Evaluating Drainage Design Parameters for the Fourth Drainage Project, Pakistan by using SWAP Model: Part II – Modeling Results

This paper presents the results of modelsimulations to evaluate drainage designparameters for the Fourth Drainage Project(FDP), Punjab, Pakistan. The SWAP model wasapplied to compute the effects of landdrainage (12 combinations of drain depthand spacing) on soil moisture conditions inthe root zone and their effect on cropyield and soil salinization. For theconditions considered, the selection ofdrain depth is found to be more criticalthan that of drain spacing. Deeper drainsperform technically better in relation tocrop growth and soil salinization. Theoptimum drain depth for the multiplecropping system of the FDP-area was foundto be 2.2 m. This drain depth will producereasonably good crop yields at rather lowdrainage intensity while keeping the rootzone salinity within acceptable limits.This drainage design also maintained thegroundwater table depth below the root zonethroughout the growing season. The outcomeof this study reveals that the drainagedesign criteria applied for the FDP israther conservative with high drainageintensity. The FDP-area can effectively bedrained with a 25 percent lower drainageintensity (q _drain/h)provided no operational or maintenanceconstraints are present. However, the finaldecision on the optimum combination ofdrain depth and drain spacing would requirea thorough economical analysis. Thenon-steady state approach proved successfulin analyzing the complex interactionsbetween irrigation and drainage components.It is a valuable tool to optimize thedesign of drainage systems against cropyields and soil salinization.     

Subsurface drainage performance study using SALTMOD and ANN models

Relative performance of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the conceptual model SALTMOD was studied in simulating subsurface drainage effluent and root zone soil salinity in the coastal rice fields of Andhra Pradesh, India. Three ANN models viz. Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), General Regression Neural Network (GRNN) and Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) were developed for this purpose. Both the ANNs and the SALTMOD were calibrated and validated using the field data of 1998–2001 for 35 and 55 m drain spacing areas. Data on irrigation depth, evapotranspiration, drain discharges, water table depths, mean monthly rainfall and temperature and drainage effluent salinity were used for ANN model training, testing and validation. It was observed that the BPNN model with feed forward learning rule with 6 processing elements in input layer and 1 hidden layer with 12 processing elements performed better than the other ANN models in predicting the root zone soil salinity and drainage effluent salinity. Considering coefficient of determination, model efficiency and variation between the observed and predicted salinity values as the evaluation parameters, the SALTMOD performed better in predicting root zone soil salinity and the BPNN performed better in predicting the drainage effluent salinity. Therefore, it was concluded that the BPNN with feed forward learning algorithm was a better model than SALTMOD in predicting salinity of drainage effluent from salt affected subsurface drained rice fields.     

Model Studies on Salt and Water Balances at Konanki Pilot Area, Andhra Pradesh, India

The salt and water balances at Konanki pilot area in Nagarjunasagar project right canal command in Andhra Pradesh State of India were analysed using SALTMOD. The model was calibrated by using two-year data collected in the pilot area. From the calibration, the leaching efficiencies of the root and transition zone were estimated as 65% and the out going natural sub-surface drainage was determined as 50 mm per year. The model predicts that the root zone soil water salinity will be reduced to 4, 3 and 2.5 dS/m (from an initial value of 11.5 dS/m) during the first, second and third seasons within six years after installation of the drainage system. Next, the situation prior to the installation of the drainage system was reconstructed using the model. Finally, sensitivity analyses were made to study the effects of varying drain depth, spacing and amount of irrigation water applied on root zone salinity and depth to water table. Here, the model predicted that closer than the present spacing or further deepening of the drains from the present depth of 1 m to 1.4 m will not have any better influence on the reduction of the root zone salinity than in the present situation. These simulations also suggested that by applying 80% of the present amount of irrigation water, the root zone salinity can be brought down to 5 and 4 dS/m by second and fourth years, respectively and this will in turn reduce the problem of water logging and salinity to some extent.     

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.     

