Irrigation Water Management

Irrigation Water Management
CNMP Development Course November 16-18, 2004

• Irrigation Water Management is the

process of determining and controlling
the volume, frequency, and
application rate of irrigation water in a
planned, efficient manner.

• Why is Irrigation Water Management
Important?
– Manage soil moisture to promote desired crop
response.
– Optimize the use of available water supplies.
– Minimize irrigation induced erosion.
– Decrease non-point source pollution of surface
and groundwater resources.
– Manage salts in the crop root zone.
– Manage air, soil or plant micro-climate.



• Minimum Documentation:
– Crops to be Grown, Cropping Sequence and
Soils Information.
– Volume of Water Needed per Irrigation and for
the season.
– Application rate of irrigation water.
– Records Showing Date and Amount of Water
Applied.
• Include type of irrigation scheduling technique used
by the client.
– Evaluation of the Irrigation System
– Environmental Considerations

• Determining Volume of Water Needed

– Crop Consumptive Use (CU)
The amount of water used by the crop
in transpiration and building of plant
tissue, and that evaporated from
adjacent soil or intercepted by plant
foliage. It is expressed as depth in
inches or as volume in acre inches per
acre. It can represent the daily, design,
monthly, or seasonal quantity of water
needed for plant growth. Often referred
to as Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc ).

– Net Irrigation Water Requirements (Fn )
• Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc ).
• Auxiliary water needs such as leaching,
temperature modification and crop quality (A w ).
• Effective precipitation (Pe ).
• Groundwater contribution (GW).
• Change in soil water content for the period of
consideration (ΔSW).

http://www.info.usda.gov/CED/
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nrcsirrig/irrig-mgt-models.html

Evapotranspiration in Inches
Crop Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Corn Silage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.22 4.17 7.13 5.91 1.14 0.00 0.00 0.00
Grass Pasture 0.00 0.00 1.46 3.31 4.53 5.24 6.22 5.28 4.02 2.48 0.43 0.00
Net Irrigation Water Requirements in Inches

Crop Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Corn Silage 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.47 3.62 7.13 5.83 1.06 0.00 0.00 0.00
Grass Pasture 0.00 0.00 0.08 1.57 3.15 4.57 6.22 5.12 3.46 0.87 0.00 0.00

– Net Irrigation Water Requirements (Fn ),
Auxiliary Water Needs for Salinity
Management
• Soils in arid areas have the potential to become
saline or sodic.
• Saline or sodic soils will cause poor seed
germination and reduced yields.
• Additional water must be added to soils with a
potential to have saline or sodic problems to
leach excess salts.
• Where the soluble salt content of wastewater is
high enough to cause problems, the wastewater
must be diluted with good quality water or
applications must be limited.
Auxiliary Water Needs for Salinity Management


Aw = ETc
(1/Lr – 1)
where:
Aw = Auxiliary Water Needs for Salinity
Management in inches.
ETc = Seasonal Crop Evapotranspiration
in inches.
Lr = Leaching Requirement from Figure
2-33 of the NRCS National
Engineering Handbook, Part 623,
Chapter 2 - Irrigation Water
Requirements.
Contribution of Ground Water (GW)

Fn = ETc + Aw – Pe – GW - ΔSW
where:
ETc = Crop evapotranspiration in inches
Aw = Auxiliary water needs for leaching,
temperature modification, crop
quality in inches.
Pe = Effective precipitation in inches
GW = Estimated contribution from
ground water in inches.
ΔSW = Change in soil water content for
the period considered.
– Available Water Capacity of Soils (AWC)

http://soils.usda.gov/
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/
What depth to use in
computing AWC?


Given:
Silty Clay Loam Soil
Soil Depth = 3 feet
AWC = 0.20 in/in from 0 to 24 inches of soil depth
0.10 in/in from 24 to 36 inches of soil depth
Managed Crop Rooting Depth = 4 feet
What is the total plant available soil water capacity for the
crop being grown?

Determine total plant available soil water
capacity:
Use 3 feet to determine total plant AWC since the
soil depth is less than the managed crop rooting
depth.
AWC = 0.20 in/in x 24 inches = 4.8 inches
0.10 in/in x 12 inches = 1.2 inches
Total Plant AWC = 6.0 inches

– Management Allowed Depletion (MAD)
MAD is defined as the percentage of the
available soil water that can be depleted
between irrigations without serious plant
moisture stress. MAD is expressed as:
– a percentage of the total Plant Available
Water Capacity (AWC),
– a soil-water deficit (SWD) in inches, or
– an allowable soil-water tension level.

