Water balance study at a small-scale catchment
(2026) In TVVR 4000 VVRL01 20261Division of Water Resources Engineering
- Abstract
- This study presents a comprehensive water balance analysis of an irrigation pond at Gårdstånga Nygård farm in southern Sweden, conducted over a 29-month period from June 2021 to October 2023. Utilizing continuous water level monitoring and regional meteorological observations, the research quantified key hydrological components including precipitation, catchment inflow, evapotranspiration, and overflow discharge calculated using an orifice-flow equation for the vertical pipe overflow structure. The analysis reveals distinct seasonal patterns and a dramatic hydrological intensification during 2023. Sustained overflow occurred during two main periods (September 2021–June 2022 and November 2022–October 2023), separated by a dry summer... (More)
- This study presents a comprehensive water balance analysis of an irrigation pond at Gårdstånga Nygård farm in southern Sweden, conducted over a 29-month period from June 2021 to October 2023. Utilizing continuous water level monitoring and regional meteorological observations, the research quantified key hydrological components including precipitation, catchment inflow, evapotranspiration, and overflow discharge calculated using an orifice-flow equation for the vertical pipe overflow structure. The analysis reveals distinct seasonal patterns and a dramatic hydrological intensification during 2023. Sustained overflow occurred during two main periods (September 2021–June 2022 and November 2022–October 2023), separated by a dry summer interval in 2022 when the water level fell below the overflow threshold. Total overflow over the 29-month period amounted to approximately 2.43 million cubic metres. Annual overflow increased markedly from 370 × 10³ m³ in 2021 to 1,331 × 10³ m³ in 2023, with the latter representing approximately 99.8% of the annual catchment inflow. The pond functioned primarily as a flow-through system during wet periods, with mean water levels rising from +0.20 m (2021) to +0.76 m (2023) relative to the overflow threshold. These findings demonstrate the pond's role as a multifunctional stormwater retention infrastructure, with the overflow structure controlling water levels to prevent agricultural flooding while the continuous overflow regime highlights the need for active water level management to preserve irrigation storage capacity. These results provide valuable insights for sustainable water resource management, agricultural infrastructure design, and climate adaptation strategies in Nordic agricultural settings. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- This study examines how water moves through an irrigation pond at Gårdstånga Nygård farm in southern Sweden over 29 months. By combining continuous water‑level measurements with local weather data, the researchers tracked rainfall, inflow from the surrounding land, evaporation, and how much water spilled out through the pond’s overflow pipe. The pond showed clear seasonal patterns and became much wetter in 2023. It overflowed almost continuously during two long periods—autumn 2021 to early summer 2022, and again from late 2022 through nearly all of 2023—except for a dry spell in summer 2022. In total, about 2.43 million cubic metres of water spilled out during the study. Annual overflow rose sharply, reaching 1.33 million cubic metres in... (More)
- This study examines how water moves through an irrigation pond at Gårdstånga Nygård farm in southern Sweden over 29 months. By combining continuous water‑level measurements with local weather data, the researchers tracked rainfall, inflow from the surrounding land, evaporation, and how much water spilled out through the pond’s overflow pipe. The pond showed clear seasonal patterns and became much wetter in 2023. It overflowed almost continuously during two long periods—autumn 2021 to early summer 2022, and again from late 2022 through nearly all of 2023—except for a dry spell in summer 2022. In total, about 2.43 million cubic metres of water spilled out during the study. Annual overflow rose sharply, reaching 1.33 million cubic metres in 2023, almost equal to the entire inflow that year. During wet periods, the pond essentially acted as a flow‑through system, with average water levels rising well above the overflow height. The results show that the pond plays an important role in managing stormwater and preventing flooding, but the frequent overflow also means active water‑level control is needed to maintain storage for irrigation. These insights can help guide sustainable water management and climate adaptation in Nordic agriculture. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9250810
- author
- Wang, Zhuosong LU
- supervisor
-
- Linus Zhang LU
- organization
- course
- VVRL01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Water balance, Irrigation pond, Overflow analysis, Evaporation estimation, Flood mitigation
- publication/series
- TVVR 4000
- report number
- TVVR26/4001
- ISSN
- 1101-9824
- language
- English
- additional info
- Examiner: Jing Li
- id
- 9250810
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-14 10:34:54
- date last changed
- 2026-09-14 10:34:54
@misc{9250810,
abstract = {{This study presents a comprehensive water balance analysis of an irrigation pond at Gårdstånga Nygård farm in southern Sweden, conducted over a 29-month period from June 2021 to October 2023. Utilizing continuous water level monitoring and regional meteorological observations, the research quantified key hydrological components including precipitation, catchment inflow, evapotranspiration, and overflow discharge calculated using an orifice-flow equation for the vertical pipe overflow structure. The analysis reveals distinct seasonal patterns and a dramatic hydrological intensification during 2023. Sustained overflow occurred during two main periods (September 2021–June 2022 and November 2022–October 2023), separated by a dry summer interval in 2022 when the water level fell below the overflow threshold. Total overflow over the 29-month period amounted to approximately 2.43 million cubic metres. Annual overflow increased markedly from 370 × 10³ m³ in 2021 to 1,331 × 10³ m³ in 2023, with the latter representing approximately 99.8% of the annual catchment inflow. The pond functioned primarily as a flow-through system during wet periods, with mean water levels rising from +0.20 m (2021) to +0.76 m (2023) relative to the overflow threshold. These findings demonstrate the pond's role as a multifunctional stormwater retention infrastructure, with the overflow structure controlling water levels to prevent agricultural flooding while the continuous overflow regime highlights the need for active water level management to preserve irrigation storage capacity. These results provide valuable insights for sustainable water resource management, agricultural infrastructure design, and climate adaptation strategies in Nordic agricultural settings.}},
author = {{Wang, Zhuosong}},
issn = {{1101-9824}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{TVVR 4000}},
title = {{Water balance study at a small-scale catchment}},
year = {{2026}},
}