Chapter Two

Basics in Irrigation Engineering

2.1 Planning Irrigation System
Tasks you need to consider in planning an irrigation system include:
 Requirements for water; ET; Crop coefficients, etc.
 Type of irrigation system
 Irrigation frequency
 Limitations of selection of irrigation system
 Design parameters: sizing, spacing, application pattern,…
 Limitations of the design
 Advantages/disadvantages of each irrigation system
 Pumping requirement
 Feasibility Study of Irrigation Projects
 is a study undertaken to assess whether a planned project is
likely to be practical and successful and to estimate its cost.
 A proposed irrigation project is considered feasible only when
the total estimated benefits of the project exceed its total
estimated cost.
 However, from the farmer’s viewpoint, an irrigation project is
feasible only if his annual returns (after completion of the
project) exceed his annual costs by a sufficient amount.
The common procedures adopted in the development of an
irrigation project:-
1)Sites are located on the topographic sheet: (with project
conception in mind) what type (scale) of irrigation, what type of
crop, which methods of irrigation…
2)Site inspection: Marked sites are inspected (reconnaissance
survey) to decide their feasibility.
 Is the pictured site suitable? (soil, water, climate, hydrology,
topography…
3) Feasibility study: detailed feasibility assessment in terms of
material, social, economic, environmental, technical,
technology, agronomy, climate, hydrology, etc for one or more
of the possible alternatives and estimates based on
approximate details are prepared.
4) Technical investigation: detailed investigations (design,
specifications, project execution plans, finance, …) are then
taken up and technical approval is granted.
5) Construction: after the technical approval, the agency of
execution (i.e., contractor) is fixed and construction starts.
Approaches of data collections

 Before coming to the actual data collection for the feasibility

study of any irrigation project, the following questions should be
answered:
 What or which are the required data?
 How they can be collected?
 Why are they needed?
 Is the cost of their collection worthwhile?
Data required for irrigation project feasibility study

 After the reconnaissance/preliminary survey, the data to be collected at the

feasibility study stage are:-
 Physical data: location, size, physiographic nature, weather, and climate of
the area. This can be obtained from topo maps, field surveys, recorded data
 Hydrological data: stream flow (including peak and low flows), sediment
transport, evapotranspiration, water quality, flood history, and damages
 Agricultural data: Crop type, soil, land classification, crop water
requirements
 Hydrogeological data: aquifers characteristics, water table, rocks
properties, minerals, etc.
 Cartographic data: different maps (topographic, land use, contour,
geological, demographic,…)
 2.2 Soil – Plant – Water Relationship
The relationship is related to the properties of soil and plants that affect
the movement, retention and use of water.

A simple analogy:
Soil – Water Reservoir
Plant Roots – pump with many inlets

As the rate of pumping depends on the character of the pump, the rate
of extraction of water from the soil by the plant depends on the
character of the soil.
 Soil Constituents
Soil system – a complex system
 Soil Water

 Water is influential in all soil chemical,

physical and biological processes

30-20%  Essential for plant survival and growth

WATER  Essential for chemical transport, etc.

 Soil Water/moisture --- the relative water content in the soil system.
 Key Definitions- Soil Moisture
Mw
Gravimetric Water Content: θm m 
(mass basis, m/m,) Ms
Vw
Volumetric Water Content: θv v 
(volume basis, v/v,) Vt
Ms
Dry Bulk Density b 
Vt
Volumetric Water Content: θv θ v = ρ bθ m
(volume basis, v/v,)
 The 3-Phase Soil Model
A

20-30%
AIR
45% Va air
MINERAL
30-20%
WATER Vw water
Vt

Vs solid
 The 3-Phase Soil Model

A=1 M w Vw  w
Gravimetric Water m  
Content: M s Vs  s
Va air Vw Vw
Volumetric Water v  
Content: Vt Vs  V f 
Vw water
M s Vs  s
Vt Dry Bulk Density b  
Vt Vt
Vs M s Vs  s
solid Particle Density s  
Vs Vs
b
Volumetric Water  v  b  m  w
Content: w
Where;
Vt = total soil volume
Vs = volume of soil solids
Vw = volume of water
Va = volume of soil air
Vf = total void volume = Va + Vw
Mt = total soil mass
Ms = mass of soil solids
Mw = mass of soil water
Ma = mass of soil air which is negligible
 Example
1. An undisturbed soil sample has 38 mm diameter and 76 mm
height and its natural mass is 165 g. When dried completely in
an oven, the specimen’s mass is 153 g. The solid density of soil
is 2.67 Mg/m3. Determine,
a. Water content
b. Dry bulk density
 Movements of Water in a Soil

