CASE STUDIES OF AGRICULTURAL WATER CONSERVATION1

Farmers from four irrigation districts in Texas and California were questioned about water conservation practices they are now using, those they plan to adopt, and potential incentives that government might offer to induce still further water conservation on their part. While responses differed somewhat from place to place and among individual farmers, the general results were: a) farmers reported that “water conservation” is not new to them, it is something they practice regularly; b) recent innovations such as laser controlled land leveling devices have permitted some substantial water use reductions in recent years; and c) even greater incentive mechanisms that government could provide and that farmers would accept as useful incentives, such as long term low interest loans for water saving equipment, would probably not be able to reduce water use in agriculture much further than 15 percent below current levels. It is recommended nonetheless that Federal agencies and local water districts and individuals should nonetheless pursue water conservation training and education programs, demonstrations of conjunctive use and water banking opportunities for water saving, and increased loan programs for installation of water saving equipment.     

SOCIAL OVERHEAD CAPITAL COSTS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN WASHINGTON STATE1

ABSTRACT: Increased irrigation as a means of achieving economic development can impose significant social costs on the state or region of growth. The growth in population induced by additional irrigation will require new roads, water and sewage facilities, schools, fire and police protection, etc. Also the increased energy demands due to irrigation and growth in economic activity must be met. Capital investments required to service these needs of new development can become very large. This study attempts to measure such social overhead costs or irrigation development for some specific irrigation project areas of Eastern Washington. It is shown that investment costs in overhead items can reach $2,000 per acre irrigated or $70,000 per job created. Alternatively, the annual costs can equal $180 per acre or $6,700 per worker. These costs must be paid locally through increased taxes, utility rates, or costs for services.     

IMPROVING IRRIGATION RETURN FLOW QUALITY WITH A WATER RENTAL MARKET1

ABSTRACT: Current policies for correcting the problem of irrigation return flow pollution tend to attack the symptoms of the problem, rather than its cause. The present institutional arrangement for allocating irrigation water is seen as the source of the problem. This paper examines the water quality benefits of altering the institutional arrangement to allow for irrigation water transfers through a rental market. It is conceptualized that by creating a water rental market an opportunity cost would be associated with the use of irrigation water such that profit maximizing farmers would be induced to use his water supply more efficiently and rent the surplus to other irrigators, thus reducing return flow pollution. It is shown that a water rental market could increase water quality in the Yakima River in southcentral Washington by 31 percent as well as increase farm incomes and crop production.     

DEVELOPING COMPETITION FOR WATER IN THE URBANIZING AREAS OF COLORADO1

ABSTRACT: Rapid population growth in the metropolitan area of Denver, Colorado, is causing conflicts over water use. Two cities, Thomton and Westminster, have begun condemnation proceedings against three irrigation companies to secure agricultural water rights for municipal use. This is the first condemnation proceeding against irrigation water rights for municipal use. Should the suit succeed, over 30,000 acres of presently irrigated land will lose its water supply. There are about four hundred landowners in the area; two hundred of these are commercial farmers, including truck, dairy and specialty farms. Total agricultural production amounts to about $8 million per year. About 561 jobs related to agriculture will disappear along with about $4 million in not income. Only 6.4 percent of the farmland along the Front Range is irrigated. Continued urban growth will put pressure on the water supply of much of this land. The interested parties of the region should cooperate to lessen the impact of urban growth on agricultural lands and water by forming a metropolitan water district. Such a district could share costs of development of additional municipal water and develop systems where municipalities would recycle waste water back to the irrigated lands.     

