International Symposium on Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering

Ohrid/Macedonia, 1-5 September 2009

Paper: A35

Impacts of Irrigation on the Environment

Lidija Tadi1, Zdenko Tadi2
1

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Osijek, Croatia, e-mail: ltadic@gfos.hr 2 Hidring, Osijek, Croatia

Abstract. Environmental protection in last decade became an important issue in all hydro-technical project. Also, implementation of irrigation in agriculture has a high priority in the most countries. Besides the number of positive effects of irrigation, there are some negative effects which potentially can appear in the irrigation areas. The most important are: influences on hydrological regime caused by overexploitation of water resources or disruption of natural hydrological regime by manmade structures, water erosion caused by impropriate irrigation method on sloping fields and impacts of irrigation on surface and groundwater quality. Which type of negative impact and in what extent will appear depends on natural characteristics of the area, water quality used for irrigation and irrigation project itself. These possible negative effects can influence agricultural soil productivity, natural habitats, human health or landscape. In the Croatian conditions, irrigation is still in the more or less initial phase and it is possible to diminish the most of the unwilling effects of irrigation. In the continental part of the Croatia, which is mostly lowland with significant water resources available for irrigation, and intensive agriculture can be expected that deterioration of water quality is the most likely impact of irrigation. Because of that analysis of surface and groundwater quality was undertaken. According to Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC, good agricultural practises includes water protection from surface leaching and surface runoff outside of the root zone in the irrigation conditions. Another reason why high nitrogen concentration must not be allowed in the surface and groundwater is the vicinity of Nature Park Kopaki rit, an area of valuable wildlife. This paper is going to present results of the research on the few locations in Baranja region in the eastern part of Croatia, including irrigation water quality, surface and groundwater quality and recommended measures for further actions in environmental protection.
Key words: Irrigation, environment, surface and groundwater quality, nitrogen

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1 Introduction
Considering the basic purpose of agriculture ensuring of sufficient quantities of food with appropriate quality and unquestionable health soundness, the management of land should not sideline other aspects of land use including environmental and social aspects, so the special attention should be given to non-productive roles of agriculture and land [5]. As an answer to the current challenges of modern agriculture and rural development, until recently the most important role of agriculture food production, is gradually being replaced by ecosystems sustainability and raising values of landscape and rural space. As an undertaking which ensures optimal water supply for demands of agricultural production, the irrigation might have significant impacts on environment which should be foreseen, and targeted by use of economical acceptable activities in order to eliminate or lower those potentially negative impacts to the acceptable levels. The aim of every project of hydro-melioration system including irrigation is to ensure positive long term effects of implemented system which is achieved by: anticipation of potential problems, defining the means of monitoring, finding the ways of problem avoiding or reducing and promotion of positive effects. According to the categorisation of environmental impacts, the expected impacts which arise due to application of irrigation are: - According to the type of impactimpacts on natural assets, predominantly on water and soil (physical environment), but also on quality of life (social-economic impacts); - According to the duration of impact long term; - According to occurrence in time and space - direct, since they occur on exact area which is being irrigated and during the period of irrigation, but also indirect, which means that they also impact the downstream and upstream soils, and frequently appear only after significant periods of time; - According to the number of impacts - individual and cumulative. All those elements make the impacts very complex and hardly predictable, while the intensity of their occurrence depends on properties of the watershed, water abundance, properties of soils, quality of water being used for irrigation, as well as depending on the applied methodology and means of irrigation. This implies that the application of irrigation may leave permanent (irreversible) consequences on the environment if the impacts are not recognised, foreseen and possibly mitigated or completely prevented. Some of the changes are easily noticed and quantified, but there is vast number of indirect impacts that are delayed in time after the prolonged application of irrigation and often appearing outside of irrigated area. The solutions lay in systematic planning, designing, construction and operation of undertaking. For this reason, undertaking of such large scale irrigation projects should include environmental impact assessment prior to the construction which will establish the possible alteration to the environment and assess the sustainability of the system.

