Enhancing Agricultural Water Security through Rainwater Harvesting and Aquifer Recharge in the North Fork Red River Basin

Commodities

Practices

Agricultural production in the North Fork Red River (NFRR) basin of Southwest Oklahoma is increasingly threatened by declining surface water availability, heavy reliance on groundwater, and projected intensification of drought conditions. Cotton, the dominant crop in the region, requires substantial irrigation, placing additional stress on already limited water resources. To address these challenges, this project implements an integrated modeling and field-based approach to identify optimal sites for rainwater harvesting (RH) and Agricultural Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) across the NFRR basin and quantifies how strategic recharge at those sites improves aquifer storage and irrigation reliability. We first employ SWAT+ and GIS-based analysis to identify 10-20 candidate RH-MAR systems across the basin, including both co-located sites and paired systems where harvested water can be transferred to suitable recharge locations. Two targeted 5-day and 3-day field campaigns will then be conducted to evaluate site-level feasibility through infiltration testing, soil characterization, and assessment of land use and site-access constraints. Based on these evaluations, the top 2-3 RH-MAR sites will be selected for detailed groundwater impact analysis using MODFLOW. Modeling results will quantify the effects of recharge on aquifer storage, groundwater levels, and long-term agricultural water availability. Findings will be translated into practical metrics, such as additional groundwater storage, potential expansion of irrigated acreage, and improved water supply during drought, and shared with stakeholders through a regional workshop. This project will provide practical, data-driven strategies for enhancing water security in semi-arid agricultural systems and serve as a transferable framework for similar water-scarce regions.

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a science-based and practically implementable RH-MAR framework for water-scarce regions that rely heavily on groundwater to sustain agricultural productivity. This goal will be achieved through the following two objectives:

1. Identify optimal locations for rainwater harvesting (RH) and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the NFRR basin.
2. Quantify the impact of MAR at selected high-priority sites on aquifer storage and agricultural water availability and translate hydrologic outputs into actionable guidance for producers and irrigation managers