WATER
RESOURCES OF
NIGERIA
WMA 307
Dr. A.O. Idowu, Dr. G.C. Ufoegbune and Dr O.Z. Ojekunle
Dept of Water Res. Magt. & Agromet
UNAAB. Abeokuta. Ogun State
Nigeria
oojekunle@yahoo.com
COURSE CODE: WMA 307
 COURSE TITLE: Water Resources of
Nigeria
 COURSE UNITS: 2 Units
 COURSE DURATION: 1 hours per week
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COURSE DETAILS

Course Cordinator: Dr. O. A. Idowu B.Sc.,
M.Sc., PhD
Email:olufemidowu@gmail.com
 Office Location: Room B202, COLERM
 Other Lecturers:Dr. G. C. Ufoegbune B.Sc.,
M.Sc., PhD and Dr. O.Z. Ojekunle B.Sc., M.Sc., PhD

COURSE CONTENT

Rainfall; Pattern, spread and quantity. Daily, monthly and yearly rainfall in different regions of the
country.
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Rivers in Nigeria; Main rivers and their flows, average flow, maximum and minimum flow, annual
yields. Rivers Niger, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto, Rima, Hadejia, Jamaire, Gurara, etc.
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Lakes and reservoirs: Natural and artificial lakes. Reservoirs above dam – Kainji, Jebba, Tiga
dams and reservoirs etc. Reservoirs behind small and medium earth dams in different States in
Nigeria.
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Tidal and Saline water in the coastal areas.
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Groundwater: Exploitation through Boreholes and Tube wells.
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Use of water: irrigation for agriculture, water supply and wastewater engineering, navigation,
hydropower generation, environmental sanitation, industrial use, etc.
Agencies: Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources. Water Corporations,
Department of Waterways and Navigation, River Basin Development Authorities, Research
Institutes, Universities.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This is a compulsory course for students in
the Department of Water Resources
Management and Agrometeorology and
an elective course for other students in the
College of Environmental Resources
Management. As a school regulation, a
minimum of 75% attendance is required of
the students to enable him/her write the
final examination
READING LIST
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Celia Kirby and W.R. White 1994. Integrated River Basin Development,
John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Baffins Lane, Chichester, West Sussex PO19
1UD, England
Developing World Water 1988, Grosvenor Press International, Hong Kong.
Hofkes E.H. 1983. Small Community Water Supplies. Wiley, Chichester
Jackson I.J. 1977. Climate, Water and Agriculture in the Tropics. Longman,
London
Kay M.G. 1986. Surface Irrigation- Systems and Practice. Cranfield Press
Bedford
Micheal A. M. 1978. Irrigation Theory and Practice. Vikas, New Delhi
Schulz C.R. and Okun D.A. 1984. Surface Water Treatment for Community
in Developing Countries. Wiley-Interscience, New York
Rainfall; Pattern, spread and quantity. Daily, monthly
and yearly rainfall in different regions of the country.
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Climate and Water Resources of Nigeria: Factors affecting
precipitation in Nigeria.
Variation of Precipitation in Nigeria
(a) Seasonal Distribution – Critical months in terms of rainfall
distribution in Nigeria. Infuence of the Maritime winds and
Continental winds.
(b) Variations in Total Annual Rainfall: Regions of high and low
rainfalls, latitudinal distribution, regions of anomalies and causes of
the anomalies.
(c) Variations in rainfall regimes: What are rainfall regimes and
causes.
Divides of the country into different regimes, anomalies and causes.
Evapotranpiration in Nigeria

Division of Nigeria into different
evapotranspiration zones
Agencies

Agencies: Federal Ministries of
Agriculture and Water Resources.
Water Corporations, Department of
Waterways and Navigation, River Basin
Development Authorities, Research
Institutes, Universities.
Agencies Examined
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Examination of the agencies of water development:
The Federal Government – The ministry of Water Resources.
Sectors of the Minstry- Hydrology and Hydrogeology Division, Dams
and Reservoir operations and Waste water and environmental
sanitation.
Parastatals in form of River basin development authorities, functions
and locations all around the country.
Other agencies- PTF, DEFFRI, OMPADEC, etc.
State gvernments as agents of water developments- water
corporations.
Local governments as agents of water developments
Department of Waterways.
Research Institutes and Universities
Non-Governmental Agencies-
Rivers in Nigeria;

