Agricultural Drainage Research Articles

Nitrogen and phosphorus losses in Nordic and Baltic agricultural monitoring catchments – Spatial and temporal variations in relation to natural conditions and mitigation programmes

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses via agricultural drainage water have negative impacts on receiving water bodies and large-scale programmes to reduce nutrient losses have been established in the Nordic and Baltic countries, together with agricultural catchment monitoring programmes. This study evaluated time series (9–40 years) of data from 34 selected Nordic-Baltic catchments for spatial and temporal variations in area-specific water discharge (mm) and in concentrations and transport of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP).Water discharge from the catchments varied from 125 mm (Denmark) to > 1000 mm (Norway). Catchments with low TN concentrations (≤3 mg L-1) were dominated by clay or grass leys or were undrained with reduction of nitrate (NO3) in shallow groundwater. Catchments with high TN concentrations (≥10 mg L-1) had loams and cereal crops. TP concentrations were highest (≥0.45 mg L-1) in catchments with erosive soils, relatively high water discharge and cereal crops, and lowest (≤0.07 mg L-1) in catchments with permeable soils.Generalised additive mixed model (GAMM) analysis of time series of transport and flow-weighted concentrations of TN and TP for temporal patterns revealed decreases in TN concentrations in seven catchments and increases in eight, while four had periods with opposing trends. TN concentrations decreased in Denmark and Sweden in 1990–2010, following introduction of mitigation programmes. TP concentrations decreased in eight catchments and increased in six, while one showed opposing trends. Decreases in TP coincided with improved P balance in catchments with sand and loam. To further reduce N and P losses, a tailored set of mitigation measures is needed for each combination of soil, climate, geohydrology and agricultural production. Intensive monitoring of small catchments can reveal how N and P losses relate to natural conditions and to changes in agricultural production.

Climate change effects on denitrification performance of woodchip bioreactors treating agricultural tile drainage

Denitrifying woodchip bioreactors (WBRs) are a nature-based technology that are increasingly used to control nonpoint source nitrate (NO3−) pollution in agricultural catchments. The treatment effectiveness of WBRs depends on temperature and hydraulic retention time (HRT), both of which are affected by climate change. Warmer temperatures will increase microbial denitrification rates, but the extent to which the resulting benefits to treatment performance may be offset by intensified precipitation and shorter HRTs is not clear. Here, we use three years of monitoring data from a WBR in Central New York State to train an integrated hydrologic-biokinetic model describing links among temperature, precipitation, bioreactor discharge, denitrification kinetics, and NO3− removal efficiencies. Effects of climate warming are assessed by first training a stochastic weather generator with eleven years of weather data from our field site, and then adjusting the distribution of precipitation intensities according to the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship between water vapor and temperature. Modeling results indicate, in our system, faster denitrification rates will outweigh the influence of intensified precipitation and discharge under warming, leading to net improvements in NO3− load reductions. Median cumulative NO3− load reductions at our study site from May - October are projected to increase from 21.7% (interquartile range 17.4%–26.1%) under baseline hydro-climate to 41.0% (interquartile range 32.6–47.1%) with a + 4 °C change in mean air temperature. This improved performance under climate warming is driven by strong nonlinear dependence of NO3− removal rates on temperature. Temperature sensitivity may increase with woodchip age and lead to stronger temperature-response in systems like this one with a highly aged woodchip matrix. While the impacts of hydro-climatic change on WBR performance will depend on site-specific properties, this hydrologic-biokinetic modeling approach provides a framework for assessing climate impacts on the effectiveness of WBRs and other denitrifying nature-based systems.

Rapid Urbanization Increased the Risk of Agricultural Waterlogging in the Huaibei Plain, China

The drainage modulus is an important indicator in the drainage system design of farmlands. Changes in the drainage modulus determine the effectiveness of drainage projects, and thus agricultural production. Thus, in this research, the trends in the drainage modulus of the Huaibei Plain, China were examined. The drainage modulus was estimated using the average draining method at 16 meteorological stations located in different areas of the Huaibei Plain during the period of 1960–2017. The trends of the drainage modulus were investigated using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. The periodicities of the drainage modulus were investigated using wavelet analysis. The major environmental factors affecting the drainage modulus were investigated using the contribution rate method. The results showed that the mean drainage modulus (q1, q3) had increasing trends and significant 2.4-year and 2.5-year periodicities, respectively. An increase in building lots was the main factor that influenced the variability in the drainage modulus. Rapid urbanization increased the risk of agricultural waterlogging. These results provide important references for scientific planning in agriculture and farmland drainage engineering.