2 Impacts on Water
The irrigation has quantitative and qualitative impacts on surface and ground waters.

661 2.1 Impacts on Water Balance Any capture of water impacts the existing water balance. Considering the occurrence of water resources in time every uncontrolled capture, especially in dry periods, may result in undermining of minimum biological requirements of waterways. Majority of waterways in this region (Sava, Kupa, Una, Mirna, Rjeina, Lika, Cetina, Zrmanja) have minimum flows at the time of vegetation growth when there is a need for irrigation. In smaller waterways and streams this issue is even more pronounced. Hydrologic regime of surface waters is directly related to the levels of ground waters[7]. During the dry periods, ground waters feed the waterways while in period of high water levels, surface waters feed the ground water. Intensive capturing of surface waters combined with usually water level slope result in increased hydraulic gradient in relation to ground waters. Impacts of capturing of water above renewable limits may appear after prolonged periods of utilisation and may result in lowering of ground water levels on wider area. In coastal areas lowered levels of ground waters may cause intrusion of salt water. Continuous lowering of ground waters, along with changes in water balance, may have effect on other economic activities and water customers. Such changes have significant impact on sensitive ecosystems, firstly on low-lying forests and wetlands. One of the solutions for ensuring supply of sufficient quantities of water for irrigation is construction of water reservoirs. Such structures are considered to be very sensitive hydro-technical undertakings, especially if they are reservoirs with large volume and area, which may have significant impacts on the environment including both positive and negative effects. With construction of reservoirs there is a change in landuse of area [3]. Land area is being turned over into water surface, which changes the fundamental biological structure. Furthermore transition from natural to controlled regime of waterway after construction of reservoir causes number of changes. One of them is reduction of sediment transport which is being accumulated and deposited within reservoir along with increased kinetic energy of water which affects river bed and banks downstream. Reservoirs have positive effects on regime of low and high water level periods and consequently on replenishing of ground water resources in the downstream area. Changes in hydrologic regime related to capture of water may increase concentration of water pollution and generally affect the good status of water quality. Areas exceptionally sensitive to changes in water balance are protected ecosystems whose subsistence is dependent on sufficient water quantities, water capture areas, waterways with decreasing characteristic water flow trends and coastal areas. The main feature of spatial distribution of surface and ground water resources in Republic of Croatia is heterogeneity conditioned by terrain, climatic and geology properties. Potential use of surface waters is based on large rivers with glacial water regime including Drava, Danube and Mura using multipurpose reservoirs. Other waterways in Croatia have pluvial regime, with dry periods occurring in the time of vegetation growth, which without construction of hydro-technical structures may not present reliable water source for irrigation. Ground water resources have to be utilised in Adriatic agricultural region, but considering the fact that their efficiency may be slightly lower due to karstic properties of terrain. Far more stable sources are renewable capacities of alluvial water aquifers in watersheds of Drava, Danube and

