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Policy-Driven Sustainable Saline Drainage Disposal and Forage Production in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California

Author

Listed:
  • Amninder Singh

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA)

  • Nigel W. T. Quinn

    (HydroEcological Engineering Advanced Decision Support Group, Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Sharon E. Benes

    (Department of Plant Science, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USA)

  • Florence Cassel

    (Department of Plant Science, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USA)

Abstract

Environmental policies to address water quality impairments in the San Joaquin River of California have focused on the reduction of salinity and selenium-contaminated subsurface agricultural drainage loads from westside sources. On 31 December 2019, all of the agricultural drainage from a 44,000 ha subarea on the western side of the San Joaquin River basin was curtailed. This policy requires the on-site disposal of all of the agricultural drainage water in perpetuity, except during flooding events, when emergency drainage to the River is sanctioned. The reuse of this saline agricultural drainage water to irrigate forage crops, such as ‘Jose’ tall wheatgrass and alfalfa, in a 2428 ha reuse facility provides an economic return on this pollutant disposal option. Irrigation with brackish water requires careful management to prevent salt accumulation in the crop root zone, which can impact forage yields. The objective of this study was to optimize the sustainability of this reuse facility by maximizing the evaporation potential while achieving cost recovery. This was achieved by assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of the root zone salinity in selected fields of ‘Jose’ tall wheatgrass and alfalfa in the drainage reuse facility, some of which have been irrigated with brackish subsurface drainage water for over fifteen years. Electromagnetic soil surveys using an EM-38 instrument were used to measure the spatial variability of the salinity in the soil profile. The tall wheatgrass fields were irrigated with higher salinity water (1.2–9.3 dS m −1 ) compared to the fields of alfalfa (0.5–6.5 dS m −1 ). Correspondingly, the soil salinity in the tall wheatgrass fields was higher (12.5 dS m −1 –19.3 dS m −1 ) compared to the alfalfa fields (8.97 dS m −1 –14.4 dS m −1 ) for the years 2016 and 2017. Better leaching of salts was observed in the fields with a subsurface drainage system installed (13–1 and 13–2). The depth-averaged root zone salinity data sets are being used for the calibration of the transient hydro-salinity computer model CSUID-ID (a one-dimensional version of the Colorado State University Irrigation Drainage Model). This user-friendly decision support tool currently provides a useful framework for the data collection needed to make credible, field-scale salinity budgets. In time, it will provide guidance for appropriate leaching requirements and potential blending decisions for sustainable forage production. This paper shows the tie between environmental drainage policy and the role of local governance in the development of sustainable irrigation practices, and how well-directed collaborative field research can guide future resource management.

Suggested Citation

  • Amninder Singh & Nigel W. T. Quinn & Sharon E. Benes & Florence Cassel, 2020. "Policy-Driven Sustainable Saline Drainage Disposal and Forage Production in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-27, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6362-:d:395833
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Díaz, F.J. & Grattan, S.R. & Reyes, J.A. & de la Roza-Delgado, B. & Benes, S.E. & Jiménez, C. & Dorta, M. & Tejedor, M., 2018. "Using saline soil and marginal quality water to produce alfalfa in arid climates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 11-21.
    2. Ben-Gal, Alon & Ityel, Eviatar & Dudley, Lynn & Cohen, Shabtai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Presnov, Eugene & Zigmond, Leah & Shani, Uri, 2008. "Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for bell peppers," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 587-597, May.
    3. Letey, J. & Feng, G.L., 2007. "Dynamic versus steady-state approaches to evaluate irrigation management of saline waters," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-3), pages 1-10, July.
    4. Suarez, Donald L. & Wood, James D. & Lesch, Scott M., 2006. "Effect of SAR on water infiltration under a sequential rain-irrigation management system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(1-2), pages 150-164, November.
    5. Corwin, Dennis L. & Rhoades, James D. & Simunek, Jirka, 2007. "Leaching requirement for soil salinity control: Steady-state versus transient models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 165-180, June.
    6. Nigel W. T. Quinn, 2020. "Policy Innovation and Governance for Irrigation Sustainability in the Arid, Saline San Joaquin River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-38, June.
    7. Suyama, H. & Benes, S.E. & Robinson, P.H. & Grattan, S.R. & Grieve, C.M. & Getachew, G., 2007. "Forage yield and quality under irrigation with saline-sodic drainage water: Greenhouse evaluation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 159-172, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Junnan Ding & Bin Li & Minglong Sun & Xin Li, 2023. "Different Cropping Patterns to Restore Saline-Alkali Soils in Northeast China Affect the Abundance of Functional Genes in the Soil Nitrogen Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Liu, Lining & Zuo, Qiang & Shi, Jianchu & Wu, Xun & Wei, Congmin & Sheng, Jiandong & Jiang, Pingan & Chen, Quanjia & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2023. "Balancing economic benefits and environmental repercussions based on smart irrigation by regulating root zone water and salinity dynamics," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    3. Nigel W. T. Quinn, 2020. "Policy Innovation and Governance for Irrigation Sustainability in the Arid, Saline San Joaquin River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-38, June.

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