控制排水对大棚土壤盐分的影响

用定期取土样测定其电导率的方法,监测大棚控制排水2个月后不同深度的土壤盐分变化。结果表明,土壤盐分脱减量与地下水埋深为正相关关系,控制排水能有效地控制地下水埋深,影响土壤盐分的变化,且随着控制深度的加大,地下水埋深增大,土壤盐分脱减量变大。控制排水对于减轻渍害威胁和控制土壤盐分积累有明显的效果。     

Devaluating Drainage Design Parameters for the Fourth Drainage Project, Pakistan by using SWAP Model: Part I – Calibration

A transient drainage simulation model,SWAP, was used to evaluate the performanceof drainage systems in (semi-) arid zones.Before application, the model wascalibrated by using 14-months datacollected from two sample fields of theFourth Drainage Project (FDP), Punjab,Pakistan. During the calibration process,emphasis was given to the accuratedetermination of soil hydraulic parameters,reference evapotranspiration, drainage fromsample fields and bottom boundarycondition. Laboratory determined soilhydraulic parameters were foundnon-representative of the field conditions.Difference between laboratory and fielddetermined soil water retention curves werefound significant. The pressure heads andsoil water contents measured in depthincrements of 15 cm were in good agreementwith the simulated values after applying afield measured retention curve. A closeproximity was also found between measuredand simulated average root zone salinity at0–1.0 m depth. The referenceevapotranspiration calculated by thePriestly-Taylor (PT-ET _o) methodwas found physically more realistic thanthe Penman-Monteith (PM-ET _o)method due to ignorance of the feed backmechanism of vapor pressure deficit onstomatal closure. The simulated cumulativedrainage from two sample fields wascomparable with the calculated values. Theanalysis of piezometer data shows thatthere is a negligible water exchangebetween the deep aquifer and theunsaturated zone. Therefore for scenarioanalysis, no flow conditions at the bottomof the soil profile can be applied as abottom boundary.     

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.     

Subsurface drainage to combat waterlogging and salinity in irrigated lands in India: Lessons learned in farmers’ fields

The introduction of irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions of India has resulted in the development of the twin problem of waterlogging and soil salinization. It is estimated that nearly 8.4 million ha is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity, of which about 5.5 million ha is also waterlogged. Subsurface drainage is an effective tool to combat this twin problem of waterlogging and salinity and thus to protect capital investment in irrigated agriculture and increase its sustainability. In India, however, subsurface drainage has not been implemented on a large scale, in spite of numerous research activities that proved its potential. To develop strategies to implement subsurface drainage, applied research studies were set-up in five different agro-climatic sub-regions of India. Subsurface drainage systems, consisting of open and pipe drains with drain spacing varying between 45 and 150 m and drain depth between 0.90 and 1.20 m, were installed in farmers’ fields. The agro-climatic and soil conditions determine the most appropriate combination of drain depth and spacing, but the drain depths are considerably shallower than the 1.75 m traditionally recommended for the prevailing conditions in India. Crop yields in the drained fields increased significantly, e.g. rice with 69%, cotton with 64%, sugarcane with 54% and wheat with 136%. These increases were obtained because water table and soil salinity levels were, respectively, 25% and 50% lower than in the non-drained fields. An economic analysis shows that the subsurface drainage systems are highly cost-effective: cost-benefit ratios range from 1.2 to 3.2, internal rates of return from 20 to 58%, and the pay-back periods from 3 to 9 years. Despite these positive results, major challenges remain to introduce subsurface drainage at a larger scale. First of all, farmers, although they clearly see the benefits of drainage, are too poor to pay the full cost of drainage. Next, water users’ organisations, not only for drainage but also for irrigation, are not well established. Subsurface drainage in irrigated areas is a collective activity, thus appropriate institutional arrangements for farmers’ participation and organisation are needed. Thus, to assure that drainage gets the attention it deserves, policies have to be reformulated.     

Shallow subsurface drainage in an irrigated vertisol with a perched water table

Waterlogging and salinity are reducing the productivity of irrigated agriculture on clay soils in south east Australia. We compared five drainage treatments: (1) undrained control (Control); (2) mole drains (Mole); (3) mole drains formed beneath gypsum-enriched slots (GES) (Mole + GES); (4) shallow pipe drains installed beneath GES (Shallow Pipe); (5) deep pipe drains (Deep Pipe). The experiment was set out on a vertisol and our measurements were made during the growth of an irrigated onion crop.

