4.4 Article

Ecologically sustainable surface water withdrawal for cropland irrigation through incorporation of climate variability

Journal

JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION
Volume 66, Issue 4, Pages 221-232

Publisher

SOIL WATER CONSERVATION SOC
DOI: 10.2489/jswc.66.4.221

Keywords

ecological-sustainability; El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO); in-stream flows; irrigation; modeling; surface water withdrawal

Funding

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), state of Alabama, United States

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In several regions of the world, interannual variations in precipitation and stream flows are related to ocean-atmosphere oscillation known as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean. El Nino events, which occur after every 2 to 10 years, are caused by high sea surface temperature and a low Southern Oscillation Index. La Nina events arc caused by low sea surface temperature and a high Southern Oscillation Index. Because ENSO events can be accurately predicted in advance using a physical model of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system, it is now feasible to incorporate ENSO predictions in real-time water resources management. The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between ENSO and precipitation, ENSO and temperature, and ENSO and stream flows, and then use these relationships to develop a surface water withdrawal prescription for cropland irrigation in a southwest Alabama, United Stakes, watershed. An additional objective was to determine the percentage of the watershed that could be irrigated through. ENSO-based, ecologically sustainable surface water withdrawal. The study was conducted in the Big Creek watershed located in Mobile County, Alabama, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for simulating stream flows and developing surface water withdrawal prescriptions. Strong relationships were found between ENSO and precipitation, ENSO and temperature, and ENSO and stream flow in this watershed. From November to July, El Nino episodes generated higher precipitation than La Nina episodes. On the contrary in September and October, La Nina episodes resulted in higher precipitation than El Nino episodes. Results suggest that El Nino episodes produced higher stream flows during November to August than La Nina episodes. Water withdrawal followed the same trend as the stream flow did. On an average, it was found that around 20% of the watershed can be irrigated through ENSO-based, ecologically sustainable surface water withdrawal.

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