Search

Available and technology for surface water management in such large plains is still scarce or site-specific. Controversy often arises about how to find the best solution to manage alternated periods with water excesses and droughts in the same area. The best technical solution is “agro-hydrology", which can be considered a “conservation / interventionist" approach attempting to manage the soil-plant-atmosphere system. The concept here proposed is water management in lowlands using “hydrologic circuits" capable of temporarily storing great water volumes to retard downstream evacuation. This requires the design and engineering calculation of different earth structures for captation, conduction and temporal storage of excess water, using combined “engineering-rural" management. This solution attempts to cope the typical climatic alternation of the flooding Pampa region: floods and droughts occurring in subsequent seasons, and both related to groundwater and soil salinization processes in this region. Water management by agrohydrology can be then regarded as a first step before the implementation of classical soil reclamation techniques in large plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]