Bioremediation of chlorpyrifos residues using some indigenous species of bacteria and fungi in wastewater

Pollutants cause a huge problem for humans, animals, plants, and various ecosystems, especially water resources. Agricultural, domestic, and industrial waste effluents change the water quality and affect living microorganisms. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify possible microorganisms in wastewater as potential bioremediation agents of pesticide residues. Wastewater samples were collected from El-Khairy agricultural drainage, which receives agricultural and domestic wastes. Bacteria and fungi species were isolated as clean cultures. Wastewater samples were analyzed for pesticide residues via gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) system. Results uncovered the presence of ten pesticides ranging from 0.0817 to 28.162 µg/l, and the predominant pesticide was chlorpyrifos. Along with that, about nine species (3 bacterial and 6 fungal) were relatively efficient in the removal of chlorpyrifos residues up to 2000 µg/l with removal percentages ranging from 24.16 to 80.93% under laboratory conditions. Two bacterial isolates proficiently degraded significant amounts of chlorpyrifos: Bacillus cereus strain PC2 (GenBank accession No. MZ314010) and Streptomyces praecox strain SP1 (GenBank accession No. MZ314009). In-site bacterial and fungal isolates defined in the current study were proficient in cleaning wastewater of chlorpyrifos pesticide residues.

Machine-learning model to delineate sub-surface agricultural drainage from satellite imagery.

Knowing sub-surface drainage (tile-drain) extent is integral to understanding how landscapes respond to precipitation events and subsequent days of drying, as well as how soil characteristics and land management influence stream response. Consequently, a time-series of tile-drain extent would inform one aspect of land management that complicates our ability to explain streamflow and water-quality as a function of climate variability or conservation management. We trained a UNet machine-learning model, a convolutional neural network designed to highlight objects of interest within an image, to delineate tile-drain networks in panchromatic satellite imagery without additional data on soils, topography, or historical tile-drain extent. This was done by training the model to match the accuracy of human experts manually tracing the surface representation of tile drains in satellite imagery. Our approach began with a library of images that were used to train and quantify the accuracy of the model, with model performance tested on imagery from two areas that were not used to train the model. Satellite imagery included acquisition dates from 2008-2020. Training imagery were from agricultural areas within the U.S. Great Lakes basin. Validation imagery were from the upper Maumee River, tributary to western Lake Erie, and an Indiana, Ohio-River headwater tributary. Our analysis of the satellite imagery paired with meteorological and soil data found that during spring, a combination of relatively high solar radiation, intermediate soil-water content and bare fields enabled the best model performance. Each area of interest was heavily tile-drained, where better understanding the movement of water, nutrients, and sediment from fields to downstream water bodies is key to managing harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. The trained UNet model successfully identified tile drains visible in the validation imagery with an accuracy of 93-96% and balanced accuracy of 52-54%, similar to performance for training data (95% and 63%, respectively). Model performance will benefit from ongoing contributions to the training library. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Halotolerant bacterial biofilms for desalination and water treatment: a pilot study.

