Abstract
Clinoptilolite zeolite (CZ) is being considered as a wicking material for revegetation of riparian regions in arid environments where depth to groundwater is less than 3 m. Simulation of water fluxes and water contents in boreholes filled with CZ and in situ unamended riparian soil (RS) for the purpose of riparian revegetation was modeled using Hydrus-1D and compared to water content measurements. A review of the literature shows that Hydrus-1D model has never been used for the simulation of water fluxes in CZ. Water content, depth to groundwater, and climate data collected in 2012 and 2013 during a field experiment in the Rio Grande flood plain, New Mexico, were used to calibrate and validate the Hydrus-1D model. Predicted borehole water content agreed well with measurements taken at 15, 30, and 90 cm depths when the groundwater levels were nearly stable (coefficient of determination of 0.83 and root-mean square error (RMSE) of for CZ; and for RS). Results show that Darcian nodal velocities slowed down () within the top 60 cm of the CZ profile therefore limiting evaporation losses. However, this phenomenon can be a disadvantage for growing shallow-rooted plants.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt) award no. EEC-1028968 for partially supporting this study, and the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) for a fellowship awarded to A. R. Piñón-Villarreal to realize his Ph.D. studies at New Mexico State University. Acknowledgment extends to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, especially Brent Tanzy from the Elephant Butte Field Division Office, New Mexico for their support and collaboration in the experiment, to the NRCS-Sierra Soil and Water Conservation District, especially to Merry Jo Fahl, Terry Miller, and Bill Sallee for their help with drilling equipment, the St. Cloud Mining at Winston, New Mexico, especially Mr. Joseph McEnaney for donating the CZ mineral used in the experiment and the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, especially Gary Eslinger and Zack Libbin for their support and contribution to this project. Special thanks to Juan Solis for his enormous contribution to the field portion of the investigation.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 11 • November 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 10, 2017
Accepted: May 15, 2017
Published online: Sep 7, 2017
Published in print: Nov 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2018
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Boring
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Drilling
- Ecosystems
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Groundwater
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic properties
- Hydrology
- Minerals
- Models (by type)
- Pore water
- Riparian water
- Simulation models
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Vegetation
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water content
- Water management
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