钠盐量影响下DD6单晶高温合金的高温热腐蚀规律研究

目的 开展镍基单晶高温合金DD6在950 ℃下的热盐腐蚀试验(95%Na2SO4+5%NaCl)，探明涂盐量和涂盐方式(周期涂盐和单次涂盐)对DD6高温热腐蚀的影响规律和机理。方法 结合扫描电子显微镜、X射线能量色散谱、X射线衍射等设备，对不同涂盐量及涂盐方式下DD6的表面及横截面形貌进行观察分析，分析不同涂盐量和涂盐方式下DD6的高温热腐蚀机理。结果 DD6在950 ℃下主要发生碱性熔融热腐蚀，同时伴随氧化、硫化和氯化等过程。高温热腐蚀使得DD6合金表面生成的保护性氧化膜被熔融态的腐蚀介质破坏，导致O、S、Cl等外部元素通过氧化膜的缺陷进入DD6基体中，在合金的亚表面发生内氧化、内硫化以及内氯化反应，横截面上出现明显的腐蚀层，其主要由氧化物以及硫化物组成。随着热腐蚀的进行，DD6表面物质发生了剥蚀，沉积盐量的增加导致剥蚀现象越加严重，合金内部致密的组织结构也被破坏，横截面上出现了大量孔洞、裂纹等缺陷。在相同涂盐量下，周期涂盐法使得DD6的腐蚀程度高于单次涂盐法。结论 DD6高温热腐蚀行为与涂盐量及涂盐方式密切相关，相同涂盐方式下，涂盐量越大，DD6热腐蚀更加严重。涂盐量一定时，周期涂盐法使得DD6的热腐蚀剧烈程度大于单次涂盐法，且DD6在上述热腐蚀条件下均发生剥蚀破坏。     

Understanding farmer intentions to connect to a modernised delivery system in an Australian irrigation district: a reasoned action approach

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not.     

Variable Irrigation District Action in Water Trading

Irrigation districts (IDs) in the American west are highly diverse in their economic attributes and local water scarcity circumstances. This diversity may affect reallocative action via water transactions as scarcity rises. The institutional background defining and constraining IDs is described here. For a Texas study region the progress of permanent water right transfers involving IDs is documented and examined. An econometric analysis of multiple decades of ID water transfer activities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley finds that IDs with larger initial water right holdings and higher populations in nearby cities are more likely to participate in agricultural‐to‐municipal water transfer activities. The findings suggest that consolidation of smaller water right holding IDs may be an avenue for quickening the pace of reallocation, especially in more populated areas.     

小麦-玉米轮作体系农田氮素淋失特征及氮素表观平衡

连续6年采用渗漏计法研究了不同施氮处理下陕西关中小麦-玉米轮作区农田土壤90 cm深度处氮素(N)淋失特征和土壤-作物体系氮素表观平衡状况.结果表明:该地区农田氮素淋溶主要发生在降雨量较多的玉米季,且集中在8月和9月.监测期内,TN和NO-3-N年平均流失量分别为2.72~23.07 kg·hm-2和1.53~18.72 kg·hm-2,年流失率分别为0.65%~3.44%和0.82%~3.32%,且年总氮、硝态氮流失量均随年施氮量增加呈指数增加.氮素淋失形态中,NO-3-N比例较高,可占总氮淋失量的56.00%~81.00%,且随着氮肥用量的降低,其占总氮淋失量的比例也随之减小.可见,施氮量的大小在一定程度上会影响淋失液中各形态氮的比例.氮素表观平衡结果显示,随着施氮量提高,氮素在土壤中的残留和表观氮盈余均呈现指数增加趋势.长期施氮条件下,土壤-作物体系氮素表观损失率的幅度为32.60%~55.20%,土壤表观残留率为-0.17%~8.20%.多年监测结果表明,优化施氮模式下,作物不仅可以获得较高的产量和氮肥利用率,农田氮素淋失量也大幅降低,在节约肥料资源的同时减轻了潜在的环境风险.     

Sustainable graywater reuse for residential landscape irrigation – a critical review

The demand for potable water is rising rapidly due to an ever-increasing population, economic activities, and dwindling water supplies. To provide adequate water supplies in the future, understanding the issues and challenges in the reuse of water and developing appropriate strategies for reuse will be critical. One way to augment water supplies for residential use is to reuse graywater – the wastewater from kitchens, bathrooms, and laundries. In this article, we critically review the evolution of water reuse, the definition of graywater, graywater reuse practices, volumes and flow in different situations, and graywater characteristics. We then examine the issues associated with different graywater treatment methods and how using graywater for irrigation around homes affects soil quality and plant growth. The study concludes that graywater treatment costs, human health risks, and its effect on soil quality are some of the challenges that need to be addressed in the future for widespread and sustainable reuse of graywater for irrigation around homes.     

我国沿海地区水污染区域治理探讨

本文分析了我国当前水污染区域治理的难度，沿海地区水污染的主要问题，探讨了污染区域治理的基本原则，提出了水污染治理的重点区域和水污染区域治理的主要途径，并以浑河流域沈阳地区２０００年水污染物总量控制为例，概述总量控制方法和目标