Salinity has a significant impact on the water quality and crop yield. Physical desalination techniques were once thought to be expensive and time-consuming. Among biological techniques, halotolerant bacteria were thought to be the fastest and most effective way to reduce the salt content in brackish saltwater water. In the current study, halotolerant bacterial biofilms were used to desalinate saline water on abiotic substrates (such as sand, pebbles, glass beads, and plastic beads), and studied subsequently for the effects on Zea mays germination. Briefly, salt samples (SLT7 and SLT8) from the Khewra site in Punjab, Pakistan, as well as seawater and sea sand samples (USW1, USW3, USW6, DSW1, DSW4, SS1, and SS3) from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan's Arabian Sea, were collected. Halotolerant bacteria were isolated and characterized. Crystal violet ring assays and capsule staining were used to estimate extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and biofilm development, respectively. All halotolerant bacterial strains were spore formers and produced EPS and formed biofilms well. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the best halotolerant bacteria, USW6, showed the closest (100%) similarity to Bacillus aerius strain G-07 (a novel species) (accession number ON202984). A pilot-scale experiment for desalinating the artificial water (supplemented with 1M NaCl) using biofilm adhered abiotic beads showed declined level of NaCl from 1M to 0.00003M after 15days in treated water. Also, Zea mays germination was observed in the plants using treated water compared to no growth in the non-treated saline water. Estimations of chlorophyll, total soluble sugar, and protein revealed that plants cultivated using elute collected from a desalinated pilot scale setup contained less chlorophyll (i.e., 5.994 and 116.76). Likewise, plants grown with elute had a total soluble protein and sugar content of 1.45mg/ml and 1.3mg/ml, respectively. Overall, in treated water plants, a minor drop in chlorophyll content, a slight increase in total soluble sugar content, and a slight increase in protein content were noted. The study concluded that biofilm-treated desalt water has the potential to significantly reduce the effects of droughts, soil salinization, and economic and environmental issues associated with agricultural drainage. The results specified the application of halotolerant bacteria biofilms (Bacillus aerius, a novel species, USW6) for water desalination to overcome the problem of water scarcity caused by global warming and the increased salinity.

Unraveling the response of water quality and microbial community to lake water backflowing in one typical estuary of Lake Taihu, China.

To investigate the effect of lake water backflowing on the aquatic ecosystem in the estuary, surface water samples in the backflowing and unbackflowing areas were collected from one typical estuary of Lake Taihu, Xitiaoxi River. 16S rRNA sequencing and redundancy analysis were conducted to quantitatively elucidate the correlation between microbial community and water quality parameters. Results indicated lake water backflowing would affect the relative distribution of nitrogen species and increase the concentration of total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate, especially in the outlets of municipal sewage and agricultural drainage. For backflowing areas, more frequent water exchange could lower the seasonal fluctuation of the abundance and diversity of microbial community. RDA results showed crucial water quality parameters that greatly influence bacterial community were total organic carbon (TOC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity (SAL), ammonia, nitrate, TN for backflowing areas, and TOC, TDS, SAL, ammonia, TN without nitrate for unbackflowing areas. Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, Microcystis, and Arcobacter were dominant with 27.7%, 15.7%, 30.5%, and 25.7% contribution to the overall water quality in backflowing areas. Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia, Flavobacterium, and Nostocaceae were dominant with 25.0%, 18.4%, 22.3%, and 11.4% contribution to the overall water quality in unbackflowing areas. And lake water backflowing might mainly affect the amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism based on the metabolism function prediction. A better understanding of the spatiotemporal changes in water quality parameters and microbial community was obtained from this research to comprehensively assess the effect of lake water backflowing on the estuarine ecosystem.

The impact of extensive agricultural water drainage on the hydrology of the Kleine Nete watershed, Belgium

Agricultural water drainage can significantly lower groundwater levels and affect catchment hydrology. Therefore, building models with and without these features can indicate an adverse impact on the geohydrological process. Therefore, the standalone Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) model was initially developed to simulate streamflow at the Kleine Nete catchment outlet. Next, a physically based and spatially distributed groundwater module (gwflow) was integrated into the SWAT+ model and calibrated for stream discharge at the catchment outlet. Finally, the same model was calibrated for both streamflow and groundwater heads. These final model parameters are used to investigate the basin-wide hydrologic fluxes with and without including agricultural drainage systems in the model scheme.The result suggested that the standalone SWAT+ model poorly represented the stream discharge and attained low NSE values of 0.18 and 0.37 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Integrating the gwflow module to SWAT+ improved the model representation of stream discharge (NSE = 0.91 and 0.65 for calibration and validation periods, respectively) and groundwater heads. However, calibrating the model for only streamflow resulted in a high root mean square error (above 1 m) for groundwater head, and the seasonality is not captured. On the other hand, calibrating the coupled model for streamflow and hydraulic head reduced the root mean square error (below 0.5 m) and captured the seasonality of groundwater level fluctuations. Finally, drainage application resulted in a 50 % (from 33.04 mm to 16.59 mm) reduction in groundwater saturation excess flow and an 18.4 mm increment in drainage water to streams. To conclude, the new SWAT+gwflow model is more appropriate than the standalone SWAT+ model for the case study. Furthermore, calibrating the SWAT+gwflow model for streamflow and groundwater head has improved the model simulation, with implications for general coupled models where representing surface and groundwater in the calibration strategy is beneficial.

