Irrigation Water accounting

Module 6 – LWDFS MSc

March, 2019

Dr. Poolad Karimi

P.Karimi@un-ihe.org
Classical Thinking

• Irrigation 40% efficient, 60% wasted

• Line canals, increase irrigation efficiency
• “Let not one drop of water flow to the sea without first serving
mankind” - King Parakrambahu, 13th century
 New Approach:
Focus on increasing
Water Productivity
Water productivity (WP) is “the physical mass of production or the
economic value of production measured against gross inflow, net inflow,
depleted water, process depleted water, or available water” (Molden, 1997,
SWIM 1). It measures how the systems convert water into goods and
services. The generic equation is:

3 3 Output derived from water use (kg/m2 or $/m 2 )

Water Productivity (kg/m or $/m ) 
Water input (m 3 /m 2 )
Increasing Productivity of Water in
River Basins:
Water Accounting
Water Accounting
• Depletion Accounting – (in contrast to more common
withdrawal accounting)
• Uses water balance applied to specified domain
• Classifies into various water accounting categories
• Suggests where water can be saved and how to improve water
productivity

Source: David Molden

Depletion

• is a use or removal of water from a water basin that renders it

unavailable for further use
• .Evaporation
• .Flows to sinks
- .Pollution
- .Incorporation into a product

Source: David Molden

Deliveries versus Depletion

• Distinguish withdrawals or deliveries of water from depletion

• “Water Use” and even “consumption” does not distinguish this

• Follow flow paths of water, until water is depleted

Source: David Molden

Step 1 – Define
water balance
domain
• Choose horizontal and vertical boundaries
• Field – boundaries of field, below root zone, above crop
canopy
• Sub-basin or basin – basin boundaries, outlet to sea (fresh-salt
water interface), bottom of aquifer, above vegetation canopy
• Period of time, one event, season, year, several years

Source: David Molden

Scale

• Space
• Time

Source: David Molden

Use Level

Source: David Molden

Service Level

Source: David Molden

Basin Scale
Source: David Molden
Water Accounting

Source: David Molden

Inflow – rain plus surface or subsurface flows

Source: David Molden

Change in Storage

Source: David Molden

Crops, Aquaculture, Agro-forestry, Livestock, City
Uses, Industrial Uses

Source: David Molden

Landscape uses –
forests, wetlands,
grasses

Source: David Molden

Evaporation from fallow lands, high water
tables, drainage flows to sinks

Source: David Molden

Flows committed to downstream uses for water
rights, fisheries, environmental flows

Source: David Molden

Outflow

Source: David Molden

Outflow – could be exploited

Source: David Molden

Outflow – not possible to tap – whole flow of
Ganges or Amazon

Source: David Molden

Water Accounting Indicators

Source: David Molden

Depleted Fraction =
Depleted/Gross Inflow

Source: David Molden

Productivity of Water – kg, value per unit of process, inflow, or available water

Source: David Molden

 Mediterranean Sea

Delta Barrage

Red
Sea
Example: EGYPT

High Aswan
Dam

Source: David Molden

 1993-94 Nile Water Balance

55.2 1.2
(98%) (2%)
HAD Release Nile to Sea

Rainfall
(2%)
1.0
12.5
36.8 (65%)
(22%)
Crop Evapotranspiration Drainage to
Canals 52.53 Sea & Lakes

Diversion 65.3
Nile Reaches 3.64 0.50
(1%)
Nile GrWater 4.73 Drainage to
5.3 (10%) Fayoum
Depression
Drainage Reuse 4.4 Evaporative Depletion

M&I 2.34

Nile Surface 1.87

Nile Phreatophyte 0.10

Canal/drain Surface 0.44

Canal/drain Phreat. 0.60

Source: David Molden

 Crops

M&I & Navigation

Drainage

Environmental Flows

Source: David Molden

EGYPT - Depleted Fraction

Depleted 48.2
DFgross    0.86
Gross Inflow 56.2

Source: David Molden

EGYPT - Productivity of Water

Gross Value of Production

PWPr ocess 
Process Depletion (ET)

7.5BUS $ US $
 3
 0.20 3
36.8km m

Source: David Molden

 EGYPT - Agricultural Water Productivity

0.25

0.20 per unit ET

Productivity of Water in US$/m3

0.15
per unit gross inflow
0.10

0.05

0.00
1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993
Source: David Molden
Productivity of Water
• Value per unit of water
• In agriculture - crop per drop
• broadly - benefits derived per unit of water used
• which crop - which drop?
• In agriculture kg/m3 of ET, or kg/m3 of diversions
• Or $/m3 ET or diversions

Source: David Molden

Increase Crop per Drop

Crop ET

Source: David Molden

1. Improve Productivity of Water Consumed

Changing crop varieties

Crop substitution
Deficit,supplemental, or precision
irrigation
Improved water management
Improving non-water inputs

Source: David Molden

Reduce any depletion of low or
negative value

Non Beneficial Depletion

Source: David Molden

2. Reducing Non-Beneficial Depletion

 Lessening of non-beneficial evaporation by

reducing:
 Reduce evaporation from fields and fallow lands
 decrease area of free water surfaces, decrease
<South Africa – eliminating “invasive alien
species”>

Source: David Molden

2. Reducing Non-Beneficial Depletion

 Reducing water flows to sinks

 Reusing return flows
 Practices that minimize pollution or
salinization

Source: David Molden

Tap uncommitted outflows

Uncommitted Outflows

Source: David Molden

Tapping Uncommitted Outflows

 Improving management of existing facilities

 Reusing return flows
 Adding storage facilities

Source: David Molden

Tap uncommitted outflows

Committed Outflows

Source: David Molden

Committed Outflows
• Recognize and increase value of instream uses – fisheries,
biodiversity, recreation
• Value of downstream uses

Source: David Molden

Reallocate water across uses to increase overall
value

Reallocation

Source: David Molden

Reallocating Between Uses

–Within Agriculture: from low value to

high value crops
–Between sectors
–Back to committed or non-process but
beneficial uses

Source: David Molden

Accounting for Water Use at Chistian, Pakistan

Crops

Huma n uses
Surface 90%
740km3 City uses

Vegetation
Rain

Groundwater mining
Other
Chishtian evaporation
Environmental
commitments
Source: David Molden
 Renault et al, 2000
INDUSTRIAL

ENVIRONMENT FISHING

RECREATION DOMESTIC Source: David Molden

 Water Balance in Kirindi Oya I.S.P. 1998
(Figures in Million Cubic Meter)

Renault et al, 2000

Crop
22%
Process
Depletion
C(95)
Beneficial
Net
Available Depleted 43%
Inflow
GROSS (478)
(431) (335) Non Process L (183)
INFLOW Depletion fallow
(475)
Non-Beneficial 13% (56) 7% (32)
32 from fallow
Outflow N
Uncom m itted 22% (96)

Com m itted (47)

Storage Surface-Subsurface-groundw ater

Source: David Molden
 Crop ET, Domestic
and Industrial Depletion

trees

Fuyang, East Rapti, Nepal

China

Source: David Molden

Methods for performing water accounting

– Flow measurements, inflow and

outflow components
– Evapotranspiration estimates: e.g.
Penman Monteith
– Remote sensing

Source: David Molden

 Evapotranspiration estimates: e.g. Penman
Monteith

• Calculate Eto
• Find Kc
• Calculate ETc
• Area * Etc = Crops process depletion
• Non process- beneficial: Find Kc for natural vegetation (see
FAO Manual at
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0490e/x0490e0f.htm)
Thanks