Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive and practical method for Sustainable Agricultural Drainage Systems (SADS) design. It is aimed at studying the suitability of using surface runoff as irrigation source. The method determines the optimum amount of surface runoff to be used for irrigation considering both environmental constraints (aquifers recharge, discharge to natural water courses) and investment and operation costs. The developed method has been applied to the Spanish irrigation district “Villalar de los Comuneros Sector 1” located in Valladolid. The estimation of the optimum SADS provision was calculated for most of the major crops at the irrigation district highlighting that SADS facilities can reduce the amount of external provision of water for irrigation while maintaining the aquifer's recharge and the natural discharge to water courses. The simulations run for climate change forecasting scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP, RCP45, RCP60, RCP85) showed that optimum SADS would reduce irrigation requirements and would increase natural fluxes (both aquifers and natural water courses) therefore improving the general water cycle in rural environments with productive agriculture.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.