Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Part one: Discuss the following questions

Q1. Will irrigation remain playing important role to supply food to the increasing
population in the future? How can its development and management fit to changing
factors? (5pts)

Answer:- yes, it will remain playing important role to supply food to the increasing population
in the future. From the definition of irrigation one thing which is not be forgettable is
increment of number of growing crops seasons or producing crop without any limitation more
than three times per a year. If so for the arisen question above about food supply and population
increment will meet by using irrigation in proper manner and modernizing irrigation to get more
product as well as giving due attention for cultivating cash crops for industry inputs. Beside that
all making researches on the issues that become bottleneck factors hindering people from using
full potential of irrigation. At the end, all the word irrigation potential areas get in to their full
potential function and without any doubt production through irrigation satisfy the demand of
population, even population number is doubled. Generally, Irrigation plays an important role in
ensuring the growth supply in food production

Q2. Briefly discuss about the factors that should be taking into account during design of
furrow irrigation systems.

Furrow Spacing:
Furrows should be spaced close enough to ensure that water spreads to the sides into the ridge
and the root zone of the crop, to replenish the soil moisture uniformly.
Spacing of furrows should fit the crops grown & type of machine used for cultivation. Crops like
potato, tomato, maize &cotton are planted at 60-90 cm apart & are irrigated by furrows between
all the rows.
Vegetables like lettuce, carrots & onions are spaced 30 to 40 cm apart & often have a paired row
between furrows.
Furrow Length

Optimum length of furrow is usually the longest furrow that can be safely & efficiently irrigated.
Length of the furrow should not be too large. If furrow is of large length, then there will be more
accumulation of infiltrated water at upstream end than the downstream end of furrow which will

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cause non uniform storage of water in the crop root zone. This means, it can be said that
upstream end becomes over irrigated whereas, downstream end becomes under irrigated.

On the other hand short furrows require more area to be lost to field supply channels causing loss
of more valuable crop land &increase in labor cost.

Proper furrow length depends on hydraulic conductivity of soil. Furrows must be shorter in
porous sandy soil than on light clay soil. The length of furrows may vary from 45- 300 m or
longer depending on the infiltration rate.

Factors affecting the length of furrows are:-

Slope – A maximum and minimum of 0.5 to 0.05% slope range of the soil will determine the
length of the slope. The steeper a slope is, the longer a furrow can be.

Soil Type – The sandy a field is, the shorter the furrow will be. A vice-versa situation applies to
clay-like soil.

Stream Size – To avoid soil erosion, it is advised to keep the water flow not more than 3
liters/sec and not less than 0.5 liters/sec. (Subject to changes based on soil)

Irrigation Depth – The deeper a furrow, the more it can contain water, and hence, the longer it
can be.
Cultivation Practice – If frequent cultivation is required, shorter furrows will be used.
Furrow Slope

Slope or grade of the furrow controls the speed of flow of water in the furrow in downward
direction. A minimum slope of 0.05 % is needed to enable the furrow to act as drainage channel.

The slope of the furrow should be such that the flow of water in it is non-erosive and at the same
time helps in efficient irrigation

Furrow Stream

The size of furrow stream usually varies from 0.5 to 2.5 liters per second.

The maximum size of irrigation stream that can be used at the start of the irrigation is limited by
considerations of erosion in furrows, overtopping of furrows and prevention of runoff at the
downstream end. The maximum non-erosive flow rate in furrows is estimated by the following

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

0.6
empirical formula: qm = s where , qm is the maximum non- erosive flow rate in the
furrow and s is slope of furrow

Q3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type surface irrigation methods.

Advantages of furrow irrigation methods

 developed gradually as labor or economics allows,

 developed at a relatively low cost after necessary land-forming activities are accomplish,
 Furrows can be used both as irrigation &drainage channel,
 Alternate-row furrow irrigation allows the use of a greater part of the rainfall,
 Excellent field surface drainage is obtained where adequate outlet facilities are provided,
 Water is not applied directly on the plants, thus eliminating scalding(burning) of the
foliage and loss of insecticides,
 The water distribution systems do not normally require high water pressure to operate;
therefore, pumping costs are relatively low,
 Efficient application can be obtained if water management practices are followed and the
land has been properly prepared

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

 Irrigation streams can be large or small because the number of rows irrigated at one time
can be adjusted as needed according to the available flow.

