Agricultural drainage water characterization to determine the desalination possibilities for irrigation in a semi-arid environment

Abstract

Agriculture drainage water (ADW) can be desalinized and could provide water resources for irrigation. The major concern is the excess of soluble salts in ADW. In this sense, it is possible to use reverse osmosis (RO) system plants to reduce salinity and provide irrigation water of high quality. Several parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids, etc., should be taken into consideration before planning the installation of a reverse osmosis system. In this study, the water quality of an ancient drainage system of the SE of Spain was evaluated. The final results are directly applicable to help decision-makers and engineers to take an adequate decision, in order to select which of the drainage canals is the best option to produce desalinized water at low cost.