The legal and administrative setting for the use of water resources in Mendoza, Argentina

The legal-administrative setting for the use of waterresources in Mendoza Province is founded on differentlegal rules. This includes the National Constitution,the Argentine Civil Code, National Laws, theConstitution of the Provincial State, the GeneralWater Law, (legal) administrative regulations of theGeneral Department of Irrigation.The current water law is based on the roman law, onthe Arab irrigation water rights which were brought toArgentina by the Spaniards and on the practices of theoriginal American pre-Colombian intermediate law.The latter is marked by a strong regional sense. Assuch, the water law is strongly influenced by theregions elements of nature and attempts to offersolutions to problems.The legal rules are discussed from a behavioral andorganizational perspective. Examples from the LowerTunuyan System are given to illustrate the day-to-dayeffects on irrigation water management.     

The Water Delivery Performance Within the Chivilcoy Tertiary Unit, Mendoza, Argentina

The 4th Chivilcoy tertiary unit (1630 ha)receives irrigation water from theMontecaseros canal. This canal and its 16tertiary units is managed by theMontecaseros Users Association (8531 ha),being one of the 13 UA's in the Rio TunuyanMedio irrigation system (81200 ha). The 4thChivilcoy unit was selected for performanceresearch because it is representative for amajor part of the Tunuyan system; itcontains (near abandoned) fields with waterlogging and salinity problems and fieldswith maximum attainable yields. This paperreports on performance indicatorsquantifying the water delivery to the 12quaternary units. Also the delivery ofwater to the 19 farms in the Los Saucesquaternary unit (109 ha) is quantified. Allflow data were measured with broad-crestedweirs fitted with pressure loggersmeasuring the head at 15 minutes intervals.Because of this short interval, the timingof water delivery could be monitored andcompared with the intended deliveryschedule.     

The reorganization of water users' associations in Mendoza,Argentina

This paper describes the changes introduced in water users' associations in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina. Before 1985 there were 709 water users' associations, known as Canal Inspection, each of them in charge of the administration of an area of about 300 ha, corresponding to tertiary and quaternary canals. At present there are 21 reorganized inspections administering an average area of 6 000 ha. The democratic system for the election of authorities is described and the method of budget preparation and control is discussed. The advantage of reorganization is illustrated through the economic assessment of the Reduccion Main Canal. This canal irrigates an area of 13 985 ha. The annual benefits due to reorganization are estimated to total A 32 800 (US$ 41 000), being 2.1 times the annual budget of the Inspection.     

Performance of Water Users' Associations in the Lower Tunuyan Area, Argentina

The functioning of 19 Users' Associations(UA's) in the Tunuyan region was evaluatedon the basis of an 85-questionquestionnaire and related interviews. The collectedinformation indicates that the management know-how of the UA'sis not appropriate for the new tasks involved in managing thelarger command areas(average 4000 ha). For a UA to be able tomaintain and modernize the irrigationsystem, sufficient funds must be available.For this to occur, the fee collection ratiomust be as high as practical. In thiscontext we conclude that an up-to-datewater users register is needed to chargethe actual user with the correct fee.Participation of farmers in the UAdecreases sharply with increase infarm size. Some of the contacts betweenfarmers and the UA are related to farmerknowledge of on-farm irrigation technology.Strangely, no formal training for on-farmirrigation is available in the region. TheUA's should join forces in providingextension to the farmers. This could reducethe number of reported conflicts(misunderstandings) between the UA and, inparticular, the small (and relatively lowskilled) farmers.     

Performance of basin irrigation in the Lower Tunuyán River in Mendoza,Argentina

This paper results from the evaluation of irrigation in 37 different basins planted with perennial crops in the oasis irrigated by the Lower Tunuyán River in Mendoza, Argentina. The basins were evaluated by calculating management parameters through volumetric analysis. The results of this analysis were compared with the values obtained by means of the BRDRFLW mathematical model (Strelkoff, 1985). Four main elements were considered for analysis: application efficiency (ea), cut-off time (Tco), length (L), and net depth (DR), Multiple correlations were established and transferred to the graphics, which are simple and suitable for use by extensionists and farmers interested in improving basin irrigation efficiency.     