Disadvantages of furrow irrigation method

 Salts from either the soil or water supply may concentrate in the ridges and depress
crop yields,
 The lateral spread of water in some soils is not adequate to provide full irrigation
 greater likelihood of tail water losses if end dikes are not used,
 limited machinery mobility across the lateral field direction,
 the need for one extra tillage practice (furrow construction),
 an increased erosion potential,
 Furrow systems require more labor than border and basin,
systems and are occasionally more difficult to automate,
 not suitable for high permeable soil where vertical infiltration is much higher than the
lateral entry,
 The difference in intake opportunity time along the furrow due to the time required for
the stream to advance makes it difficult to obtain uniform application depths
 Higher amount of water is required as it compared to sprinkler or drip irrigation

Basin irrigation method

 distinguished by a completely level field with perimeter dikes to control and/or prevent runoff
 most expensive surface irrigation configuration to develop and maintain, but often the least
expensive to operate and manage
 Medium-to fine-textured soils with their high moisture holding capacity are better suited
to basins than coarse-textured soils.
 most conducive(favorable) to the irrigation of full-stand crops like alfalfa, grains, grass, and rice

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Advantages of Basin irrigation methods

 One of the major advantages of the basin method is its utility in irrigating
fields with irregular shapes and small fields,
 Best suited for lands/crops where leaching is required to wash out(leaching)
salts from the root zone,
 Water application and distribution efficiencies are generally high

Disadvantages of basin Irrigation methods

 It requires accurate land leveling to achieve high application efficiency

 Comparatively high labor intensive
 Impedes (inhibits) surface drainage
 Not suitable for crops which are sensitive to waterlogging
 Border ridges interfere with the free movement of farm machineries
 Higher amount of water is required compared to sprinkler or drip irrigation

Border irrigation method

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Advantages of Border irrigation methods

Easy to construct and maintain,

Operational system is simple and easy,
Natural drainage is facilitated through downward slope,
Comparatively less labor is required

Disadvantages of Border irrigation methods

Requires flat and smooth topography,

Not suitable for sandy soils, because of high infiltration rate
Not suitable for crops which requires ponding water
Higher amount of water is required compared to sprinkler or drip irrigation

Q4. Write short notes on different land leveling methods. (5pts)

Land leveling methods

 A precise land leveling improves irrigation and energy efficiency.

 This also reduces labor requirement for water application.

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

 A properly leveled land can be properly irrigated and excess water can be drained out.
 However, major topographical changes in the process of land leveling may reduce crop
production in the cut areas or additional soils may have to be added in cut areas for
improving soil fertility.
 Reshaping of the field surface to a planned grade and Necessary to control flow of water,
to check soil erosion and provide surface drainage.
 Surface Irrigation of uneven land high spots are watered too little and low spots too
much.
 Results in uneven water application, uneven crop growth, yield reduction and loss of
water.
 Properly graded land surface smooth flow of water without eroding the soil
 and ensuring uniform distribution of water throughout filed Land.

Leveling operations may be grouped into three phases:

i) Rough grading ii) Land leveling iii) Land smoothing

i) Rough grading:-

Removal of abrupt irregularities - mounds, dunes and rings, and filling of pits, depressions and
gullies

ii) Land leveling: - land grading = land forming = land shaping

- Requires moving large quantities of earth over considerable distance.

iii) Land smoothing

Leveling operations leaves irregular surfaces, remove Irregularities and plane surface obtained
finally, operation in land leveling.

Land clearing

Prior to land grading survey and Remove heavy vegetative growth from the land

Removing of some or all the trees, bushes, vegetation, trash and boulders from the area

There are several methods for land levelling design. These methods are: Plane method, Profile
method, Plan inspection method and Contour adjustment methods.