662 Sava. When dealing with ground waters it has to be emphasised that their definitive primary use is for drinking water supply. Other methods of water capture are also possible primarily including rain water although its contribution to the total water potential is small. Use of water from natural lakes is not recommended. Some of the lakes in Croatia are already under protection, and there is an incentive to protect all natural lakes in order to preserve values of their ecosystems. Significant limitations to intensification of agriculture also referring to irrigation are areas under protection with total area of 588,800 ha, out of which 560.500 ha is land area. Protected drinking water areas in the Republic of Croatia, amount to 19% of land areas, while regulations are limiting agricultural production within zones I and II of sanitary protection, with zones III and IV of sanitary protection having no limitations. Meanwhile on water protection areas there should be no priority development of irrigation projects, because of protection applied to water resources aimed at drinking water supply. But currently there are 2200 km2 of protected areas used for agricultural production, with different types and intensity of utilisation [7]. In the case that within protected areas, and in compliance with valid regulations, there is a justified plan for intensive use of land for agriculture and construction of irrigation system, it is required to complete the environmental impact assessment which will provide answers if the proposed technology of agriculture may have significant negative impacts on protected component of environment or on any other component of ecosystem. Possible protection measures may include: - controlled capture of surface water along with preservation of biological minimum and other requirements (water supply, inland navigation); - controlled capture of ground waters within renewable limits; - ensuring of biological minimum in waterways on which reservoir are built; - the preference is given to smaller reservoirs over bigger ones; - discharge of sediment from reservoirs for safeguarding equilibrium within waterway; - monitoring of ground water levels on wider area of undertaking; - monitoring of low water flow trends. 2.2 Impacts on Water Quality Water pollution is broad term but it is generally defined as reduction of quality due to introduction of impurities and potentially harmful substances. Agriculture is one of the largest non-point sources of water pollution which is generally hard to identify, measure and monitor. The irrigation is undertaking which impacts the changes in water regime of soil, and consequently on transport of potentially harmful substances to the surface and ground waters. Plant manure, residuals of pesticides and other components of agricultural chemicals in natural and irrigated conditions with changed water balance are subject to flushing from soil and as such they represent pollution threat to water resources. The speed and intensity of pollution transport from soil depends on number of factors related to hydrogeological and pedologic characteristics of the area. In this regard the especially sensitive are karst and alluvial areas with relatively thin topsoil layer.

663 According to the general categorisation of waters in Republic of Croatia, all water sources used for irrigation ground waters, open waterways, natural lakes and reservoirs potentially meet the quality requirements for irrigation. Deviations occur only rarely and on some specific sites. Possible protection measures include: - adjustment of existing regulations to international standards, or regulation of issues which are not so far covered by the laws [1]; - setting up of monitoring system especially in case where irrigation is present; - setting up of efficient supervision system.

3 Impacts on Environment
Changes in landuse of area and changes within ecosystems for purposes of agricultural production, along with application of irrigation, have direct impacts on biosphere. Transition of non-fertile land with specific ecosystems developed (wetland, forest and meadow ecosystems with great biological diversity), which was common practice not so long ago is now forbidden and not practised any more. Secondary or indirect impacts on biosphere as a consequence of irrigation may appear with significant reduction of ground water levels which impairs biological conditions within ecosystem. According to the Law on environmental protection (OG 82/94) the main aims of environmental protection are permanent preservation of biological diversity of natural communities and preservation of ecological stability, followed by preservation of quality of living and non-living environment and rational use of natural resources, preservation and regeneration of cultural and aesthetic values of landscape and improvement of environmental state and safeguarding better living conditions [2].

4 Case Study of Irrigation in Baranja

In Croatia the systematic application of irrigation has just begun, so has the monitoring of its impacts on the environment. The same case is with the small scale systems on smaller portions of land which do not produce significant environmental impacts. Using example of irrigation on Baranya watershed area the abovementioned statements may be easily proved. Subject area is interesting due to its vicinity to Nature Park Kopacki Rit which may be very sensitive to excessive introduction of nutrients since it would intensify the existing processes of eutrophication, and also affect the biosphere of exceptional values. Irrigated areas are located within watershed of channel Barbara upstream from Old Drava river channel. Old Drava flows towards Kopaevo where it connects to the Lake Sakadas , a part of the Nature Park Kopaki Rit, through constructed sluice gate. On Old Drava and Sakadas lake there is continuous water quality monitoring, and also there is ground water monitoring station in vicinity (Fig. 1). There were two aspects of the problem considered spatial and temporal. Spatial aspect of impacts of irrigation on water has the aim to identify transport of pollutants through open waterways. Temporal aspect has the aim to identify if there is any

664 significant introduction of nitrates and nitrogen after the setting up of irrigation system (2007-2008) in comparison to the period before irrigation. The third aspect of the issue is related to the pollution of ground waters.

