FLOODWATER HARVESTING FOR ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE AND SPATE IRRIGATION IN ARID AREA Artificiell grundvattenbildning och översvämningsbevattning med flodvatten i ett aridt område

Utilizing passive floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge and spate irrigation in arid and semiarid areas is an opportunity to use marginal water to improve the livelihood of rural community. In the present study, groundwater modeling to estimate recharge, and field experiments for spate irrigation of barley, were carried out to investigate the performance and potential of water harvesting system to increase water availability and agricultural production in arid Iran. The estimated recharge for the years between 1993 and 2007 varied from a few hundred thousand m 3 per month during drought periods to about 4.5 million m 3 per month during rainy periods. The experimental results of spate irrigated barley showed 2.5-fold increase in yield for the cultivated barley inside the floodwater harvesting system in compare to the cultivated plot outside the system.