Improving quantitative and qualitative equity of water distribution systems

In most of the main canals in Egypt, such as the Mit Yazid canal, the tail end regions have a high dependence on agricultural drainage water. The current study aims to improve the situation in tail regions by mixing the drainage water with the surface water at head reaches while maintaining environmental standards. Simulations and water quality models (HEC-RAS model) were used to validate the proposed solutions. The study investigated two scenarios to lift 10.50 and 12.0 m3/s of drainage water at the head reach. The results showed that it is possible to considerably increase the flow to downstream areas while maintaining water quality standards. The study is important as municipal water and its effluent is increasing while irrigation water is decreasing, and therefore, the dependence of tail end farmers on polluted drainage water will increase. The situation in these regions will be unsustainable unless the burden is distributed between the head and tail regions.

Evaluation of pollution indicators and transported sediment content in agricultural drainage waters for reuse as irrigation, Harran Plain, Turkey.

The aim of this study is to determine the variation of certain pollution indicators and the level of sediment carried within drainage channel discharge waters following irrigation of fields on the Harfran Plain during the irrigation season. In this context, water samples were taken from 27 stations in total, including 26 drainage channels and 1 irrigation water channel (reference point), for 6months between May 2020 and October 2020, and determined parameters were measured. Areal distribution maps were prepared with the ArcGIS program in order to better visually present the pollution level across the plain with the obtained data. The monthly changes of the analysis parameters and the significance level of the differences between the stations were determined using ANOVA analysis and the correlations between the measured parameters were determined using the Pearson correlation matrix SPSS package program. Evaluated on the basis of these areal distribution maps, it can be seen that the agricultural drainage waters of the Harran Plain are not suitable for irrigation in terms of five pollution indicators (pH, conductivity (EC), turbidity (Turb), sodium (Na+), and nitrate (NO3-)). Some sampling points in terms of pH (D9, R), conductivity (D10, D20), turbidity (all points) and Na + (as sodium adsorption rate) (D20) are in the "high usage restriction" category. In terms of conductivity, five points (D12, D13, D14, D15, D18); all points in terms of bicarbonate (HCO3-); and three points (D10, D12, D18) in terms of Na+ (as SAR) are classified as "low-medium usage restriction". According to the One-way ANOVA test performed to determine the differences between the points, there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the sampling points for all the following values: EC, dissolved oxygen (DO), Turb, Na+, HCO3-, chloride (Cl-), sulphate (SO42-), NO3-, pH, and transported sediment (TS), within the 95% confidence interval. In the test performed to determine the differences between the months, at the 95% confidence interval there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the months for parameters such as water temperature (WT), pH, DO, Turb, HCO3-, NO3-, and TS. There is a strong positive correlation between EC and Na+, Cl-, and NO3- (r = 0.785-0.915) and Turb and TS (r = 0.725). With regard to sustainable agricultural practice for the plain, it is thought that the obtained results will contribute to administrative decision-making at a variety of management levels.

Effects of seeding method and single versus mixed species assemblages on the performance of Filamentous Algae Nutrient Scrubbers (FANS) for the treatment of agricultural drainage

Effects of seeding method and single versus mixed species assemblages on the performance of Filamentous Algae Nutrient Scrubbers (FANS) for the treatment of agricultural drainage

Improving Rice Production Sustainability by Planting Salinity-Tolerant Rice Cultivars and Reusing Agricultural Drainage Water

Improving Rice Production Sustainability by Planting Salinity-Tolerant Rice Cultivars and Reusing Agricultural Drainage Water

Is glyphosate an underlying cause of increased dissolved reactive phosphorus loading in the Western Lake Erie basin?

The western Lake Erie basin has been experiencing increasing dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) loads since approximately 1994, the causes of which are not well understood. Changing agricultural practices such as no-till agriculture and tile drainage are certain to have an effect on DRP loads. This study examines glyphosate as a potential driver of the observed increase in the western Lake Erie basin DRP loads since 1994 by examining adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops, glyphosate use, and both DRP loads and concentrations from the mid-1990’s to the present. Glyphosate’s widespread usage contributes to DRP loadings and eutrophication in the western Lake Erie basin.