Main rivers and their flows, average flow,
maximum and minimum flow, annual
yields. Rivers Niger, Benue, Ogun,
Kaduna, Sokoto, Rima, Hadejia, Jamaire,
Gurara, etc.
Lakes and reservoirs:
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Natural and artificial lakes. Reservoirs
above dam – Kainji, Jebba, Tiga dams
and reservoirs etc. Reservoirs behind
small and medium earth dams in different
States in Nigeria.
Niger River

The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa,
extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is
2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the
Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea. It runs in a
crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and
then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta,
known as the Niger Delta of the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of
Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest
river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo
River (also known as the Zaïre River). Its main tributary is
the Benue River.
The Niger River basin
The Niger River basin, located in western Africa, covers 7.5% of
the continent and spreads over ten countries (Map 1 and Table 1).
Country
Total area
of
the
coun
try
(km2)
Area of the
countr
y
within
the
basin
(km2)
As % of
total
area
of
basin
(%)
As % of
total
area
of
coun
try
(%)
Average annual rainfall in the basin area
(mm)
min.
max.
mean
Guinea
245857
96880
4.3
39.4
1240
2180
1635
Côte d'Ivoire
322462
23770
1.0
7.4
1316
1615
1466
Mali
1240190
578850
25.5
46.7
45
1500
440
Burkina Faso
274000
76621
3.4
28.0
370
1280
655
Algeria
2381740
193449
8.5
8.1
0
140
20
Benin
112620
46384
2.0
41.2
735
1255
1055
Niger
1267000
564211
24.8
44.5
0
880
280
Chad
284000
20339
0.9
1.6
865
1195
975
Cameroon
440
89249
3.9
18.8
830
2365
1330
Nigeria
770
584193
25.7
63.2
535
2845
1185
The Quantity Entering Nigeria


The area of the Niger River basin in Guinea is only 4% of
the total area of the basin, but the sources of the Niger
River are located in this country. The quantity of water
entering Mali from Guinea (40 km3/yr) is greater than the
quantity of water entering Nigeria from Niger (36 km3/yr),
The most important areas of the Niger basin are located in
Mali, Niger and Nigeria (25 % in each of these three countries).
Rivers and discharges

The Niger River, with a total length of about 4100 km, is the third-longest
river in Africa, after the Nile and the Congo/Zaire Rivers, and the longest
and largest river in West Africa.

Subdivided into Four
The upper Niger River system
The inner delta
The middle Niger River system
The lower Niger River system
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The lower Niger River system
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Leaving the border between Niger and Benin the river enters
Nigeria, where it is joined by numerous tributaries. The most
important tributary of the Niger is the Benue which merges
with the river at Lokoja in Nigeria. The quantity of water
entering Nigeria was estimated at 25 km3/year before the
1980s and at 13.5 km3/year during the 1980s.
In Nigeria itself the Benue is joined by several tributaries, of
which the ones at the left side originate mainly in Cameroon.
The Benue reaches its flood level in September. It begins to
fall in October and falls rapidly in November,
Reaches its lowest level in March and April.
From the confluence with the Benue, the Niger heads
southwards and empties in the Gulf of Guinea through a
network of outlets that constitute its maritime delta.
Average annual discharges of the Niger River and its
main tributaries in Nigeria over different periods
Before and After 1980
River
Measuring
station
Average flow before 1980 (km3/year)
Average flow in the 1980s (km3/year)
Difference (%)
Kaduna
Wuya
16.5
14.8
-10
Benue
Yola
25.0
13.5
-46
Benue
Makurdi
94.0
74.9
-20
Benue
Umaisha
108.0
76.7
-29
Niger
Jebba
40.7
24.3
-40
Niger
Baro
61.4
43.3
-29
Niger
Lokoja
171.5
137.9
-20
Niger
Shintaku
173.8
139.0
-20
Niger
Idah
177.0
147.3
-17
The irrigation sector in Nigeria can be divided into
three categories
• public irrigation schemes, which are government-executed
schemes;
• farmer-owned and operated irrigation projects (improved
fadamas);
• residual fadamas or floodplains.
Problems of Irrigation

