The Water Balance

The water balance is an accounting of the inputs and outputs of water. The water balance of a place, whether it be an agricultural field, watershed, or continent, can be determined by calculating the input, output, and storage changes of water at the Earth's surface. The major input of water is from precipitation and output is evapotranspiration. The geographer C. W. Thornthwaite ( !""# "$%& pioneered the water balance approach to water resource analysis. 'e and his team used the water# balance methodology to assess water needs for irrigation and other water#related issues.

The Water Balance

To understand water#balance concept, we need to start with its various components( Precipitation ()&. )recipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc. ma*es up the primarily supply of water to the surface. +n some very dry locations, water can be supplied by dew and fog. Actual evapotranspiration (,E&. Evaporation is the phase change from a li-uid to a gas releasing water from a wet surface into the air above. .imilarly, transpiration is represents a phase change when water is released into the air by plants. Evapotranspiration is the combined transfer of water into the air by evaporation and transpiration. Actual evapotranspiration is the amount of water delivered to the air from these two processes. ,ctual evapotranspiration is an output of water that is dependent on moisture availability, temperature and humidity. Thin* of actual evapotranspiration as /water use/, that is, water that is actually evaporating and transpiring given the environmental conditions of a place. ,ctual evapotranspiration increases as temperature increases, so long as there is water to evaporate and for plants to transpire. The amount of evapotranspiration also depends on how much water is available, which depends on the field capacity of soils. +n other words, if there is no water, no evaporation or transpiration can occur. Potential evapotranspiration ()E&. )otential evapotranspiration is the amount of water that would be evaporated under an optimal set of conditions, among which is an unlimited supply of water. Thin* of potential evapotranspiration of /water need/ . +n other words, it would be the water needed for evaporation and transpiration given the local environmental conditions. 0ne of the most important factors that determines water demand is solar radiation. ,s energy input increases the demand for water, especially from plants increases. 1egardless if there is, or isn't, any water in the soil, a plant still demands water. +f it doesn't have access to water, the plant will li*ely wither and die. Soil Moisture Storage (.T&. .oil moisture storage refers to the amount of water held in the soil at any particular time. The amount of water in the soil depends soil properties li*e soil te2ture and organic matter content. The ma2imum amount of water the soil can hold is called the field capacity. 3ine grain soils have larger field capacities than coarse grain (sandy& soils. Thus, more water is available for actual

evapotranspiration from fine soils than coarse soils. The upper limit of soil moisture storage is the field capacity, the lower limit is 4 when the soil has dried out. Change in Soil Moisture Storage (5.T&. The change in soil moisture storage is the amount of water that is being added to or removed from what is stored. The change in soil moisture storage falls between 4 and the field capacity.

Soil Moisture Utilization

Water Budget - Rockford, IL
Field Ca acit! " #$ %%

&
, ,,-,*ST ST '* S 64 4 64 4 "4 4 4 64

F
7" 4 7" 4 "4 4 4 7"

M
$$ 6 $ 4 "4 6 4 $

'
8! 74 %! 4 "4 74 4 %!

M
44 !7 9$ 4 "4 !7 4 9$

&
4$ 9% # 8 # 8 8% 9% 4 4

&
!! 76 #68 #68 $ 76 4 4

'
!7 9$ #79 # $ 4 44 9$ 4

S
!$ !6

(
8% 77 9" 9" %4

)
6$ ! 7! 7! 8! ! 4 4

*
76 4 76

+ear
!! 6%

9
"4 4 4 %% $%7 9$ 96!

!6 4 4

77 4 4

:y the time ;une rolls around, temperatures have increased to the point where evaporation is proceeding -uite rapidly and plants are re-uiring more water to *eep them healthy. ,s potential evapotranspiration is approaching its ma2imum value during these warmer months, precipitation is falling off. 5uring ;une )#)E is # 8 mm. What this means is precipitation no longer is able to meet the demands of potential evapotranspiration. +n order to meet their needs, plants must e2tract water that is stored in the soil from the previous months. This is shown in the table by a value of 8 in the cell for 5.T (change in soil storage&. 0nce the 8 m is ta*en out of storage (.T& it reduces its value to 8%. The month of ;une is considered a dry month ()<)E& so ,E is e-ual to precipitation plus the absolute value of 5.T () = >5.T>&. When we complete this calculation ( 4$ mm = 8 mm ? 9% mm& we see that ,E is e-ual to )E. What this means is precipitation and what was e2tracted from storage was able to meet the needs demanded by potential evapotranspiration. @ote that there is no surplus in ;une as the soil moisture storage has dropped below its field capacity. There is still no deficit as water remains in storage. The calculations for ;uly is similar to ;une, just different

values. @ote that by the time ;uly ends, water held in storage is down to a mere mm.

Soil Moisture Sur lus

5uring 5ecember, 1oc*ford i.s deep in the grip of winter. )otential evapotranspiration has dropped to Aero as plants have gone into a dormant period thus reducing their need for water and cold temperatures inhibit evaporation. @otice that )#)E is e-ual to 76 but not all is placed into storage. WhyB ,t the end of @ovember the soil is within 9 mm of being at its field capacity. Therefore, only 9 millimeters of the 76 available is put in the soil and the remainder runs off as surplus (.?%%&.

Water Budget - Rockford, IL

Field Ca acit! " #$ %%

&
, ,,-,*ST ST '* S 64 4 64 4 "4 4 4 64

F
7" 4 7" 4 "4 4 4 7"

M
$$ 6 $ 4 "4 6 4 $

'
8! 74 %! 4 "4 74 4 %!