Seasonal Physico-chemical variation in Ujain pond, Duraundha, Siwan

The Physico-chemical characteristic of Ujain pond in Duroandha block of Siwan district was studied. This investigation was focused on the seasonal fluctuation in water quality parameters from 2017 to 2019. The study showing that water quality of this pond comply with suitability to growth of planktonic and fishes if managed properly to check over increasing pollution in recent years as the pond can be classified as mesotrophic and under pressure of anthropogenic disturbances and agricultural drainage from surrounding agricultural fields.

Bakırçay nehri yüzey sularının Scenedesmus dimorphus yeşil algi gelişimi üzerine etkileri hakkında bir ön çalışma

Bakırçay River, one of the important rivers of the Aegean region, has a length of 129 km and an approximate catchment area of 3160 km2. Bakırçay River, which carries agricultural drainage and polluted wastewater with high nitrogen and phosphorus content, is polluted due to domestic and agricultural resources. The water of the Bakırçay River is used for irrigation in agriculture and fishing from the dam lakes on the river for feeding purposes also negatively affects the health of the people in the vicinity. In the Bakırçay River, there is widespread pollution caused by mining areas as well as domestic, industrial and agricultural pollution. For this purpose, the “Algal Growth Inhibition Test, OECD 201” was applied to the water samples obtained from 10 stations on the Bakırçay River. Scenedesmus dimorphus (Turpin) Kützing, 1834 green algae culture, accepted as the primary trophic level representative for the " Algal Growth Inhibition Test, OECD 201" test, one of the short-term phytotoxicity test methods, was used in this test. Water samples were tested at five different dilutions (40, 60, 80, 100 %). To determine the effects on the growth of Scenedesmus dimorphus, the cells were counted by fluorimeter (Turner design) daily at the same time and the test duration was 72 hours. In conclusion, the highest level of toxicity was found at Stations 1, 9, 10,13,14, and 15. The reason for this was that there was a coal facility near Station 9 and that all branches of the Bakırçay River joined near Station15 and then drained into Çandarlı Bay.

Core and conditionally rare taxa as indicators of agricultural drainage ditch and stream health and function

BackgroundThe freshwater microbiome regulates aquatic ecological functionality, nutrient cycling, pathogenicity, and has the capacity to dissipate and regulate pollutants. Agricultural drainage ditches are ubiquitous in regions where field drainage is necessary for crop productivity, and as such, are first-line receptors of agricultural drainage and runoff. How bacterial communities in these systems respond to environmental and anthropogenic stressors are not well understood. In this study, we carried out a three year study in an agriculturally dominated river basin in eastern Ontario, Canada to explore the spatial and temporal dynamics of the core and conditionally rare taxa (CRT) of the instream bacterial communities using a 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach. Water samples were collected from nine stream and drainage ditch sites that represented the influence of a range of upstream land uses.ResultsThe cross-site core and CRT accounted for 5.6% of the total number of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), yet represented, on average, over 60% of the heterogeneity of the overall bacterial community; hence, well reflected the spatial and temporal microbial dynamics in the water courses. The contribution of core microbiome to the overall community heterogeneity represented the community stability across all sampling sites. CRT was primarily composed of functional taxa involved in nitrogen (N) cycling and was linked to nutrient loading, water levels, and flow, particularly in the smaller agricultural drainage ditches. Both the core and the CRT were sensitive responders to changes in hydrological conditions.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that core and CRT can be considered as holistic tools to explore the temporal and spatial variations of the aquatic microbial community and can be used as sensitive indicators of the health and function of agriculturally dominated water courses. This approach also reduces computational complexity in relation to analyzing the entire microbial community for such purposes.

