Climate Adaptive Drainage CAD Developments, experiences from 2010 to present, and application in Flanders ‘Smart Drainage Systems and Smart Management’ Scientific Knowledge Exchange Brussels (B) November 10,2022

1. ClimateAdaptive DrainageCAD
Developments, experiences from 2010 to present, and
application in Flanders
‘Smart Drainage Systems and Smart Management’
Scientific Knowledge Exchange
Brussels (B) November 10,2022
© Authors – all rights reserved
Gé van den Eertwegh KnowH2O
& Dion van Deijl
In close cooperation with Ruud Bartholomeus, Janine de Wit,
Marjolein van Huijgevoort, Sija Stofberg

2. Short personal introduction
• Born in 1966
• WUR-student Hydrology and Water Management (1984-1990)
• RWS-RIZA
• WUR-PhD student (1992-1997, finished in 2002)
• Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland – water board
• Waterschap Rivierenland – water board
• KWR
• FutureWater
• KnowH2O (2013-present)
• WUR-Professional Field Committee SoilWater Atmosphere – member
• ICID – secretaryWG-ENV (2005-2009)
• Colleagues Dion van Deijl and WilcoTerink

3. Controlled drainage (I)
Moving from ditch drainage to subsurface drainage, groundwater table control…
0,90 m
Conventioneel gedraineerd
1,00 m
1,10 m
0,60 - 0,90 m
Peilgestuurd
uitgangssituatie
Ongedraineerd
grondwaterstand
drains
grondwaterstand

4. Controlled drainage (II)
Towards composite controlled drainage, adding drainage control…
Conventionele drainage, samengesteld en peilgestuurd
Samengestelde, peilgestuurde drainage met extra drains
1,00 m
1,00 m
1,00 m
0,60 m
verzameldrain
0,60 m
drains
grondwaterstand
verzameldrain
1,00 m

5. Controlled drainage (III)
Climate Adaptive Drainage – CAD
Ready for the future! Out there in three Dutch field plots in 2011…
Sensoring – online & telemetry
Online management
Variable control
Remote control by two-way telemetry
All data en management handelingen digitally logged
Automatic management by field sensors and SWAP modelling
verzameldrain

6. ClimateAdaptive Drainage with subirrigation
Adding water supply…
Sources of fresh water:
- stored rainfall (reservoir)
- surface water
- treated waste water
- groundwater
verzameldrain

7. ClimateAdaptive Drainage with subirrigation – developments
2010 CAD design and construction
2012 CAD start of field experiments (3x)
2015 CAD with subirrigation: introduction
2017-present CAD with subirrigation
Water supply - solar pump - integration
Automated control including SWAP-model
Field experiments and modelling analyses
sKAD project in Flanders (ILVO)

8. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – projects
Sandy area
– Stegeren, America, Haaksbergen, Lieshout,Vinkel, Rijsbergen,
Marwijksoord, several other sites in Limburg province
Peat soils area
– Wilnis, Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden (Ø 80 mm+bio!)
https://www.blauwzaam.nl/projecten/blauwgroen/drukdrainage/doelen-en-resultaten/
Loam-clay area
- Mookhoek (HWODKA),AIKC RusthoeveColijnsplaat
Belgium sKAD project ILVO (starting Fall 2022)
Germany..? Switzerland..?
Field experiments and modelling analyses
* partners TKI KLIMAP
???

