Recycling agricultural runoff

Walker, Paul N.; Lembke, Walter D.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89945 Copy

Description

Title

Recycling agricultural runoff

Author(s)

• Walker, Paul N.
• Lembke, Walter D.

Contributor(s)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Issue Date

1977-01

Keyword(s)

• Water resource development
• Water resource development--Illinois
• Agriculture
• Irrigation
• Water reuse
• Farm ponds
• Impervious soils
• Illinois
• Computer models

Geographic Coverage

Illinois (state)

Abstract

The recycling agricultural runoff concept is the storage of excess water from agricultural land and using this water for irrigation of the same land when moisture supplies are low. Coincidentally, the system also recycles pesticides and nutrients, keeping them out of other parts of the environment. The claypan soils of Illinois appear to be best suited for water recycling when surface storage is used. Sandy soils are best suited to interstitial water storage. A review and analysis of literature on irrigation, drainage, reservoirs, pesticides, and nutrients as it pertains to a recycling system is presented. Nutrient and pesticide recycling result in negligible cost or benefits to agricultural crops. There was insufficient information to determine the economic benefit to the environment of this recycling. A model was developed relating irrigation and drainage to crop yield using intermediate variables of soil moisture and air temperature. The model predicted that an acre-ft. of storage would be required per acre of irrigated watershed. The model was not successful at predicting the increase in yield resulting from irrigation and/or drainage. An example economic analysis reveals that under present conditions recycling agricultural runoff is not economically justifiable as a general practice in the claypan region of Illinois.

Publisher

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Water Resources Center

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89945

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• U.S. Geological Survey
• U.S. Department of the Interior

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 1977 held by Walker, Paul N. and Lembke, Walter D.

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