What is an irrigation well?
METHODS OF IRRIGATION
An irrigation well is very similar to a well drilled to
provide water to a home. Because you aren’t using water
from the municipal system, it will not be charged on your
water bill, saving you considerable money. These wells must
be installed by a professional well drill service, but you can
talk to your landscape designer or sprinkler system installer
about how best to add an irrigation well as the source.
Irrigation systems are often designed to maximize
efficiencies and minimize labor and capital requirements.
The most effective management practices are dependent on
the type of irrigation system and its design
BROAD CLASSES OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
PRESSURIZED DISTRIBUTION
This system includes sprinkler, trickle, and the array of
similar systems in which water is conveyed to and
distributed over the farmland through a pressurized pipe
networks
GRAVITY FLOW IRRIGATION SYSTEM
This system conveys and distributes water at the field level
by a free surface, over land regime. This surface irrigation
method is also subdivided according to configuration and
operational characteristics
CONTROL OF DRAINAGE FLOW IRRIGATION
SYSTEM
This system is not common but interesting conceptually.
Relatively large volumes of applied irrigation water
percolate through the root zone and become a drainage or
groundwater flow.
COMPATIBILITY OF THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
The irrigation systems for a field or a farm must be
compatible with the other existing farm operations, such
as:
 Land Preparation
 Cultivation
 Level of Mechanization
 Size of Fields
 Pest Control
 Harvest
 Topographic limitations
Restrictions on irrigation system selection due to
topography include:
1. Groundwater levels
2. The location and relative elevation of the water
sources
3. Field boundaries
4. Acreage in each field
5. Location of roads
6. Power and water lines and other obstructions
7. The shape and slope of the field
FURROW IRRIGATION
Water is applied to the field by furrow which are small
canals having a continuous our nearly uniform slope in the
direction of irrigation.
Water flowing in the furrow into the soil spreads laterally to
irrigate the area between furrows. The rate of lateral spread
of water in the soil depends on soil type
BOARDER-STRIP IRRIGATION
The farms are divided into number of strips of 5 to
20 meters wide and 100 to 400 meters long. Parallel earth
bunds or levees are provided in order to guide the
advancing sheet of water. Recommended safe limits of
longitudinal slope also depends on the soil texture:
 Sandy loam to sandy soil = 0.25 – 0.6%
 Medium loam soils = 0.2 – 0.4%
 Clay to clay loam soils = 0.05-0.2%
BASIN IRRIGATION
Large stream of water is applied to almost level and
similar unit of fields which are surrounded by levees or
bunds. The applied water is retained in the basin until it
filtrates. Soil type stream size and irrigation depth are the
important factors in determining the basin area
WILD FLOODING
Water is applied all over the field especially, before
plowing for soil that can’t be plowed when dry. Under
closed conduit – there are two types of irrigation
SPRINKLER IRRIGATION (WILD FLOODING)
– Most commonly used for young growth, to humid
the atmosphere, for soil compaction.
– Offers a means of irrigating areas which are so
irregular that they prevent use of any surface
irrigation methods.
– Can minimize deep percolation or surface run off
and erosion
– Spacing of sprinkler heads must be planned to
overlap spray areas so that distribution is essentially
uniform
ADVANTAGE: Economical to labor & uniform
distribution
DRIP IRRIGATION (WILD FLOODING)
– Is used especially where there is shortage of water
and salt problem. Also called as the trickle irrigation
– This method is one of the most recent developments
in irrigation. It involves slow and frequent
applications of water to the plant or root zone and
enables the application of water and fertilizer at
optimum rates to the root system
– It minimizes the loss of water by deep percolation
below the root zone or by evaporation from the soil
surface. Not only economical in water use but also
gives higher yields with poor quality water.
ADVANTAGGES:
 No loss of water because all water drops at the
root zone
  No water logging and rise of water table at Conversion Factors
result salinity problems caused by this irrigation
type is almost nil The following equivalents are useful for converting
 Uniform distribution from one unit to another and for calculating volumes
 Good water management from flow units.
 Economical use of labor Volume Units
One gallon
WATER MEASUREMENTS UNITS AND
COVERSION FACTORS =231 cubic inches

Irrigation water management begins with knowing = 0.13368 cubic foot weighs approximately 8.33
the quantity of water available. The purpose of this pounds
publication is to provide basic information on water
measurement units and convenient conversion factors. One cubic foot
Sometimes one will want to know only the volume of water = 1,728 cubic inches
used; while, at other times one will want to know the rate of
flow. Conversion factors simplify changing from one unit of = 7.481 gallons (7.5 for ordinary calculations)
measurement to another. weights 62.4 pounds (62.5 for ordinary calculations)

