Improvement and reuse of water returned from agricultural irrigation in concrete coated channel with gabion technique

A study was conducted in 2022 in the Harran Plain of Şanlıurfa, focusing on the improvement and reuse of surface waters returned from agricultural irrigation through drainage channels. Monitoring and evaluation were carried out for a period of 117 days, revealing that the waters returned from agriculture were classified as Class II waters. It was concluded that these waters could be reused multiple times in agriculture. The use of the recycled waters in the cultivation of salt-tolerant cotton, which is extensively grown in the plain, and maize was found to be without any drawbacks. Water consumption calculations were made for the Harran Plain project compared to conventional furrow irrigation methods, but it was found that wild irrigation methods were employed instead of furrow and border irrigation. Consequently, it was observed that significant amounts of soil erosion occurred due to surface runoff. Based on anonymous information, it was accessed that approximately 500 million m3 of agricultural water and a significant amount of sediment leave the Harran Plain and Turkey annually. No measurements were conducted by our team. The total solid matter, suspended solid matter, and NTU values started to decrease relatively from the first week of June to the last week of September. The maximum and minimum values at the inlet and outlet of the Gabion system were as follows: for TSM, 974-144 mg/L and 733-40 mg/L respectively; for SSM, 733-40 mg/L and 226-41 mg/L respectively; for NTU turbidity, the range was 876-30 mg/L and 780-25 mg/L. The decreasing trend of all three parameter values towards the maturity period of the plant can be attributed to a decrease in macro porosity and compaction of the soils.