Santa Maria Irrigation Expansion

Abstract

Santa Maria is an orphanage and refuge for elderly located in Queretaro, Mexico. The community operates a farm as a source of food, income, and education for their students who are tasked with running daily operations. Unfortunately, limited water resources have stifled the growth of farming operations and limited opportunities for agricultural advancement. An infiltration gallery will allow the community to access more of the water by tapping into the groundwater reserves behind of one of three dams on the site. An infiltration gallery consists of a series of horizontally oriented perforated pipes that access water trapped within sediment impounded behind a dam. These perforated pipes will drain into a centralized wet well which houses a pump that will force the infiltrated water up the bank and into the existing irrigation distribution system. The added volume of water will maximize crop yield in the existing fields and allow the operations managers to utilize more land. Several locations for the infiltration gallery were considered based on their accessibility, potential recharge rates, and anticipated dewatering efforts. The location selected for the infiltration gallery is above the Middle Dam. This location was selected due to its high potential for dependable water recharge despite is limited accessibility and significant anticipated dewatering efforts. Additionally, a photovoltaic energy system will be implemented as the primary power source for operating the pump.