Planning and Design for the Development of Thanhle Pump

Irrigation Project
Khaing Yi Hinn Wint#1, Kyi Pyar Shwe #2, Cho Cho Thin Kyi #3
Department of Civil Engineering, Yangon Technological University, Myanmar
1
khaingyihnin@gmail.com
2
kyipyars@gmail.com
3
ccthinkyi@gmail.com

Abstract – Lowland areas of Myanmar are mostly heavily rainy regions with average
annual rainfall of 180 inches. In some region, the rainfall is so heavy that the water level
of near river rises and floods to the agricultural lands. Thus, it is necessary to develop the
effective irrigation and drainage system. Moreover, the development of new irrigation
network is one of the effective strategies to prevent water losses and optimal usage of
water resources in agricultural section. This study aims to irrigate 800 acres of farmland
in Hpa-An region. It is planned to supply these 800 acres of farmland by pumping water
from Gyaing River and will distribute with effective irrigation network and distributary
system. The capacity of the irrigation canals depends on the water requirements of the
crops and the irrigated area. So, the crop water requirement is firstly calculated by using
Penman-Monteith equation (Cropwat 8.0) which is based on FAO Irrigation and
Drainage Paper 56. After that, layout canal system of the study area is considered to have
the efficient distribution system. Design of irrigation canal is carried out and drainage
module for the proposed design of drainage canal is also considered.

Keywords – Irrigation Network, Cropwat 8.0, Crop Water Requirement, Canal Design,
, Drainage Module

I. INTRODUCTION
Among natural resources, water is the most critical. Myanmar has an abundance of
rivers and streams and so it should be used to promote the economic and social
advancement of all the people of Myanmar. The total area of Myanmar is 67.66 million
hectares and total cultivable area is 17.65 million hectares, which is 26% of total land
area. At present, less than 18% of the land- 12.02 million hectare- is used for agricultural
production and there is large potential to develop irrigable land and increase agricultural
production in Myanmar. The process of irrigation includes the storing of water from the
available rainfall or any other source and supplying it to the fields for economical use.
The research area is Thanhle pump irrigation project which is located near Thanhle
Village, Hpa-An District of Kayin State.

II. LOCATION OF THE STUDY AREA

The study area, Thanhle Irrigation Project is located near Thanhle Village, Hpa-An
District of Kayin State on the left bank of Gyaing River. It is situated at Longitude 97.4˚
E and Latitude 15 ˚N at an altitude of 13m above mean sea level as shown in Fig1.
 Fig.1 Location Map of Thanhle Pump Irrigation Project

III. ESTIMATION OF CROP WATER REQUIREMENT

A. Estimation of Reference Crop Evapotranspiration
The reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) is estimated by using Modified Penman
Method and Cropwat 8.0 software based on FAO Penman-Monteith Method. The
monthly meteorological data such as average temperature, surface wind speed, relative
humidity, sunshine hour only for the period 2012 to 2015 can be collected due to lack of
long term data for Hpa-An meteorological station. Estimation of average ETo values from
the year 2005 to 2014 are described in Table 1.

Table 1 Average ETo Values by Using Cropwat 8.0 Software (Penman-Monteith Method)
and Modified Penman Method
June
May

Sept
Aug

Nov
July
Mar

Dec
Apr
Feb

Oct
Jan

Month

Penman-
5.01

5.89

6.85

7.55

5.16

2.95

2.36

2.35

4.72

5.15

4.74
3.1

Monteith
(mm/d)
Modified
10.19
7.16

8.01

9.11

7.12

4.44

3.43

3.37

4.3

6.6

7.3

Penman 6.7
(mm/d)

B. Cropping Pattern for the Study Area

Monsoon paddy, late monsoon paddy, summer paddy, black gram and green gram are
mainly planted in study area. The cropping pattern for the study area is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig.2 Cropping Pattern of Study Area

C. Estimation of Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc)
 The crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is computed by multiplying the crop coefficient
(Kc) with reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo).
Estimation of crop evapotranspiration, ET values by using CROPWAT 8.0 software
based on FAO Penman-Monteith Equation for the year 2012 to 2015 are described in
Table 2.

