Yao et al. (2026) Long-Term Conjunctive Water Management for Agriculture with Groundwater Salinity

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-16
• Authors: Yiqing Yao, J. R. Lund, L. R. Levers
• DOI: 10.1061/jidedh.ireng-10727

Research Groups

• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
• Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis

Short Summary

This study employs a novel hydro-economic optimization framework to analyze century-scale water and crop management for a salinizing aquifer in California's western San Joaquin Valley. The results show that groundwater management with accumulating salinity requires fundamentally different strategies than freshwater aquifers.

Objective

• Investigate the impact of aquifer salinization on groundwater management and irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions, such as California's western San Joaquin Valley.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional scale (western San Joaquin Valley, California)
• Temporal Scale: Century-scale

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Decadal stochastic quadratic optimization model within a 10-stage dynamic program
• Data sources: Historical climate data, groundwater level observations, crop yield records

Main Results

• Groundwater management with accumulating salinity requires reduced net extraction and earlier aquifer recharge to slow salinity accumulation.
• Strategic reduction of early perennial crop acreage is an optimal strategy for salinity suppression.
• Higher initial salinity (1,500 mg/L) can greatly reduce long-term regional economic value compared to lower salinity (500 mg/L).

Contributions

• Provides a strategic and quantitative approach for managing the irreversible degradation of groundwater resources in semi-arid regions.
• Highlights the importance of considering aquifer salinization in water management decisions.

Funding

• This research was supported by the University of California, Berkeley's Water-Energy Nexus Research Initiative (WENRI) and the National Science Foundation's Decision, Risk and Management Sciences program (award number XXXXXXX).

Citation

@article{Yao2026LongTerm,
  author = {Yao, Yiqing and Lund, J. R. and Levers, L. R.},
  title = {Long-Term Conjunctive Water Management for Agriculture with Groundwater Salinity},
  journal = {Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1061/jidedh.ireng-10727},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1061/jidedh.ireng-10727}
}