Over the 3 months before the spring irrigations commenced, the perched water table on the Control was less than 400 mm below the soil surface for 27% of the time, whereas the shallow drainage treatments (Treatments 2, 3 and 4) reduced this time to less than 4%. During the irrigation season, the perched water table on the Mole + GES treatment rose above 400 mm for 3% of the time. The perched water table on the Mole treatment was above 400 mm for 14% of the time, compared with 19% of the time on the Control. The Deep Pipes were less effective in reducing the depth to the perched water table, both before and during the irrigation period.

Mole drains increased the gas-filled porosity above the drains. However, the gas-filled porosity remained below reported levels for optimum root growth. Although the drains effectively drained excess water, and lowered the water table, the hydraulic gradient was insufficient to remove all of water from the macropores. Gypsum enriched slots above the mole drains increased the gas-filled porosity in the slots but the drainable porosity in the undisturbed soil appeared to be inadequate for optimum root growth, even though some drainage occurred near the slots.

Discharge from the shallow drainage treatments averaged 58 mm for each irrigation, and was considerably more than the amount required to drain the macropores. The mole channels were in reasonably good condition at the end of the irrigation season, with at least 70% of the cross-sectional area of the channel open.

Shallow subsurface drains increased onion yield by about 38%. For each day the water table was above 400 mm, the yield declined by 0.23 tonnes per hectare. Farmer adoption of shallow subsurface drainage will depend on the long-term economic benefits (influenced by the longevity of the mole channels and yields response) and the need to develop more sustainable management practices.     

基于SALTMOD模型的灌溉水矿化度对土壤盐分的影响

以河套灌区沙壕渠灌域为例,运用SALTMOD模型探讨了区域尺度灌溉水矿化度对根层土壤盐分的影响。结果表明,根层土壤盐分随灌溉水矿化度的增大而增加,加大排水沟深度和提高渠道衬砌水平可缓解高矿化度灌溉水对土壤积盐的影响;采用地下微咸水和黄河水混合灌溉可有效控制盐渍化的发展,混合比在1∶1范围内时,根层土壤处于脱盐状态,最高脱盐率为23%,脱盐率高于引用黄河水灌溉的脱盐率(4%)。因此,适度利用地下微咸水灌溉,可有效的控制地下水位,节约淡水资源。     

暗管排水条件下微咸水灌溉对土壤盐分动态及夏玉米生长的影响

进行暗管排水条件下微咸水灌溉田间试验,设置3种暗管埋深,分别为80 cm(D1)、120 cm(D2)以及无暗管排水(D0),3种微咸水浓度,其电导率分别为0.78 dS/m(S1),3.75 dS/m(S2)和6.25 dS/m(S3),共9个处理,每个处理3组重复.试验结果表明:暗管排水措施可以有效排除微咸水灌溉过程中土壤中累积的盐分;在玉米全生育期内,暗管埋深D1条件下,3种浓度微咸水S1,S2和S3灌溉时根系土壤电导率分别下降了39.00%,31.56%和29.43%,暗管埋深D2条件下,根系土壤电导率则分别下降了31.91%,18.08%和7.44%;夏玉米干物质累积量、穗棒累积量和穗棒质量分配率及最终产量均随着微咸水浓度的升高而降低;在相同微咸水浓度下,不同暗管埋设条件下的夏玉米最终产量从大到小依次为D1,D2,D0;3种暗管埋设条件下的作物需水量从大到小依次为D0,D2,D1的规律;暗管埋深80 cm的处理(D1)下夏玉米水分利用效率最高,而未埋设暗管的处理(D0)水分利用效率最低;当暗管埋设条件一定时,夏玉米水分利用效率随微咸水浓度的升高呈逐渐降低的趋势.     

Influence of different water quantities and qualities on lemon trees and soil salt distribution at the Jordan Valley

