Recharge Coefficient Research Articles

Analysis on groundwater table drawdown by land use and the quest for sustainable water use in the Hebei Plain in China

Increased water use in the Hebei Plain during the last decades has caused serious groundwater level decline and many geological problems which have become the biggest threat to social–economic sustainability. Thus, to determine the factors resulting in the groundwater decline and to develop a practical plan for long-term groundwater use appear to be necessary in this region. In this paper, a water balance model is used in conjunction with regression techniques to estimate the groundwater recharge coefficient and the specific yield (defined as the ratio of the volume of water that a saturated rock or soil will release by gravity drainage to the volume of rock or soil) and the groundwater withdrawn by different water use sectors and the corresponding drop in the water-table are analyzed. The decline in water-table by different crops and water economic benefit of crops are discussed in detail in order to suggest sustainable use of groundwater resources in the Hebei Plain. Finally, sample policy scenarios are developed to show how groundwater in the Hebei Plain could be used in a sustainable manner. In our study, it is found that agriculture is the major consumer of groundwater, with about 85% of the total groundwater withdrawals, and groundwater depletion is mainly caused by agricultural water use. Production of winter wheat exerts a great negative influence on the groundwater system. Winter wheat is the most water consuming crop and result in significant decline of groundwater table. Water economic benefit of winter wheat is lower than that of other crops and withdrawing winter wheat sown area is rational option to make sustainable use of groundwater. With far-sighted and regional planning, the limited water resource can be used sustainably to generate maximum social benefits. This paper will provide information necessary for land-use planning in a severe water shortage region where farmland is mainly irrigated by groundwater.

Soil water drying and recharge rates as affected by tillage under continuous barley and barley-canola cropping systems in northwestern Canada

In areas of the northwestern Canadian Prairies, barley and canola are grown in a short growing season with high rainfall variability. Excessively dry soil in conventional tillage (CT) in dry periods and excessively wet soil in no-tillage (NT) in wet periods could cause a significant decrease in crop production by influencing the availability of soil water. The effects of CT, NT and NT with a 7.5-cm residue-free strip on the planting rows (NTR) on soil water drying (–dW/dt) and recharge (dW/dt) rates were studied in 1992 and 1993 during wet and dry periods to evaluate the impact of NTR, NT and CT systems on soil moisture condition. The soils, Donnelly silt loam and Donnelly sandy loam (both Gray Luvisol) were selected and soil water content by depth was measured by time domain reflectometry. Water retained at 6 matric potentials from –5 to –160 kPa were observed. In the field study, –dW/dt was significantly greater in CT than in NT in the silt loam for the 0- to 30-cm layer during the first 34 d after planting in 1992. The 0- to 30-cm soil layer in CT and NTR dried faster than in NT during a period immediately following heavy rainfall in the silt loam in 1993. The drying coefficient (–Kd ) was significantly greater in CT and NTR than in NT in the silt loam soil in 1993 and in the sandy loam soil in 1992 in the top 30-cm depth. The recharge coefficient (Kr) was significantly greater in NT and NTR than in CT for the silt loam soil. The NTR system increased the –dW/dt by 1.2 × 10-2 to 12.1 × 10-2 cm d-1 in 1992 and 1993 in the silt loam soil and by 10.2 × 10-2 cm d-1 in 1993 in the sandy loam soil as compared with NT. The dW/dt was 8.1 × 10-2 cm d-1 greater in NTR in 1992 and 1993 in the silt loam soil and was 1.9 × 10-2 greater in NTR in 1992 than in CT in the sandy loam soil. The laboratory study indicated that NT soils retained more water than the CT soils. The NTR practice maintained better soil moisture conditions for crop growth than CT in dry periods than NT in wet periods. Compared with NT, the NTR avoided prolonged near-saturated soil conditions with increased soil drying rate under extremely wet soil. Key words: Water drying, water recharge, water depletion, wet and drying periods, hydraulic properties, soil capacity to retain water

A Fluctuating Watertable Model for the Management of a Controlled-drainage/subirrigation System

A model (FWTMOD) was developed as a simplified method to predict daily changes in watertable depth for a controlled-drainage and subirrigation system. The model was based upon a fluctuating watertable equation derived by de Zeeuw and Hellinga of The Netherlands. This equation only requires two parameters to describe daily watertable fluctuation: (1) a reaction factor for a receding or rising watertable, and (2) a recharge coefficient to account for the portion of rainfall which causes the watertable to rise. For a given water management system, these parameters can be estimated from observed (measured) watertable responses for a representative number of rainfall events. The model was calibrated and tested to evaluate its application in simulation of a subsurface drainage system. Climatological and watertable data from a field drainage experiment at the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Stations Ben Hur Research Farm, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was used to calibrate the model.