River GeoDSS for Agroenvironmental Enhancement of Colorado’s Lower Arkansas River Basin. I: Model Development and Calibration
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 136, Issue 2
Abstract
The Lower Arkansas River (LAR) Basin in Colorado, like many intensively irrigated river basins in the Western United States, faces a variety of problems associated with inefficient irrigation, seepage from earthen canals, and inadequate drainage facilities. Upward flows from high water tables have salinized and waterlogged agricultural soils of the Valley, contributing to reduced crop yields and nonbeneficial water consumption on adjacent uncultivated lands. River water quality has also suffered since intensive irrigation of alluvial soils results in evaporative concentration and the accelerated dissolution of inherent salts and other mineral pollutants into the underlying aquifer, appearing as return flows that threaten the ecological health of the river. A geographic information system-based river basin decision-support system (River GeoDSS) has been developed and applied to the LAR Basin for assessing basinwide strategies for improving agricultural productivity, salvaging water from nonbeneficial consumptive use, and reducing solute concentrations while maintaining compliance with decreed water rights and the Arkansas River Compact between Colorado and Kansas. Development and calibration of River GeoDSS, based on extensive field data collection programs in the LAR Basin, is described herein, with a companion paper detailing its application to evaluation of a wide range of agroenvironmentally focused water management strategies.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the financial support and cooperation provided by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, the Colorado Water Institute, the USDA, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the USGS. Also, the valuable cooperative assistance of more than 120 Arkansas River Valley landowners, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Division 2 Office of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, the Pueblo Subdistrict Office of the USGS, and the USDA Farm Services Agency are highly appreciated. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the writers and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. government.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 136 • Issue 2 • March 2010
Pages: 177 - 189
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 2, 2008
Accepted: Feb 17, 2009
Published online: Mar 27, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2010
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