18/11/2015

ECW 566
Water Resources Engineering

IRRIGATION

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, students should be able
to:
Discuss the issues in irrigation, and the
importance of sustainable management
Describe the various irrigation schemes and
their classifications
Design lined and unlined irrigation
conduits/canals

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Definition
Irrigation is an artificial application of water to
the soil usually for assisting in growing crops.
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal
of surface and sub-surface water from a
given area.

Sustainable development in
Irrigation
Implementation and planning of irrigation
strategies for now and for the future, without
causing the degradation of the present available
resources of land and water.

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Problems in agriculture
Loss of top soil due to erosion is one form of
degradation which can be contained on a
limited scale.

Other issues such as salinity, alkalinity, water

logging, etc. reduce the productivity.

The future lies in considering:

- cultivation of additional area
- intensified production on existing land
- water resource system optimization.

Future challenges
- Evaporation control
- Reduction and losses during conveyance
- Recycling of water
- Inter basin transfer
- Desalination of sea-water in coastal area
- Rainfall by cloud-seeding
- Improved existing technologies

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Benefits of Irrigation
1. Increase crop yield
- The production can be increased by providing the
right amount of water at the right time
- Different crops require different amounts of water

2. Protection from failure

- Irrigation systems reduce the risk of crop failure
- Water can be supplied to the farm areas during
drought season or when rain cannot provide
sufficient water to the crop

3. Cultivation of superior crops

- Some countries may use this approach which requires the
production of more local and export crops
- Further analysis should be conducted to determine the time
required to supply water for the whole farm

4. Elimination of mixed cropping

- Most of the farmers have tendency to cultivate more than
one type of crop as a buffer to crop failure.
- This, however, does not optimize the function of the land
- Irrigation system helps farmers to concentrate on a single
crop. The land can be optimized to produce more harvest.

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5. Economic development
- Farmers get higher returns by way of crop production
throughout the year,
- The government in turn, benefits from the tax collected
from the farmers.

6. Hydropower generation
- In irrigation canal system, there are drops or differences
in elevation of canal bed level at certain places.
- This can be used successfully for small scale hydro
electric generation projects, using bulb-turbines.

7. Domestic and industrial water supply

- Some water from irrigation canals may be utilized for
domestic and industrial water supply for nearby areas.
- Compared to the irrigation water need, the water
requirement for domestic and industrial uses is rather
small and does not affect the total flow much.

Classification of irrigation scheme

Major irrigation projects
projects which have a culturable command area (CCA)
of more than 10,000 ha but more than 2,000 ha utilize
mostly surface water resources.

Medium irrigation projects

projects which have CCA less than 10,000 ha. But more
than 2,000 ha utilizes mostly surface water resources.

Minor irrigation projects

projects with CCA less than or equal to 2,000 ha. utilizes
both ground water and local surface water resources.
Ground water development is primarily done through
individual and cooperative effort of farmers with the help
of institutional finance and their own savings.

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Management of water for irrigation

How much surface water is available?
For surface water source, is there a need for
construction of a reservoir?
How much ground water is available?
Is the extraction sustainable?
What type of diversion system can be constructed
to divert river flow into irrigation canal?
How efficient a canal network system may be
designed such that there is minimum loss of
water and maximum agricultural production?
How can excess water of an irrigated agricultural
field be removed which would otherwise cause
water logging of the fields?

Management of water for irrigation:

Watershed development
- Movement of water over ground can be delayed to
promote ground water recharge, which in turn
replenishes water inflow to the reservoir.

- Measures for the watershed development includes

forestation within the catchment area which helps to
prevent loss of valuable top-soil and reservoir siltation.

- Other soil conservation methods like regrassing and

grass land cultivation process can be considered.

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Management of water for irrigation:

Reservoir management
Surface water reservoirs are common in irrigation
systems and these are designed and operated to cater
to crop water requirement throughout the year.

Essential to check loss of water in reservoir due to

Evaporation from the water surface
Seepage from the base
Reduction of storage capacity due to sedimentation

Management of water for irrigation:

Conveyance system

Water losses due to evaporation, seepage and

improper management in the conveyance channels
must be minimized.

Possible solution - use lining:

reduces seepage
minimizes weed infestation
reduces overall maintenance cost

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Management of water for irrigation:

Distribution system
Tackled primarily by agricultural engineers
Involvement of water resources engineers needed to
achieve integrated management strategy for
conveyance-delivery-distribution of irrigation water.