Table 2 Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) for 2012-2015 Computed by Cropwat 8.0

Year ETc ( mm )
Monsoon Late Monsoon Summer Green Black
Paddy Paddy Paddy Gram Gram
2012 565.7 560.2 931.2 412.8 412.8
2013 426.2 552.7 987.3 426.2 426.2
2014 716.0 604 1031.8 416.4 416.4
2015 642.6 529.6 812.9 335.8 335.8

D. Estimation of Irrigation Water Requirement

After determining crop evapotranspiration (ETc), effective rain is estimated for each
month of each crop by taking as 80% of total rainfall. According to Cropwat 8.0
software, irrigation requirement for each crop results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Irrigation Water Requirement for Each Crop from 2012-2015

Year Irrigation Water Requirements (mm)
Monsoon Late Summer Green Gram Black Gram
Paddy monsoon Paddy
Paddy
2012 204.5 504.9 1173 417.7 417.7
2013 425.1 481.3 1204.3 425.1 425.1
2014 443.8 710.4 1311.4 416.4 416.4
2015 187.1 441.2 916.6 292.6 292.6

F. Estimation of Project Irrigation Efficiency Values

Irrigation efficiency is sub-divided into conveyance efficiency, operation efficiency
and field application efficiency. Conveyance efficiency is taken as 0.75. Field canal
efficiency has been selected as 0.85 because it is considered as unlined canal. Irrigation
water is supplied to the crops by using surface method with level border and land
consolidation. Thus, field application efficiency is taken as 0.85. Therefore, the calculated
overall project irrigation efficiency for the study is 0.54 (54%).

G. Estimation of Project Irrigation Requirement at Pump Site

Irrigation requirement at pump site is determined for various crops by using the
estimated value of overall project irrigation efficiency. Estimation of actual water depth
for irrigation water requirements at pump site are described in Table 4.
Table 4 Project Irrigation Requirement at Pump Site for Each Crop with Project
Irrigation Efficiency of 0.65
Crop Name Irrigation Water Irrigation Water Water Depth (ft)
Requirement (mm) Requirement (ft)
Monsoon Paddy 443.8 1.5 2.8
Late Monsoon Paddy 710.4 2.3 4.3
Summer Paddy 1311.4 4.3 7.9
Green Gram 425.1 1.4 2.6
Black Gram 425.1 1.4 2.6

It is found that, the water requirement at pump site of summer paddy is obtained as
7.9 ft as the maximum water requirement for irrigation.

IV. LAYOUT OF CANAL SYSTEM

A. Selection of Canal Alignment
In this study area, the canal alignment is selected on the available topographic maps
with respect to purposes and function of the canal, costs and safety of the facilities. The
contour interval is depended on the scale of the map and on the character of the terrain to
be represented. The length of the main canal is nearly 17183ft and there will have ten
minor canals and one direct outlet. The canal alignment for the study area is as shown in
Fig. 3.

Fig.3 Layout Plan of Study Area

V. DESIGN OF CANAL SYSTEM

A. Estimation of Duty of Water for Irrigation Canal Design

Duty of water is obtained by dividing the one cusec of water for one day (24 hour)
used in the base period with depth of water required by a crop. For considering the design
of canal, the smallest value of duty of water which gives the peak water requirement is
used to accommodate the maximum discharge. The duty of water with 65% efficiency for
unlined canal is 37 acres/cusec for 24 hours of water supply. For pump irrigation, duty is
taken as 18.5 acres/cusecs for 12 hours. The duty of water for each crop is shown in
Table 5.
Table 5 Duty of Water for Each Crop
Base
Sr. Depth of Duty of Water,
Name of crops Period
No Water (ft) acres/cusec
(days)
1 Monsoon Paddy 2.3 150 130
2 Late Monsoon Paddy 3.5 90 51
3 Summer Paddy 6.6 120 37
4 Green Gram 2.2 90 80
5 Black Gram 2.2 90 80

