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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research » Research » Research Project #439519

Research Project: Synergistic Managed Aquifer Strategies to Sustain Irrigated Agriculture

Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research

Project Number: 2032-13220-002-002-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement

Start Date: Jan 1, 2021
End Date: Dec 31, 2024

Objective:
The objective of this proposal is to examine the independent and joint use of Ag-MAR and drywells with pretreatments (to remove sediments and contaminants) to synergistically overcome limitations of both approaches, and thereby increase groundwater sustainability and the long-term viability of irrigated agriculture.

Approach:
An existing Ag-MAR site with monitoring wells on the Terranova Ranch (Helm, California) will be instrumented with at least one drywell and sensors to monitor water inputs, infiltration, recharge, and soil and water quality parameters. The site will be thoroughly characterized for soil hydraulic and solute transport properties. This information will be employed in conjunction with mathematical modeling to inversely determine parameters, design improved MAR strategies that optimize water quantity and quality, and to predict the long-term performance of these MAR strategies to sustain groundwater and irrigated agriculture.