Water moves between two points in a soil mass if there is a potential

difference between them. In soils, there are three different types of
potentials.
I.Potential due to gravity and pressure: This potential occurs when there is
a difference between the piezometric head of the two points. The
piezometric head is the sum of the datum head and the pressure head.
II.Matric potential due to capillary force: This potential results from
evaporation of moisture from the leaves of the plant. As the water is lost to
the atmosphere, leaf turgor decreases. It causes an increase in the water-
absorbing power of the leaf cells.
III.Osmotic potential due to dissolved salts: The accumulated solutes lower
the potential of the roots of the plants compared with that in the soil. Thus
the flow of water into the roots of the plants takes place because the
potential in the plant is lower than that of the soil solution.
 Soil Water Classification

Gravitational water:
 It is the water in the large pores that moves downward freely
under the influence of gravity
 It drains out so fast that it is not available to the crops. The time
of draining out varies from one day in sandy soils to three days in
clay soils.
Capillary Water:
 It is the amount of water retained by the soil after gravitational
water has drained out.
 It is the water in the small pores which moves because of
capillary forces and is called capillary water.
 Capillary water is the major source of water available for the
plant
 Soil Water Classification

Hygroscopic Water

 Soil moisture further reduced by ET until no longer moves

because of capillary forces. The remaining water which is held

on particle surfaces so tightly is called hygroscopic water.

 Here, the water is held by adhesive force. And therefore, it is

unavailable to the plant.

 Soil Water Classification

Fully Saturated
Gravitational Water
Field Capacity

Capillary Water

Permanent Wilting Point

Hygroscopic Water

Complete dry
 Available Water
Field Capacity (FC)
 The field capacity of a soil is the water content of the soil after the
gravitational water has been removed from the soil.
 Measured as the moisture content at -5 kPa (0.05 bar or 0.5 m
tension)

Permanent Wilting point (PWP)

 The permanent wilting point is the water content of the soil when the
plants permanently wilt.
 The point where plants cannot extract any more water – only very
small pores are filled with water.
 Defined as the moisture content at -1500 kPa (15 bar or 150 m
tension)
 Available Water
Available Water (AW) – the soil water available to the plant
which is defined as: AW= θFC - θPWP

Sand 4 6 29
Soil Type

Loam 5 29 12

Clay 22 20 6

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Volumetric Water Content (% v/v)
Unavailable water Available water Drainage water
 Water Release Characteristic Curve
FC PWP
Volumetric water content, % v/v 60.00

50.00 clay

40.00
Available water (sand)

sandy loam
30.00

20.00 pure sand

10.00

0.00

-1 -10 -100 -1000

Soil water potential (kPa)
 Water Release Characteristic Curve
FC PWP
Volumetric water content, % v/v 60.00

50.00 clay
Available water (clay)

40.00
sandy loam
30.00

20.00 pure sand

10.00

0.00

-1 -10 -100 -1000

Soil water potential (kPa)
 Water Release Characteristic Curve
FC PWP
Volumetric water content, % v/v 60.00

50.00 clay
Available water (sandy loam)

40.00
sandy loam
30.00

20.00 pure sand

10.00

0.00

-1 -10 -100 -1000

Soil water potential (kPa)
 Water Release Characteristic Curve
 Unique relationship between FC PWP
any soil and its water content

Volumetric water content, % v/v

60.00 clay
at a particular suction (or 50.00

tension) 40.00
sandy loam

 General shape is the same for 30.00

pure sand
all soils but the curvature 20.00

differs from soil to soil 10.00

 Largest pores drain first and 0.00

-1
-10 -100 -1000
air occupies the space Soil water potential (kPa)

 Water in the small pores are

held under tension

Soil water Potential - the energy status of Water. i.e. the ease with which
the water is released from the soil or the work required to release water.
Available Water (AW): the water available to crops expressed in
mm/m (mm of water per meter depth of soil).
AW = (FC – PWP)

Readily Available Water (RAW):

 This is the level to which the available water in the soil can
be used up without causing stress in the crop.
 It has been found in practice that about water is readily
available..

Readily available water = 0.75 x Available Water

Readily available water = 0.75 (F.C - P.W.P)
 Total Available Water

Note: Irrigation application not expected till soil water reaches the PWP.
 Depth of Available water
The available water can be expressed as a depth of water. The
depth of available water can be determined as follows.
dw = Sxdxm

Where S is the apparent specific gravity of the soil. It is equal to

the ratio of the weight of a given volume of soil to the weight of an
equal volume of water. Thus S = ws/w. The depth dw of water in
the soil of depth d at a moisture content m.

