How achieve water conservation in irrigated agriculture and importance of groundwater recharge? Which water resources used for groundwater recharge?
Some examples of studies on this topic:
1. Article Sensitivity of groundwater recharge under irrigated agricult...
2. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2186555
3. Article Quantifying irrigation recharge sources using groundwater modeling
Water conservation is a major concern in any country. The technique of flood irrigation is a major source of wastage of water. Drip irrigation wherever possible can save lot of water.
careful planning in crop rotation, soil type and required crop pattern can also save lot of water.
Rain water harvesting is a major source of ground water recharge.
The artificial groundwater recharge technology can be broadly categorized as: direct and indirect. Among direct - surface, sub-surface, combination surface and sub-surface. Most suitable for irrigated zone are water spreading technique, using of ditch and furrow system. As an indirect technology - Induced recharge from surface water source.
The artificial groundwater recharge technology can be broadly categorized as: direct and indirect. Among direct - surface, sub-surface, combination surface and sub-surface. Most suitable for irrigated zone are water spreading technique, using of ditch and furrow system. As an indirect technology - Induced recharge from surface water source.
In California, there have been pilot programs for nearly a decade now to recharge depleted groundwater aquifers by using river water during winter wet high-stage periods; the seasonally plentiful river water is used to flood certain types of crops during specific winter periods when such flooding is not harmful to the crops grown. Its my understanding there is much research & pilot studies on this method of flooding crop fields during winter periods when river water is plentiful.
You can measure the depth of the aquifer or water table in your area. if the water table is higher then its easier to pump out underground water for surface irrigation. Depending on the distance, you can select the best technology to apply. Here in Sub Saharan Africa we use boreholes or blow hole where erosion washes away the top soil and nature water underground gashes out for irrigation, animal consumption and other domestic uses.
The best mix of solutions is always site-specific. For example:
The year-around water balance in the Meerut region is negative, you have more evaporation than precipitation. So you are obliged to irrigate, but not too much.
First of all, use water-conserving agrotechnics and irrigation technics as Om Prakash Chhangani suggested, and improve the water retention capacity of the soils (through increasing its humus content, for instance).
When refilling the undergound water tables, be careful: you certainly do not want to pollute them like we did here, in Europe! Major risks:
- nitrate pollution (for indirect recharge through irrigation)
- salinization (for direct recharge from your big rivers).
In your specific case, I would suggest
1) To let the natural ways of replenishment to recharge the underground water reserves (through infiltration from the riverbeds), by radically reducing its consumption.
2) To irrigate from surface waters instead of the underground water. For example, there are cheap nature-based solutions to produce high-quality irrigation water from local wastewaters.
You can use surface reservior to conserve water. You can also use surface drainage canals and pump water. Whichever one u apply, the need is to record input and output of water flow. Through that maxi or mini water supply will be monitored. Depending on the area of irrigated land.
In India the best sources of water is available during monsoon season. There is a need to systematically use this abundant water resource in charging ground water. If we can segregate silt,oil and other garbage which flows with water during monsoon then probably this can be used for ground water recharge.After initial rainfall the content of such pollutant is also reduced and this water can be used in large quantity for recharge.
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