SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE IN KHUZESTAN, IRAN: ENVIRONMENTALLY REVISITED CRITERIA

ABSTRACT Khuzestan, a south‐western province of Iran with a hot climate, long growing season and lots of water, is the main region of subsurface drainage. Sugar cane is the major artificially drained crop. In the past, drainage rates had been chosen based on highest water‐consuming crop in the cropp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Irrigation and drainage 2013-07, Vol.62 (3), p.306-314
Main Authors: Akram, Mojtaba, Azari, Ardavan, Nahvi, Ali, Bakhtiari, Zahra, Safaee, Heydar D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crops
drain depth
Drainage
Drainage measurement
drainage rate
Drains
débit de drainage
environment
environnement
Iran
Irrigation
Khouzistan
Khuzestan
profondeur des drains
salinité du sol
Seasons
soil salinity
Strata
Water quality
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Summary:ABSTRACT Khuzestan, a south‐western province of Iran with a hot climate, long growing season and lots of water, is the main region of subsurface drainage. Sugar cane is the major artificially drained crop. In the past, drainage rates had been chosen based on highest water‐consuming crop in the cropping pattern. This approach neglects crops with less water demands, natural drainage and direct flow towards perforated collectors or open deep drains, and soil water reservoirs. The drains are installed deeply which bring more saline drainage water out of the underlying strata into the environment. The environmental problems are due to the high volume of very poor quality drainage water. The low irrigation efficiency results in a high volume of drainage water. Deeper drains are also responsible for over‐drainage because they usually work longer and bring mined salt water out of the deeper strata. This paper attempts to show that in arid areas with a long irrigation season and/or high deep percolation one does not have to expect secondary salinization provided that the leaching requirement is met. Maintaining higher irrigation efficiency, installation of shallower drains and the application of controlled drainage are measures to reduce salt removal, and hence reduce environmental hazards. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. RÉSUMÉ Le Khouzistan est une province du sud‐ouest de l'Iran caractérisée par un climat chaud, une longue saison de croissance et beaucoup d'eau. C'est la principale région de drainage souterrain d'Iran. La culture de la canne à sucre est la principale culture artificiellement drainée. Dans le passé, les débits de projet de drainage ont été choisis en fonction des besoins de la culture la plus exigeante en eau. Cette approche néglige les cultures avec des exigences moindres, le drainage naturel, et les flux directs vers les collecteurs perforés, les fossés de drainage ou le réservoir du sol. Les drains sont installés en profondeur, ce qui augmente les prélèvements dans la nappe profonde et salée, et exporte l'eau salée dans les milieux récepteurs en surface. Il en résulte des problèmes environnementaux dus à ce volume élevé d'eau de drainage de mauvaise qualité, et causés par la faible efficacité de l'irrigation. Les drains profonds sont également responsables de sur‐drainage car leur période de fonctionnement est plus longue et mobilisent l'eau salée extraite des couches plus profondes. Cet article tente de montrer que dans les zones ari
ISSN:1531-0353
1531-0361
DOI:10.1002/ird.1774