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Land levelling design methods

i) Plane method
ii) Profile method
iii) Plan-inspection method and
iv) Contour adjustment method
i) Plane Method
 Most commonly used method of land leveling design.
 Feasible whenever it is required to grade the field to a true plane.
 The procedure involves first determining the centroid of the field
 Then determining the average elevation of the field.
 This is obtained by adding the elevations of all grid points in the field and dividing
the sum of elevations by number of grid points.
 Any plane passing through the centroid at average elevation will produce equal
volume of cut and fill.
 Based on the longitudinal down field grade and cross field grade required for the
field,
 The elevation of each grid points are computed from estimated centroid...

ii) Profile Method

o The profile method of land levelling design consists of plotting the profiles of the grid
lines and then laying the desired grade on the profiles.
o Established grade will provide an appropriate balance between cuts and fills as well as
reduce haul distances to a reasonable limit.
o Usually well adopted to levelling design of very flat land with undulating topography on
which it is desired to develop a fairly uniform surface relief.
o Designer works with profiles of the grid lines rather with elevations
o The profiles are normally plotted in one direction with the individual profiles located on
the paper so that the datum line for each profile is in the correct position with adjacent
profiles.
o Profiles may be plotted across the slope or down the slope.

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

o Trial grade lines are plotted on each profiles based on the design criteria.
o The balance between cuts and fill is approximated by eye and comparing the areas
between the plotted profiles and the trial grade line.
o Usually several trials are necessary before a satisfactory set of grade lines are attained.
o The volume of cut and fill is computed and further adjustment of the grade lines is done
to obtain desired cut-fill ratio for the field.
iii) Plan Inspection Method

The plan inspection method is a rapid method.

Does not ensure minimum cuts and fills or the shortest length of haul,
It gives quick estimate.
Adapted to moderate flat land slopes.
A proposed ground surface map is overlaid on the original contour map.
New contour lines are drawn using uniform slope and spacing between them

iv) Contour Adjustment Method

 A balance between the cut and fill can be approximated by maintaining the proposed
contour in an average position with reference to the original contour at the same
elevation.
 Sum of the design cut and fills from the stake points are compared with total and then
readjusted to obtain design levels.
 Contour adjustment method is adapted to smoothening of steep lands that are to be
irrigated.
 This method demands considerable judgment on the part of designer to keep the
earthwork and haul to a minimum.
 The design grade elevations are determined after a careful study of the topography.
 It involves trial and error method considering down grade and cross slope limitations.

Part Two: Workout the following questions.

Q1. A moist soil sample collected from agricultural field weighs 120 g. When it is dried the soil
weighs 100 g. density of soil is 2.4 g/cm 3. Calculate the gravimetric moisture content and
volumetric moisture content of the soil sample. Depth of water present in soil as the depth of
soil is 75 cm. (5pts)

Given: - total mass (Mt) =120gram ρ

Bulk density of soil ( b ) = 2.4 g/cm3
Oven Dry mass or solid mass (Ms) =100gram
Depth of the soil=75 cm
Mass of water (mw) = Mt- Ms120-100=20gram

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Required

Gravimetric moisture content (θm)

Volumetric moisture content (θv)

Depth of water per unit depth of given soil(dw/ds)

Solution
 Gravimetric moisture content(θm)

Or

θm=mw/Ms=> (20/100)*100=20% or 0.2


ρ
Volumetric moisture content (θv)= b θm= 2.4 g/cm3*20%= 48% or 0.8
*

 Depth of water (mm) per unit depth of soil (ds)=Volumetric moisture content (θ v)* Depth
of the given soil (ds) = 0.48 X 75cm = 36 cm depth of water per 75cm depth of soil

Q2. A non-erosive stream is applied for a period of 15 minutes in a furrow of 80 m long spaced
65 cm apart and having a slope of 0.15%. Determine the average depth of water applied?
(5pts)

Given:- time (duration) of irrigation water application(t)=15min=0.25hr.

Furrow length =80m, furrow space (width) = 65cm and slope of the furrow(s)=0.15%

Required: - average depth of water applied?