Estimating irrigation potential is rather difficult, despite the
considerable data available on surface water resources,
because of the potential of large areas to be irrigated either by
surface water or shallow fadama aquifers, two sources that are
hydraulically connected. Table 4 presents irrigation potential
as identified in the national water resources master plan
(NWRMP)
Table 4: Niger River basin: irrigation potential, water
requirements, water availability and areas under irrigation
Country with
an area
within
the Niger
basin
Irrigation
potential
(ha)
Gross irrigation water
requirement
Actual flows
Flows after deduction
for irrigation and
losses
per ha
total
inflow
outflow
inflow
outflow
(m3/ha. year)
(km3/yr)
(km3/yr)
(km3/yr)
(km3/yr)
(km3/yr)
Area already
under
irrigation
(ha)
Guinea
185000
23500
4.35
0.00
40.40
0.00
36.05
6000
Cote d'Ivoire
50000
23500
1.18
0.00
5.00
0.00
3.83
0
Mali
556000
40000
22.24
45.40
29.20
39.88
6.96
187500
Burkina Faso
5000
7000
0.04
0.00
1.40
0.00
1.37
850
Benin
100000
18500
1.85
0.00
3.10
0.00
1.25
740
Niger
222000
37000
8.21
33.70
36.30
9.58
3.96
67520
Cameroon
20000
18500
0.37
0.00
13.50
0.00
13.13
2000
Nigeria
1678510
10000
16.79
49.80
177.00
17.09
rest to sea
670000
Sum of
countries
2816510
Total for Niger
basin
<= 2816510
55.02
924610
Rivers to the Country’s Coast:
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The river catchment basins in the coastal zone consist of
the western Nigeria catchment basin,
the Niger Benue catchment basin,
and the south-eastern catchment basin.
The major rivers in the western Nigerian catchment basin consist of Ogun,
Owena,
Osun
and Shasha which are sourced from the Yoruba highlands and drain the
landmass in the south western part of Nigeria.
These rivers empty into the Lagos lagoon.
Niger Benue catchment
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The Niger Benue catchment basin is dominated by
the Niger and Benue rivers.
The Niger River flowing over coarse, crystalline, Cretaceous
and Cenozoic base complex enter the country in the west,
and has a total length of 4 123 km - making it the eleventh
longest river in the world.
Other Tributaries
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At Lokoja, the Niger River is joined by the River Benue before continuing
its course due south into the Gulf of Guinea. Other important tributaries
of the Niger include
Rivers Sokoto,
Zanfara
and Kaduna.
Some 233 km below the Lokoja at Aboh, the Niger River starts to break up
into tributaries to form a delta. The Niger River drains a total area of
621,351 km2. NEDECO, (1961) estimated the annual discharge of
freshwater to the delta to be 200 x 109 cubic metres, while total annual
discharge has also been estimated to be about 300 x 109 cubic metres.
The South Eastern Catchment
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The south eastern river catchment basin is drained by
Imo River,
Calabar and
several other smaller rivers which take their sources from the
eastern highland south of the Benue River. These rivers empty
into the ocean through estuaries.
Lake and Dams in Nigeria
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The Challawa Gorge Dam is in Kano State in the Northeast
of Nigeria, about 90 km southwest of Kano city. It is a major
reservoir on the Challawa River, a tributary of the Kano River,
which is the main tributary of the Hadejia River.
The dam is owned and operated by the Hadejia-Jama’are River
Basin Development Authority, a Federal agency.
It is 42 m high and 7.8 km in length. The dam has a full
storage capacity of 904,000,000 m3. The direct catchment area
is 3857 km2.
Usefulness and Issues (Challawa Gorge Dam)
Cont

Hydro power potential:

3. Issues:
Not stabilized
Siltation.
Disruption of the natural balance along the river.
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Kafin Zaki Dam

The Kafin Zaki Dam is a controversial project to build a
reservoir on the Jama'are River (also called the Bunga River in
its upper reaches) in Bauchi State in the Northeast of Nigeria.