9. Effects of subirrigation on 2D groundwater flow pattern
Soil water and groundwater flow: Hydrus 2D code
200 m
15 m
45 m
5 m
Stegeren  groundwater recharge mapped
America  effects of ditch (left hand side) ánd subirrigation by drains

10. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – clay / loam soil (+salt)
AIKC Rusthoeve project 2020-2022 (three growing seasons)
• Controlled drainage, water retention, and subirrigation
• Field monitoring and crop dry matter production
• Model analysis: SWAP 1D and SUTRA 2D (fresh – salt water)
(note: density-driven flow)
• Regional suitability for application
• Report by early Spring 2023
Salinity control…

11. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – peat soil (+subsidence)
Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden project 2021-2023 (three growing seasons)
• Controlled drainage, water retention, and subirrigation
• Field monitoring and crop dry matter production, amongst others
• Vertical Soil Movement (VSM) sensor
• Report by end of 2023
Soil movement / soil subsidence control…

12. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – targets
Drainage – retention – water supply
Why – where – how to apply
• What are targets on plot level?
• What are effects on water balance?
• How do these local effects influence the regionale
scale water balance?
• Where and when to limit use and operation?
Discuss beforehand – tune amongst all water users – set
up operational agreements – cooperate with regional
water athourities!
And evaluate!

13. Regional scale application – drainage and retention
Starting in 2010-2012:
• Upstream drainage…
Downstream flooding?
• Retention: regional-scale control
• Cooperation between farmers
• Agreement between farmer(s) and regional water authority
(in case of oxygen stress: crop damage ..?)
Illustration: (1) retention - in local groundwater system,
(2) local drainage and storage - in surface water system,
(3) regional discharge
Illustration: suitability map
for CAD inThe Netherlands

14. Regional scale application – water supply
2016-present:
• Precipitation deficit leads to drought
• Water irrigation efficiency: sprinklers?
• Water resources at local and regional scale
• Cooperation between farmers
• Agreement between farmer(s) and regional
water authority (in case of drought stress..?)
Illustration: suitability for regional-scale water supply by subirrigation
based on present groundwater recharge situation in Stegeren (Ov.) area

15. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – challenges
• Technology and its management
• Support needed by other water users nearby: be
transparent in targets and management (e.g.,
nature and agriculture in neighbouring fields)
• Should fit in regional-scale water management
by operational rules - tuned with water
authorities
• Management and maintenance of systems
(physical, chemical, biological)

16. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – main messages
• Suitability and regional-scale water management are both important
• ‘Think before you start and learn / evaluate during use…’
• Targets are important – local and regional scale – targets set and
determined beforehand (actors / stakeholders should agree…)
• Tailor-made systems and management – monitoring – evaluation
• ‘Smart Drainage Systems need Smart Management’
• Knowledge transfer by professionals and Communities of Practice
• Last but not least …: ‘Farmer - take good care of your soil !’

17. ClimateAdaptive Drainage – sKAD project in Flanders
Started in October 2022
• Cooperation / demonstration / field test project 2022-2025
• Drainage and retention
• Equipment and knowledge transfer
• Test sites: 3 to 5 farmers
• Information system and model-based management
Experience, knowledge, and cooperation lead to smart management operations
Ongoing cooperation between NL and B: OP PEIL -WWTP Kinrooi

18. Gé van den Eertwegh KnowH2O
& Dion van Deijl
Thanks for your attention!
eertwegh@knowh2o.nl
In close cooperation with Ruud Bartholomeus, Janine de Wit,
Marjolein van Huijgevoort, Sija Stofberg
Scientific Knowledge Exchange
Brussels (B) November 10, 2022
© Authors – all rights reserved

19. ClimateAdaptive Drainage
Spare sheets
• test

20. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – next topics
• Handbook – manual (STOWA Deltafact)
• Chemical composition of local groundwater - reactive
solute transport from / to drains (NWO-RUST, 2x PhD.
finished in 2022)
• Sand - loam/clay - peat: comparison
• Mole drains in peat soil?
• Effects at regional scale – discharge and supply

