scholarly journals Moving toward Sustainable Irrigation in a Southern Idaho Irrigation Project

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1441-1449
Author(s):  
David L. Bjorneberg ◽  
James A. Ippolito ◽  
Bradley A. King ◽  
S. Kossi Nouwakpo ◽  
Anita C. Koehn
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Furrow Irrigation ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Irrigation Development ◽  
Irrigation Project ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Irrigation Return Flow

HighlightsPrivate and public irrigation development was important for expanding agricultural production in the western U.S.The Twin Falls Canal Company is an excellent example of a successful Carey Act project.Cooperative efforts during the last 30 years have dramatically improved the water quality of irrigation return flow.Electricity generated by six hydroelectric facilities improves the sustainability of the irrigation project.Abstract. Private and public irrigation development projects were fundamental to bringing irrigation to arid regions of the western U.S. The Twin Falls Canal Company in southern Idaho provides a case study of private and public irrigation development because the project was developed by private investors under the Carey Act and receives a portion of its irrigation water supply from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs. The project survived initial financial struggles and waterlogged soil to focus on sustaining crop production by reducing chronic furrow irrigation erosion and nutrient losses in irrigation return flow. Average sediment loss from the project was 460 kg ha-1 in 1970. A cooperative effort by the canal company, state and federal agencies, and farmers improved water quality by installing sediment ponds on fields, applying polyacrylamide with furrow irrigation, converting from furrow to sprinkler irrigation, and constructing water quality ponds on irrigation return flow streams. From 2006 to 2018, more sediment and total phosphorus flowed into the watershed than returned to the Snake River, and the project removed 13,000 Mg of sediment and 30 Mg of total phosphorus from the Snake River each year. However, nitrate-N from subsurface drainage was lost at 10 kg ha-1 each year, or 800 Mg year-1, for the entire watershed. While sediment and phosphorus concentrations in irrigation return flow have decreased, these concentrations were still greater than the irrigation water, indicating that more can be done to reduce the project’s influence on water quality in the Snake River. Keywords: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sediment, Soluble salts, Water quality.

Water quality impacts of irrigation return flow on stream and groundwater in an intensive agricultural watershed

2018 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. 859-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngyun Park ◽  
Yongje Kim ◽  
Seung-Ki Park ◽  
Woo-Jin Shin ◽  
Kwang-Sik Lee
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Irrigation Return Flow

Land Use and Water Quality Relationships in the Lower Little Bow River Watershed, Alberta, Canada

2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne L. Little ◽  
Karen A. Saffran ◽  
Livio Fent
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Nitrate Nitrogen ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Irrigation Season ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Irrigation Return Flow ◽  
Pearson Correlations ◽  
Runoff Events

Abstract Water quality in the Lower Little Bow River was monitored to determine if irrigation return flow streams had a significant impact on river water quality and to examine relationships between land use and water quality in this diverse agricultural watershed. Water samples were collected weekly or biweekly during the irrigation season and monthly in winter for three years. A comprehensive land use assessment was also completed. Significant differences in flows, and in nutrient and bacteria loads, were found along the mainstem of the river following the inflows of irrigation return water; however, differences in concentrations were only significant in a drought year when mainstem flows were reduced. Pearson correlations among land use, soil types, and water quality variables identified significant positive relationships between the proportion of cereals, irrigated land, and confined feeding operation (CFO) density and maximum concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), nitrate-nitrogen, and total phosphorus (TP) that were observed during runoff events. Most nutrient variables were inversely related to the proportion of native prairie. The variation in maximum TP and median dissolved P concentrations was largely explained by the proportion of cereals in the sub-basin, while the variation in maximum and median TN concentrations was explained by the proportions of irrigated land and native prairie, respectively. Microbiological variables were not related to any of the measured variables, suggesting that factors influencing bacteria populations operate at different scales.