Known issue: water delivered from the canal system

to the agricultural fields are utilized better in the head
reaches but quality deteriorate by the time it reaches
the tail end.

Irrigation system

Basak (2000)

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Distribution method

Furrow irrigation

Suitable for a wide range of soil types, crops

and land slopes

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Border irrigation
Best suited to large mechanized
farms as it is designed to produce
long uninterrupted field lengths for
ease of machine operations.

Borders can be up to 800 m or

more in length and 3-30m wide
depending on a variety of factors.

Basin irrigation
Suitable for many field crops.
e.g. Irrigation suppress weed
growth in rice fields. Paddy rice
grows best when its roots are
submerged in water.

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Choice of irrigation method

Surface Irrigation Method Suitable for crops

Border strip method Wheat, Leafy vegetables, Fodder

Furrow method Cotton, Sugarcane, Potatoes

Basin method Orchard trees, paddy rice

Irrigation system:
selection & performance
The suitability of the various irrigation methods, i.e.
surface, sprinkler or drip irrigation, depends mainly
on the following factors:
- natural conditions
- type of crop
- type of technology
- previous experience with irrigation
- required labour inputs
- costs and benefits

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Design of Irrigation canal

Most canals flow through alluvial soil.

Design of irrigation canals can be classified
into:
Unlined canal design on non-alluvial soils
Unlined canal design on alluvial soils
Lined canal design

Design of unlined canal

On non-alluvial soil
Canal is stable, near impervious
Effect of roughness is important
Effect of silt is negligible
Velocity assumed near to critical velocity
Use Chezy or Mannings eqn.

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Rugosity (Mannings) coefficient

Introduced by Kennedy to take into consideration
canal roughness.

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Full supply discharge &

Economical section

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General design procedure

(non-alluvial)
Consider Q and V given (i.e. A = Q/V known):

(I) If S given
Use V = C(RS)1/2 to determine R
Use A, R to determine B & D

(ii) If S to be designed
Use expressions of A, P to determine B & D
Use V = C(RS)1/2 to determine S

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D?

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Example:
1/5000

Hydraulic radius

Area

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D? S?

Hydraulic radius B = 0.6D

Area

D = 3.35m; B = 0.6 x 3.35 = 2.01m

B = 2.01m, D = 3.35m, S = 1/4374

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D? S?

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Design of unlined canal (alluvial soil)

Kennedys theory

Establish concept of critical velocity V0 where

channel is free from siltation or scouring

Critical velocity ratio

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General design procedure

(Kennedys method)
Assume D (between 1 to 2 m)
Calculate Vo (assume m = 1)
Let V = Vo
Given Q, calculate A = Q/V
From A, determine B
Determine P, R, C
Calculate V = C(RS)1/2
Check m = V/Vo ~ 1
Repeat with new D value if necessary

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D?

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C = 44.49

Consider V = V0

C = 44.23

The CVR is very close to 1.

Design may be accepted. D = 1.25 m and B = 6.38 m

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Example:
EXAMPLE

Q? m?

= 0.707

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D? S?

B = 6.56m, D = 1.64m, S = 1/3377 S = 1/3377

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D?

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Design of unlined canal (alluvial soil)

Laceys theory

Based on regime concept of the channel, which is

satisfied if:

Theory states that silt is carried in suspension by

vertical component of eddies in the flowing
water, which are generated along the wetted
parameter, hence hydraulic radius is a variable,
and silt grade is important.

Silt factor
Important consideration for alluvial canal.

Silt factor f is given by Lacey:

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Laceys theory:

1/2

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General design procedure

(Laceys method)
Consider mr (or f) and Q given
Using Laceys eqn, calculate: V, R, P & A=Q/V
Determine bed slope S
Use A, P to determine B & D

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D? S?

= 0.64 m/s

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= 7.42 or 1.21

B = 12.30m, S = 1/4902

EXAMPLE

B? D?

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Design of lined canal

Section is rigid
Use Mannings equation
Design considerations:

Common cross-section:

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Example:
EXAMPLE

D?

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Example:
EXAMPLE

B? D?

R = 3.32m
P = 34.42m

D = 13.47 or 4.4

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