20 a种植面积资料,分析了气候及作物种植结构的变化特征,计算了作物需水量和农业需水量,研究了灌区农业需水量的演变趋势,并利用主成分回归分析法揭示了影响农业需水量变化的驱动因素.结果表明:灌区气温呈显著上升趋势,相对湿度和风速呈显著下降趋势,蒸发量和日照时数略有增多,降水量有所减少.灌区农业种植结构变化较大,粮食作物与经济作物种植面积比例显著降低,由1991年的4.08减小为2010年的1.83;粮食作物与农作物总播种面积比例也呈下降趋势,由1991年的0.46减小为2010年的0.40.灌区小麦、玉米、油菜、棉花等4种主要作物需水量呈递增趋势,其中油菜需水量递增速率最快,约为3.558 mm/a;灌区农业需水量呈递减趋势,其递减速率为3.35×107m3/a.影响农业需水量变化的主要驱动因素为种植面积、降水量和蒸发量.降水量的减少和蒸发量的增多使得作物需水量明显增多,而农作物种植面积的减少,引起农业需水量的显著减少.     

节水压采区农业种植结构多目标优化研究——以衡水市为例

针对节水压采区水资源紧缺、种植结构不合理、灌溉定额较大等问题,提出了基于作物水分生产函数的多目标种植结构优化模型。以衡水市为例,以种植结构和灌水量为优化变量,以经济效益最大和总灌溉水量最小为优化目标,建立了多目标优化模型,通过改进的NSGA-II算法进行优化计算,得出了不同灌溉水价水平下对应的种植结构和灌水量调整方案。结果表明,小麦种植面积比现状种植面积有所减少,玉米、花生等耗水量小的作物面积有所增加。通过优化,合理提高灌溉水价可促进高耗水作物种植面积的减少,扩大低耗水作物种植面积。     

滴灌水肥耦合技术在西北干旱区作物栽培中的应用

水分和养分是影响作物生长发育的关键因素,明确作物需水需肥规律及其交互作用有助于农作物优质高产栽培.我国西北干旱区水资源极端匮乏,滴灌水肥耦合技术可以准确而均匀地将水肥施用于作物根部.对滴灌水肥耦合技术的优点及其对西北干旱区作物的影响研究进行了综述.滴灌水肥耦合技术通过扩大水分和养分在作物根区的运移范围,有利于作物对水分...     

自动化灌溉控制工程技术的研究与应用

现代化农业对作物生长微环境要求高,对灌水时间、灌水量、灌水部位、水肥营养供给等都有更精确要求,自动化灌溉控制工程技术正是支撑现代化农业的一项基础性技术措施.为此,山东省水科院技术人员,经过多年来的技术开发与工程实践,集成电子信息技术、远程测控网络技术、计算机控制技术及信息采集处理技术,通过计算机通用化和模块化的设计程序,构筑供水流量、压力、土壤水分、作物生长信息、气象资料的自动监测控制系统,进行水、土环境因子的模拟优化,实现灌溉节水、作物生理、土壤湿度等技术控制指标的逼近控制,从而将农业高效节水的理论研究提高到现实的应用技术水平。该项技术已针对山东省不同种植作物、不同灌溉措施进行了系列推广,逐步形成了一套成熟的完整的应用技术体系。     

农业干旱形成机制分析

基于农业干旱概念和作物水分代谢过程,从驱动因素对作物水分收入和支出影响角度分析了气候变化和人类活动二大驱动因素对农业干旱形成的驱动机制,探讨了多种因素综合作用下农业干旱(包括雨养农业和灌溉农业)从孕育、缓冲、开始、发展到解除的过程。     

基于作物空间信息特征的灌区种植结构优化研究

针对目前北方许多大型灌区种植结构不合理、农业需水量偏大、水资源紧缺等问题,提出了一种基于作物空间信息特征的种植结构优化方法,通过调整种植结构和优化空间分布,减少农业需水量,提高农业效益。利用地统计学(GS)和地理信息系统(GIS)的空间处理能力,分区计算了灌区多年平均参考作物需水量(ET0)和作物需水量(ETc),并统计分区内作物单产和产值信息;构建了基于作物空间信息特征的多目标优化模型,设计了2种作物种植结构方案。结果表明,与传统多目标种植结构优化模型相比,基于作物空间信息特征的种植结构优化方法在节水效果和农业效益上都有一定的优势。     

面向可持续灌溉农业发展的涝渍盐碱管理

发展可持续灌溉农业是实现全球粮食安全、维持民众生计的必要保障条件之一,但因灌溉诱发的农田涝渍盐碱协同危害却对作物生长及产量产生直接和间接影响,严重制约灌溉农业生产力水平,带来农田生态环境负效应.文中在对灌溉诱发的涝渍盐碱共存形成机制、作物生长和土壤特性对涝渍盐碱的响应、涝渍盐碱对作物产量的影响进行综述基础上,从排水、用水、灌溉、土壤、作物、社会经济等各种涝渍盐碱管理途径入手,阐述相关的治理措施与技术应用效果,围绕“节灌、减排、控盐、增效”的面向可持续灌溉农业发展的涝渍盐碱管理目标,从涝渍盐碱共存机制研究、涝渍盐碱共存状况监测评价、涝渍盐碱治理技术组合及集成模式研发、涝渍盐碱危害风险分析与评估等层面上,提出相应的主要研究内容与重点.     