Biophysical, histological, and bioaccumulation properties of Tilapia muscle affected by water pollution with heavy elements and microbes at the El-Rahawy drain in Egypt

The leakage of sewage and agricultural drains has led to the contamination of freshwater branches with toxic heavy elements. This raises concerns about their toxic effects on aquatic ecosystems, especially on fish. Tilapia is regarded as an important protein source in Egypt and many other countries. The biophysical, nutritional, and histological aspects of water pollution in the El-Rahawy and Al-Qatta locations of the Nile on Nilotic tilapia muscle were evaluated by assessing the level of contamination of Nilotic tilapia fish. The current study showed that water of the Rosetta branch water was polluted with a very high level at El-Rahawy Drain discharge (RD) location, and with a high level at Al-Qatta (Q) location, while El-Rahawy (R) location was polluted with a lower level. The study traced the pollution effects on Tilapia (Nilotic) muscles in the previous locations. Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) showed a high value of all heavy metals in Tilapia muscle at the Q and R locations. Contrary to what was expected, discharge (RD) location contamination caused BAF increment of heavy metals in Tilapia muscles at upstream R location. All these results were compared with measured dielectric parameters of Tilapia muscle samples in the frequency range (0.02–1000) kHz. There was an increase in conductivity (σac), dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (ε″), penetration depth (dp), and dissipated power (PD) values of Tilapia muscle, with increasing pollution level. The values of permittivity at low and high frequencies (ε′s & ε′∞) for Tilapia muscle decreased by increasing pollution. Finally, the variation of these parameters, based on that proportionality relationship, can be considered as a physical indicator for fish contamination affected by their environment pollution, although these parameters need further studies in a controlled (qualitatively and quantitatively) polluted media.

Organic Micropollutants from an Agricultural Drainage Ditch Contaminate a Shrimp Farm in Sinaloa (Mexico)

Organic Micropollutants from an Agricultural Drainage Ditch Contaminate a Shrimp Farm in Sinaloa (Mexico)

Irreversible and Large‐Scale Heavy Metal Pollution Arising From Increased Damming and Untreated Water Reuse in the Nile Delta

AbstractEgypt observes one of the highest water budget deficits in Africa that is mainly compensated by intensive reuse of untreated agricultural drainage water in the Nile Delta. The implications of untreated water reuse on increasing soil pollution levels remain poorly characterized; however, a large‐scale pollution can compromise crop production and water quality. To address this deficiency, we evaluate the level of heavy metal pollution in the Nile Delta, identify its sources and explore the implications of damming on heavy metal concentration using integrated pollution indicators and statistical modeling. Pollution indicators show moderate to very high contamination by Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Cu, and Zn, with unprecedented Cd levels in the sediments (up to 72.0 ppm) and a northward increase in pollution levels. Statistical modeling and historical datasets reveal the association of Cd and Fe on both Nile branches and the clustering of Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cr, which attribute the heavy metal concentrations to the cumulative addition of untreated agricultural drainage water (9.5 BCM/yr) and wastewater. These processes introduced an accelerated pollution in the Nile Delta system. Though, conservation measures are crucial to reverse this degradation, yet the increasingly engineered Nile flow, the low gradient of the delta and the active silting impede heavy metal flushing causing irreversible pollution. Our findings alarm future increase in heavy metal pollution in response to increased untreated drainage water reuse to mitigate the impacts of ongoing upstream damming and call for implementing international cooperative agreements for integrated water management along the Nile River.

Value Engineering Approach to Evaluate the Agricultural Drainage Water Management Strategies

Excessive irrigating water that has not been adequately drained may cause more water to enter the crop root zone than is necessary. As a result, issues with increasing water table levels, waterlogging, and salinity get worse and cause crop productivity losses. Agricultural drainage water management strategies (ADWMS) can be used to protect the quality of groundwater, guarantee that crops have better moisture conditions, and provide irrigation water by reusing agricultural water drainage and using sub-irrigation practices. In order to decrease the effects of poor drainage, mitigate climate change, conserve the environment, and achieve food security, this study proposes a framework for choosing the most effective ADWMS in Egypt’s Nile Delta as well as the new lands. The value engineering approach is used to ensure the strategy’s functionality and to present some innovation in the process of developing alternative solutions that are financially evaluated using the life cycle cost technique. According to the study results, the most effective strategy (ADWMS-3) prioritizes improving drainage effectiveness, controlling groundwater table rise, and providing another irrigation water source while maintaining environmental protection. This strategy encompasses the use of a control drainage system, timing of fertilizer application, regulating groundwater table variation, and using sub-irrigation practices. ADWMS-3 achieves the highest values for the technical score of 8.06 and the value index of 18.59. This study advances the understanding of the topic by providing policymakers with a tool to (i) evaluate ADWMS and (ii) incorporate the added value and functionality into their policies regarding agricultural drainage water.