Proposed dam and reservoir: The proposed dam would be of
zoned earthfill construction and would be 11 kilometres-long.
It would be designed with the
potential to install a hydroelectric plant.
As reservoir
Second largest in Nigeria after the Kainji Dam.
For irrigation
Potential for sugarcane production
Provide over one million jobs in industries related to
agriculture.
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Kafin Zaki Dam (Cont)
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Controversy: Impact downstream flow.
prevent the seasonal floods that their farmers depend upon for farming,
Cause drop in water
Environmentalists are also concerned about the impact on downstream
wetlands.
Kainji Dam
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Kainji Dam: Reservoir on the Niger River, on the border between Niger and Kebbi
states, in western Nigeria Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in western
Nigeria
and covers an area of 1,300 square km;
it is used extensively for fishing and irrigation.
The lake completely submerged Foge Island in the Niger River, the town of Bussa,
and other riverine settlements; part of the old town of Yelwa (the seat of Yauri
emirate) was also permanently flooded. About 50,000 people—mostly Reshe
(Gungunci, Gungawa), Busa (Busawa, Bussangi), Kamberi, Nupe, Lopawa, and
Laro—were displaced.
Construction of the dam began in 1964 and was completed in 1968.
The total cost was estimated at $209 million,
with one-quarter of this amount used to resettle people displaced by the
construction of the dam and its reservoir, Kainji Lake.
The dam is one of the longest dams in the world
Kainji Dam (Cont)
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Dimensions: Kainji Dam extends for about 10 km, including its
saddle dam, which closes off a tributary valley.
Most of the structure is made from earth, but the center section,
housing the hydroelectric turbines, was built from concrete. This
section is 65 m (215 ft) high.
Capacity: The dam was designed to have a generating capacity of
960 Megawatts;
however, only 8 of its 12 turbines have been installed, reducing the
capacity to 760 Megawatts. The dam generates electricity for all the
large cities in Nigeria. Some of the electricity is sold to the
neighboring country of Niger.
In addition, occasional droughts have made the Niger's water flow
unpredictable, diminishing the dam's electrical output.
The dam has a single-lock chamber capable of lifting barges 49 m
(160 ft).
Lake Kainji: Kainji Lake measures about 135 km (about 84 mi) long
and about 30 km (about 19 mi) at its widest point,
Tiga Dam

Tiga Dam: Catchment area of the Yobe River, The Tiga Dam
is in Kano State in the Northeast of Nigeria, constructed in
1971-1974. It is a major reservoir on the Kano River, the main
tributary of the Hadejia River. Water from the dam supplies
the Kano River Irrigation Project as well as Kano City. Several
studies have shown that the dam has delivered negative
economic value when its effect on downstream communities
was taken into account.

The Hadejia-Nguru wetlands further downstream have
considerable economic and ecological importance. They are
home to about one million people living by wet-season rice
farming, agriculture at other seasons, fishing and cattle grazing
by Fulani people. The dam has damaged the cycle, reducing
fish catches and harvests of other wetland products.
IMPACTS OF DAMS
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Ecological impact of dams
Emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Alteration of Flow Regime:
Biodiversity Loss:
Social Impact:
Gender-Related Impacts:
Impact of Cultural Heritage
Health Related Impacts:
DAM DISASTERS IN NIGERIA
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Shiroro Dam: Over 26 villages in Kede, Lakpma and Shiroro Local
Government in Niger State were flooded by the waters from Rivers Niger
and Kaduna in 2003. The flood displaced about 10,000 persons in Ketsho
in Kede Local Government who were said to have moved to Kwara State,
while other 13,500 person in Lakpam and Shiroro were rendered homeless.
Obudu Dam: The Obudu Dam spillway was damaged by storm in July
2003 which resulted in fatal disaster that claimed over 200 houses, several
farmlands, settlements and business concerns.
Igabi Dam: Property worth about N500 million ($3.9m) were destroyed
while thousands of people were rendered homeless in Kaduna State when
River Kaduna overflowed its banks and submerged several streets and
housing estates. The flood was caused by the collapse of Igabi Dam.
DAM USES IN NIGERIA (Cont)
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Dam Uses
MP = Multipurpose use
WS = Water supply
RC = Recreation
IR = Irrigation
NA = Not available
Groundwater: Exploitation Through Tube wells and
Boreholes

The availability of ground water for the development of any
State or Community in the country depends on the
hydrogeological characteristics of the underlying ground water
province in the area. It is therefore necessary to study, identify
and evaluate the water resources of the hydrogeological
province in any area and develop an exploitation strategy that
best suites the province.
Examples of hydrogeological characteristics


Coastal Alluvium is restricted to the Coastal States like,
Cross River, Akwa-Ibom Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo,
Ogun and Lagos States.

The River Course Alluvium traverses the whole country
following the various rivers systems draining the country.