An integrated hydro-economic modelling framework to evaluate water allocation strategies II: Scenario assessment

In this paper the results of an assessment of the hydrological and economic implications of reallocating water in the Musi sub-basin, a catchment within the Krishna Basin in India, are reported. Policy makers identified a number of different but plausible scenarios that could apply in the sub-basin, involving; supplying additional urban demand from agricultural allocations of water, implementing a number of demand management strategies, changing the timing of releases for hydropower generation, changing the crops grown under irrigation, reducing existing stream flows and allowing for more environmental flows. The framework chosen to undertake this assessment was a simulation model that measures and compares the economic values of water allocation scenarios determined from a water allocation model that accounts for supplies of groundwater and surface water across a number of regions and over a variety of uses. Policy makers are provided with the range of measures on the security of the supply of water and the social costs and benefits of reallocating water between sectors and across regions within the sub-basin. Taking water from agriculture to supply urban users has a greater impact on irrigation supplies during dry years. It was also found that changing the allocation of water between sectors, by taking it away from agriculture had a large positive economic impact on the urban sector. Yet the costs involved in undertaking such a strategy results in a significant loss in the net present value of the scheme. Stream flow reductions, if significantly large (at around 20%), were found to have a large physical and economic impact on the agricultural sector. Implementing water saving strategies in Hyderabad was found to be more cost effective than taking water from agriculture, if rainwater tanks are used to achieve this. Changing the timing of hydropower flows resulted in best meeting of irrigation demand in NSLC and NSRC. Under this scenario, the crops grown under irrigation were found to have a significant economic impact on the sub-basin, but not as large as farmers undertaking crop diversification strategies, ones which result in farmers growing less rice. The security of supplying water to different agricultural zones has significantly improved under this scenario. Finally, releasing water for environmental purposes was found to have only a minor impact on the agricultural sector.     

河南省主要农作物灌溉用水定额分析

针对河南省现状灌溉用水情况,在大量调研资料的基础上通过回归分析模型计算得出不同灌溉分区及全省平偏枯年份主要作物灌溉用水基准定额和调节系数,进而确定了不同灌溉条件下各作物的灌溉用水定额。结果为现阶段河南省农业灌溉实施"总量控制、定额管理"提供了决策指导。     

The effect of water supply uncertainty on farmers’ choice of crop portfolio

This paper analyzes the effect of water supply uncertainty on farmers’ choice of crop portfolio. The paper presents an innovative model to estimate the value of uncertainty of water supply, and then tests the model using data from Israel. The modeling results provide support to the hypothesis that uncertainty induces farmers to prefer crops whose growth requires less agricultural capital accumulation, despite their lower profitability (agricultural capital referring to trees and other plants which take a significant period of time to mature). This is due to the risk that in a given year water supply will fall below a certain minimal level, thereby causing loss of all accumulated capital. The paper also examines a government intervention policy for mitigating uncertainty: use of reclaimed wastewater in crop irrigation as a supplement for freshwater supply. The costs associated with constructing the required wastewater reclamation and supply facilities are compared to the benefits of additional farm income earned through a more certain on-farm water supply. It is shown that under certain conditions implementation of this policy is indeed economically worthwhile.     

Deficit irrigation under water stress and salinity conditions: The MOPECO-Salt Model

In both arid and semi-arid areas the use of saline water for irrigation is a common practice, even though it may cause a drop in crop yield and progressive soil salinization. In order to determine the most suitable irrigation strategy for higher yield, profitability, and soil salinity management of certain crops, the MOPECO-Salt Model has been developed. This model was first validated in the Eastern Mancha Agricultural System in Albacete (Spain) through a test carried out on onion crop in April-September 2009, where the simulated yield was 2% lower than the observed one. The model was then tested at Tal Amara Research Station in the Central Bekaa Valley Agricultural System (Lebanon) using data from a 5-year experiment on the effects of deficit irrigation on two cultivars of potato (Spunta: July-October 2001, and June-September 2002; and Agria: March-August 2004, 2005, and 2007). Furthermore, these results were compared with those obtained through AquaCrop, which does not currently assess crop response to salinity. Differences between observed and simulated yields were lower than 3% for MOPECO-Salt and up to 12% for AquaCrop. According to findings from simulations, the irrigation strategies without leaching fraction employed in both areas are remediable since the off-season rainfall is sufficient to wash out soluble salts supplied with irrigation water. Results showed that as much as 14.4% water could be saved when this strategy was adopted for onion crops.     