Fig. 1. Scheme of case study area

Out of all monitored parameters, nitrogen and phosphorus have been used since other parameters did not prove to be valuable. Concentrations of total nitrogen during irrigation show the spatial reduction (Fig. 2), which means that the vegetation in open channel network absorbs the part of the nitrogen content and water comes to Kopaki Rit area with reduced nitrogen amounts (approx. 1mg/l).
4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0

TOTAL N (mg/l)

JUNE2007

JUNE2008

OCT2007

SEPT2007

JULY2007

MONTHS
STARA DRAVA KOPAEVO SAKADA AVERAGE-STARA DRAVA AVERAGE-KOPAEVO AVERAGE-SAKADA

Fig. 2. Changes in concentration of total nitrogen

JULY2008

SEPT2008

AUG2007

AUG2008

OCT2008

665 The similar situation is with total phosphorus concentration (Figure 3). It comes to the soil profile due to the mineral fertilizers and by soil erosion to the surface water. In this specific case, on the last observation point (Sakada Lake), the average concentration higher than on Kopaevo observation point.
0,3

TOTAL P (mg/l)

0,25 0,2 0,15 0,1 0,05 JUNE2007 JUNE2008 SEPT2007 SEPT2008 OCT2007 AUG2007 JULY2007 JULY2008 AUG2008 OCT2008 0

MONTHS
STARA DRAVA KOPAEVO SAKADA AVERAGE-STARA DRAVA AVERAGE-KOPAEVO AVERAGE-SAKADA

Fig. 3. Changes in concentration of total phosphorus

The second analysis of the surface water pollution treated pollution of surface water before implementation of irrigation and after that. The concentrations of total nitrogen observed on the location nearest to the irrigated field (Stara Drava) were less then before irrigation, what was very surprising (Fig.4).
4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 0,500 0,000
JULY2000

TOTAL N(mg/l)

JUNE2008

SEPT2000

SEPT2002

SEPT2003

SEPT2007

AUG2001

JULY2002

JULY2003

MONTHS
STARA DRAVA(2000-2003) AVERAGE (2000-2003) STARA DRAVA (2007-2008) AVERAGE (2007-2008)

Fig. 4. Total nitrogen concentration before and after irrigation impementation

JULY2007

AUG2008

OCT2008

666 Finally, the pollution of subsurface water was analyzed. On the observation point nearest to the irrigated fields, during 2007 and 2008, all parameters were in the category of excellent quality with no any limitations in water consumption.

5 Conclusions
Besides the numerous potential negative side effects of irrigation described in literature and tested on the irrigated fields all over the world, the example described in this paper did not show any of them. It doesn't mean that observation of surface and subsurface water is not necessary, especially due to the fact that very valuable Nature Park takes place in the neighborhood of the irrigated agricultural land. It is only beginning of irrigation in this specific location and in the next few years it can be expected that irrigation will continue to development and side effects of irrigation could be more serious and significant.

References
1. Ayers, R.S.,Westcot, D.W.: Water Quality for Agriculture, FAO Publication 29, Rome (1985) 2. Tadi, L.: Analysis of Indicators Relevant for the Sustainable Water Management on the Karaica-Vuica catchment Area,(2001) Osijek 3. Tadi, L., Marui, J., Tadi, Z.: Sustainable Development of Land Management in Croatia, 19th Regional Conference of International Commision on Irrigation and Drainage,Brno-Prag (2001) 4. Tadi, L, Tadi,Z..: An Example of Water management in Croatia,3rd Conference on River Basin Management, 111-119,Bologna Italy (2005) 5. Tadi,L.,Bai,F.:Utjecaji hidromelioracijskog sustava navodnjavanja na okoli, Zbornik radova HAZU, Zagreb, 23. sijenja 2007, str.173-190 6. De Wrachien,D.:Irrigation and Drainage: Trends and Challenges for the 21st Century, Proceedings on 19th regional ICID Conference (CD) , Brno,2001. 7. *** Nacionalni projekt navodnjavanja i gospodarenja poljoprivrednim zemljitem i vodama (2005)