A decision support system that considers risk and site specificity in the assessment of irrigation water quality (IrrigWQ)

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : IrrigWQ was developed using the open-source Lazarus Platform (http: //www.lazarus-ide.org, accessed on 6 September 2023), with Firebird (https://firebirdsql.org/en/ firebird-4-0-1/, accessed on 6 September 2023) used as the database. The algorithms used in the calculation procedures were based on published data, as cited in this paper. There are no measured data linked to this paper—only scenario simulations. The software described in this paper is downloadable free of charge from https://nbsystems.co.za, accessed on 6 September 2023. ; Irrigators are increasingly challenged to maintain or even increase production using less water, sometimes of poorer quality, and often from unconventional sources. This paper describes the main features of a newly developed software-based Decision Support System (DSS), with which the fitness for use (FFU) of water for irrigation (IrrigWQ) can be assessed. The assessment considers site-specific factors, several non-traditional water constituents, and the risk of negative effects. The water balance components of a cropping system and the redistribution of solutes within a soil profile are assessed with a simplified soil water balance and chemistry model. User-friendly, colourcoded output highlights the expected effects of water constituents on soil quality, crop yield and quality, and irrigation infrastructure. Because IrrigWQ uses mainly internationally accepted cause– effect relationships to assess the effect of water quality constituents, it is expected to find universal acceptance and application among users. IrrigWQ also caters for calculating so-called Water Quality Requirements (WQRs). WQRs indicate the threshold levels of water quality constituents for irrigation at specified levels of acceptability or risk. WQRs assist water resource managers in setting site-specific maximum threshold levels of water quality constituents that can be tolerated in a water source before impacting negatively on successful irrigation. ; The South African Water ...