Irrigation System of Pakistan

Distribution of Water in Pakistan

Effect of Water Logging

Geography
Assignment
Submitted to: Prof. Khalil Ur Rehman
Submitted by: Amina Tariq
Roll No.01
 Irrigation:-
Artificial application of water to the soil through manually or
mechanically managed system for the purpose to

• Supply moisture essential for plant growth.

• Encourage plant root development.
• Cool the soil and atmosphere.
• Create favorable condition for plant growth.
• Transport nutrients from soil to plant.

Water Resources for Irrigation:-

Following are the water resources for irrigation:
1. Surface Water.
2. Rainfall/Precipitation.
3. Groundwater.

Surface water is diverted to the fields by the use of rivers, canals,

channels etc. Rainfall/Precipitation may directly fall into the fields,
groundwater is abstracted from soil and diverted to the fields.
 Methods of irrigation:-
Surface irrigation: Surface Irrigation is a kind
of irrigation where gravity works its best. In Surface Irrigation,
water is applied and distributed over the soil surface by the help
of gravity. Throughout the world, this is the most commonly used
type of irrigation process.
Subsurface irrigation: Subsurface irrigation, also
designated as sub irrigation, involve irrigation to crops by applying
water from beneath the soil surface either by constructing
trenches or installing underground perforated pipe lines or tile
lines.
Drip or trickle irrigation: Drip, or trickle irrigation, is
the system in which water is frequently and slowly applied directly
on the crop root zone. In a drip irrigation system, water is applied
under the pressure, dripping one drop at a time through the small
emitters.
Sprinkler irrigation: Sprinkler irrigation is a method of
applying irrigation water which is similar to natural rainfall. It is
then sprayed into the air through sprinklers so that it breaks up
into small water drops which fall to the ground.

Components of Irrigation System:-

Following are the components of an irrigation system:

• Watershed River
• Dam
• Barrage
• Canals (Link, Main, Branch, Major and Minor)
• Watercourse
Watershed receive rainfall and contributes to the formation of
river, dams and barrages are storage structures and rise the head
of water, link canals deliver water from one river to another river,
main canal takes its supply from river and water of main canal is
used for irrigation through branch, major, minor and watercourse.
In next pages we will discuss these components of an irrigation
system one by one.

Indus Basin Irrigation System:-

Pakistan‘s Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) is the strong
heart of the country‘s economy. The Indus River rises in the
Tibetan plateau in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar. It flows in
Tibet for about 200 miles before it enters Ladakh, (part of Kashmir
under Indian control) and then flows on towards Gilgit in Pakistan.
Flowing through the North in a southerly direction along the
entire length of Pakistan, it falls into the Arabian Sea near
Pakistan‘s port city of Karachi. With a total length of 3,200 km
(1,988 miles), the river‘s estimated annual flow is approximately
207 billion m3.
The Indus River feeds ecosystems of temperate forests, plains
and arid countryside. Its five major tributaries are the Jehlum, the
Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej (also having origin in
Tibetan plateau). Another two tributaries of the Indus, the Kabul
and the Kurram, rise in Afghanistan. Most of the Indus basin lies in
Pakistan and India, with about 13 per cent of the total catchment
area of the basin situated in Tibet and Afghanistan. The Indus
drainage basin area is shared by Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and
China.
Pakistan, with a Geographical area of 796,095 square
kilometers, possesses large rivers, like Indus which, along with its
5 tributaries, namely Chenab, Jehlum, Ravi, Kabul and Sutlej,
forms one of the mightiest River-Systems of the world. The River-
System comprises 2 storage reservoirs, 19 large rivers Headworks,
45 Canal Systems measuring 58,000 kilometers, some 1.6 million
kilometers of water-courses and field Irrigation Channels. Pakistan
has big rivers like Indus, Chenab, Ravi, Jehlum and Sutlej, where
discharges in summer season vary from 100 thousand Cusecs to
1,200 thousand Cusecs and can cause tremendous loss to human
lives, crops and property. Due to limited capacity of storage at
Tarbela and Mangla Dams on river Indus and Jehlum, with
virtually no control on Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, devastating
problems are faced between July and October in the event of
excessive rainfall in the catchments.
The Irrigation system of Pakistan is the largest integrated
irrigation network in the world, serving almost 18 million ha of
contiguous cultivated land. The system is fed by the waters of the
Indus River and its tributaries. The salient features of the system
are three major storage reservoirs, namely, Tarbela and Chashma
on River Indus, and Mangla on River Jehlum, with a present live-
storage of about 15.4 BM3, 19 barrages; 12 inter-river link canals
and 45 independent irrigation canal commands. The total length
of main canals alone is 58,500 Km. Water courses comprise
another 1,621,000 Kms.
Indus river basin:

Distribution of water in Pakistan:-

Pakistan is an agriculture country so, agriculture is the
backbone of Pakistan’s economy and more than 50%
population depends upon agriculture. As Pakistan is an
agriculture country so irrigation is necessary for agriculture. The
irrigation system of Pakistan comprises of 2 major storage
reservoirs, 19 large rivers headworks and a number of small
dams.

Dams of Pakistan:-
There are many smaller and larger scale dams are in Pakistan.

