IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i11p4370-d363326.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interactions between Irrigated Agriculture and Surface Water Quality with a Focus on Phosphate and Nitrate in the Middle Olifants Catchment, South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Leushantha Mudaly

    (Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, P. Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa)

  • Michael van der Laan

    (Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, P. Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa)

Abstract

Little is understood on the interaction between irrigated agriculture and surface water quality in South African catchments. A case study was conducted on the Middle Olifants Catchment, which contains the second largest irrigation scheme in South Africa. Dams, rivers, irrigation canals, and drainage canals were sampled between the Loskop and Flag Boshielo Dams. Results were compared to historical water quality monitoring data from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). While DWS data indicate that phosphate-phosphorus (PO 4 -P) does not pose a eutrophication risk, our monitored data were above the eutrophication threshold for the majority of the sampling period. In general, phosphorus (P) pollution is a bigger issue than nitrogen (N), and concentrations of these nutrients tend to be higher during the summer rainfall months, potentially indicating a link to agriculture and fertilization events. We estimated that waste water treatment works (WWTW), which are currently systematically failing in South Africa, have the potential to pollute as much P as irrigated agriculture. Electrical conductivity levels increased downstream, moving from the acceptable towards the tolerable category, while the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) presents a moderate risk of infiltrability problems. The pH values were generally in the ideal range. This study has highlighted existing and looming water quality issues for irrigation and the environment in the Middle Olifants. Similar scoping studies are recommended for other intensively-irrigated catchments in the region to identify issues and allow timely intervention.

Suggested Citation

  • Leushantha Mudaly & Michael van der Laan, 2020. "Interactions between Irrigated Agriculture and Surface Water Quality with a Focus on Phosphate and Nitrate in the Middle Olifants Catchment, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-25, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4370-:d:363326
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4370/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4370/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oster, J. D., 1994. "Irrigation with poor quality water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 271-297, July.
    2. Won, Gayeon & Kline, Terence R. & LeJeune, Jeffrey T., 2013. "Spatial-temporal variations of microbial water quality in surface reservoirs and canals used for irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 73-78.
    3. Brainwood, M. A. & Burgin, S. & Maheshwari, B., 2004. "Temporal variations in water quality of farm dams: impacts of land use and water sources," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 151-175, November.
    4. Paul J. A. Withers & Colin Neal & Helen P. Jarvie & Donnacha G. Doody, 2014. "Agriculture and Eutrophication: Where Do We Go from Here?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-23, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fridrich, Beata & Krčmar, Dejan & Dalmacija, Božo & Molnar, Jelena & Pešić, Vesna & Kragulj, Marijana & Varga, Nataša, 2014. "Impact of wastewater from pig farm lagoons on the quality of local groundwater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 40-53.
    2. Ghiberto, P.J. & Pilatti, M.A. & Imhoff, S. & de Orellana, J.A., 2007. "Hydraulic conductivity of Molisolls irrigated with sodic-bicarbonated waters in Santa Fe (Argentine)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 192-200, March.
    3. Singh, R.B. & Chauhan, C.P.S. & Minhas, P.S., 2009. "Water production functions of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) irrigated with saline and alkali waters using double-line source sprinkler system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 736-744, May.
    4. Ming Tang & Huchang Liao & Zhengjun Wan & Enrique Herrera-Viedma & Marc A. Rosen, 2018. "Ten Years of Sustainability (2009 to 2018): A Bibliometric Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Li Li & Qidi Yu & Ling Gao & Bin Yu & Zhipeng Lu, 2021. "The Effect of Urban Land-Use Change on Runoff Water Quality: A Case Study in Hangzhou City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.
    6. Alessandro Abbà & Marta Domini & Marco Baldi & Roberta Pedrazzani & Giorgio Bertanza, 2023. "Ammonia Recovery from Livestock Manure Digestate through an Air-Bubble Stripping Reactor: Evaluation of Performance and Energy Balance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-15, February.
    7. Li, Dan & Wan, Shuqin & Li, Xiaobin & Kang, Yaohu & Han, Xiaoyu, 2022. "Effect of water-salt regulation drip irrigation with saline water on tomato quality in an arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    8. Chen, Ming & Kang, Yaohu & Wan, Shuqin & Liu, Shi-ping, 2009. "Drip irrigation with saline water for oleic sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(12), pages 1766-1772, December.
    9. Juan G. Loaiza & Jesús Gabriel Rangel-Peraza & Antonio Jesús Sanhouse-García & Sergio Alberto Monjardín-Armenta & Zuriel Dathan Mora-Félix & Yaneth A. Bustos-Terrones, 2021. "Assessment of Water Quality in A Tropical Reservoir in Mexico: Seasonal, Spatial and Multivariable Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Laima Česonienė & Daiva Šileikienė & Vitas Marozas & Laura Čiteikė, 2021. "Influence of Anthropogenic Loads on Surface Water Status: A Case Study in Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    11. Paweł Tomczyk & Mirosław Wiatkowski, 2021. "The Effects of Hydropower Plants on the Physicochemical Parameters of the Bystrzyca River in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-29, April.
    12. Momtahina Hasnat & Mohammad Ashraful Alam & Mariam Khanam & Bushra Islam Binte & Mohammad Humayun Kabir & Mohammad Saiful Alam & Mohammed Zia Uddin Kamal & Golum Kibria Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman & Mo, 2022. "Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Biochar on Organic Matter Mineralization and Carbon Accretion in Soil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-12, March.
    13. Tedeschi, A. & Lavini, A. & Riccardi, M. & Pulvento, C. & d'Andria, R., 2011. "Melon crops (Cucumis melo L., cv. Tendral) grown in a mediterranean environment under saline-sodic conditions: Part I. Yield and quality," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(9), pages 1329-1338, July.
    14. Ahmed, B.A. Ould & Yamamoto, T. & Rasiah, V. & Inoue, M. & Anyoji, H., 2007. "The impact of saline water irrigation management options in a dune sand on available soil water and its salinity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 63-72, March.
    15. Maestre-Valero, J.F. & Martínez-Alvarez, V., 2010. "Effects of drip irrigation systems on the recovery of dissolved oxygen from hypoxic water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(11), pages 1806-1812, November.
    16. Mandla Dlamini & George Chirima & Nebo Jovanovic & Elhadi Adam, 2021. "Assessing the Effects of Land Use on Surface Water Quality in the Lower uMfolozi Floodplain System, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-18, January.
    17. Parfait K. Kouamé & Kouassi Dongo & Hung Nguyen-Viet & Christian Zurbrügg & Christoph Lüthi & Jan Hattendorf & Jürg Utzinger & Jean Biémi & Bassirou Bonfoh, 2014. "Ecohealth Approach to Urban Waste Management: Exposure to Environmental Pollutants and Health Risks in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Cucci, Giovanna & Lacolla, Giovanni & Boari, Francesca & Mastro, Mario Alberto & Cantore, Vito, 2019. "Effect of water salinity and irrigation regime on maize (Zea mays L.) cultivated on clay loam soil and irrigated by furrow in Southern Italy," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 118-124.
    19. Batchelor, Charles, 1999. "Improving water use efficiency as part of integrated catchment management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(2-3), pages 249-263, May.
    20. Seidu, Razak & Drechsel, Pay, 2011. "Analyse cout-efficacite des interventions pour reduire les maladies diarrheiques chez les consommateurs de laitues irriguees avec des eaux usees au Ghana. In French," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4370-:d:363326. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.