Module-22 Water logging and Seawater Intrusion

22.1 Water logging:

In agricultural land, when the soil pores within the root zone of the crops get saturate with the subsoil water, the air circulation within the soil pores gets totally stopped. This phenomenon is termed as water logging. The water logging makes the soil alkaline in character an the fertility of the land is totally destroyed and the yield of crop is reduced. Due to the heavy rainfall for a longer period or due to the continuous percolation of water from the canals, the water table gets raised near the surface of the soil. Thenm by capillary action the water rises to the root zone of crops and goes on saturating the soil. If this condition goes on for a longer period, the soil becomes alkaline and is damaging to the crops. The height to which the soil water rises above the water table by capillary action is known as Capillary fringe . !enerally, the height of capillary fringe varies from " m to ".# m. $hen the water table comes to ".# m below the surface of the soil, the land is said to be water logged. %gain, due to heavy rainfall and poor drainage system the water goes on collecting in low lying areas. This stagnant water makes the land marshy. The weeds and a&uatic plants gradually cover the whole area becomes unsuitable for cultivation. 22.2 CAUSES OF WATER O!!I"!: The following are the main causes of water logging' (") O#er Irrigation: In inundation irrigation since there is no controlling system of

water supply it may cause over irrigation. The e*cess water percolates and remains

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stored within the root zone of the corps. %gain, in perennial irrigation system if water is supplied more than what is re&uired. This e*cess water is responsible for the water logging. $2% See&age 'ro( Canals: In unlined canal system, the water percolates through the

bank of the canal and gets collected in the low lying areas along the course of the canal and thus the water table gets raised. This seepage is more in case of canal in banking. $)% Inade*uate Sur'a+e ,rainage' $hen the rainfall is heavy and there is no proper

provision for surface drainage the water gets collected and submerges vast area. $hen this condition continues for a long period, the water table is raised. $-% O.stru+tion in "atural Water Course: If the bridges or culverts are constructed

across a water course with the opening with insufficient discharge capacity, the upstream area gets flooded and this causes water logging. $/% O.stru+tion in Su.-soil ,rainage: If some impermeable stratum e*ists at a

lower depth below the ground surface, then the movement of the subsoil water gets obstructed and causes water logging in the area. $0% "ature o' Soil: The soil having low permeability, like black cotton soil, does not

allow the water to percolate through it. +o, in case of over irrigation or flood, the water retains in this type of land and causes water logging. $1% In+orre+t Met2od o' Culti#ation: If the agricultural land is not levelled

properly and there is no arrangement for the surplus water to flow out, then it will create pools of stagnent water leading to water logging. $3% See&age 'ro( Reser#oir: If the reservoir basin consists of permeable zones,

cracks and fissures which were not detected during the construction of dam, these may cause seepage of water. This sub,soil water will move towards the low,lying areas and

cause water logging. $4% .oor Irrigation /anagement' If the main canal is kept open for a long period

unnecessarily without computing the total water re&uirement of the crops, then this leads to over irrigation which shall result in water logging. $15% 0*cessive 1ainfall' If the rainfall is e*cessive and the water gets no time to get

drained off completely. Then a pool of stagnant water is formed which might lead to water logging. $11% Topography of the 2and' If the agricultural land is flat, i.e, with no country slope

and consists of depressions or undulations, then this leads to water logging. $12% 3ccasional 4lood' If an area affected by flood every year and there is no proper

drainage system, the water table gets raised and this causes water logging. 22.) EFFECTS OF WATER O!!I"!: The following are the effects of water logging' (") Salini6ation o' Soil: Due to water logging the dissolved salts like sodium carbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulphate come to the surface of the soil. $hen the water evaporates from the surface, the salts are deposited there. This process is known as salinization of soil. 0*cessive concentration of salt makes the land alkaline. It does not allow he plants to thrive and thus the yield of crop is reduced. This process is also known as salt efflorescence. (-) a+7 o' Aeration: The crops re&uire some nutrients for their growth which are supplied by some bacteria or micro,organisms by breaking the comple* nitrogenous compounds into simple compounds which are consumed by the plants for their growth. 5ut the bacteria re&uire o*ygen for their life and activity. $hen the aeration

