Assessment of alternative water management options for irrigated agriculture

A simulation study on alternative water management strategies was carried out for Sirsa Irrigation Circle in Haryana, covering an area of about 4800 km². Results showed that crop evapotranspiration and soil salinity development under reduction in canal water supply and increase in groundwater use, are largely influenced by the amount and distribution of rainfall. Reduction in canal water supply by 25% during the rainy season is unlikely to have any adverse effect on the salinity development in the study area. Reduction in crop evapotranspiration due to decreased canal water supply can partly be compensated by the increase in groundwater use. Leaching of salts due to monsoon rains in the study area shows that groundwater of even relatively poor quality can be used for irrigation without excessive long-term build up of soil salinity under deep groundwater depth conditions. However, increased groundwater extraction without associated actions will not be very effective to solve the problem of rising groundwater levels.     

Management trends and responses to water scarcity in an irrigation scheme of Southern Spain

Improvement of irrigation management in areas subjected to periods of water scarcity requires good knowledge of system performance over long time periods. We have conducted a study aimed at characterizing the behaviour of an irrigated area encompassing over 7000 ha in Southern Spain, since its inception in 1991. Detailed cropping pattern and plot water use records allowed the assessment of irrigation scheme performance using a simulation model that computed maximum irrigation requirements for every plot during the first 15 years of system operations. The ratio of irrigation water used to maximum irrigation requirements (Annual Relative Irrigation Supply, ARIS) was well below 1 and oscillated around 0.6 in the 12 years that there were no water supply restrictions in the district. The ARIS values varied among crops, however, from values between 0.2 and 0.3 for sunflower and wheat, to values approaching 1 for cotton and sugar beet. Farmer interviews revealed some of the causes for the low irrigation water usage which were mainly associated with the attempt to balance profitability and stability, and with the lack of incentives to achieve maximum yields in crops subsidized by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. The response to water scarcity was also documented through interviews and demonstrated that the change in crop choice is the primary reaction to an anticipated constraint in water supply. Water productivity (value of production divided by the volume of irrigation water delivered; WP) in the district was moderate and highly variable (around 2€ m⁻³) and did not increase with time. Irrigation water productivity (increase in production value due to irrigation divided by irrigation water delivered) was much lower (0.65€ m⁻³) and also, it did not increase with time. The lack of improvement in WP, the low irrigation water usage, and the changes in cropping patterns over the first 15 years of operation indicate that performance trends in irrigated agriculture are determined by a complex mix of technical, economic, and socio-cultural factors, as those that characterized the behaviour of the Genil-Cabra irrigation scheme.     

参与式灌溉管理的现状及发展趋势

参与式灌溉管理是目前国际上灌溉管理改革的重要模式之一.参与式灌溉管理就是在政府的宏观调控扶持下,让灌区广大用水户参与到灌区的建设和管理的事务中来,按市场经济规律,并充分考虑灌区的特殊要求,经营管理灌区,使灌区良性运行.用水户参与管理的前提是组建用水户协会,用水户协会具有法人地位.其实质就是民主管理、广泛监督.介绍了参与式灌溉管理产生的背景、国内外的发展状况,分析了参与式灌溉管理的内涵、管理模式及成效,说明了用水户协会的特点、存在的问题及对策,并对其发展趋势作了展望.     

Farmer participation in irrigation management: The case of Doroodzan Dam Irrigation Network, Iran

The importance of farmer participation in system design and management has been emphasized in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting farmer participation in irrigation management using survey research. The study was conducted in Doroodzan Dam Irrigation Network in Fars province, Iran. Multistage stratified random sampling was used to collect data from 270 farmers as the research sample. Results reveal that farmers’ attitudes toward participation in irrigation management, attitudes toward personnel of the State Water Authority and the Agricultural Extension Service Centers (AESCs), family size, the problem perception, dependence on the dam for water, and educational background have influenced their participation in irrigation management. By contrast, contact with information sources, animal units, sociability, age and agricultural experience did not affect farmers’ participation. Moreover, based on farmers’ perspectives, unequal water distribution among farms, dissatisfaction with Water Authority operators and high water fees and charges were the main problems and obstacles toward farmer participation in irrigation management.     

On-farm labour allocation and irrigation water use: case studies among smallholder systems in arid regions

On-farm measurements and observations of water flow, water costs and irrigation labour inputs at the individual parcel level were made in case studies of smallholder irrigation systems in sub-Saharan Africa and south-eastern Arabia. The systems, in which the water source supplied either single or multiple users, were analysed to address the fundamental issues of labour allocation for on-farm water management as this has important consequences for the success of such systems. Results show that the costs associated with accessing water influenced labour input, because when they were low the farmers tended to increase the irrigation rate and reduce the amount of time they spent distributing the water within their parcels. Conversely when water costs were high, lower flow rates and more time spent in water distribution were observed, and this resulted in more uniform irrigation and higher irrigation efficiency. Also, opportunities and demands for farmers to use their labour for activities other than irrigation can lead them to modify operational or physical aspects of the system so that they can reduce the time they spend distributing water within the parcels, particularly when the water is relatively cheap. Awareness and better understanding of how farmers may allocate their labour for water management will lead to more effective planning, design and management of smallholder irrigation systems.     