Solution
Maximum non erosive flow rate (stream) for Furrow is computed as follows
0.6 0.6
qm = s = 0.15 = 4 l/s water is applied in a furrow.
qm×360×t
Average depth of water applied (d) =
w×l

d = average depth of water applied(cm), q = stream size( lps) , t = duration of irrigation(hour) ,

w = furrow spacing(m) and l= furrow length(m)

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

qm×360×t 4 l/ s×360×0=. 25hr

w×l == = = 6.92cm
0 . 65 m×80m
Therefore, the average depth of water applied is 6.92cm

Q3. A stream of 143lps was diverted from a canal and 110 lps were delivered to the field. An
area of 1.75 ha was irrigated in eight hours. The effective depth of root zone was 1.9 m. The
runoff loss in the field was 444 m3. The depth of water penetration 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 25 cm/m depth of soil. Determine the water conveyance efficiency, water application
efficiency, water storage efficiency and water distribution efficiency, irrigation was started at
a moisture extraction level of 50% of the available moisture. (10pts)

Given

Q diverted from the canal=143lps, deffective =1.9m

Q delivered to the field =110 lps, Runoff loss volume (VRunoff)=444m3

Irrigated area (A)=1.75ha , Penetration depth =1.8m at the head end

and 1.2m at the tail end.
Time of irrigation (t) =8hrs,
AM holding capacity of the soil=25 cm/m

Required:- ηc , ηa , ηs and ηd ?

Solution

 Water conveyance efficiency (ηc) = water delivered into the fields/ water supplied in to
110 l/ s
the canal at the head ηc = 143l /s *100 = 77%
 Water application Efficiency(ηa) = water stored in the root zone during irrigation/
water delivered in to the field

Water supplied to field during 8 hours at 110 liters per second

Q=V/t => V=Qt= 110l/s*8*60*60=3168000 liters( convert into m3 )

1m3=1000 liter=>3168000/1000=3168m3

Runoff loss volume in the field (Vrunoff) =444m3

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 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics and System Design (IDE-622)

Therefore, the volume of water stored in the root zone =3168m3 - 444m3 =2724 m3
3
2724 m
ηa= 3 *100 =85.98%=86%
3168 m

 Water storage efficiency(ηs) = water stored in the root zone during irrigation/ water
needed in the root zone prior to irrigation
=>Moisture holding capacity of the soil = 25 cm/m depth of soil *1.9 m effective
depth of root zone= 47.5cm
=>Moisture already available in the root zone at the time of irrigation
50
= * 47.5cm = 23.75cm
100
Additional water required in the root zone = 47.5cm-23.75cm=23.75cm
The amount of water required in the root zone prior to the next irrigation= depth
*plot area=0.2375m*1.75ha*104m2/ha=4,156.25m3
But the actual volume of water stored in the root zone is 2724 m3. Therefore, it is
possible to compute storage efficiency now.
3
2724 m
Water storage efficiency (ηs) = 3 = 65.54%
4156.25 m
d
 Water distribution Uniformity or water distribution efficiency ( ηd) =(1- D )

where, d = Average of the absolute values of deviations from the mean and D = Mean
depth of water stored during irrigation.
1.8 m+1.2 m
Mean depth of the water stored in the root zone (D) = =1.5m
2
Average of the absolute values of deviations from the mean (d ) = ((1.8-1.5)+(1.2-1.5))/2=
0.6/2 =0.3m
0.3
Therefore, water distribution efficiency (ηd) = (1- ) *100%= 80%
1.5

Q4. Furrows of 100m length and space of 1 m apart applied with 0.12 m depth of water in 50
minutes. What is the required size of the stream? (5pts)

Given

Furrow length (l) =100m, Furrow space (w) =1m,

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Irrigation depth (d)=0.12m =12cm Time=50minute =0.8333hr

Required: - Size of the stream (Q)?

d×l×w 12 cm×100 m×1 m

Solution:- Q=360×t = 360×0 .8333 hr = 4 l/s

Q5.The initial infiltration capacity of a soil of a given catchment is estimated as 3.8 cm/hr and
the time constant taken to be 0.35 hr. Find the value of constant k at t = 10min, 30min, 1hr, 2hr,
and 3hr.

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