Depth of water at the field capacity (F.C) =S x d x (F.C)

Depth of water at the permanent wilting point (P.W.P.) = S x d x
(P.W.P)
Therefore, depth of available water, dw = S x d (F.C - P.W.P)
The depth of available water per metre depth of soil, dw = S (F.C -
P.W.P)
Readily available depth of water, assuming it is 75% of the
available water,
= 0.75x S x dx (F C -P.W.P)
If the water content of the soil at the lower limit of the readily
available water is mo.
the readily available depth of water = S x d (F.C - mo)
Now mo = F.C - Readily available water
or mo = F.C – 0.75 x (F.C - P.W.P)
The moisture content mo is also sometimes called the
optimum moisture content.
Percentage volume of available water:
The available water can be expressed as a percentage of total
volume.
Percentage volume of available water
Pv = (dw/d) x 100 = S x m x 100
Soil moisture deficiency: The soil moisture deficiency indicates the
water required to bring the soil moisture to the field capacity.
Soil moisture deficiency = F.C - m where m is the existing water
content.
 Examples

1. Calculate depth of water stored in root zone, F.C and PWP of the
given crop, if Field capacity of the soil = 28%
Permanent wilting point = 13%
Dry density of soil = 1.3 gm/cm3
Effective depth of root zone = 70cm
Readily available moisture or optimum soil moisture level = 75%
*After how many days will you supply water to the soil if daily
consumptive use of water for the crop is 1.2cm?
2. Determine the field capacity of a soil for the following data
Depth of root zone = 1.8m
Existing moisture = 8%
Dry density of soil = 1450kg/m3
Quantity of water applied to soil = 650m3
Water lost due to deep percolation and evaporation = 10%
Area to be irrigated = 1000m2
QUIZ (5%)

Calculate depth of water stored in root zone of the given crop, if

Field capacity of the soil = 28%
Permanent wilting point = 13%
Dry density of soil = 2940000 g/m3
Effective depth of root zone = 70cm
 2.3 Crop Water Requirement

 The water requirement of a crop is the total quantity of

water required from its sowing time up to harvest.
 Naturally different crops may have different water
requirements at different places of the same country,
depending upon the climate, type of soil, method of
cultivation, effective rain etc.
 The total water required for crop growth is not
uniformly distributed through crop period.
 Consumptive Use
 Irrigation water applied to crop is lost due to
evapotranspiration (ET), runoff and deep percolation.
CU = ET loss + water for metabolic activities.
ET = > 99% of total water uptake
Metabolic activities = <1% of total water uptake
Thus, CU  ETcrop
 CU is the most important single factor whose value
must be known before planning for utilization of
available irrigation water.
 Losses due to deep percolation and runoff can be
controlled but consumptive is unavoidable.
 Cont’d

 CU is the controlling factor for irrigation scheduling.

That is, CU determines the quantity of water to be
added by irrigation and helps in day to day management
of irrigation systems.
Actually, total water demand of crops is made up of:
i) Crop water use: includes evaporation and
transpiration.
ii) Leaching requirement: a fraction of water to be added
to remove salts from the root zone.
iii) Losses of water: due to deep seepage in canals and
losses due to the inefficiency of application.
 ETcrop (ETc)

 ETc = Evaporation + Transpiration

 ETc is normally expressed in mm/day.

 Factors affecting ETc:

• Weather parameters (T, RH, Wind, Sunshine)

• Crop characteristics (type, variety and length of

growing period)
• Management and environmental aspects (control of

diseases, soil salinity, etc.)

 Cont’d
 ETc can be derived from ETo using the equation:

ETc = Kc . ETo
Where,

ETo = reference ET which reflects the effect of climate on Etc. It

is the rate of ET from a hypothetical crop with a height of 0.12 m,
albedo (0.23), and fixed canopy resistance (70 s/m)

Kc is crop coefficient which reflects the effect of crop on ETc.