The influences of water quantity and quality on young lemon trees (Eureka) were studied at the University of Jordan Research Station at the Jordan Valley for 5 years (1996–2000). Five water levels and three water qualities were imposed via trickle irrigation system on clay loam soil. The primary effect of excess salinity is that it renders less water available to plants although some is still present in the root zone. Lemon trees water requirements should be modified year by year since planting according to the percentage shaded area, and this will lead into substantial water saving. Both evaporation from class A pan and the percentage shaded area can be used to give a satisfactory estimate of the lemon trees water requirement at the different growth stages. The highest lemon fruit yield was at irrigation water depth equal to evaporation depth from class A pan when corrected for tree canopy percentage area. Increasing irrigation water salinity 3.7 times increased average crop root zone salinity by about 3.8–4.1 times.The high salt concentration at the soil surface is due to high evaporation rate from wetted areas and the nature of soil water distribution associated with drip irrigation system. Then, the salt concentration decreased until the second depth, thereafter, salt concentration followed the bulb shape of the wetted soil volume under trickle irrigation. Irrigation water salinity is very important factor that should be managed with limited (deficit) irrigation. But increasing amount of applied saline water could result in a negative effect on crop yield and environment such as increasing average crop root zone salinity, nutrient leaching, water logging, increasing the drainage water load of salinity which might pollute ground water and other water sources.     

Modeling subsurface drainage for salt load management in southeastern Australia

Subsurface drainage has been implemented in irrigation areas of South-eastern Australia to control water logging and land salinisation. Subsurface drainage has been identified as a major salt exporter from irrigated areas. The water table management simulation model DRAINMOD-S was evaluated to simulate daily water table depth, drain outflow, and salt loads by using experimental field data from a two year field trial was carried out in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area South-eastern Australia to study different options for subsurface drainage system design and management to reduce salt load export. Three subsurface drainage systems were modeled, deep widely spaced pipe drains, shallow closely spaced drains and deep pipe drains that were managed with weirs to prevent flow when the water table fell below 1.2 m. The reliability of the model has been evaluated by comparing observed and simulated values. Good agreement was found between the observed and simulated values. The model confirmed the field observations that shallow drains had the lowest salt load and that by managing deep drains with weirs salt loads could be significantly reduced. This work shows the value of the DRAINMOD-S model in being able to describe various drainage design and management strategies under the semi-arid conditions of South-eastern Australia. The model can now be used to investigate design and management options in detail for different site conditions. This will assist decision makers in providing appropriate subsurface drainage management policies to meet drainage disposal constraints within integrated water resources management planning.     

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.     

Changes in spatial and temporal variability of SAR affected by shallow groundwater management of an irrigated field, California

In the irrigated western U.S. disposal of drainage water has become a significant economic and environmental liability. Development of irrigation water management practices that reduce drainage water volumes is essential. One strategy combines restricted drainage outflow (by plugging the drains) with deficit irrigation to maximize shallow groundwater consumption by crops, thus reducing drainage that needs disposal. This approach is not without potential pitfalls; upward movement of groundwater in response to crop water uptake may increase salt and sodium concentrations in the root zone. The purposes for this study were: to observe changes in the spatial and temporal distributions of SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) and salt in a field managed to minimize drainage discharge; to determine if in situ drainage reduction strategy affects SAR distribution in the soil profile; and to identify soil or management factors that can help explain field wide variability. We measured SAR, soil salinity (EC_1:1) and soil texture over 3 years in a 60-ha irrigated field on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, California. At the time we started our measurements, the field was beginning to be managed according to a shallow groundwater/drainage reduction strategy. Soil salinity and SAR were found to be highly correlated in the field. The observed spatial and temporal variability in SAR was largely a product of soil textural variations within the field and their associated variations in apparent leaching fraction. During the 3-year study period, the percentage of the field in which the lower profile (90-180 cm) depth averaged SAR was above 10, increased from 20 to 40%. Since salinity was increasing concomitantly with SAR, and because the soil contained gypsum, sodium hazard was not expected to become a limiting factor for long term shallow groundwater management by drain control. It is anticipated that the technology will be viable for future seasons.     

The effect of salinity on water productivity of wheat under deficit irrigation above shallow groundwater