While the Coastal Sedimentary areas underlie the southeast
States of Imo, Anambra Abia, Enugu, parts of Delta,

While the Crystalline Area or Basement, occupies most of
the Sahelian northern States Like, Kano, Bauchi, Kwara, Oyo,
Niger, Kaduna Plateau, Adamawa, Taraba etc.,

the Basement Complex hydrogeological Province, occupies
nearly half and most of the Central area of the Country..
Notes

It is therefore apparent that despite the obvious poor
hydrogeological properties of the Crystalline or Basement
Complex province, the area cannot be ignored in the Water
Resources Development of the Country.

Similarly, despite, the apparent good ground water prospects
of the Sedimentary regions, problems like, Saline intrusion in
the Coastal areas, depth of occurrence and the
predominance of impermeable shales and clays in the
sedimentary sequence present obstacles in the ground water
development of those areas of the country
Tube wells and Boreholes
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Depth for depth on any given site, hand-dug wells may yield
more water than tubewells,
Xteristies of Tubewell
100 or 150 mm diameter
are usually quicker and cheaper to sink,
need no dewatering during sinking,
require less lining material,
are safer in construction and use,
and involve less maintenance.
From a hygienic point of view, the fact that a pump is needed
to lift water from a tubewell is an asset, not a liability.
Features of Tubewell and Technological Equipment

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This section describes some features of tubewells which have
handpumps, and two methods of sinking them in generally
soft ground
Equipment
using only man-powered low-technology equipment, namely,
hand auguring using a Vonder rig, and sludging.
The casing

Use PVC, "down-the-hole", which can be lifted out for
maintenance or repair.

Seepage down the tubewell bore is prevented by the sanitary
seal. Seepage from the ground above the aquifer is excluded
by the lengths of plain casing. Water to be pumped is admitted
through slots in the lower lengths of casing.

Casing to support the external surfaces of the borehole against
collapse may be needed, either temporarily or permanently,
but is not shown.

Water abstracted from aquifers in relatively soft ground
usually contains sand or silt particles, which are liable to cause
rapid wear to pump valves and cylinders (and dissatisfaction
among consumers).
Methods of preventing these particles from reaching
the pump

Screening

Sand/gravel packing
.
Developing the well

Over-pumping (that is, pumping at above the design-rate)
before the well enters service can improve the efficiency of the
packing by drawing further fine particles into it. Where the
surrounding ground has many fine particles, the flow of water
can be accelerated by back-flushing at a higher rate.

This over-pumping and back-flushing is known as
developing the tubewell.
Sinking tubewells

At least two experienced operators are required; communities
will usually supply unskilled labour. Samples of the
excavated material should be taken at regular intervals of
depth (and also if the strata changes) and a borehole record
should be kept.

Particular attention is needed to maintain verticality. A
"down-the-hole" pump which has been installed out of the
vertical may be hard to operate and subject to excessive wear.
Auguring


Auguring cuts earth away by the rotation of a cylindrical
tool with one or more cutting edges. The excavated earth
feeds upwards inside the tool body, which needs lifting to the
surface for emptying at intervals.
This requires the whole auguring (drilling) train to be
uncoupled and lifted; the weight involved can be considerable,
and puts a limit to the depth of hand-operated auguring.
Auguring using the Vonder Rig



The Vonder Rig, can sink a tubewell hole up to 170mm in
diameter and about 115m deep in about two days in
ground which is predominantly soft. The next drawing
shows its salient parts, all of which are made of mild steel and
can be carried by hand between sites.
The crossbar is friction-bolted to a stem, at a height
suitable for pushing round by hand. Helpers can sit on it if
auguring needs extra weight (or even if it doesn't). Additional
stem sections are added as auguring proceeds.
Several shapes and sizes of auger-bit are provided, including a
"hole-saw"; this is intended to tackle soft rock, but has rarely
been successful. Thin layers of rock have been penetrated,
however, by an improvised arrangement including a slowspeed diesel drive to the drilling train.
Sludging





