2.

Irrigation Networks

 Introduction
 Irrigation networks are man made facilities for water conveyance,
distribution and application.
 The network includes storage/diversion headwork, conveyance
system, distribution system and structures.
 Three management levels are available in irrigation networks:
 Main level:- facilities for water acquisition and conveyance-

managed by irrigation agencies.

 Off-farm level:- facilities for water distribution at off-takes-

managed by a group of farmers or water users:

 Field/farm level:- facilities for application of water to the

individual plots- managed by the individual farmer or irrigator.

 Irrigation Areas

For the purposes of management, operation and design,

irrigation areas are divided into units of various sizes.
 Field units: The smallest areas within the irrigation system being
irrigated. It is an individual farm plot getting water via a field inlet or
turnout.
 Quaternary unit: An area to which water is supplied to a group of
water users or farmers via a common inlet point. Each farmer then
will have his own water control farm inlet to control the water
intake.
 Tertiary unit: Consists of a couple of quaternary units or fields. A
tertiary unit receives water from a tertiary off-take. In some small
schemes, it may consist of only one field or farm plot; while in large
schemes it can be a combination of several small fields or large
farms. Can vary from 3 or 4 ha to over 70 ha.
 Irrigation Areas

 Secondary unit: an area consisting of two or

more tertiary units and receive water from a
secondary off-take point. A branch or secondary
canal usually conveys the water from the secondary
off-take to a group of tertiary units.
 Irrigation area (Command area): the total area
of the irrigation scheme. It consists of two or more
secondary units and the total area receives water
from the headwork.
Irrigation network with irrigation units and flow control structures
 Structures in Irrigation Networks

Irrigation infrastructure in gravity systems can be divided into:

 Open canals and
 Control structures
Flow control structures in gravity irrigation systems include the following:
 Head works: Diversion weir, barrage, pumping station, free intake
(dam).
 Conveyance structures: Drops, aqueduct, chute, flume, inverted
siphon.
 Regulating structures: Discharge regulator, water level regulator,
division work, check box.
 Measuring structures: Broad, sharp, short-crested weirs, V-notch weir,
Parshall and RBC flumes, Romijn weir.
 Protective structures: Over chute, spillway, waste way, side drainage,
stilling basin.
 Off-take structures: Tertiary off-take, secondary off-take, turnout
 Miscellaneous structures: Culvert, sand traps, roads, drainage
structures, trash racks.
 Structures

A typical tertiary
off-take structure
 Conveyance and distribution systems

 Two types of water conveyance and distribution systems

prevail:
 Gravity system
 Pressurized system

A combination of the two.
 Gravity irrigation systems consist of canals and canal
structures for regulating the flow.
 Water is
 Conveyed
 Distributed and
 Applied to the field by gravity
 Conveyance and distribution systems

 In pressurized irrigation systems, water is conveyed

and distributed either on the whole or part of the system by
closed conduit (pipelines) under pressure.
 In several irrigation systems around the world, a
combination of gravity and pressurized conveyance and
distribution systems are used.
 Water may be conveyed in some part of the system by
gravity and a pump can be used to lift the water to a higher
elevation.
 Field application of water to the crops can also be done
under pressure with pressurized system such as sprinkler
and drip systems or a combination of surface and
pressurized systems.
 The selection depends on a number of factors such as
topography, soil type, water quality, water
availability, affordability etc.
 Conveyance and distribution systems

A combination of gravity
and pressurized
conveyance system
(Metahara Sugar factory)
 Management of conveyance & distribution

Effective and efficient irrigation water conveyance and distribution

requires proper and adequate management system.

Generally two management (operation) levels exist in most irrigations

systems:

 The main system: Consists of the system for water

conveyance and delivery.
 It is under the management of the irrigation authority or agency.

 The irrigation agency in most cases is a government body

responsible for the development of the physical irrigation
infrastructure.
 It is responsible for all the maintenance and operation of the
system above a tertiary off-take.
 Management of conveyance & distribution

 The tertiary system: Is the system within the tertiary

unit which is responsible for the distribution of water within
the tertiary units.