Saline groundwater is often found at shallow depth in irrigated areas of arid and semi-arid regions and is associated with problems of soil salinisation and land degradation. The conventional solution is to maintain a deeper water-table through provision of engineered drainage disposal systems, but the sustainability of such systems is disputed. This shallow groundwater should, however, be seen as a valuable resource, which can be utilised via capillary rise (i.e. sub-irrigation). In this way, it is possible to meet part of the crop water requirement, even where the groundwater is saline, thus decreasing the need for irrigation water and simultaneously alleviating the problem of disposing of saline drainage effluent. Management of conditions within the root zone can be achieved by means of a controlled drainage system.A series of lysimeter experiments have permitted a detailed investigation of capillary upward flow from a water-table controlled at shallow depth (1.0 m) under conditions of moderately high (5 mm/day) evaporative demand and with different levels of salinity. Experiments were conducted on a wheat crop grown in a sandy loam soil. Groundwater salinity was held at values from 2 to 8 dS/m while supplementary (deficit) irrigation was applied at the surface with salinity in the range 1-4 dS/m.Our experiments show that increased salinity decreased total water uptake by the crop, but in most treatments wheat still extracted 40% of its requirement from the groundwater, similar to the proportion reported for non-saline conditions. Yield depression was limited to 30% of maximum when the irrigation water was of relatively good quality (1 and 2 dS/m) even with saline groundwater (up to 6 dS/m). Crop water productivity (grain yield basis) was around 0.35 kg/m³ over a wide range of salinity conditions when calculated conventionally on the basis of total water use, but was generally above 1.0 kg/m³ if calculated on the basis of irrigation input only.     

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.     

农田不同排水措施地下排水效果模拟试验研究

在地下水位较高、地表易于形成积水的中国南方地区,通过农田排水措施可以及时排除多余地表积水,快速降低地下水位,以达到排涝降渍、协同调控的目的.文中基于室内砂槽试验,揭示暗管排水、明沟排水、不同反滤体高度的反滤体排水及改进暗管排水等措施的地下排水规律及效果.结果表明:将暗管周围土体置换为高渗透性土体介质的改进暗管排水可明显提高排水流量,当土体置换高度达2 cm时(对应于田间条件40 cm),其排水流量均高于相同埋深条件下的其他排水措施,达暗管排水的1.59~1.66倍;改进暗排在地表积水消失时仍保持较大的排水流量,可达相同埋深暗管流量的2倍以上,在积水层消失后,能迅速降低农田土壤水的渍害胁迫,将地下水位降低至暗管埋设高度;各种排水措施,在地表积水即将消失时,出现了流量与水头变化幅度较大的现象.相对于各种地下排水措施,改进暗管排水在除涝降渍中存在明显优势.研究结果可为涝渍灾害易发地区高效除涝降渍减灾工程设计和建设提供参考.     

Numerical simulations of steady-state subsurface drainage with vertically decreasing hydraulic conductivity

Most subsurface drainage equations assume either homogeneous, two-layer or three-layer soil conditions. Finite difference simulations were performed to quantify the effect of gradually decreasing hydraulic conductivity on watertable depths for steady-state subsurface drainage. For vertically decreasing hydraulic conductivity, and for cases where drain spacing was based on effective hydraulic conductivity of the 0.5 to 2.0 m layer, mid-spacing watertable depth ranged from 0.282 to 0.900 m. The average value was 0.718 m, which is considerably shallower than the 0.9 m design value used for determining drain spacing. These higher watertables may have detrimental effects on crop yield, especially in arid areas where soil salinity is a problem. The importance of the difference between actual and design watertable depths was mostly related to the type of hydraulic conductivity decrease function, drain depth, and drainage rate. These differences are explained by the position of the drain within the soil profile and the effect of the spacing on the equivalent depth of flow. Using effective hydraulic conductivity of the 0.5 to 3.0 m layer for determining drain spacing reduced the error. For an effective hydraulic conductivity value of 0.3 m/d, the average watertable depth increased from 0.748 m for the 2.0 m auger hole to 0.829 m for the 3.0 m hole. The results presented can be used to estimate the error on watertable depth resulting from ignoring the vertical variations of hydraulic conductivity.     

Evaluating a multi-level subsurface drainage system for improved drainage water quality

This paper describes a multi-level drainage system, designed to improve drainage water quality. Results are presented from a field scale land reclamation experiment implemented in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of New South Wales, Australia. A traditional single level drainage system and a multi-level drainage system were compared in the experiment in an irrigated field setting. The single level drainage system consisted of 1.8 m deep drains at 20 m spacing. This configuration is typical of subsurface drainage system design used in the area. The multi-level drainage system consisted of shallow closely spaced drains (3.3 m spacing at 0.75 m depth) underlain by deeper widely spaced drains (20 m spacing at 1.8 m depth). Data on drainage flows and salinity, water table regime and soil salinity were collected over a 2-year period.