M
44 !7 9$ 4 "4 !7 4 9$

&
4$ 9% # 8 # 8 8% 9% 4 4

&
!! 76 #68 #68 $ 76 4 4

'
!7 9$ #79 # $ 4 44 9$ 4

S
!$ !6

(
8% 77 9" 9" %4

)
6$ ! 7! 7! 8! ! 4 4

*
76 4 76 9 "4 4 4 %%

+ear
!! 6%

!6 4 4

77 4 4

$%7 9$ 96!

Civen that the soil has reached its field capacity in 5ecember, any e2cess water that falls on the surface in ;anuary will li*ely generate surplus runoff. ,ccording to the water budget table this is indeed true. @ote that )#)E is 64 mm and 5.T is 4 mm. What this indicates is that we cannot change the amount in storage as the soil is at its capacity to hold water. ,s a result the amount is storage (.T& remains at "4 mm. :eing a wet month ()D)E& actual evapotranspiration is e-ual to potential evapotranspiration. @ote that all e2cess water ()#)E& shows up as surplus (.?64 mm&. .imilar conditions occur for the months of 3ebruary, Earch, ,pril, and Eay. These are all wet months and the soil remains at its field capacity so all e2cess water becomes surplus. @ote too that the values of )E are increasing through these months. This indicates that plants are springing to life and transpiring water. Evaporation is also increasing as insolation and air temperatures are increasing. @otice how the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration decreases through these

months. ,s the demand on water increases, precipitation is having a harder time satisfying it. ,s a result, there is a smaller amount of surplus water for the month. .urplus runoff can increase stream discharge to the point where flooding occurs. The flood duration period lasts from 5ecember to Eay ($ months&, with the most intense flooding is li*ely to occur in Earch when surplus is the highest ($9 mm&.

Soil Moisture *eficit

Water Budget - Rockford, IL
Field Ca acit! " #$ %%

&
, ,,-,*ST ST '* S 64 4 64 4 "4 4 4 64

F
7" 4 7" 4 "4 4 4 7"

M
$$ 6 $ 4 "4 6 4 $

'
8! 74 %! 4 "4 74 4 %!

M
44 !7 9$ 4 "4 !7 4 9$

&
4$ 9% # 8 # 8 8% 9% 4 4

&
!! 76 #68 #68 $ 76 4 4

'
!7 9$ #79 # $ 4 44 9$ 4

S
!$ !6

(
8% 77 9" 9" %4

)
6$ ! 7! 7! 8! ! 4 4

*
76 4 76 9 "4 4 4 %%

+ear
!! 6%

!6 4 4

77 4 4

$%7 9$ 96!

,ugust, li*e ;une and ;uly, is a dry month. )otential evapotranspiration still e2ceeds precipitation and the difference is a #79 mm. Fp until this month there has been enough water from precipitation and what is in storage to meet the demands of potential evapotranspiration. 'owever, ,ugust begins with only $ mm of water in storage (.T of ;uly&. Thus we'll only be able to e2tract $ mm of the 79 mm of water needed to meet the demands of potential evapotranspiration .o, of the 79 mm of water we would need ()#)E& to e2tract from the soil. +n so doing, the amount in storage (.T& falls to Aero and the soil is dried out. What happens to the remaining 9$ mm of the original )#)E of 79B The unmet need for water shows up as soil moisture deficit. +n other words, we have not been able to meet our need for water from both precipitation and what we can e2tract from storage. ,E is therefore e-ual to 44 mm (!7 mm of precipitation plus $ mm of 5.T&. .o what is a farmer to do if their crops cannot obtain needed water from precipitation or soil moisture storage....they irrigate. +rrigation water usually is pumped from groundwater supplies held in a-uifers deep below the surface or from nearby streams (if stream flow is sufficient to provide needed water&. The amount of irrigation water re-uired is the amount of the soil moisture deficit.

Soil Moisture Recharge

Water Budget - Rockford, IL
Field Ca acit! " #$ %%

&
, ,,-,*ST ST '* S 64 4 64 4 "4 4 4 64

F
7" 4 7" 4 "4 4 4 7"

M
$$ 6 $ 4 "4 6 4 $

'
8! 74 %! 4 "4 74 4 %!

M
44 !7 9$ 4 "4 !7 4 9$

&
4$ 9% # 8 # 8 8% 9% 4 4

&
!! 76 #68 #68 $ 76 4 4

'
!7 9$ #79 # $ 4 44 9$ 4

S
!$ !6

(
8% 77 9" 9" %4

)
6$ ! 7! 7! 8! ! 4 4

*
76 4 76 9 "4 4 4 %%

+ear
!! 6%

!6 4 4

77 4 4

$%7 9$ 96!

We'll start the budget process at the end of the dry season when precipitation begins to replenish the soil moisture, called soil moisture recharge, in .eptember. ,t the beginning of the month the soil is considered dry as the storage in ,ugust is e-ual to Aero. 5uring .eptember, !$ mm of water falls on the surface as precipitation. )otential evapotranspiration re-uires !6 mm. )recipitation therefore satisfies the need for water with one millimeter of water left over ()#)E? &. The e2cess one millimeter of water is put into storage (5.T? & bringing the amount in storage to one millimeter (,ugust .T ?4 so 4 plus the one millimeter in .eptember e-uals one millimeter&. ,ctual evapotranspiration is e-ual to potential evapotranspiration as .eptember is a wet month ()D)E&. There is no deficit during this month as the soil now has some water in it and no surplus as it has not reached its water holding capacity. 5uring the month of 0ctober, precipitation far e2ceeds potential evapotranspiration ()# )E?9"&. ,ll of the e2cess water is added to the e2isting soil moisture (.T (.eptember& = 9" mm ? %4 mm&. :eing a wet month, ,E is again e-ual to )E. Calculating the budget for @ovember is very similar to that of .eptember and 0ctober. The difference between ) and )E is all allocated to storage (.T now e-ual to 8! mm& and ,E is e-ual to )E.