B. Design of Irrigation Canal for the Study Area

In this study, Manning's formula is used for all canals design calculation. All canals
are considered as trapezoidal shape which is the most suitable for unlined earth canal.
Manning’s Roughness coefficient is taken as 0.025 for main canal and other canals. Inner
side slope for unlined canal is considered as 1.5:1 and outer side slope is taken as 2:1 to
prevent erosion and sliding and to cover seepage line or hydraulic gradient line.
Freeboard for all canals is considered as 2 ft.
Design calculation result for main canal and minor canals are shown in Table 6.

Table 6 Canal Design for Main Canal and Minor Canal

Canal Irrigable Q Width Depth Bed Slope Side Velocity

Name Area (cusec) (B) (D) (S) Slo- (V)
(acre) (ft) (ft) pe (ft/sec)
(z)
Main 800 52 5.25 2.75 0.0006 1.5 2.19
Minor-1 65 4.8 2 1 0.001 1.37 1.25
Minor-2 59 4.4 1.75 1 0.001 1.35 1.23
Minor-3 37 3.1 1 1 0.001 1.25 1.26
Minor-4, 202 14.9 2 1.75 0.001 1.82 1.29
4A
Minor-5 147 10.2 1.75 1.5 0.001 1.67 1.25
Minor-6 64 4.8 2 1 0.001 1.37 1.25
Minor-7 52 3.5 1.25 1 0.001 1.28 1.23
Minor-8 78 5.7 1.25 1.25 0.001 1.45 1.24
Minor-9 80 5.7 1.25 1.25 0.001 1.45 1.24
DO 36 3.1 1 1 0.001 1.25 1.26

VI. DESIGN OF DRAINAGE CHANNEL

A. Estimation of Maximum Rainfall Depth from 1To 10 Consecutive Days
Maximum daily rainfall data are collected from (1994-2003) from Hpa-An
Meteorological Station. To calculate drainage modulus, maximum daily rainfall data for
(1-10) consecutive days are used to calculate the probability analysis of return period by
using flood frequency method. The return period of design rainfall is taken as 10 years
for drainage protection in the study area. The estimation of maximum rainfall depths
from 1 to 10 consecutive days are shown in Table 7.

Table 7 Estimation of Maximum Rainfall Depths from 1 to 10 Consecutive Days

Duration Maximum Rainfall Depth
(day) Gumble Log-normal Log-Pearson
1 9.03 9.09 8.57
2 13.42 12.88 12.36
3 17.60 17.54 16.83
4 19.84 19.62 18.98
5 22.55 22.33 19.85
6 25.81 25.53 24.59
7 30.11 29.56 28.25
8 32.84 31.81 30.36
9 35.08 33.45 31.93
10 37.62 36.12 34.5

C. Determination of Drainage modulus

To calculate the drainage modulus for the study area, rainfall frequency duration
curve is drawn from the result of maximum rainfall depths from 1 to 10 consecutive
days. It is taken as 4in embedded in the permissible depth of the paddy fields. Then, the
tangent line to this curve is drawn and a line is drawn parallel to that tangent line at 4in.
Rainfall frequency duration curves are shown in Fig. 4.

Fig.4 Rainfall Frequency Duration Curves by Gumble, Log normal, Log-Pearson

Type III Distribution Method

From rainfall frequency duration curve, design drainage module can be considered.
The values of design drainage module are shown in Table 8.
Table 8 Canal Design for Main Canal and Minor Canals
Method Drainage Module Design Drainage
(in/day) Module (acre/cusec)
Gumble’s Distribution Method 3.98 6
Log-normal Distribution Method 3.74 6.36
Log-Pearson Type III Method 3.86 6.2

Gumble’s distribution method is used for design drainage module because it is

suitable for extreme values. Actual water depths in the rice field are shown in Table 9.