The financial viability of irrigation management companies: A case study of Cu Chi irrigation system,Vietnam

A crucial, yet little understood, element in the economic studies of irrigation is the role played by companies who manage the supply of water. Many of these companies are publicly managed as they have the potential to act as monopolists. Possibly as a consequence of their ownership structure, analysts have questioned the economic viability and management of these firms. The case is made that many of these companies do not run profitably, that they rely on government subsidies to survive, that they do not spend enough on maintenance and that they run down their capital base. The purpose in this paper is to specify the measures that allow analysts to examine the financial viability of a publicly owned irrigation management companies and to apply these to a scheme in Vietnam. Of concern and contention in any irrigation scheme is the price that a company should charge for water in order to recover costs in the short-run. It was found that the company under investigation could not operate without subsidies and did run down their assets. It was found that a great disparity exists between what the consumers were charged for water and what the company received for supplying it. To ensure the sustainability of the Irrigation Management Companies in long term, they may have to increase the water fee by 3.75 times the current rate set by the provincial government (US$ 20 per ha).     

Division of irrigation water in The Fayoum,Egypt

The division of irrigation water in The Fayoum, Egypt, has been measured. Factors influencing this division are discussed: the hydraulic conditions at structures and canals, the operation regime of gates, lack of reliable gauge data for system operation, shortage of labour, and the water level in Lake Qarun. A deviation from uniform supply has been found for the entire Fayoum, but also along a lateral and sub-lateral. The reasons for this are discussed and suggestions for possible technical improvements of The Fayoum system are given.Abbreviations FWSBM Fayoum Water and Salt Balance Model Project - MSL Mean Sea Level at Alexandria - FID Fayoum Irrigation Department - mcm million cubic metres     

Performance of Locally Managed Irrigation in Turkey: Gediz Case Study

Performance indicators for locally managedirrigation systems in the Gediz Basin,Turkey, show that during the first fouryears after management transfer there wasbeen a continued improvement in irrigationperformance. While the area cropped usingsurface water has only marginally improved,yields and water productivity have shownsignificant increases. These benefits canbe attributed in part to favorable marketconditions for cotton and grapes, but alsoto a management system that values level ofservice so that farmers are not constrainedby uncertainties in water deliveries. Individual systems are managed quitedifferently within the Gediz Basin showingthat there is scope for considerablediversity in Irrigation Associationspractices without affecting the resultingperformance of systems.     

Analysis of Manual and Centralised Supervisory Control Operations to Improve Level of Service: A Case Study of Pyramid Hill No 1 Channel, Victoria, Australia

The current challenge facing irrigation inAustralia is tofind ways to improve the operationalperformance of existing systems rather thanconstructing new ones. Unsteady flowsimulation models are often used as keytools to study and test improvedoperational scenarios for existing systems.While these models are generally notrecommended for real-time control, researchhas shown that they are able to simulatecanal response for different test scenariosfor operations planning. This paperpresents the results of two alternativemodes of operation for the Pyramid Hill No.1 Channel in northern Victoria, Australia.The channel is currently under manualoperation. Centralised control is the mostimmediate option considered by theirrigation authority to enable remotesupervision and control of the canal toimprove the channel operation and level ofservice standards. This type of control istermed Supervisory Control and DataAcquisition (SCADA). The two alternativeoperational scenarios were simulated andanalysed using the unsteady flow-simulationmodel DUFLOW. Specific performanceindicators were defined to compare the twomodes of operations based on the simulationresults. The results show that SCADAoperation has considerable potential toclosely match the discharges at thedownstream regulator with those ordered byfarmers while maintaining the water surfaceelevations within allowable fluctuationtolerance throughout the length of thecanal.     

Performance Assessment in the Management of ``Canal de Provence', France

This case study presents the performanceassessment scheme of the network of canalsand pressurised pipes of the public andprivate company: ``Societé du Canal deProvence' (SCP).According to a State Concession decree,this company is due to provide apre-established level of service to itscustomers, and be financially sustainable.Its technical and maintenance services haveinstalled a network of measurements anddata collection devices and defined aspecific set of performance indicators toverify achievement of these two goals.     

位山灌区水情自动测报系统研究

该系统采用先进的硬件设备和有线无线混合组网方式,并采用了TC401感应式数字水位传感器,避免了黄河水含沙量高和部分季节结冰的影响;系统软件设计模块化,其中水位流量关系模块采用了自适应遗传算法,提高了计算速度与精度。实际运行表明该系统能够实时采集、分析、处理和存储水情数据,运行状况良好,测量精度满足实际要求,为灌区决策提供了科学的依据,提高了灌区管理技术和水资源利用率。并且分析了系统未来的发展趋势。