Irrigation Efficiencies Irrigation efficiency is a crilical measure of irrigation performance in terms of the water required to irrigate a field, farm, or an entire watershed. The objective of irrigation efficiency concept is to determine whether improvements can be made in both the irrigation system and_ the management of the operation programmes which will lead to an efficient irrigation water use.* High irrigation efficiency offers > lower operating cost, y improved production per unit of water delivered >and improved environments benefit and management. * Several adjustments can be made to the volume of water delivered to the field to increase irrigation efficiency or uniformityCrop Water Use Efficiency * Crop water use efficiency is mostly used to describe irrigation effectiveness in terms of crop yield. * It is defined as the ratio of mass of crop yield per unit of irrigation water used in evapotranspiration (ET).* Several terms are used to evaluate irrigation system performance. » Water conveyance efficiency » Water application efficiency » Water storage efficiency » Water distribution efficiency > Uniformity Coefficient » Overall Irrigation EfficiencyWater Conveyance Efficiency (Ec) * It is used to measure the efficiency of water conveyance system associated with canal, field channel, pipelines, etc. * Irrigation water can be diverted from a storage reservoir and transported fo the field or fann through a system of canals or pipelines; it can be pumped from a reservoir on the farm and transported through a system of farm canals or pipelines. * Normally irrigation water pumped and carried in closed conduits gives conveyance efficiency of nearly 100 percent.pe SPR VeVcimeoln ae UnecM ali d(eeunla) Hela Orel MMW eMem ics aes sl ay Radeon ol aieclr elke) clon m ae ania Wi ar x 100 T A Tien eee mea ae eh We WERE Clm Noch MMi ad omer CIVIL ENGINEERING ADDA* Conveyance losses include any cane) spills (operational or accidental) and reservoir seepage and evaporation that might result from management as well as losses resulting from condition of the irrigation system. It also includes leakage from pipes. Typically, conveyance losses are much lower for closed conduits or pipelines compared with unlined or lined canals due to reduced evaporation and seepage InccacWater Conveyance Efficiency i WaterdeliveredtotheFarm (W,) Waterdiverted from a stream, reservoir or well (W,) Water lost by evap and seepage45 m' of water was pumped into a farm distribution system. 38 m' of water is delivered to a field which is 2 km from the well. Compute the Conveyance Efficiency. Solution: 4 Water delivered tothe Farm(W,) ©" Water of water diverted froma stream, reservoir or well (W.) =38/45= 84%Distribution Uniformity or DU Distribution Uniformity is the measure of how uniformly the water is applied * DU is a measure of the irrigation system —_ ‘Underwatering Application depth casiugae Example of a good DU Example of a poor DUUnderaeing a Appcaon depth Example of a good DU Example of a poor DU * The problem with a poor DU — If enough water is applied to ensure every plant is given adequate water, we overwater other plants. ‘Appcaion depth <>te EMA Cm Ranilalsaiay UTM ee utente tectR ONO MeAR ULC MEM Mel IN me ual eFlCeton cen Us root zone throughout the field area. na= (1-4) x 100 Where, d= average depth WET acl incite mea UeLO muse NUMAN ICcmsCel(-( SARUM eens Corse Ne Utne na le CIVIL ENGINEERING ADDAPoor water distribution causes waicr stress in area receiving relatively low amounts of water and oxygen siress in areas that are walerloggec for several days. Both application efficiency and water distribution uniformity provide a_ better indication of overall irrigation system performance.ENG Question the depths of penetration along the length ofa borderstrip atpoints 30 m apart were proved, There observed valuesare 2m, 1.9 m, 1.8 m, 1.6 mand 1.5 m,Compute the water distribution efficiency Panos Pee ance eon EET ton 00) rcs Pee econ ety ((2- 1.76) + (1.9 - 1.76) + (18 -1.76) + (1.76 - 16) + (176-15) = 0.168 iy: Tors aU Ng = 90.45% CIVIL ENGINEERING ADDAWater Application Efficiency (Ea): Application efficiency relates to the aciual storage of water in the root zone to meet the crop water needs in relation to the water applied to the field Application efficiency includes any losses from o evaporation or seepage from surface water channels or furrows, any leaks from sprinkler or drip pipelines, percolation beneath the root zone, evaporation of droplets in the air, or runoff from the field.* Water application efficiency below 100 % is due to seepage losses from field distribution channel, runoff and deep percolation below crop root zone. * Water losses due to inefficient application of water in the field vary from 28 to 50 %.