– Management Allowed Depletion (MAD)

– Net Irrigation Application (F a ) based on Plant AWC:
MAD * Plant AWC

Fa =
100%
where:
Fa = Net Irrigation Application in
inches
MAD = Moisture Allowed Depletion in
percent(50% for Corn Silage)
Plant AWC = PlantAvailable Water Capacity
of soils (6 inches)

– Net Irrigation Application (Fa ) based on Plant AWC for Corn
Silage:
50% * 6 inches
Fa =
100%
Fa = 3 inches Use this value
– Net Irrigation Application (Fa ) based on Net

Irrigation Requirement (Fn ):
Fa = 7.13 inches for Corn Silage
Fa = 6.22 inches for Pasture

– Irrigation System Capacity Requirements
453 * A * d
Q =
f * H
where:
Q = flow rate (gpm)
A = area (acres)
d = gross application depth (in)
f = irrigation frequency (days)
H = hours of operation per day

– Gross Irrigation Application Requirements
Fa
d=
Ea
where:
d = Gross application, inches
Fa = Net application, inches
Ea = Application efficiency of
the irrigation system


Use a net irrigation application (Fa ) of 3.00 inches. A
traveling big gun irrigator with an application
efficiency of 60% will be used to irrigate the Corn
Silage and Pasture.
3.0 inches x 100%

d=
60%
d = 5 inches

453 * A * d
Q =
f * H
where:
Q = flow rate (gpm)
A = area to be irrigated is 40 acres
d = gross application depth is 5 inches
f = irrigation frequency (days)
H = hours of operation per day

– Irrigation Frequency (f):
f = MAD x Plant AWC

Daily ETc
where:
MAD = Management Allowed Depletion (%).
Plant AWC = Plant Available Water Capacity (inches).
Daily ETc = Daily Evapotranspiration or Consumptive
Use for the crop being grown
(inches/day).

– Irrigation Frequency (f):
where:
MAD = 50% for Corn Silage
Plant AWC = 6.0 inches
Daily ETc = Daily Evapotranspiration or Consumptive
Use for Corn Silage in inches
Daily ETc = 7.13 inches for July

31 days
Daily ETc = 0.23 in/day
f = 50% x 6.0 inches

100% x 0.23 in/day
f = 13 Days
453 * A * d
Q =
f * H
where:
Q = flow rate (gpm)
A = area to be irrigated is 40 acres
d = gross application depth is 5.0 inches
f = irrigation frequency is 13 days
H = 16 hours of operation per day is
desired by the client.

Q = 453 * 40 acres * 5.0 inches

13 days * 16 hours/day
Q = 436 gpm or 0.97 cfs
Note:
The existing or planned irrigation system must be
able to supply 436 gpm and irrigate the 40 acres of
Corn Silage every 13 days to meet the crop
evapotranspiration needs during the peak water use
period.

< I = 0.43 in/hr

• Irrigation Scheduling

Important factors to keep in mind when developing a
irrigation scheduling tool for a client:
• The scheduling tool must consider information
about the crop, soil, climate, irrigation system,
water deliveries and management objectives.
• An irrigation scheduling tool needs only be
accurate enough to determine how much water
to apply and when.
• A good rule of thumb to follow when developing
an irrigation scheduling tool is to keep it simple
and easy for the client to understand.

• Irrigation System Evaluation

Irrigation system evaluation is the analysis of any
irrigation system and management based on
measurements taken in the field under normal
conditions and management.
There are three levels of irrigation system
evaluations that can be performed:
Simplified
Abbreviated
Detailed

There are 3 levels of Irrigation System Evaluations:
Simplified – This type of evaluation provides enough
information to the landowner/operator to make
management and operation decisions. This
evaluation usually takes a few hours to complete.
Abbreviated – This type of evaluation provides enough information
for the landowner/operator to make management
and operation decisions plus identify any problems
with the system. This evaluation takes a half to full
day to complete.
Detailed – This type of evaluation provides the landowner/
operator with a report and a comprehensive
irrigation system operation and maintenance plan.
This evaluation can take up to one to five days to
complete.


• Irrigation Water Management Jobsheet




• Learning Exercise
Refer to the packet of materials in your
course notebook for the learning exercise.

Thank You!
Bruce Wilson
Environmental Engineer/PE
Portland, Oregon
(503) 414-3076
bwilson@wcc.nrcs.usda.gov

Irrigation Water Management

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Irrigation Water Management

CNMP Development Course November 16-18, 2004