 Cont’d
Evapotranspiration can be determined by direct measurement and
indirect methods.
Direct measurement of Evapotranspiration include:
Soil moisture studies:
The moisture content (or the water content) is measured before
and after each irrigation.
Lysimeter (or tank) method:
Lysimeters are watertight tanks, open at the top and with
pervious bottoms. The plants are grown in the lysimeters filled
with soil and placed in the ground such that their rims are
approximately flush with the ground surface.
 Cont’d
Because the bottoms of the lysimeters are pervious a part of
water applied to the plants is drained through it and the same is
collected in a pan placed below it. The consumptive use is equal
to the difference between the water applied and that collected in
the pan.
Experimental plot method:
An experimental plot is selected for growing plants. Irrigation
water in measured quantity is applied to the selected plot such
that there is neither runoff nor deep percolation. However, the
quantity' of water should be sufficient for satisfactory growth
of the plants.
 Cont’d
 Integration method:
A large area of the land is selected for studies. The total
area A is divided into sub-areas under crops (A 1),
natural vegetation (A2), water pond (A3) and bare land
(A4).
Thus the consumptive use of water dw for the entire
area is found in the volume units. In terms of the depth
of water, it can be found by dividing the volume of
water by the total area of the land.
 Cont’d
 Inflow and outflow studies:
A large basin is selected for studies. The consumptive use is
determined by measuring the inflow to and the outflow from the
entire basin. The annual consumptive use (U) of water, in the
volume units, is estimated as follows:
U = (I+P) - O + (G1 - G2) where;
I is the total inflow volume,
P is the yearly' precipitation volume,
O is the yearly outflow volume,
G1 is the ground water storage at the beginning of the year and

G2 is the ground water storage at the end of the year.

 Cont’d

The following indirect methods are the combination of

some empirical, analytical and theoretical approaches.
1. Blanney-Criddle Method
2. Radiation Method
3. Penman Method
4. Hargreave's Class A Pan Evaporation Method
5. Pan Evaporation Method
6. Penman-Monteith Method
7. Thornthwaite Method
 Cont’d

1. ET0 = C P (0.46T + 8)

2. ET0 = C (WRs); Rs = (0.25 + 0.50 n/N) RA

3.ETo  C W  Rn  1  w f u  es  ea 
(Radiation term) (Aerodynamic term)

4. ET0 = 0.0023  Ra (T + 17.8)  TD0.50

5. ET0 = kpEpan
 Cont’d

900
0.408  Rn  G    V2 es  ea 
T  273
6.ET0 
   1  0.34 V2 
a
 10Tm 
7.ETo 1.62 R f  
 Te 
Crop Coefficient, Kc

Kc > 1.0 (cotton, tomato, etc.)

ETc Kc = 1.0 (grass)

Kc < 1.0 (citrus, pineapple, sugar

beat)

ETo
Crop Coefficient, Kc
 Irrigation Scheduling

Depth of irrigation (d):

This is the depth of irrigation water that is to be applied at

one irrigation. It is the depth of water that can be retained in
the crop root zone b/n the field capacity and the given
depletion of the available moisture content.

The depth of irrigation is the readily available portion of the

soil moisture. In other words, it is the depth of irrigation
water required to replenish the soil moisture to field capacity.
 Cont’d
The depth of irrigation (d) is given by:
d (net) = S *D *(FC – PWP)*P, m
Where;
S = Apparent specific gravity of soil
D = Effective root zone depth in m
FC = Water content of soil at FC
PWP = Water content of soil at PWP
P = Depletion factor
Because of application losses such as deep percolation and runoff
losses, the total depth of water to be applied will be greater than
the net depth of water.
d (gross) = S*D*(FC-PWP)*P , m
Ea
Where Ea = Field application efficiency
 Cont’d

Interval of irrigation (i):

The interval of irrigation is the time gap in days between
two successive irrigation applications.
The (interval) frequency of irrigation (f) in days is given
by;
S .DFC  PWP  . P
i (days) =
ETcrop  peak 
Where: ETcrop (peak) is the peak rate of crop
evapotranspiration in m/day.
Cont’d
Cont’d
 Design Capacity/Estimation of Discharge
 Design capacity: the flow rate determined by the water requirement,
irrigation time, irrigation period and the irrigation application efficiency.

 It is the flow rate required at the water supply source or that required to
determine channel x-sections.