关于我国节水农业技术研究的探讨

总结了我国近期节水农业技术研究在农用水资源的合理开发技术、输配水节水工程技术、田间节水灌溉工程技术、提高作物从农田土壤中获取水分形成产量的技术等方面的最新进展。指出了我国节水农业技术研究中存在的主要问题。提出了我国节水农业技术应研究的重点为 :适合我国国情的节水灌溉工程技术 ,研究新工艺、新配方加速节水农业新设备及新材料的产业化 ,节水高效灌溉制度与控制灌溉技术 ,研究开发多种可用于灌溉的水资源 ,研究提高灌溉用水管理水平。     

基于云平台的智能灌溉控制系统研究

水肥作为影响作物生长的两大主要因素,其管理合理与否直接影响到作物的产量与品质。针对目前我国农业水肥管理中普遍存在的管理模式粗放、自动化程度低、水肥浪费严重等问题,借助无线通信技术、自动控制技术及传感器技术等现代技术,开发了一套集田间信息采集、远程自动控制、设备运行状态监测及灌溉过程调控等功能于一体的智能化灌溉控制系统,有效提高了田间管理的自动化程度和精细化水平,同时还可以对系统和各轮灌区的用水用电量进行精准计量,为灌溉水价计取和农业水价综合改革提供数据支撑,符合现代农业的发展需求。      

MOPECO: an economic optimization model for irrigation water management

Water is a natural, sometimes scarce, and fundamental resource for life, essential both for agriculture in many regions of the world and also to achieve sustainability in production systems. Maximizing net returns with the available resources is of the utmost importance, but doing so is a complex problem, owing to the many factors that affect this process (e.g. climatic variability, irrigation system configuration, production costs, subsidy policies). The MOPECO model is a tool for identifying optimal production plans, and water irrigation management strategies. The model estimates crop yield, production and gross margin as a function of the irrigation depth. Finally, these gross margin functions are used to determine an optimum cropping pattern and irrigation strategy to maximize the gross margin on a farm in a specific scenario. Since the relationships between the variables are generally non-linear and the number of alternative strategies is quite large, the optimum process is complex and computationally intensive. Genetic algorithms are therefore used to identify optimal strategies. This paper describes the MOPECO model, which comprises three computing modules: (1) estimation of net water requirements; (2) derivation of the relationship between gross margin and irrigation depth; and (3) identification of the crop planning and the water volumes to be applied. The results obtained by applying the MOPECO model to a specific irrigable area in a semi-arid area of Spain, with great deficits and high water costs, are also included and discussed. These results usually show that the irrigation depth for maximum benefits is lower than that necessary to obtain maximum production. In some areas of Spain, horticultural crops are nearly always part of the optimum alternative. The crops that become part of the optimum alternative are mainly horticultural crops with a high gross margin and low water requirements. The irrigation depths selected for the ideal crop rotation are included among the irrigation depth of maximum economic efficiency and the maximum gross margin irrigation depth. Both are lower than that necessary for the maximum yield. This model helps farmers, extension services, and other agents to analyse, make decisions and optimize water management.Communicated by A. Kassam     

A model for conjunctive use of groundwater and surface waters for control of irrigation salinity

Changes in the hydrologic balance in many irrigation areas, including those in the Murray Basin, Australia, have resulted in high watertables and salinity problems. However, where suitable aquifers exist, groundwater pumping and subsequent irrigation application after mixing with surface waters (referred to as conjunctive water use) can control salinity and watertable depth and improve productivity of degraded land. In order to assess where conjunctive water use will successfully control salinity, it is necessary to estimate the effects of pumped groundwater salinity on rootzone salinity. A simple steady rate model is derived for this purpose from mass conservation of salt and water. The model enables an estimate to be made of rootzone salinity for any particular salinity level of the groundwater being used in conjunction with surface water; this enables calculation of the required crop salt tolerance to prevent yield reductions. The most important input parameters for the model are groundwater salinity, the annual depth of class A pan evaporation, the annual depth of rainfall, the salinity of irrigation water, and a leaching parameter. For model parameters nominated in this paper, where groundwater salinity reaches 5 dS/m a crop threshold salt tolerance greater than 1.6 dS/m is required to avoid yield reductions. Where groundwater salinity approaches 10 dS/m, a crop threshold tolerance of 3 dS/m is required. Whilst the model derived indicates that rootzone salinity is sensitive to groundwater salinity, rootzone salinity is insensitive to leaching for leaching fractions commonly encountered (0.1 to 0.4). The insensitivity to leaching means that it could be expected that similar yields could be attained on heavy or light textured soils. This insensitivity also implies that there is no yield penalty from increasing the mass of pumped salt by pumping to achieve maximum watertable control in addition to leaching. The model developed is also used to estimate yield reductions expected under conjunctive use, for any particular levels of groundwater salinity and crop salt tolerance.