in the soil is stopped by water logging, these bacteria cannot survive without o*ygen and the fertility of the land is lost which results in reduction of yield. (6) Fall o' Soil Te(&erature: Due to water logging the soil temperature is lowered. %t low temperature of the soil the activity of the bacteria becomes very slow and conse&uently the plants do not get the re&uisite amount of food in time. Thus, growth of the plants is hampered and the yield also is reduced. (7) !rowt2 o' Weeds and A*uati+ 8lants: Due to water logging, the agricultural land is converted to marshy land and the weeds and a&uatic plants are grown in plenty. These plants consume the soil foods in advance and thus the crops are destroyed. (#) ,iseases o' Cro&s', Due to low temperature and poor aeration, the crops get some diseases which may destroy the crops or reduce the yield. (8) ,i''i+ult9 in Culti#ation', In water logged area it is very difficult to carry out the operation of cultivation such as tilting, ploughings, etc. (9) Restri+tion o' Root !rowt2', $hen the water table rises near to root zone the soil gets saturated. The growth of the roots is confined only to the top layer of the soil. +o, the crops cannot be matured properly and the yield is reduced. 22.- CO"TRO OF WATER O!!I"! $I.E. A"TI WATER O!!I"! MEASURES%: (") 8re#ention o' 8er+olation 'ro( Canals' The irrigation canals should be lined with impervious lining to prevent the percolation of water through the bed and banks of the canals. Thus the water logging may be prevented. Intercepting drains may be provided along the course of the irrigation canals in places where the percolation of water is detected. The percolating water is intercepted by the drains and the water is carried to other natural water course. (-) 8re#ention o' &er+olation 'ro( Reser#oirs:- During the construction of dam, the geological survey should be conducted on the reservoir basin to detect the zone of permeable functions through which water may percolate. These zones should be treated properly to prevent the seepage. If afterwards it is found that there is still

leakage of water through some zone, then sheet piling should be done to prevent the leakage. (6) Control o' Intensit9 o' Irrigation: the intensity of irrigation may cause water logging so, it should be controlled in a planned way so that there is no possibility of water logging in a particular area. (7) E+ono(i+al Use o' Water: If the water is used economically, then it may control the water logging and the yield of crops may be high. +o, special training is re&uired to be given the cultivators to realize the benefits of economical use of water. It helps them to get more crops by eliminating the possibility of water logging. (#) Fi:ing o' Cro& &attern: +oil survey should be conducted to fi* the crop pattern. The crops having high rate of evapotranspiration should be recommended for the area susceptible to water logging. (8) .ro#iding ,rainage s9ste(: +uitable drainage system should be provided in the low lying areas so that the rain water does not stand for long days. % network of sub, surface drains is provided which are connected to the surface drains. The surface drains discharge the water to the river of any water course. (9) I(&ro#e(ent o' "atural ,rainage: +ometimes, the natural drainage may be completely silted up or obstructed by weeds, a&uatic plants, etc. The affected section of the drainage should be improved by e*cavating and clearing the obstructions. (:) 8u(&ing o' !round water: % number of open wells or tube wells are constructed in the water logged area and the ground water is pumped out until the water table goes down to a safe level. The lifted ground water may be utilized for irrigation or may be discharged to the river or any water course. (;) Constru+tion o' Su(& well: +ump wells may be constructed within the water logged area and they help to collect the surface water. The water from the sump wells may be pumped to the irrigable lands or may be discharged to any river.

22.- Seawater intrusion

+ea water intrusion is the movement of sea water into fresh water a&uifers due to natural process or human activities. +ea water intrusion caused by decrease in the ground water levels or by rises in the sea water levels. $hen you pump out the fresh water rapidly, you lower the height of fresh water rapidly< you lower the height of the freshwater in the a&uifer forming a cone of depression. In coastal a&uifers, sea water originates from two primary sources ") Connate water -) +ea water Connate water is the water remaining in the rock formation from the time of deposition. +ea water most often occurs in a&uifers, by entrance through submarine outcrops. Intrusion is the increase of salinity in an a&uifer resulting from the acts of man. The most common cause is localized over pumping of wells, penetrating coastal a&uifers. +ea water intrusion is common in coastal areas, especially in over populated towns. In the land hydraulic system, when the fresh ground water is withdrawn by pumping wells at a faster rate than it replenished, a drawdown of the water table occurs with resulting decrease in the overall hydrostatic pressure. =nder natural conditions, the seaward movement of freshwater prevents saltwater from encroaching coastal a&uifers, and the interface between freshwater and saltwater is maintained near the coast or far below land surface. This interface is actually a diffuse zone in which freshwater and saltwater mi*, and is referred to as the zone of dispersion (or transition zone) !round,water pumping can reduce freshwater flow toward coastal discharge areas and cause saltwater to be drawn toward the freshwater zones of the a&uifer. +altwater intrusion decreases freshwater storage in the a&uifers, and, in e*treme cases, can result in the abandonment of supply wells. +altwater intrusion occurs by many mechanisms, including lateral encroachment from coastal waters and vertical up coning near discharging wells. 4reshwater and saltwater mi* in the zone of dispersion by the processes of diffusion and mechanical dispersion. % circulation of saltwater from the sea to the zone of dispersion and then back to the sea is induced by mi*ing within this zone. 8