GIS tools applied to the sustainable management of water resources: Application to the aquifer system 08-29

The sustainable exploitation of water resources requires planning and control methods that allow the incorporation of a great number of spatial and temporal variables. Because of its features, a Geographic Information System (GIS) seems the most suitable tool to aid in the management of available hydric resources. In this study, we have developed a specific GIS within the GESMO Project in order to better manage the 08-29 aquifer system (Mancha Oriental). This tool is intended for use by the JCRMO: Junta Central de Regantes de la Mancha Oriental (General Board of Irrigation Users of Eastern La Mancha), the organism responsible for aquifer management.This system is designed to integrate information from different sources, such as remote sensing, fieldwork data or administrative files with the cadastral subplot as a common reference. One of its functions is to expedite the control and monitoring, in real time, of the exploitation plans, which constitute the legal instrument to regulate water extractions. It will allow us to estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of water extractions needed for crops and their irrigation systems. These estimates will be highly valuable for aquifer modelling. The system also permits display of information on maps for easy handling. This visualisation allow users to more readily participate in decision-making processes.     

Analysis of surface irrigation systems with WinSRFR—Example application

WinSRFR is an integrated software package for analyzing surface irrigation systems. Software functionalities and technical features are described in a companion article. This article documents an example application. The analyzed field is a graded basin (close-ended border) irrigation system. The event analysis tools of WinSRFR are used first to evaluate performance of the irrigation system and estimate its infiltration and hydraulic roughness properties. Performance contours in the Operations Analysis World are then used to optimize irrigation system inflow rate and cutoff time. The adequacy of the existing design is examined with the performance contours provided in the Physical Design World. Hydraulic and practical constraints are considered in finding an optimal operation or design solution. Finally, sensitivity analyses are used to demonstrate the robustness of the solutions.     

南水北调东线工程泵站技术管理模式研究

以南水北调东线工程准市场化运作为背景 ,以合理性、经济性和可靠性为目标 ,以江苏省江水北调工程泵站技术管理为基础 ,从管理体制、运行管理、日常管理、维护检修等方面研究南水北调东线工程大型梯级泵站的技术管理模式与方法。研究结果对提高工程调水可靠性、经济性和工程的可持续发展有一定意义。     

Agricultural and environmental changes after irrigation management transfer in the Develi Basin,Turkey

Develi Basin is a semi-arid basin in central Turkey where water sustains both irrigated agriculture and an internationally important wetland, the Sultan Marshes. Agricultural and environmental changes in the Develi Basin have occurred since irrigation management was transferred in 1994 from a state authority (DSI) to irrigation associations (Kovalı and Ağcaaşar IAs). In this paper we evaluate the practices of the IAs using extensive data from interviews with farmers and IA officials, as well as data from reports prepared by DSI and the IAs, using comparisons with case studies reported in the scientific literature. Irrigated areas and surface water use in the Develi Basin showed significant fluctuations from 1995 to 2003. The area allocated to high water-consuming plants increased. Maintenance activities became dependent on fee collection rates. Quality of the irrigation water did not changed significantly. Ground-water levels, flow rates from springs, and water levels in the Sultan Marshes all dropped. Overall analyses indicate that the water requirements of the Sultan Marshes have not been met, while water use for irrigation has been effective but not efficient. To reconcile agricultural and wetland water requirements, a basin-wide approach in water planning is recommended. Amounts of water to be allocated to the IAs and wetlands need to be clearly defined. DSI has to monitor canal maintenance by the IAs more closely, and IAs need to be given more responsibilities for future rehabilitation of the canals. Realistic water pricing, increased reliability of irrigation scheduling, higher on-farm irrigation efficiency, and in the long-term, modernization of the irrigation system need to be considered.     

Cost-effectiveness of groundwater conservation measures: A multi-level analysis with policy implications

Groundwater in Spain, as in other arid and semiarid countries worldwide, has been widely used in the expansion of irrigated agriculture. In the Spanish Mancha Occidental aquifer, the excessive, and sometimes illegal, water abstraction for irrigation has promoted outstanding socioeconomic development in the area, but it has also resulted in exploitation of the aquifer and degradation of valuable wetlands. Water policies implemented in the region have not yet managed to restore the aquifer and face strong social opposition. This paper uses a multi-scale modeling approach to explore the environmental and socio-economic impacts of alternative water conservation measures at the farm and basin levels. It also analyzes their comparative cost-effectiveness to help policy makers identify the least costly policy option for achieving the goal of the Mancha Occidental aquifer's sustainability. To conduct this analysis, a Mathematical Programming Model has been developed to simulate: the closing-up and taxed-legalization of unlicensed wells, uniform volumetric and block-rate water prices, water quotas, and water markets. Aggregate results show that net social costs are not substantially different across policy option, so none of the considered policy options will be clearly more cost-effective than the others. However, there are significant differences between private and public costs (at the farm and sub-basin levels), which will be critical for determining the application in practice of these policies. Results show that controlling illegal water mining (through the legalization of unlicensed wells) is necessary, but is not sufficient to recover the aquifer. Rather, effective water management in this area will require the implementation of other water management policies as well. Among them, uniform volumetric and block-rate water pricing policies will entail the lowest net social cost, but will produce important income losses in the smallest and most water-intensive farms, which might put at risk the viability of these farms and the social acceptance of the policies. Further investigations on social costs, policy enforcement capacity and public participation in water management are highly recommended.     