 It is under the management of a group of water users or

water users’ association.
 The water users manage their water distribution and
responsible also for the maintenance of water distribution
infrastructure within a tertiary unit.
 Water delivery aspects

Two important variables of water supply system are:

 amount of water delivery (q)
 duration of water delivery (t)

The delivery schedules highly depend on

 the field irrigation methods and
 field irrigation requirement

Field water requirement varies based on the stage of the

crops.
 Water delivery aspects

Volume of water delivery:

Volume (V) = flow rate (q) * duration of delivery (t)

The water supply (delivery) can be:

 With constant flow rate, q
 Constant duration, t
 Variable flow rate and duration

The volume of water delivered should sustain crops within

the irrigation interval (T).
 Water delivery aspects

Interval,

Duration
q

Time

Irrigation scheduling (water supply) parameters

 Rotational and continuous flows

Rotational flow (supply): Water is supplied to the

required off-take point or users by turn.
 The rotation can be in the main system (secondary off-
takes and tertiary off-takes) or
 within the tertiary unit to individual farmers.
 If rotation is at the secondary off-take, all the
water in the main canal will first be diverted to the
first secondary off-take on the main canal.
 If the rotation is at tertiary off-take the same
principle will apply.
 Rotational and continuous flows

 If there is rotational flow within the tertiary unit (flow to

each farm plots), the first farmer will irrigate first for some
specified duration; once he has used his time his outlet will
be closed and the water again flows to the second farmer.

 An important aspect of rotational supplies is that the

duration of rotation should be less than or at most equal to
the irrigation interval (T).
 Design of rotational irrigation systems should take into
consideration all the outlets to be irrigated with the
available flow and appropriate irrigation duration to
complete within the irrigation turn.
 The interval between two consecutive irrigations is called
irrigation interval or irrigation turn.
 Rotational and continuous flows

 Continuous flow (supply): flow in the given

system or to a certain off-take occurs continuously during
the irrigation season.
 The flow can be
 adjustable continuous or
 constant continuous flow.

Continuous flow is difficult to manage in small farms as
the required flow is too small which poses problems to
control and maintain it.
 Rotational and continuous flows

 The water supply to the water users can be either

demand-oriented or supply-oriented.

 In demand oriented systems the supply is based on the

actual demand of the tertiary units while in supply oriented
systems the supply is limited by either water availability or
the capacity of the physical infrastructure.
 Water delivery methods/procedures

Three basic parameters in establishing the water

delivery methods are:

 The decision making procedure on water allocation

to the tertiary units;
 The method of water allocation to the tertiary unit:
how the water is going to be allocated to the tertiary
unit;
 The method of water distribution through the main
system: how the water is distributed through the main
system.
 Water delivery methods

Three parameters of
water delivery policy
 The decision making procedure

 Three types:
1. Imposed Allocation: Also called dictated or
arranged delivery.
 is an allocation in which the irrigation agency
decides beforehand on the delivery schedules and
amount.
 Each irrigator gets water based on a pre-set
schedule may be for one irrigation season or a year.
 The schedule may be based on the knowledge of
water requirements of the crops or on water
availability in case of supply-based deliveries.
 The decision making procedure

2. On-request allocation: also called semi-demand

allocation, in which the water users request for
certain amount of delivery at a certain time for
certain duration from the irrigation agency.

 The irrigation agency will process the requests of all the

water users and decide on the deliveries based on the
availability of water and suitability of schedules.
 Processing of the requests may delay the actual water
delivery.
 The decision making procedure

3. On-demand allocation:

 the water users have direct access to water

 they can decide on the amount and duration of
delivery
 Users can have water immediately when they
want.
 The decision making procedure

Decision making
procedure for
water delivery
 The decision making procedure

Selection of the
decision making
procedure
 The actual water delivery to tertiary units

Actual water delivery can be done in 3 ways

1. Proportional flow: the flow will be diverted

at a fixed ratio based on the width of the
diverter throughout the main system and to
tertiary units.
 Un-gated diversion structures are required for this
purpose.
 Water delivery to tertiary units

2. Intermittent flow: the flow into the tertiary

unit will be intermittent.

