Groundwater Recharge Response to Reduced Irrigation Pumping: Checkbook Irrigation and the Water Savings Payment Plan

Ongoing investments in irrigation technologies highlight the need to accurately estimate the longevity and magnitude of water savings at the watershed level to avoid the paradox of irrigation efficiency. This paradox arises when irrigation pumping exceeds crop water demand, leading to excess water that is not recovered by the watershed. Comprehensive water accounting from farm to watershed scales is challenging due to spatial variability and inadequate socio-hydrological data. We hypothesize that water savings are short term, as prior studies show rapid recharge responses to surface changes. Precise estimation of these time scales and water savings can aid water managers making decisions. In this study, we examined water savings at three 65-hectare sites in Nebraska with diverse soil textures, management practices, and groundwater depths. Surface geophysics effectively identified in-field variability in soil water content and water flux. A one-dimensional model showed an average 80% agreement with chloride mass balance estimates of deep drainage. Our findings indicate that groundwater response times are short and water savings are modest (1–3 years; 50–900 mm over 10 years) following a 120 mm/year reduction in pumping. However, sandy soils with shallow groundwater show minimal potential for water savings, suggesting limited effectiveness of irrigation efficiency programs in such regions.