Applying MODFLOW Model for Drainage Problem Solution: A Case Study from Jahir Irrigated Fields, Israel
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 3
Abstract
High water table and soil salinization processes are common in irrigated fields in Israel. Subsurface drainage systems are a common technique to solve soil salinity problems. Subsurface drainage models can contribute to the efficiency of the drainage system as it can assist in the selection of the proper drainage system and its proper placement in the field. In this study we used the MODFLOW groundwater flow model to simulate groundwater levels in Jahir irrigated fields, the Jordan Valley, Israel. Using a three-layer groundwater flow model, the most efficient drainage system was found to be a combination of deep drains with relief wells and a pump placed in the area with soil salinity problem and upward hydraulic pressure. It was found that simulated drainage system can yield nearly of water per year. Given certain information, a spatially distributed groundwater flow model such as MODFLOW can provide more reliable information than different analytical solutions for planning of an effective subsurface drainage system.
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Acknowledgments
The writer would particularly like to thank Yoram Tur-Zion, the engineer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Israel, who prepared much of the model output data in the GIS system, and also to Moshe Gottesman and Efraim Fizik, the technicians of the Soil Erosion Research Station for their assistance in the field investigations.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 3 • June 2009
Pages: 269 - 278
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 21, 2008
Accepted: Sep 22, 2008
Published online: Jan 22, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2009
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