Evaluation of FAO Penman-Monteith and alternative methods for estimating reference evapotranspiration with missing data in Southern Ontario, Canada

Grass reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is an important agrometeorological parameter for climatological and hydrological studies, as well as for irrigation planning and management. There are several methods to estimate ETo, but their performance in different environments is diverse, since all of them have some empirical background. The FAO Penman-Monteith (FAO PM) method has been considered as a universal standard to estimate ETo for more than a decade. This method considers many parameters related to the evapotranspiration process; net radiation (Rn), air temperature (T), vapor pressure deficit (Δe), and wind speed (U); and has presented very good results when compared to data from lysimeters populated with short grass or alfalfa. In some conditions, the use of the FAO PM method is restricted by the lack of input variables. In these cases, when data are missing, the option is to calculate ETo by the FAO PM method using estimated input variables, as recommended by FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. Based on that, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the FAO PM method to estimate ETo when Rn, Δe, and U data are missing, in Southern Ontario, Canada. Other alternative methods were also tested for the region: Priestley-Taylor, Hargreaves, and Thornthwaite. Data from 12 locations across Southern Ontario, Canada, were used to compare ETo estimated by the FAO PM method with a complete data set and with missing data. The alternative ETo equations were also tested and calibrated for each location. When relative humidity (RH) and U data were missing, the FAO PM method was still a very good option for estimating ETo for Southern Ontario, with RMSE smaller than 0.53 mm day⁻¹. For these cases, U data were replaced by the normal values for the region and Δe was estimated from temperature data. The Priestley-Taylor method was also a good option for estimating ETo when U and Δe data were missing, mainly when calibrated locally (RMSE = 0.40 mm day⁻¹). When Rn was missing, the FAO PM method was not good enough for estimating ETo, with RMSE increasing to 0.79 mm day⁻¹. When only T data were available, adjusted Hargreaves and modified Thornthwaite methods were better options to estimate ETo than the FAO PM method, since RMSEs from these methods, respectively 0.79 and 0.83 mm day⁻¹, were significantly smaller than that obtained by FAO PM (RMSE = 1.12 mm day⁻¹).     

Agronomic and economic response to furrow diking tillage in irrigated and non-irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The Southeast U.S. receives an average of 1300 mm annual rainfall, however poor seasonal distribution of rainfall often limits production. Irrigation is used during the growing season to supplement rainfall to sustain profitable crop production. Increased water capture would improve water use efficiency and reduce irrigation requirements. Furrow diking has been proposed as a cost effective management practice that is designed to create a series of storage basins in the furrow between crop rows to catch and retain rainfall and irrigation water. Furrow diking has received much attention in arid and semi-arid regions with mixed results, yet has not been adapted for cotton production in the Southeast U.S. Our objectives were to evaluate the agronomic response and economic feasibility of producing cotton with and without furrow diking in conventional tillage over a range of irrigation rates including no irrigation. Studies were conducted at two research sites each year from 2005 to 2007. Irrigation scheduling was based on Irrigator Pro for Cotton software. The use of furrow diking in these studies periodically reduced water consumption and improved yield and net returns. In 2006 and 2007, when irrigation scheduling was based on soil water status, an average of 76 mm ha⁻¹ of irrigation water was saved by furrow diking, producing similar cotton yield and net returns. Furrow diking improved cotton yield an average of 171 kg ha⁻¹ and net return by $245 ha⁻¹ over multiple irrigation rates, in 1 of 3 years. We conclude that furrow diking has the capability to reduce irrigation requirements and the costs associated with irrigation when rainfall is periodic and drought is not severe.     

In situ use of groundwater by alfalfa

Disposal of saline drainage water is a significant problem for irrigated agriculture. One proposal is to recycle drainage water to irrigate salt tolerant crops until the volume has been reduced sufficiently to enable final disposal by evaporation. Part of this concept requires in situ crop water reuse from shallow groundwater; and data is needed to quantify the potential use of groundwater by alternative crops. A column lysimeter study was initiated to determine the potential crop water use from shallow groundwater by alfalfa as a function of groundwater quality and depth to groundwater. The results demonstrated that up to 50% of the crop water use could be met from shallow groundwater (<1.2 m) with an electrical conductivity less than 4 dS/m, and that the potential crop water use from deeper groundwater (2 m) increased over the years. The columns with high salinity (>4 dS/m) in the shallow groundwater experienced increased salinity in the soil profile with time, which resulted in reduced crop water use from shallow groundwater. Yields decreased with time as the groundwater salinity increased and periodic leaching will be required for in situ use to be a sustainable practice. Statistical analysis of crop yield demonstrated that there was significant use of groundwater with an EC of 6 dS/m for a few years.