* Proper irrigation management can increase the application efficiency and poor irrigation management can result in inefficient use of water and reduce application efficiency. * Over irrigation may result in leaching chemicals below crop root zone cause yield reduction and result in wasting water resources.Application Efficiency Water in root zone after irrigation E. Total volume of water applied Total vol.of water applied (Vol. of Tailwater +Vol. of deep percolation) Total water applieda NN ELCa a) eciaeynaalchiay TARE OR ANE e MMree olan Whe lcme sion oR UTa lA eB els 100 ose om ea Ema mice Cee) 29) 0) NPN oem le arco) ened Ue EMEC me Macc nen Usa NIMH ACE eel Lee uM Cul men Mime scale a cho Eola ehaar area eee lololDelivery of 10 m/s to a 32 ha farm is continued for 4 hours. Soil probing after irrigation indicates that 30 cm of water has been stored in the root zone. Compute the Application Efficiency. Solution: Total volume of water applied = 10m/s x 4hrs x 3600s/hr = 144,000 mi! Total water stored in root zone = 30cm = 0.3m x 32ha x 10,000 m/ha = 96,000 m'Water in root zone after irrigation Total volume of water applied = 96,000/144,000 = 66.7%.Irrigation Interval This is the time between successive irrigations. Irrigation interval is equal to: Readily Available Moisture or Net Irrigation/ Evapotranspiration, ET The shortest irrigation interval is normally use in design. The irrigation interval varies with ET It is equivalent to Readily Avaliable Water divided by the Peak ET* A 12-hectare field is to be irrigated with a sprinkler system. The root zone depth is 0.9 m and the field capacity of the soil is 28% while the permanent wilting point is 17% by weight. The soil bulk density is 1.36 g/em3 and the water application efficiency is 70%. The soil is to be irrigated when 50% of the available water has depleted. The peak evapotranspiration is 5.0 mm/day and the system is to be run for 10 hours ina day. Determine: (i) The net irrigation depth (ii) Gross irrigation ie. the depth of water to be pumped ¢ (iii) Irrigation periodChristiansen Uniformity Coefficient (C,) This measures the uniformity of irrigation used for both sprinkler and drip system. Yrs C, =100 (1.0— ) mn Where: L/*' is the summation of deviations from the mean depth infiltered m is the mean depth infiltered and nis the number of observations. The water distribution efficiency indicates the degree of uniformity in the amount of the water infiltrated into the soil.* A Uniformity Check is taken by probing many stations down the border. The depths of penetration (cm) recorded were: 6.4, 6.5, 6.5, 6.3, 6.2, 6.0, 6.4, 6.0, 5.8, 5.7, 5.5, 4.5, 4.9. Compute the Uniformity Coefficient. * Solution: Total depth of water infiltered = 76.7 cm . Mean depth = 76.7/13 = 5.9 cmLocations Depths (cm) Deviations from Mean 1 64 0.5 2 6.5 0.6 3S: 65 0.6 4 63 04 5 62 0.3 6 6.0 0.1 7 64 0.5 8 6.0 0.1 9 58 0.1 10 3.7 0.2 11 ae 0.4 2 45 14 13, 49 1.0Vix) =62 (x1 C = Hotincee ) wu mn m=5.9 cm; n=13 62 2 C,=100(L0-——_)_ = 92% 59x13 * This is a good Efficiency. 80% Efficiency is acceptable.Overall Irrigation Efficiency (Eo) The overall irrigation efficiency represents the efficiency of entire physical system and operating decisions in delivering irrigation water from a water supply source to crop. It is calculated by multiplying the efficiencies of water conveyance and water application Eo=(Ec x Ea) x100, % Ec= water conveyance efficiency (decimal) Ea= water application efficiency (decimal)+ Gross Water Application= * Net Irrigation/Efficiency = 84/0.7 = 120 mm Note: This is the actual water needed to be pumped for irrigation. It is equivalent to: 120 /1000 mm x 10,000 m’ = 1200 m}_per hectare.Water Storage Efficiency (E.) * The main goal in most irrigation applications is to maximize water storage in the soil root zone to satisfy crop ET while minimizing deep percolation and surface runoff. * It is defined as the ratio of volume of water stored in the root zone to the volume of water required to fill the root zone to field capacity.* A stream of 135 I/s was diverted from a canal and 100 Vs was delivered to a field. An area of 1.6 ha was irrigated in 8 h. The effective depth of root zone was 1.8 m. The run off in the field was 432 m3. The depth of water penetrated varied linearly from 1.8 m at the head end of the field to 1.2 m at the tail end. Available moisture holding capacity of the soil is 20 cm/m depth of soil. Determine water conveyance efficiency, water application efficiency, water storage efficiency and water distribution efficiency. Irrigation was started at a moisture extraction level of 50% of available moisture.+ The Moisture. Content at. Field Capacity of a Clay Loam Soil is 28% by Weight While that at Permanent Wilting Point is 14% by Weight. Root Zone Depth Is 1 m and the Bulk Density Is-1.2 g/cm Calculate the Net and Gross Depth of Irrigation Required If the Irrigation Efficiency Is ONT: Solution: Field Capacity = 28%; Permanent wilting point = 14% + ie. Available moisture = 28-14 = 14% by weight + Bulk density (D,) = 1.2 g/cm* + Root Zone depth (D) = 1m= 1000mm * Equivalent depth of available water (d) f° = 0.14 x 120 x 1000mm = 168mm * This is the net depth of irrigation.Ways of Improving Efficiencies — Water Transport through underground pipelines/ lining of water courses — Reduce water evaporation, seepage and leakage from pipes — Improve equipment, technology, engineering — Optimize total crop management + Get agood design * Maintain irrigation system — Replace worn nozzles — Fix leaky pipes + Improve management — Irrigation Scheduling — Operate at designed pressure and flow — Irrigate on calm cool days