Irrigation Management to Control Sediment Pollution

by John D. Hedlund, Soil Conservation Service, Portland, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Structures for Enhanced Safety and Physical Security

Abstract:

Unchecked serious irrigation erosion occurs on 20% or 10+ million irrigated acres in the U.S. It may cause water use impairment from sediment pollution. Serious erosion in many areas can be defined as 5 to 30 tons/acre/irrigation or 15 to 160 tons/acre/year. Factors which effect the rate of furrow and sprinkler erosion, transport, and sediment deposition are physical characteristics such as soil type; system installed such as sediment traps; irrigation management attributes such as proper stream size; and agronomic decisions such as crop residue use of conservation cropping sequence. Complete conservation management systems for irrigated farms which control both runoff and erosion, decrease sediment, pesticide, and nutrient pollution, sustain crop production, and protect animal and air resources are available to the farmer.

Subject Headings: Sediment | Erosion | Irrigation | Water pollution | Agriculture | Nutrient pollution | Irrigation systems

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