New Irrigation Research

Scientists at Agricultural Research Service, the research arm of the Department of Agriculture, have discovered that pumping water back through the same buried pipes used to drain wet fields increases crop yields and cleans groundwater at the same time. Developed by Barry Allred and Norm Fausey of ARS in collaboration with Ohio State University, the Wetland Resevoir Subirrigation System (WRSIS) has three interconnected components: a wetland, a water storage reservoir, and a cropland area with an underground pipe system for drainage or subirrigation. Water at the test sites now flows through a wetland and is then stored for later irrigation use. The wetland traps solids and organic carbons and uses the nitrogen to fertilize its own vegetation, thus cleaning the drainage water and creating cover for thriving plants and wildlife. More importantly, the reused water sent crop yields up 40-48 percent during the drier growing seasons, reduced non-point source pollution and kept the water table constant. For more information go to: www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications