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Research Project: Sustainable Production and Pest Management Practices for Nursery, Greenhouse, and Protected Culture Crops

Location: Application Technology Research

Title: Specialty crop retention reservoir performance and design considerations to secure quality water and mitigate non-point source runoff

Author
item YAZDI, MOHAMMAD - The Ohio State University
item Owen Jr, James - Jim
item LYON, STEVE - The Ohio State University
item WHITE, SARAH - Clemson University

Submitted to: Journal of Cleaner Production
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/3/2021
Publication Date: 9/5/2021
Citation: Yazdi, M.N., Owen Jr, J.S., Lyon, S.W., White, S.A. 2021. Specialty crop retention reservoir performance and design considerations to secure quality water and mitigate non-point source runoff. Journal of Cleaner Production. 321. Article 128925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128925.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128925

Interpretive Summary: Specialty crop production requires large volumes of water for irrigation and faces three primary water resource concerns: (1) water availability and security, (2) a need for high quality water, and (3) managing operational water (OW; water collected on site and reused) quality including irrigation return water (IRW) after application to crop production areas. Specialty crop producers can implement best management practices (BMPs) to capture, reduce, and remove contaminants from OW to ensure water security. Retention reservoirs (RRs) are an effective BMP for extending water resources and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of OW. RRs are recommended for specialty crop producers to (1) capture stormwater and IRW to conserve increasingly limited and costly water resources, (2) reduce reliance on surface- and ground-water, and (3) mitigate contaminants in OW or IRW before discharge into receiving waters that include nearby surface waters. Despite the importance of RRs for water security, concerns remain about the reuse of water from RRs due to perceived poor water quality and potential risks of reapplying contaminants to economically important specialty crops. Consolidated information is needed on risks associated with IRW reuse, design of RRs for adequate storage for capturing both stormwater and IRW, and the effects of RRs on OW quality. The main goals of this literature review were to (1) understand the effect of RRs on mitigation of sediment, nutrient, pesticide, heavy metal, and pathogen contaminants; (2) collate information about the water quality of RRs used for reuse as irrigation; and (3) develop guidelines for designing RRs used in specialty crop production. Proper design or augmentation and implementation of new and existing water RRs can enable specialty crop producers to collect and reuse freshwater that meets their quality metrics. We defined, developed, and compared three RR design methods. Current RRs design recommendations may not be large enough to capture OW for some parts of the USA. We recommend modifying RR design specifications to increase operational climate resilience and water security. Several best practices were discussed for RR design to optimize water treatment including use of a forebay, increasing depth, long flow path (high length/width ratio), long hydraulic retention time, and aeration or mixing. Capture and reuse of stormwater should be part of water management plans to ensure the availability of alternative, high-quality water sources for specialty crop production.

Technical Abstract: Specialty crop production requires large volumes of water for irrigation and faces three primary water resource concerns: (1) water availability and security, (2) high water quality, and (3) managing irrigation return water (IRW) and operational water (OW) quality from production areas. Specialty crop producers can implement best management practices (BMPs) singly or in combination to capture, reduce, and remove contaminants from OW to ensure water security. Retention reservoirs (RRs) are an effective BMP for extending water resources and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of OW. RRs are recommended for specialty crop producers to (1) capture stormwater and OW to conserve increasingly limited and costly water resources, (2) reduce reliance on surface- and ground-water, and (3) mitigate contaminants in OW before discharge into receiving waters. Despite the importance of RRs for water security, concerns remain about the reuse of OW from RRs due to perceived poor water quality and potential risks of reapplying contaminants to economically important crops. Consolidated information is needed on risks associated with IRW reuse, design of RRs for adequate storage for capturing both stormwater and IRW, and the effects of RRs on OW quality. The main goals of this literature review were to (1) understand the effect of RRs on mitigation of sediment, nutrient, pesticide, heavy metal, and pathogen contaminants; (2) collate information about the water quality of RRs used for reuse as irrigation; and (3) develop guidelines for designing RRs used in specialty crop production. Proper design or augmentation and implementation of new and existing water RRs can enable specialty crop producers to collect and reuse freshwater that meets their quality metrics. We defined, developed, and compared three RR design methods. Current RRs design recommendations to capture a 24-hour rainfall with 25-year frequency may not be large enough to capture OW for some parts of the USA. We recommend modifying RR design specifications to capture a 24-hour rainfall with 50-year frequency to increase operational climate resilience and water security. Several best practices were discussed for RR design to optimize water treatment including use of a forebay, increasing depth, long flow path (high length/width ratio), long hydraulic retention time, and aeration or mixing. Capture and reuse of stormwater should be part of water management plans to ensure the availability of alternative, high-quality water sources for specialty crop production.