No matter how efficiently our crops are watered, sooner or later we need to have a well-functioning drainage system for complete in-field water management. Damaging impacts of drainage water disposal resulting in pollution of water sources have always been of great concern. ICID has been organizing International Drainage Workshops since 1983 with the main emphasis on ‘Land Drainage’ design and construction. Over the years, the focus shifted further to ‘Modern Drainage’ where the concerns about the disposal of the drainage water and the methods to reduce environmental adverse impacts were given a priority.

The latest, 13th International Drainage Workshop was held at Iran in March 2017, which steered the discussion on ‘Beyond modern land drainage’. The theme Drainage and Environmental Sustainability enabled deliberations on the following while considering the importance of sustainable drainage systems. 

• Measures to improve drainage water quality;
• Measures to a lower volume of drainage water.
•  Adoption of new design criteria in favor of the environment;
• Application of alternative drainage methods.