21. Controlled drainage with subirrigation
Subirrigation: subsurface irrigation by means of
subsurface drains (this case)
(note: subsurface drip irrigation)
Targets:
– Timely rise of groundwater table → capillairy rise
generates rise of pressure head of soil moisture
– Better water uptake conditions in root zone
– Efficient irrigation (no evaporation, interception, …)
Narain, D.M.; Bartholomeus, R.P.; Dekker, S.C.;VanWezel,A.P. Natural purification
through soils: Risks and opportunities of sewage effluent reuse in sub-surface
irrigation. Rev. Environ. Contam.Toxicol. 2020.
https://www.kwrwater.nl/projecten/re-use-of-treated-effluent-for-agriculture-
rust/

22. Effects of subirrigation on water balance – overview

23. Example results – groundwater level
Lieshout test site:
• No subirrigation: grondwater level below 2,5 m
minus soil surface (capillairy rise does not /
hardly not reach the crop root zone)
• With subirrigation: rise of groundwater level of
1 to 1,5 m
• But..: during growing seasons of 2017 and 2018
groundwater levels dropped and water supply
flux decreased:
 High water demand by crop transpiration
 Increased flow resistance within subsurface
drainage system - infiltration capacity decreased
Illustration: groundwater table during subirrigation (measured) and without subirrigation
(calculated usingSWAP 1D model)

24. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – maintenance – example
• Maintenance in peat soils regions (physical, chemical, biological)
Source: Lodewijk Stuyt/Fource

25. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – maintenance – example
• Maintenance system at test site America (physical, chemical, biological) – adjusted to clean

26. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – test fields on sandy soils
Stegeren (Ov) Lieshout / Bavaria (N-B) Haaksbergen (Ov) America (L)
Surface water source
Sand, no loamy layers
Fluxes
Water levels
Soil moisture content
Treated waste water
Deep groundwater level
Sand and loamy layers
Fluxes
Water levels
Soil moisture content
Chemical composition of water
Treated waste water
Sand and loamy layers
Fluxes
Water levels
Soil moisture content
Chemical composition of water
Local groundwater (phreatic)
Sand and loamy layers
Fluxes
Water levels
Soil moisture content
Pressure heads (2021, …)

27. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – test fields on sandy soils
Limburg: retention of (ground)water and water supply by river Meuse
Surface water = source
Sand, no loamy layers
Fluxes IN
Water level channel/brook
Groundwater level

28. Example results – water supply needed
Continuous water supply in growing season:
• Average flux 500 mm/y
• Variation between dry and wet growing season
• Variation by supply control mechanism
Climate Adaptive Drainage – CAD

29. Example results – crop production
Pics and remote sensing images…
CAD - Haaksbergen - Sentinel-2 NDVI 6-8-2018
America 24-6-2017
Farmer René Asbreuk - Haaksbergen: ‘always higher dry matter corn production in kg/ha’

30. Effect of subirrigation on groundwater recharge
Recharge / downward flow increased
America 0.3 mm/d  1.2 mm/d
Effect of extractions by groundwater wells in
neighbouring areas…
Haaksbergen 0 mm/d  1 mm/d
Lieshout 0.1 mm/d  0.8 mm/d
Stegeren 1.5 mm/d  4 mm/d
(SWAP 1D analyses)
Veldmetingen
Modelanalyses (SWAP)

31. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – from field to region
Plot - local
• Root zone crop and soil moisture availability
• Not too wet (oxygen), not too dry (water)
All plots make a region…
Catchment - regional
• Retention – drainage – supply
• Flooding – drought
• Upstream – downstream connected
• Note: water availability and environmental flow www.stowa.nl/lumbricus

32. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – local scale
Instrument for local-scale water management
Targets:
1) Drainage
2) Retention
3) Supply
Management and monitoring important
Challenge: management and maintenance
Controlled drainage:Agrobeheercentrum Eco2 (Youtube)

33. Controlled drainage with subirrigation – knowledge transfer
Deal with…
• Operational management
• Monitoring: make the farmer participate!
Share knowledge – water manager/researcher/consultant/farmer
Program Lumbricus in Stegeren area – app group works
TKI KLIMAP – app group and shared data-portal