Abstract
Traditional irrigation systems of northern New Mexico are limited by river flow, and thus water scarcity due to drought and population growth menaces their permanence. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between river flow and ditch flow in an agricultural valley of this region to better manage these ancient systems. Daily flow records for the March–November 2010–2015 periods were analyzed. Positive moderate-to-strong associations were identified with Pearson correlation coefficients. Statistical evidence at a 5% significance level was found in the overall relationships using a model-based approach accounting for serial autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity. The overall change in flow from the main ditches to every unit increase in river flow ranged from 0.0561 to 0.1397. Covariance analysis indicates that ditch flow at a given point in time is best understood as a function of current river flow and recent-past river-ditch flow. Observations indicated dynamic irrigation management in this valley subject to water availability. The findings can be used to develop water management strategies to best use the limited water resources feeding these systems.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the staff of the Alcalde Sustainable Agriculture Science Center and the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) for their invaluable assistance. Also, we thank the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), México, and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), México, for their support of this research effort. This study was partially funded by National Science Foundation Grant No. 1010516, Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems, New Mexico EPSCor RII: Energize New Mexico Grant No. GR0004265, and the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station and Hatch funds from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 11 • November 2018
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jan 26, 2017
Accepted: May 11, 2018
Published online: Aug 24, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 24, 2019
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