!round-water 'low &atterns and t2e 6one o' dis&ersion in an ideali6ed; 2o(ogeneous +oastal a*ui'er.

Causes o' sea water intrusion'

+ea water intrusion is generally caused by > > > 2ocalized over pumping from the wells 5oreholes and Infiltration galleries It is a manmade problem caused by e*cessive drainage of low,lying coastal areas or, in some cases the over pumping of fresh ground water from a&uifers that are in hydraulic connection with an e*tensive salt water body, such as a sea, or a salt lake or an ocean. The destruction of natural barriers, that separate fresh and salt water (e.g.' construction of salt water canals), which would enable salt water to advance inland and percolate into fresh water a&uifer. Commercial and urban development of recharge areas, which reduces the permeable land surface. 2owering the water tables by drainage canals lowered rates of ground,water recharge in sewered or urbanized areas, also could lead to saltwater intrusion, but the impact of such stresses on saltwater intrusion, at least currently likely is small in comparison to pumping and land drainage

+ea water intrusion depends on several factors. Climatic conditions %&uifer properties Changes in seaware natural flow Tidal effects ?uman activities such as discharge and recharge wells

Statisti+s:
%lmost two thirds of the world@s population lives within 7AA km (-#A miles) of the ocean shoreline< Bust over half live within -AA km ("-# miles), an area only taking up "AC of the earth@s surface. /ost of these coastal regions rely on groundwater as their main source of fresh water for drinking, industry, and agricultural purposes. %s the world@s population continues to grow at an alarming rate, fresh water supplies are constantly being depleted, bringing with it issues such as saltwater intrusion and increasing the importance of groundwater monitoring and management. +altwater intrusion is a maBor concern commonly found in coastal a&uifers around the world. +altwater intrusion is the induced flow of seawater into freshwater a&uifers caused by groundwater development near the coast. $here groundwater is being pumped from a&uifers that are in hydraulic connection with the sea, induced gradients may cause the migration of salt water from the sea toward a well. 4resh water is less dense than salt water, therefore it floats on top. The boundary between salt water and fresh water is not distinct, the transition zone or interface is brackish with salt water and fresh water mi*ing. The key to controlling saltwater intrusion is to maintain the proper balance between water being pumped from the a&uifer and the amount of water recharging it. Constant monitoring of the salt,water interface is necessary in determining the proper management techni&ue.

T2e !29.en-<er6.erg Relation:

!hyben, a Dutchman, and ?erzberg, a +wede, observed independently at the beginning of the DDth century that coastal wells often intercepted seawater at depth. /oreover, they observed that depth to seawater correlates very well with head. .ortions of the a&uifer may contain saltwater while other portions contain fresh water. 4reshwater is less dense, floats on top of the saltwater 1elationship based on density difference between saltwater and freshwater that can be used to estimate the depth to saltwater based on the thickness of the freshwater zone above sea level. The relationship is known as the !hyben,?erzberg relation In fact, this is easy to verify if one assumes a static saltwater wedge and a sharp fresh,

z F 7Ah
h
$eight of fresh water at %F f(hGz) hFconstant +ea z $eight of sea water at %F s z

