Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2008MS72B

A Continuation of Climatological and Cultural Influences on Annual Groundwater Decline in the Mississippi Delta Shallow Alluvial Aquifer: Modeling Potential Solutions (Year Two)

Institute: Mississippi
Year Established: 2008 Start Date: 2008-03-01 End Date: 2009-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $18,304 Total Non-Federal Funds: $70,504

Principal Investigators: Charles Wax, Joseph Massey, Jonathan Pote

Abstract: The shallow alluvial aquifer in the Mississippi Delta region is heavily used for irrigation of corn, soybeans, and cotton, as well as for rice flooding and filling aquaculture ponds in the prominent catfish industry. Water volume in the aquifer is subject to seasonal declines and annual fluctuations caused by both climatological and crop water use variations from year-to-year. The most recently documented water level decline in the aquifer is estimated at 500,000 acre-feet. This may represent a worst-case situation in which severe drought combined with consequent increased demand for irrigation. Additionally, the region was impacted by historic drought again during the growing season of 2007, and impacts to the aquifer have not yet been quantified. WRRI-sponsored research in 2007 resulted in a model that can simulate the effects of climatological variability, crop acreage changes, and specific irrigation methods on consequent variations in the water volume in the aquifer. That research also resulted in suggested changes in cultural practices that, when simulated over a 45-year period into the future, showed a decrease in the consistent drop in water volume in the aquifer. The objective of this continuation of the research project is to continue development and refinement of the model by using 2007 climatological and water use data to validate the model results, and to then use the model to test and recommend specific management strategies aimed at stabilizing the drawdown in aquifer water volume. The resulting spreadsheet simulation model will be a tool that can be easily used to reflect climatic variability and changes in the cultural practices in the region, and one that can be easily modified as new information becomes availablea tool that will be useful in making management decisions that will allow sustainable use of the groundwater resource.