Potential for Recharge in Agricultural Soils of the Mississippi Delta

Ground water models predict that 5 percent or less of precipitation in the Mississippi Delta region recharges the heavily-used alluvial aquifer; however the presence of agricultural chemicals in ground water suggests more substantial recharge. In a preliminary assessment of the potential for aerial recharge through the agricultural soils of the Bogue Phalia basin in the Mississippi Delta, we applied a method for rapidly measuring field- saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) in 26 locations in cotton and soybean fields. The technique makes use of a portable falling-head, small-diameter, single-ring infiltrometer and an analytical formula for Kfs that compensates both for falling head and for subsurface radial spreading. Soil samples were also collected at the surface and at about 6 cm depth at each location for particle size analysis. Kfs values are generally higher than anticipated and vary over more than three orders of magnitude from 1x10-2 to 5x10-6 cm/s. There is also a correlation between Kfs and mean particle size which may prove useful in generalizing recharge rates over larger areas. A 2-m ring infiltration test is planned that will include the use of tracers and subsurface instruments for measuring water content and matric potential from the near surface to about 5 m to evaluate flow and transport below the root zone.