 This is also called on/off flow.

 A simple on/off gate in needed for intermittent flow.
 Water delivery to tertiary units

3. Adjustable flow: variable flow rates will be

diverted to the tertiary units in this case.
 the supply can be either:
 continuous or
 rotational.

 Adjustable flow regulator is needed for the

purpose.
 Water distribution throughout the
main system

 Can be

 Proportional;
 Intermittent or
 Adjustable.
Water delivery to tertiary units

Actual water allocation to tertiary units

 Flow control systems

 Flow control in irrigation systems is a special subject of control

engineering.
 Flow control system is the regulation system of the structures
to maintain the system in the desired state.
 The purpose of flow control systems is to control the flows
in the canal system at bifurcations to meet the required level of
irrigation service.

 Flow control structures are structures that control and

regulate the state of the canal such as the water level
regulators and discharge regulators.
 Flow control systems

 A combination of water level control and

discharge control are often used together.

 Usually flow rates are controlled indirectly

by water level control.

 Variation in water levels either on upstream

or downstream of control structures is
associated with a change in discharge.
 Flow control systems

The most common flow control systems can

be classified into three:

 Proportional control
 Upstream control
 Downstream control
 Flow control systems

 Proportional control: In this control system:

 Water will be divided and distributed according to a fixed
ratio.
 Systems in proportional control are simple in construction
and operation.
 is applied in systems where uniform cropping pattern is
followed
 Suitable when each irrigation unit has to receive an amount
of water that is proportional to the irrigated area.
 There is no active regulation of structures for this control
system.
 Only un-gated proportional flow division structures are
required at each off-take.
 Flow control systems

A canal reach
under proportional
control.
 Flow control systems

 For a certain variation in discharge of the canal, there will be a

corresponding proportional variation in discharge of the off-takes.
 All off-takes will be affected equally under water shortage.

Off-take flows in proportional control

 Flow control systems

 Upstream control:
 is by far the most common type of flow control systems
around the world.
 target water levels are set at upstream of the water level
control structures; thus called upstream control.
 It is suitable for either imposed or on-request allocation.
 Although it is a water level control it is essentially a
discharge control.

Upstream controlled systems require active regulation

of structures to maintain the water levels at the set
points at the target water level.
 Flow control systems

 Manually operated structures, electro-mechanical regulation

and hydro-mechanical regulation structures can be used as
water level regulators.

 Typical problem with upstream controlled systems is that

there is a ‘negative dynamic storage’ in the canal and there
is significant lag-time before a new equilibrium condition
can be attained.

 This means that the response time of the hydrodynamic

system is large.
 Flow control systems

Canal reach under

upstream control
 Flow control systems

Vertical gate for

upstream water level
control structure
 Flow control systems

 Downstream control: In this control system:

 the set point is located on the downstream of the

structure; and thus called downstream control.

 the regulators will keep a constant water level at the

downstream of the structure irrespective of the
discharges.

 usually used for on-demand water allocation to tertiary

off-takes.
 Flow control systems

 downstream controlled systems are usually equipped with

hydro-mechanical gates.

 the system responds to any changes to water levels on

the downstream side.

 more water will flow through the system when water

level drops due to withdrawal of irrigation water.

 Thus, the downstream demand will automatically be

supplied at each regulator.
 Flow control systems
Positive storage
wedge

1: Q= 0
2: 0<Q< Qmax

3: Q=Qmax

 In downstream controlled systems, since there is a positive

storage in the canal reach between the two regulators, the
system immediately responds to any changes in the downstream
reach of the canal.
 Flow control systems

Flow in
downstream
controlled systems
 Flow control systems

An AVIO
(hydro-
mechanical)
gate
for downstream
control
 Flow control systems

The operational
objectives of the main
irrigation system
(method of water
delivery)
determine the flow
control method, flow
control structures and
their operation.

Choice of Flow control methods