Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research
Project Number: 2032-13220-002-004-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Feb 1, 2021
End Date: Oct 31, 2024
Objective:
The objective of this project is to examine the independent and joint use of agricultural managed aquifer recharge (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 agricultural managed aquifer recharge (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.
