Optimal Drainage Design Under Iraqi Conditions Using DRAINMOD

Abstract

AbstractDRAINMOD is a field and watershed scale water management simulationmodel that has been used to design subsurface drainage systems and characterizedrainage and water table control practices in poorly drained soils.DRAINMOD is also used as a research tool to investigate the performance ofdrainage and sub irrigation systems and their effects on water use, crop response,land treatment of wastewater, and pollutants transport from agricultural fields.The model is based on a water balance in the profile to quantify hydrologiccomponents such as infiltration, subsurface drainage, surface runoff, deep andlateral seepage and evapotranspiration.The objective of this research is to examine the capability ofDRAINMOD to obtain an optimal drainage systems design for Iraqi conditionsusing the information of Dujailah project. This is done by obtaining the minimumdrain depth and maximum spacing that meet the criteria for water table control.The results obtained from DRAINMOD for the drainage systems design show agood agreement with those previously obtained for Dujailah project. ThereforeDRAINMOD is a suitable simulation model which can be used to simulate theperformance of drainage and water table control systems in Iraq.Keywords :DRAINMOD, optimal drainage design, drainage in Iraq