Sludging is an effective method of sinking tubewells.
Sludging is a cheap but effective method of sinking small-diameter
tubewells to a great depth in the water-logged silts and fine sands
which underlie some flat river plains and deltas, notably those in the
Indian subcontinent
Tubewells 25mm and upwards in diameter (the larger ones are able to
accommodate a "down-the-hole" pump) are sunk to depths of 60m or more.
A boring pipe, usually a galvanised mild steel tube fitted with a casehardened open socket at its base, moves vertically under the action of a
bamboo lever pivoted on an H-frame.
For the duration of each upstroke, another man seals the open top of the
pipe with his hand, creating a partial vacuum inside it, so that the water
within the pipe rises with it. He removes his hand for the downstroke,
during which the pipe drops faster than the water inside it. As this hand-on
/ hand-off cycle repeats, water starts to gush from the top of the pipe and
the whole assembly begins to work as an elementary force pump.
Additional lengths of boring pipe are attached successively until the
required depth is reached. The whole pipe is then withdrawn and replaced
by PVC rising main (for a suction pump) or PVC casing (for "down-thehole" pumps).
Other methods of drilling

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WaterAid prefers the simplest methods of drilling, particularly
those which can be operated by villagers themselves. However,
there are several other, more complicated, techniques which
can be used and the next few diagrams illustrate the following
methods:
Percussion drilling
Rotary percussion drilling
Rotary drilling with flush
Jetting
Tidal and Saline water in Coastal areas
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Coastal Geomorphology and Habitat: The Nigerian coastal
and marine area consists of a narrow coastal strip of land
bordered by the Gulf of Guinea of the Central Eastern Atlantic.
The coastal areas stretch inland for a distance of about 15 km
in Lagos to about 150 km in the Niger Delta and about 25 km
east of the Niger Delta.
The Nigerian coastal area is divided into four main
geomorphic zones (figure 1) namely:
Barrier Lagoon Coast
Mahin Mud Coast
Niger Delta
Strand Coastline
Xteristics of Niger Delta
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The Niger delta spreads over a number of ecological zones;
sandy coastal ridge barriers, brackish or saline mangroves,
freshwater permanent and seasonal swamp and lowland forests.
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The mangroves and wetlands along the major estuaries
between Benin river in the west and Cross River in the east
have a total brackish area of 2 520.79 km2
Coastal Currents and Tides
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The Nigerian coast and marine areas are influenced by tides,
waves, long shore currents, and ocean currents.
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Tides along the entire Nigerian coast are semi diurnal with two
tides arrive in a south westerly direction. Tidal range varies
from 1m at Lagos and increases progressively eastwards to
about 3 m at Calabar. Intense tidal activities are more
destructive along the Mahin coast during spring tides, during
which tidal range reaches 1.5m.
Saline
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Water is classified as "saline" when it becomes a risk for
growth and yield of crops. Saline water has a relatively high
concentration of dissolved salts (cations and anions). Salt is
not just "salt" as we know it - sodium chloride (NaCl) - but can
be dissolved calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), sulfate (SO42), bicarbonate (HCO3-), Boron (B), and other compounds.
Water can be both saline and sodic, or saline-sodic. If water
has an EC greater than 4 (2 for horticulture) and a Sodium
Adsorption Ration (SAR) greater than 12, it is considered
saline-sodic
The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million
(ppm) of salt.
If water has a concentration of 10,000 ppm of dissolved salts,
then one percent (10,000 divided by 1,000,000) of the weight
of the water comes from dissolved salts.
Classification of Salinity
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Slightly saline water contains around 1,000 to 3,000
ppm.
Moderately saline water contains roughly 3,000 to
10,000 ppm.
Highly saline water has around 10,000 to 35,000 ppm
of salt.
Seawater has a salinity of roughly 35,000 ppm,
equivalent to 35 g/L.
Salinity in Different Water Bodies
Water salinity based on dissolved salts in parts per thousand (ppt)
Fresh water
Brackish water
Saline water
Brine
< 0.5
0.5 – 30
30 – 50
> 50
Effects of Salinity
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Saline water reduces plant growth to varying degrees, with
grass and grain crops generally showing less sensitivity and
field crops being most sensitive. Aside from biomass reduction,
salinity can have additional effects on plants. For example, in a
study by Bauder et al., both inoculated and non-inoculated
alfalfa were grown with irrigation waters of progressively
higher salinity levels
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Correction of Salinity
There are no amendments, chemicals, or additives available
commercially that can be added to saline water to make the
salt go away. Dilution with a non-saline water or salt
precipitation with an evaporation process which leaves the salt
behind and traps the evaporated water can be used. Dilution of
saline irrigation water is only possible if there is a source of
non-saline water with which to dilute the saline water
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