The Economics And Management Of Water And Drainage In Agriculture

Jan van Schilfgaarde, USDA Agricultural Research Service and National Research Council Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems In 1982, a startling discovery was made. Many waterbirds in Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge were dying or suffering reproductive failure. Located in the San Joaquin Valley (Valley) of California, the Kesterson Reservoir (Kesterson) was used to store agricultural drainage water and it was soon determined that the probable cause of the damage to wildlife was high concen trations of selenium, derived from the water and water organisms in the reservoir. This discovery drastically changed numerous aspects of water management in California, and especially affected irrigated agriculture. In fact, the repercussions spilled over to much of the Western United States. For a century, water development for irrigation has been a religiously pursued means for economic development of the West. The primary objective of the Reclamation Act of 1902 was, purportedly, the development ofirrigation water to support family farms which, in turn, would enhance the regional economy (Worster, 1985).

This book forms the proceedings of the 18th European conference on irrigation and drainage. Water is not a free commodity, and demand is becoming more and more intense for its allocation. This book focuses on the role of irrigation and drainage in the debate on water, and will be used by planners, designers and policy makers internationally.

This monograph provides an overview of the principles required for a service orientation in the management of irrigation and drainage systems. The material covered is designed to emphasize an area largely neglected in the irrigation and drainage management literature. The dominating philosophy underlying this book is that irrigation and drainage systems must be managed as a service business responsive to the needs and changing requirements of its customers. It is postulated that this service approach to the management of irrigation and drainage systems consitutes a key element of the startegy that is needed to improve the current level of performance of many irrigation and drainage systems worldwide. Enhanced performance of irrigation is a prerequisite if we are to face the enormous challenge of producing greater quantities of food to meet the demand of a growing population. This is particularly the case in an environment with increasing competition for water from industry and urban water users, set against mounting concerns about environmental sustainability.

As the world population increases, there is increasing competition for waterquantity as well as quality. Provided here is an up-to-date perspective on Available Water Resources (Part I), Water Conservation and Technology inAgricultural Systems (Part II), Problem Water Uses and Treatment (Part III),and Management and Policy Evaluation (Part IV). The book is an invaluable source of information for water resource planners, managers and policy makers, researchers and students, and irrigationists.

There are several concerns about the sustainability of irrigation and drainage projects, many of which are related to the quality and disposal of drainage water. Inadequate drainage and improper drainage water disposal have led to land degradation due to water logging and salinity. There have been instances where saline or high nutrient drainage water has damaged aquatic ecosystems. Drainage continues to be a vital and necessary component of agricultural production systems. In order to enhance the net benefits of drainage systems, more attention will need to be given to the water quality impacts of drainage water disposal. This document identifies potential problems and management options in the development, production, treatment and disposal of agricultural drainage water. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction by Chandra A Madramootoo; Need for artificial drainage, Agricultural, environmental and socio-economic benefits of drainage, Types of drainage systems, Surface drainage, Subsurface drainage, Secondary drainage treatments, Environmental impact assessment, Water quality issues, Drainage water management and disposal options, On-farm source control, Re-use of drainage water, Disposal and management of drainage water in closed basins, Water table management, Planning and designing drainage systems to protect and enhance water quality; Chapter 2: Drainage Water Quality by Dennis Westcot; Water quality charactersitics, Pesticides, Toxic trace elements, Nutrients, Sediment, Bacteria, Temperature, Salinity and major ions, Sulphurous compounds, Protection of beneficial uses, Domestic and drinking water, Industrial supply, Agricultural supply, Aquatic life, Recreation; Chapter 3: Water Table Management by Daniel Zimmer and Chandra A Madramootoo; General features, Water table control structures, Water quality benefits, Drainage hydrology and water quality, Nutrients, Pesticides, Operational aspects, Farm or catchment scale, Topography and soils, Monitoring requirements; Chapter 4: Drainage Water Re-Use; Re-use for crop irrigation by Michael C Shannon; Effects of salinity on crop growth and yield, Agricultural management practices, Managing cycling and blending strategies, Re-use for saline agriculture and forestry by Vashek Cervinka, Concept of agriculture-forestry systems and solar evaporators, System design and planning, Re-use in a natural wetland by Dick A Daniel, Re-use of surface drainage water, Re-use of subsurface drainage water; Chapter 5: Drainage Water Treatment by Lawrence Owns; Physical, chemical and biological treatment processes, Selection of treatment process, Methods of treatment, Physical/chemical treatment, Biological treatment, A treatment example, Treatment in constructed wetlands by Walter J Ochs, Flow-through wetland functions, Planning and design of flow through wetlands, Hydraulic and geohydraulic characteristics, Soils and geologic characteristics, Vegetative characteristics, Implementation, monitoring and management; Chapter 6: Drainage Water Disposal; Disposal to natural hydrological systems by William R Johnston, Land application and retirement by William R Johnston, Evaporation ponds by Kenneth K Tanji, Constructed evaporation ponds, Pond hydrology, Pond water chemistry and mineralogy, Pond biology and toxicity, Biological, chemical and physical treatment options, Deep will injection by Robert T Burns, Concept and technology, Environmental considerations, Geological considerations, Case study; Chapter 7: Health Issues Related to Drainage Water Management by Martin S Fritsch; The interactions between drainage, water management and health, Water related diseases and their vectors, Incidence of diseases - cases and mortality, Vector-borne diseases: transmission by insects, Water-based diseases: transmission by aquatic and semi-aquatic snails, Water-borne excreta related infections, Health risks and chemical pollution, Integrated control of transmission of vector-borne diseases, Components of integrated control approaches, Environmental management for vector control, Environmental management measures in drainage water management, Drainage water treatment, re-use and disposal, Environmental management measures applied to drainage structures, Development of control strategies; Chapter 8: Institutional Arrangements by Ashok Subramanian; Issues and problems, Objectives and interest groups, Need for regulation, conservation and communication, Role of public and private agencies and water users, Institutional mechanisms, Laws and regulations, Corporate organizations, Participatory planning, Incentives for water quality enhancement, Monitoring, Institutional capacity.

World population is set to increase by a third in the next 25 years, with no corresponding increase in global rainfall. About seventy per cent of the world's abstracted water is used in farming and therefore the economics of irrigation is becoming an increasingly important issue for sustainable development. Water for Agriculture provides a thorough

Explores how both governments and the private sector can expand the role of markets to allocate water used by all sectors and to get agricultural producers to account for the pollution that their sector generates.