Water Measurement Units One acre-inch

There are two conditions under which water is = 3,630 cubic feet
measured—water at rest and water in motion. Water at rest
= 27,154 gallons (27,200 for ordinary calculations)
is measured in units of volume. Water in motion is measured
in units of flow— unit of volume for a convenient time unit. = 1/12 acre-foot weighs approximately 113.1 tons
It is important that the difference between a unit of volume
and a unit of flow be kept in mind. One acre-foot

Volume Units Water at Rest = 43,560 cubic feet

EXAMPLES: ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and in the soil, = 325,851 gallons

is measured in units of volume = 12 acre-inches weighs approximately 1,357 tons
 Cubic Foot - The volume of water that would be Flow Units
held in a container one-foot-wide by one-foot-long by
one foot deep. One gallon per minute

 Acre-lnch - The volume of water that would cover = 0.00223 (approximately 1/450 ) cubic foot per
one acre (43,560 square feet) one inch deep. second

 Acre-Foot - The volume of water that would cover = 0.00221 acre-inch per hour
one acre one foot deep.
= 0.00442 acre-foot per (24 hour) day
= 1 acre-inch in 452.6 hours (450 for ordinary
Flow Units Water in Motion calculations)

EXAMPLES: flowing in streams, canals, pipelines, = 1 acre-foot in 226.3 days

and ditches, is measured in units of volume per unit of time
One cubic foot per second
—gallons per minute (gpm), cubic feet per second (cfs),
acre-inches per hour and acre feet per day. Cubic feet per = 448.83 gallons per minute (450 for ordinary
second, sometimes written second-feet (sec. ft. or cusec) is calculations)
most commonly used for measuring flow of irrigation water
moving by gravity from streams and reservoirs. Gallons per = 1 acre-inch in 1 hour and 30 seconds (1 hour for
minute is most commonly used for measuring flow from ordinary calculations)
pumps. = 1 acre-foot in 12 hours and 6 minutes (12 hours
 Cubic foot per second - The quantity of water for ordinary calculations)
equivalent to a stream one foot wide by one foot = 1.984 acre-feet per (24 hours) day (2 acre-feet for
deep flowing with a velocity of one foot per ordinary calculations)
second.
Million gallons per day
 Gallon per minute - The quantity of water
equivalent to a stream which will fill a gallon = 694.4 gallons per minute (695 for ordinary
measure once each minute. calculations)

 A flow of one cfs is approximately equal to either = 1.547 cubic feet per second (1.5 for ordinary
450 gpm, one acre-inch per hour, or two acre-feet calculations)
per day (24 hours).
Conversion between English and Metric Units
Agricultural producers in many parts of the world
use Metric (also called SI) units in their routine water
measurements. The most commonly-used volume units in
Metric system include liter, cubic meter, and hectare-
millimeter, while common flow units are liter per minute
(lpm) and cubic meter per second (cms). The following
conversion table can be used to convert between English
and Metric units.
RAINWATER HARVESTING
GRAVITY ONLY
CATEGORIES OF RAINWATER HARVESTING
SYSTEM
Depending on the target catchment areas, there are
many possible configurations and degrees o complexity
to a rainwater harvesting system. Based on how the
rainwater is pumped, it can be divided into the following
categories:
 Direct Pumped
INDIRECT PUMPED
– This type of rainwater harvesting system first pumps
the harvested rainwater to a tank. This tank can be at any
level in the building, as it does not rely on gravity to
supply the outlets. Instead, a booster pump set is used to
provide a pressurized supply. This system employs the
benefit of not having to feed mains back-up water to the
underground tank, whilst also offering great flexibility as
the booster pumps can be tailored to suit the flow and
pressure requirements of the building
– In some situations, it may be possible to have a
system that functions purely through gravity. This type of
rainwater harvesting system is only ever possible where
the storage tank can be located below the level of the
gutters, yet higher that the outlets that it will supply. Only
the power of the gravity is needed to feed collected and
filtered water to various parts of the home for use, so it is
an ultra-energy efficient option

 Indirect Pumped
 Indirect Gravity
 Direct Gravity
COMMON TYPES OF RAINWATER HARVESTING
SYSTEMS
WATER BUTT
– One of the most basic form of rainwater
harvesting where the water collects in the
container from the drain pipes and/or natural
rainfall.
– It is usually used for gardening purposes

DIRECT PUMPED
SUBMERSIBLE
– This type of rainwater harvesting systems is
most commonly used for domestic purposes.
– The pump is located within the underground
tank and harvested water is simply pumped
directly to WCs or other appliances
SUCTION
– This type of rainwater harvesting systems is
located within a control unit within the
establishment (e.g. utility room
– The unit also deals with the backup from
mains water supply, sop there is no need to
send mains water to the tank
INDIRECT GRAVITY
– This type of rainwater harvesting system first
pumps the harvested rainwater to a high level tank
(header tank) and then allowed to supply the outlets
by gravity alone. With this arrangement, the pump
only has to work when the header tank needs filling