Author(s)

E. Niţescu, I. Moruz, C. Niţescu, E. Chiorescu & Şt. Popescu

Abstract

The opening and use of local sources of groundwater for irrigation offers important economic and social advantages. However, an extended use of groundwater is limited by the currently utilized technology for the tapping of these waters, which is very expensive. This paper shows a mathematical model and technological solution that allows the creation of local underground water accumulations at affordable prices for agricultural farms. Specifically for Romania is the fact that there is used mainly surface water (ca. 93% of the total consumption). With a few exceptions, the groundwater is used only for the water supply of some urban areas. Today in Romania the reasons that make it difficult to introduce irrigation in agricultural farms or mini-farms are: a) the lack of water (in farms located outside irrigated areas); b) a prohibitive price for water delivered to farms situated at the boundaries of large irrigation systems; c) costs generated by the huge transport distances of the water, by re-pumping and by water losses that sometimes exceed 40% of the volume carried via channel network. These considerations show evidently that, in order to deliver water to also farms located far away from surface-water sources, the only economic solution is the use of local groundwater resources. The primary data from field and/or lab studies have to be systematized and analysed on various categories: topographic, climatic, hydrologic, hydro-geologic, pedological, geological and chemical. Moreover, there have been set the basic work assumptions, all these leading to the construction of the conceptual and the mathematical models for underground reservoirs’ design. Taking into account the fact that in Romania such irrigation systems have not been built and the prices for conventional technologies are prohibitive, at least today, we propose a new technology, based on a Patent Ro 94257 Niţescu (Installation for the Execution of Vertical, Nonpermeable Screens, 1987). This technology has to be mainly focused on a reducing of the specific investment costs, because the lowering of costs becomes a crucial condition for a sustained development of agriculture. Keywords: groundwater, underground water accumulations, technological solution, conceptual and mathematical models, irrigation.

Keywords

groundwater, underground water accumulations, technological solution, conceptual and mathematical models, irrigation.