Comparative Analysis of on-Farm Reservoir Management Techniques and Their Effect on Filtering Requirements for Irrigation

This study identifies and quantifies the operational advantages of covering agricultural water reservoirs (AWRs) for irrigation by means of Suspended Shade Cloth Covers (SSCCs) in comparison with other traditional management practices: Casual Chemical Treatment (CCT) and Systematic Chemical Treatment (SCT). The operational advantages, including the cost-effectiveness, were analysed by carrying out filtering trials at ten sites in south-eastern Spain, where the effect of each technique on algae presence and filtering requirements for microirrigation was evaluated. The results evidenced that AWR management can significantly affect the quality of stored water, with SSCC being the most effective practice in controlling algae presence. Filtering trials corroborated the extraordinary performance of SSCCs since they presented much higher volumes of treated water until filter saturation, two and three orders of magnitude higher than the CCT and SCT management practices, respectively. This result would imply a total annual reduction in operational costs due to the SSCC installation ranging from 359.6 to 598.0 € y⁻¹ when comparing with the CCT, and of 403.2 € y⁻¹ in the case of SCT. Therefore the effect on filtering requirements is an essential consideration in the SSCCs cost-effectiveness assessment.