Evaluation of Suitability of Drainage Water of Al-Hussainia sector (Kut-Iraq) For Irrigation

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45
Author(s):  
Omran I. Mohammad ◽  
Laheab abas Jassim
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sodium Content ◽  
Drainage Water ◽  
Mixing Ratio ◽  
Irrigation Project ◽  
Salinity Hazard ◽  
Chemical Evaluation ◽  
Gis Software

      Al-Hussainia sector is the middle sector of Al-Dalmaj irrigation project. In this study, a specified area of Al-Hussainia sector has been selected to be evaluated for its water suitability for irrigation. For Al-Hussainia main drain, the evaluation includes four stages as follows: 1- Chemical evaluation of drainage water, 2-Analysis of drainage water by Aq.Qa software,  3- Leaching requirements computations, 4- Evaluation of the drainage water quality in the specified area of the project using the Geographic Information System (GIS) software. For the chemical evaluation, the most important indicators for the salinity problem considered are (Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Sodium Adsorption Ratio and Sodium Content). The test results showed that there are no harmful effects from Sodium indicators on crops production while there is a salinity problem. The residual sodium carbonate values were zero for all locations. The analysis of the hydro chemical results by Aq.Qa program shows that the internal consistency of the samples was acceptable. It is concluded that the drainage water of Al-Hussainia sector can be used directly to irrigate wheat and barley without reducing the yield with leaching requirement of 0.25 for wheat for all locations while barley needs a leaching requirement of 0.15 for locations 3,4, and 5 a leaching requirement of 0.17 should be provided for locations 1, 2, and 6. For corn crop, the drainage water is unsuitable for irrigation unless it is mixed with irrigation water to eliminate the salinity hazard. However the mixing ratio is0.5 (1:1) for all locations except location 2 where the mixing ratio needed is0.6 (1:2). The three dimensional spatial analysis using the GIS software (Arc Map V. 9.3) showed that the final model of the study area is of permissible irrigation water quality.

Snowmelt and Growing Season Phosphorus Flux in an Agricultural Watershed in South-Central Alberta, Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Ontkean ◽  
David S. Chanasyk ◽  
D. Rodney Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Dissolved Phosphorus ◽  
Spring Runoff ◽  
South Central ◽  
Creek Watershed

Abstract A three-year study was conducted to examine the spatial and temporal variability of phosphorus concentrations and mass loads within four sub-basins in the Crowfoot Creek watershed in southern Alberta, Canada. Monitoring was carried out at the inflows and outflows of the four sub-basins from mid-March until the end of October in 1997 to 1999. Data were collected on flow, total phosphorus (TP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP). The TP and TDP concentrations increased and were greatest during spring snowmelt and rainfall runoff events. Median TP concentrations varied from 0.022 to 1.141 mg L-1 and median TDP concentrations varied from 0.005 to 1.031 mg L-1. Within the sub-basins, phosphorus concentrations generally increased between inflow and outflows. The presence of grassland and well-developed crop cover adjacent to the watercourses generally resulted in a greater proportion of TDP in runoff. The proportion of TP as TDP varied from 31 to 97% and appeared to be affected by the timing of the storm and antecedent moisture conditions of the soil. The proportion of phosphorus exported during events made up from 1 to 83% of the total phosphorus load during the post-spring runoff period. Phosphorus concentrations exceeded Alberta surface water quality guidelines most of the time; however, the addition of irrigation return flow water generally improved water quality in Crowfoot Creek.

Analysis of water quality of selected irrigation water sources in northern Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1308-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davie Kadyampakeni ◽  
Richard Appoh ◽  
Jennie Barron ◽  
Enoch Boakye-Acheampong
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Irrigation Development ◽  
Sodium Percent ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

Abstract Small-scale irrigation continues to cushion the food security gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Irrigation is largely governed by water availability, soil type and crop water requirements, among other factors. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the suitability of various water sources for irrigation in northern Ghana. Specifically, the study sought to assess quality of water sources in the Savelugu, Kasena-Nankana East, and Nabdam districts for small-scale irrigation development. The water quality parameters used were: pH, electrical conductivity (ECw), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium percent (Na%), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelley's ratio (KR), total hardness (TH), chloride (Cl), Escherichia coli, and fecal coliforms. While we found most of the irrigation water sources, including small reservoirs, dams, wells and rivers suitable, few unsuitable irrigation water sources were also identified. Overall, the study found that opportunities for scaling small-scale irrigation exist in all the sites. The knowledge generated from this study will guide irrigation water use, and agricultural policy for sustainable smallholder irrigation development in the region.

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