Groundwater and reservoirs Interaction in its Use for Irrigation, Case: Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia
Suhardi(a*), Budi I. Setiawan (b), Ahmad Munir (a), Muh. Tahir Sapsal (a)

a) Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia
* suhardi[at]unhas.ac.id
b) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia

Abstract

Use of ground water for irrigation in Wajo Regency has been going on since the 2000s. The use of groundwater has the potential to cause high production costs which can reduce farmers income. The Government of Wajo Regency provided a solution to this problem through the reservoir development program. However, the impact of construction of reservoirs to environmental conservation is not yet known. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research that aims to determine the effect of reservoirs to fulfill of plant water needs and their effects to environment. The study was conducted by direct measurement in the field of the observed variables. Some data are obtained interactively using sensors such as rainfall, groundwater level changes, surface water levels, and evaporation data. Data were analyzed using the water balance approach. The results showed that the construction of reservoirs to meet the water needs of plants can reduce the radius of the influence of groundwater extraction for irrigation which has so far reached 50-100 meters, as well as reducing the decrease in groundwater level during pumping which originally reached more than 5 m.

Keywords: Groundwater- Reservoir- Irrigation- Water balance

Topic: Smart Farming and Agricultural Engineering