%
+alt water

4resh water

seawater interface. +eawater (density around ".A-# kgE2) is -.#C heavier than freshwater. %s a result, freshwater will tend to float on top of seawater. The thickness of freshwater can be obtained e&ualizing the weights of freshwater on top of the interface and seawater on top of a point at the same elevation . The resulting de&t2 o' 'res2water .elow sea le#el is 'ort9 ti(es its 2ead (depth above sea level). This is known as the !hyben,?erzberg e&uation, which is the basis for most back of the envelope calculations on seawater penetration. $hile this e&uation is simplistic and yields only a rough appro*imation, it provides three basic principles'

Fres2 water (ust e:it t2e a*ui'er to &re#ent seawater intrusion . It is the e*cess in elevation of fresh water what pushes saltwater back. A distri.uted s(all drawdown is &re'era.le to a lo+alised large drawdown at e&ual pumping rate, provided the total pumping rate stays well below the total freshwater flu*. !hyben,?erzberg e&uation provides an empirical first appro*imation to the depth of seawater in natural (more or less static) coastal a&uifers The final form of the e&uation is

$here, Hf F 4resh water density Hs F +alt water density h Fwater level above sea level z F thickness of the fresh water below the sea level

EFFECTS OF SA T WATER I"TRUSIO"

+alt,water intrusion from rising sea levels will reduce the &uality and &uantity of freshwater supplies. This is a maBor concern, since billions of people already lack access to freshwater. Iegative ramifications on human activities such as, agriculture livestock commercial fishing operations

Intrusion caused by pumping may have severe impacts "A

> > > >

+alinisation of freshwater wells +alinisation of coastal lagoons, and springs +alinisation of soils through evaporation near the capillary fringe Death of deep root trees

En#iron(ental i(&a+ts asso+iated wit2 o#ere:&loitation in +oastal a*ui'ers

Coastal lagoon (ofen brackish)

+ea 4resh water +alt water =

4resh water

+ea +alt water +alt water

.reventive measures of sea water intrusion:

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1. Control t2e water .alan+e: +ome water always has to flow out to the sea to e&uilibrate the saltwater wedge, however, reducing the outflow facilitates intrusion. If one would take care to never draw down the freshwater heads below the e&uivalent freshwater head of the sea saltwater intrusion would be effectively stopped. This also re&uires distributing the drawdown, many small wells instead of a big one. Distribution of abstractions in space is only an option of the overall budget is still

Fresh water

Salt water

positive. 1educing freshwater outflow leads to an increase in saltwater penetration

2. 8er'or( seawater intrusion .arriers:

They are purported to prevent saltwater from flowing inland. They can be of several types' J J J J Iegative hydraulic barrier .ositive hydraulic barrier 2ow,k barrier /i*ed

Iegative hydraulic barrier'

They work by pumping at the shore, so as to intercept inflowing seawater. Therefore, they are easy to design and manage. In fact, a traditional way of (not) managing coastal

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a&uifers consists of pumping boreholes until they get salinised. $hile these wells are pumped, intrusion does not proceed further.

Inland pumping (protected)

4resh water 4resh water

+alt water

The (ain &ro.le( with these type of barriers is that wells end up pumping as much fresh water than salt water, thus contaminating freshwater resources. To reduce this effect, it is best to concentrate pumping at depth.

.ositive hydraulic barrier'

The increased use of groundwater has caused the salt,water interface. 1echarge wells, recharge basins and barrier wells have proven to be very useful in maintaining the proper e&uilibrium between pumping and groundwater recharge. Therefore, proper groundwater monitoring techni&ues and groundwater management, combined with groundwater conservation are needed to keep saltwater intrusion under control.

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In order to minimize mi*ing with resident water, it is best to recharge on the upper part of the a&uifer. In fact, if the a&uifer is unconfined and space is available, it may be optimal to recharge by means of ponds. /oreover, when inBection wells are used, the (ain &ro.le( with these barriers stems from clogging of the inBection wells, which re&uire careful design and maintenance. In any case, one should be aware that &ositi#e .arriers lose 'res2water to t2e sea.

/i*ed barriers'

4resh water inyection well

= = +alt water pumping well

4resh water

+alt water

The above types are relatively simplified. In general, mi*ed solutions (4igure "8) are probably best. They may consist of some of the following elements' InBect freshwater on top .ump saltwater from bottom The same can be done in one borehole with two pumps, where the lower pump abstracts saltwater and the upper pump freshwater. This method prevents the mi*ing of both types of water in the borehole. It has been used in the Ietherlands as well as in 1ussian mines. 2ow,k barrier in between

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