Dams of Azad Kashmir:-

• Kakra Dam Mirpur district
• Mangla Dam Mirpur district
• Shukian Dam Mirpur district
• Jari Kas Dam Mirpur
Dams of Baluchistan:-
• Akra Kaur
• Dam Amach
• Dam Baghak
• Dam Band-e-Chaman
• Dam Bisialla
• Dam Bostan
• Darra Dam
Dams of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:-
• Dam Besham, Shangla Khan
• Khanpur Dam Haripur
• Naryab Dam
• Warsak Dam Peshawar
• Allai Khwar Dam
• Tarbela Dam Haripur
Dams of Punjab:-
• Haji Shah Dam Attock
• Jabbi Dam Jehlum District
• Jamal Dam Gujar Khan
• Jammargal Dam Jehlum District

Major Dams in Pakistan:-

The major reservoirs/dams of the Indus River System are
given below:
Tarbela dam
Mangla dam
Chashma reservoir

Tarbela Dam:- Tarbela dam is world's biggest earth and

rock fill dam and was completed in 1974-75 and is located on
the Indus River. The dam is 485 feet high and 9000 feet long. A
100 sq. mile lake is capable of conserving gross quantity of 11.7
MAF of water. Installed power generation capacity is 3500 MW.
It has two spillways, four tunnels for power generation on the
right bank and one for irrigation on the left. The gross capacity
has now reduced to 9.745 MAF from its original capacity 11.7
MAF.
Mangla Dam:- Mangla dam on river Jehlum which is a
12th largest earth fill dam in the world has been completed in
1967. Jehlum River at Mangla has a catchment area of about
12,870 sq. miles. Dam height is 380 feet. The original gross
storage capacity of the reservoir was 5.35 MAF in 1967. Live
storage capacity was 4.81 MAF which was about 90 percent of
gross capacity whereas dead storage capacity was 0.54 MAF.
The main objectives of the dam are
(i) water storage for supplementing irrigation supplies
(ii) hydropower Generation (WAPDA, 1989).
Before 1991 hydropower capacity of Mangla dam was 800 MW
with 8 units. In 1991, hydropower capacity of the dam was
increased to 1000 MW with 10 units. The primary objectives
from the reservoir are assured water releases for agriculture
and hydropower generation.
Chashma Reservoir:- Located on the Indus River
downstream of Tarbela dam, this reservoir acts as a buffer
reservoir to re-regulate the releases from Tarbela. It was
constructed in 1971 as barrage cum reservoir providing
diversion facilities for Chashma Jehlum link Canal on its left side
and Chashma right bank canal on the right side. The reservoir
acts as a re-regulatory storage for the releases from Tarbela
which enable the reservoir to store 2.59 MAF of water and
releases 2.52 MAF during 1992-93. According to 1986-87
hydrographic survey by WAPDA, the gross storage capacity of
Chashma reservoir has been reduced from 0.87.
 Barrages of Pakistan:-
Irrigation system of Pakistan consists of 19 barrages. Following is the
list of these barrages.
Chashma barrage
Taunsa barrage
Jinnah barrage
Guddu barrage
Sukkar barrage
Kotri barrage
Trimmu barrage
Panjnad barrage
Balloki barrage
Sidhnai barrage
Sulemanki barrage
Islam barrage
Mailsi barrage

Canal System of Pakistan:-

The irrigation and canal system of Pakistan is regarded as best among
others worldwide. It is also the largest. About three fourth of the
agricultural land of Pakistan comes under this canal system
Types of canals in Pakistan:
Canal System of Pakistan consists of three main important types of
canals;
Perennial Canals
Non-Perennial Canals
Inundation Canals
a) Perennial Canals: These are crucial in canal system of Pakistan.
Perennial canals ensure regular supply of water all the year round.
 These canals supply water to farmer‘s field. Perennial canals sprout
from barrages or dams. Punjab has many of these canals. These include
Lower and upper Bari Doab, Lower & Upper Chenab canal and Sidhnai.
Apart from these Upper Jehlum and river Sutlej‘s Canals are also
important. Trimmu Headworks is the starting point of Jehlum canals.
Sutlej River originates from it at Islam, Panjnad, Ferozpur and
Sulaimanki Headworks.
b) Non-Perennial Canals: Non-perennial canals only run in
Monsoon and summer. They get their water from rains. This category
also has many canals. These include Sutlej, Sidhnai (from Ravi) and
haveli (from Chenab) canals. They also constitute an important part in
canal system of Pakistan.
c) Inundation Canals: Rainy weather and season is the only time
when these canals run. It actually happens due to raised level of water
in rivers. Uncertain water quantity is supplied by them. Their source of
water is also river but there is a difference. They carry extra flood
water. That is why these are also called flood canals. Some canals of
Chenab and Indus River are the examples.

Effects of water logging:-

Water logging and salinity affects 25% of irrigated land in
Pakistan, reducing crop yields. It has been reported that 48% of
the soils in Sindh and Punjab are saline while 18% of the soils
are strongly saline. The waterlogging affects the land in various
ways. The various after effects are the following:
1. Creation of Anaerobic Condition in the Crop Root-Zone:
When the aeration of the soil is satisfactory bacteriological
activities produce the required nitrates from the nitrogenous
compounds present in the soil. It helps the crop growth.
Excessive moisture content creates anaerobic condition in the
soil. The plant roots do not get the required nourishing food or
nutrients. As a result crop growth is badly affected.
2. Growth of Water Loving Wild Plants:
When the soil is waterlogged water loving wild plant life grows
abundantly. The growth of wild plants totally prevent the
growth of useful crops.
3. Impossibility of Tillage Operations:
Waterlogged fields cannot be tilled properly. The reason is that
the soil contains excessive moisture content and it does not
give proper tilth.
4. Accumulation of Harmful Salts:
The upward water movement brings the toxic salts in the crop
root-zone. Excess accumulation of these salts may turn the soil
alkaline. It may hamper the crop growth.
5. Lowering of Soil Temperature:
The presence of excessive moisture content lowers the
temperature of the soil. In low temperature the bacteriological
activities are retarded which affects the crop growth badly.