Table 9 Actual Water Depth in the Rice Field

Duration Cumu- Drainage Excess Water Depth
(Day) lative Discharge (in) Water in Initial Total
Rainfall (in) Field ( in)
1 9.03 3.98 5.04 2 7.04
2 13.42 7.96 5.45 2 7.44
3 17.60 11.94 5.65 2 7.65
4 19.84 15.92 3.91 2 5.91
5 22.55 19.90 2.64 2 4.64
6 25.81 23.88 1.92 2 3.92
7 30.11 27.86 2.25 2 4.25
8 32.84 31.84 1.00 2 3.00
9 35.08 35.82 -0.74 2 1.26
10 37.62 39.80 -2.17 2 -0.17

The amount of water that can be temporarily stored without harming the rice plant is
4" above initial level of 2" which amounts to 6". Duration of flooding, more than
allowable depth will not be greater than six days for paddy resistance. Therefore, there is
only one day that is greater than 6" of allowable depth.

D. Design of Drainage Channel

In this study, Manning's formula is used for the design of drainage channels. The
cross sectional shapes of drainage canals are considered to design as trapezoidal because
it is suitable for erosion resistance. It is considered to have three drainage channels for the
study area. They are main drain, auxiliary drain and collector drain to protect the flood
over the farm lands. At the start point of the main drain, it is considered to provide the
drainage crossing with 5’x5’ opening and assumed the velocity of 5 ft/sec. The value of
runoff coefficient for all the drainage channels is considered as 0.03. Drainage networks
are shown in above figure 3. Design results for the drainage channels are shown in Table
10.
Table 10 Summary Design Result of Drainage Channel

Name of Catchme- Q Width Depth Bed Side Velocity

Drain nt Area (cusec) (B) (D) Slope Slo- (V)
(acre) (ft) (ft) (S) pe (ft/sec)
(z)
Collector 6104 875 20 7 0.001 1 4.7
Main 330 180 6.5 6 0.0005 1 2.4
Auxiliary 243 46 3 3 0.0005 1 2.6

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, the author would like to express her appreciation to Dr. Myint Thein,
Rector of the Yangon Technological University. The author also expresses her gratitude
to Dr. Nyan Myint Kyaw, Professor and Head of Civil Engineering Department of the
Yangon Technological University. Especially, the author is thankful to her supervisor Dr.
Kyi Pyar Shwe, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Yangon
Technological University, for her advice and also expresses her special thanks to her
External Examiner Dr. Maung Maung Htay, Co-Team Leader, BWID Project, JICA for
giving advice and true-line guidance.
The author's acknowledgement is also extended to the Board of Examiners, Dr. Win
Win Zin and Daw Cho Cho Thin Kyi, Associate Professors of the Department of Civil
Engineering of Yangon Technological University, for their valuable guidance and
suggestions. Finally, the author would also like to express her thanks to all persons who
offer support and kind help for this study.

REFERENCES
[1] FAO. 1977. Crop Water Requirements: FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper
24. United Nation.: Food and Agricultural Organization.
[2] FAO. 1998. Crop Evapotranspiration: Guidelines for Computing Crop Water
Requirements, Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. United Nation.: Food and
Agricultural Organization.
[3] Arora, K. R. 1996. Irrigation, Water Power and Water Resources
Engineering. A. K. Jain Book Company.
[4] G.A.W. Van De Goor. Design and Management of Drainage System. Drainage of
Rice Field
[5] Irrigation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. 1997. Design Criteria
on Canal Works. 1st Edition. Design Criteria Section, Irrigation Technology Centre.
[6] Varshney, R.S., Gupta, S.C., and Gupta, R.L. 1979. Theory and Design of
Irrigation Structures: Channels and Tubewells. Fourth Enlarged Edition,
vol.1.Nem Chand and Bros Roorkee.
.