A. dn
Qc 
F. H . Ea
Where,
Qc is the desired design capacity;
dn is the net irrigation depth = Readily available moisture;
F is the number of days required to complete the irrigation
H is the number of hours the system is operated (hrs/day) and
Ea is the irrigation efficiency
 2.4 Base, Delta, and Duty

Crop period and Base period

The time period that elapses from the instant of its sowing to the
instant of its harvesting is called the crop period.
The time between the first watering of a crop at the time of its
sowing to its last watering before harvesting is called the base
period.
Crop period is slightly more than the base period, but for all
practical purposes, they are taken as one and the same thing and
both are expressed in days.
 Cont’d
Duty and Delta of Crops
Duty (D): is defined as the area of the land which can be irrigated
if one cumec (m3/sec) of water was applied to the land
continuously for the entire base period of the crop.
It is expressed in hectares/cumecs.
Delta ( ): is the total depth of water required by a crop during the
entire base period.
Thus the delta (in m) of any crop can be determined as
Delta ( ) = Total quantity of water (ha-m)
Total area of land (ha)
 Base, Delta and Duty

  Volume
Area
 Disch arg e  time 
Area

  864 B
D
Where,
 = delta in cm,
B = base period in days, and
D = duty in ha/m3/s
 Examples
1.If rice requires about 10cm depth of water at an
average interval of about 10 days, and the crop
period for rice is 120 days, find the delta for rice.
2. If wheat requires about 7.5 cm of water after every
28 days, and the base period for wheat is 140 days,
find out the value of delta for wheat.
3. Find the delta for a crop when its duty is 864
hectare/cumec on the field, the base period of this
crop is 120 days.
1. Answer

2. Answer

3. Answer
 Irrigation requirement of Crops

The irrigation water requirement of crops is defined as the part of

water requirement of crops that should be fulfilled by irrigation. In
other words, it is the water requirement of crops excluding effective
rainfall, carry over soil moisture and ground water contributions.
WR = IR + Peff + S + GW
IR = WR - (Peff + S+ GW)
Effective Rainfall (Peff)
Effective rainfall can be defined as the rainfall that is stored in the
root zone and can be utilized by crops. All the rainfall that falls is
not useful or effective.
Example
 Irrigation Efficiencies
1. Water Conveyance efficiency ( Ec)
Wf
 *100
Wd
Where; Wf = Water delivered to the irrigated plot ( At the field supply channel)
Wd = Water diverted from the source.

2. Water application Efficiency ( Ea)

Ws
 *100
Wf
Where; Ws = water stored in the rot zone of the plants.
Wf = Water delivered to the irrigated plot ( At the field supply channel)
3. Water storage efficiency (Es)
W
 s *100
Wn
Where; Ws= water stored in the rot zone of the plants.
Wn = Water needed in the root zone prior to irrigation
 4. Field Canal Efficiency (Eb)
Wp
 *100
Wf
Where; Wp = water received at the field inlet
Wf = water delivered to the field channel

5. Water Distribution Efficiency (Ed)

 y
 1   x 100
 d
Where; d = average depth of water penetration.
y = average deviation from d.
6. Water Use Efficiency
A. Crop Water Use Efficiency
Y
Ew 
CU
B. Field Water Use Efficiency
Y
Et 
WR
7. Project Efficiency (Ep)

The Overall project efficiency must be considered in order to fix the amount of water
required at the Diversion head work.
 Example

A stream size of 150 lit /sec was released from the diversion
headwork to irrigate a land of area 1.8 hectares. The stream size
when measured at the delivery to the field channels is 120lit/sec.
The stream continued for 8 hours. The effective root zone depth is
1.80m. The application losses in the field are estimated to be
440m3. The depth of water penetration was 1.80m and 1.20m at the
head and tail of the run respectively. The available water holding
capacity of the soil is 21cm/m and irrigation was done at 60%
depletion of AM. Find Ec, Eb, Ea, Es and Ed. The stream size
delivered to the plot was 100 lit/sec.
Solution:

Wf 120 lit / sec

Ec  x100  x100  80%
Wd 150 lit / sec
Wp 100 lit / sec
Eb  x100  x100  83.3%
Wf 120 lit / sec
100 x 60 x 60 x8
 2880m3
Water delivered to the plot = 1000

Water stored in the root zone =2880m 3 – Application losses

= 2880m3 - 440m3 = 2440m3
Ws 2440m3
Ea  x100  x100  84.7%
Wp 2880m3
Total A.M = 21cm/m x 1.80m = 37.80 cm
60
RAM = 100 x 37.80 cm  22.68 cm
 3
22.68
In volume, RAM = x1.8 x10  4082.4m
4

100

Ws 2440m3
Es  x 100  3
 59.8%  60%
Wn 4082.4m
1.8  1.20
Average water penetration d   1.50m
2
Numerical deviation at upper end =1.80 –1.50=0.30m
At lower end = 1.50 – 1.20 =0.30m
2 x 0,30
Average numerical deviation = 0,30m
2
 y  0,30 
Ed 100 x 1    100 x 1   80%
 d  1.50 