Patent ID: 8277627

Claim:
A method comprising: introducing water to be treated comprising at least one of seawater and brackish water into an electrically-driven separation apparatus to provide irrigation water having a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) value of less than about 20; passing at least one monovalent cationic species in the water to be treated through at least one monovalent cation selective membrane having a effective selectivity of at least about 1.5 in the electrically-driven separation apparatus; and irrigating at least a portion of an agricultural facility with the irrigation water, wherein the SAR value is determined according to the formula, SAR = [ Na ] [ Ca ] + [ Mg ] wherein [Na] is the sodium species concentration, in mol/m 3 , in the irrigation water, wherein [Ca] is the calcium species concentration, in mol/m 3 , in the irrigation water, and wherein [Mg] is the magnesium species concentration, in mol/m 3 , in the irrigation water.