Document Type
Report
Publication Date
January 1979
Abstract
Water management in irrigation projects is one potential method for reducing downstream salinity in the Colorado River. An important contribution can be made to developing more effective irrigation water management practices for water conservation and salinity control through identification and better understanding of the soil and water interactions that result in soils behaving as salt sources or as salt sinks. The interactions identified in this study were examined to determine the effects of various management alternatives on the quality and quantity of salt in subsurface return flow from irrigation projects. A soil solution chemistry model was developed to describe the soil-irrigation water interactions. The model includes the effect of cation exchange capacity. The model was calibrated and checked with data obtained from lysimeters. A water management model that contained a soil solution chemistry component was calibrated for the Ashley Valley of Utah and was used to determine the sensitivity of stream flows and salinity to irrigation water management alternatives. The source-sink behavior of soils was found to depent on water quality, residual soil salinity, and water management practices. The key relationships are described. In applying these relationships, site specific conditions must be examined to determine the effectiveness of proposed irrigation management changes that are expected to affect downstream salinity.
Recommended Citation
Willardson, Lyman S.; Hanks, R. J.; and Jurinak, J. J., "Impact of Water and Soils Having High Source-Sink Potentials on Water and Salinity Management Under Irrigation in the Upper Colorado River Basin" (1979). Reports. Paper 7.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/water_rep/7