Irrigation and Drainage Strategies in Salinity‐Affected Regions

Abstract

A simulation model is developed which accounts for the major processes governing shallow saline water table behavior in salinity‐affected irrigated regions. Designed for feasibility stage project planning, the model may be used to develop economically optimal irrigation and drainage strategies for long‐term regional management. Incorporation of uncertainty due to regional‐scale physical parameter variability places the optimal management problem in a stochastic setting. An application to a system representative of conditions in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California reveals the merits of the model in providing decision makers with a set of alternative strategies for possible implementation in a regional project. This approach, as shown in the example application, allows system responses to be interpreted with notions of stability and risk.