Irrigation Engineering

Module 1: Water Resources Utilization& Irrigation Development

LESSON 1 Water Resources of India and its Demand in Various Sectors

1.1 Definition
Irrigation is defined as the science of artificial application of
water to the land, in accordance with the ‘crop water
requirements’ throughout the ‘crop period’ for full-fledged
nourishment of the crops (Garg, 1996).

Fig. 1.1.Application of water by drip.

(Source: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-
live/photos/000/132/cache/dams03-drip-irrigation-
israel_13203_600x450.jpg)
Irrigation water is supplied to supplement the water available
from rainfall, soil moisture storage and capillary rise. However,
in many cases, it is not possible to meet the full crop water
requirement throughout the season due to limited water
availability. In such cases, deficit irrigation is provided in the
form of life saving or supplemental irrigation. Besides meeting
the crop water requirement, irrigation is also provided for field
preparation, climate control (crop cooling and frost control), and
leaching of excessive salts.
Irrigation is very ancient practice and can be traced with the
beginning of human civilization. Importance of irrigation in
agriculture is very well documented in NamradaSmriti XI, 9
which states that “no grain is ever produced without water, but
too much water tends to spoil the grain; an inundation is as
injurious to crop growth as a dearth of water.” Hence, irrigation
is essential.
Irrigation however has several advantages and disadvantages
which are listed below:
Advantages
• Increases agricultural productivity and allows for multiple
cropping during an year Provide jobs.
• Reduces risk of crop failures.
• Higher productivity results in steady supply of food at
lower prices (supply demand principle of economics)
• Improves socioeconomic conditions of farmers
Disadvantages
1. Excessive irrigation may cause decrease in crop yield
 2. Excessive irrigation may cause leaching of pesticide,
insecticide, nitrogen and nitrates to groundwater and may
also transport them to surface water systems.
3. In poorly drained soils water logging and salinity may
occur.
4. In poorly maintained canals- excessive seepage may cause
water logging.
5. Excessive groundwater pumping may cause decrease in
groundwater levels which may damage aquifer structure
and increase the risk of land subsidence.

1.2 Purpose of Irrigation

Some of the main purposes of irrigation are enlisted below:
1. To supply essential moisture for plant growth
2. Transportation of fertilizers (Fertigation)
3. To leach or dilute salts in soil
4. To help in field preparation, dust control etc.
5. Other benefits of irrigation include cooling of the soil and
atmosphere to create more favourable environment for
crop growth and frost control

1.3 Sources of Water

1.3.1 Natural Sources
Rain, snow, hail and sleet are precipitated upon the surface of the
earth as meteorological water and may be considered as the
original source of all the water supplied. Surface and groundwater
are main sources of irrigation water. Three aspects should be
considered in appraising water resources which are the quantity,
the quality, and the reliability of availability of water. Rainwater,
rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and springs are natural sources of
water. Dams, wells, tube wells, hand-pumps, canals, etc. are man-
made sources of water.

Fig. 1.2.Sources of water.

(Source:http://www.grandifloraservices.com/services/rain-
water-harvesting/)
Irrigation water sources can be broadly classified into two main
groups, namely,
1. Surface water sources and
 2. Groundwater sources.
Irrigation water supply can be either obtained from surface water
sources or groundwater sources or both. Both of these depend
upon the precipitation.

1.3.2 Surface Water

Water present on the surface of the earth in the form of oceans,
rivers, lakes, ponds and streams is called surface water. Surface
water accumulates mainly by direct runoff from precipitation i.e.,
rain or snow melting. The amount of available surface water
depends largely upon rainfall.
Surface water sources consists river, lake, and reservoir supplies.
Dams or reservoirs are constructed to create artificial storage of
water. Canals or open channels can be constructed to convey
surface water from the rivers or reservoirs to the farm fields where
it may directly applied to the field or stored in farm irrigation
structures like ponds or tanks. The water is also conveyed through
pipes by gravity or pumping.Thus, sources of surface water are i)
Rivers and streams ii) Reservoirs iii) Tanks, ponds and lakes.

1.3.2.1 River
A river is a natural water course, usually of freshwater, flowing
towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a
river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before
reaching another body of water.
 Fig. 1.3.River Ganga.
(Source:http://3.bp.blogspot.com: accessed on June 7, 2013)
1.3.2.2 Reservoir
A reservoir is a natural or an artificial lake, storage
pond or impoundment from a dam which is used to store water.
Reservoirs may be constructed across the rivers or may be
excavated in the ground.

Fig.1.4. Reservoir. (Idukki Arch dam -Kerala, India).

 (Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com)
1.3.2.3 Lake
A lake is an inland water body of considerable size. Lakes can
serve as the source or termination point for rivers or smaller
streams. Lakes are distinct from lagoons as they are not part of
the ocean. Lakes are larger and deeper than ponds.
1.3.2.4 Ponds
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made,
that is usually smaller than a lake. Generally they contain shallow
water with marsh and aquatic plants and animals.
1.3.2.5 Tank
Tanks are large excavations in which water is stored. They form
an important source of water in many of the Indian villages.

1.3.3 Ground Water

A part of the water which infiltrates into the soil after any rainfall
event percolates to the groundwater table. Groundwateris,
generally, characterized by higher concentrations of dissolved
solids, lower levels of colour, higher hardness (as compared with
surface water), dissolved gasses and freedom from microbial
contamination. Wells are generally used to extract groundwater.
The extraction of groundwater is mainly by:
1. Dug well with or without straining walls
2. Dug cum bore wells
3. Cavity Bore
4. Radial collector wells
5. Infiltration galleries
6. Tube wells& bore wells.

Groundwater that flows naturally from the ground is called a

spring.

1.4 Present Status, Development and Utilization of Water

Resources
1.4.1 Surface Water
In India, surface flow takes place through 14 major rivers basins.
In addition to major rivers there are 44 mediumand 55 minor
basins. The total water potential of these basins is estimated at
187.9 million ha million. A break up of this resource reveals that
105 million ha m is the runoff from rainfall that flows into rivers
and streams including reservoir and tanks. The largest potential
of water is available in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin with a
total of 117 million ha m followed by Godavari and west flowing
rivers from Tapi to Tadri each having an average annual potential
of more than 10 Mha m.
1.4.2 Ground Water
Ground water resources are abundant only in the northern and
coastal plains. Agriculture is the major source of groundwater
use. It has been found that excessive use of ground water depletes
aquifers, lowers the water table and may lead to salivation, water
logging and alkalization of the soils.
In India, the total utilizable water resource is assessed as 1123
Billion Cubic Meters(BCM) (Table 1.1). Keeping a provision of
about 71 BCM/year out of 433 BCM of groundwater, 362
BCM/year of the resource is estimated to be available for
irrigation. The net draft of groundwater for irrigation is around
150 BCM/yr. The per capita availability of water at national level
has been reduced from about 5177 cubic meters in 1951 to the
estimated level of 1,820 cubic meters in 2001 with variation in
water availability in different river basins. Given the projected
increase in population by the year 2025, the per capita availability
is likely to drop to below 1,000 cubic meters, which could be
labelled as a situation of water scarcity (GOI, 2006).
In the major part of the country, rainfall is the only sources for
water which is available mainly during the monsoon season
lasting for less than 3 months. Due to tropical climate and its
geographical location, the country experiences vast spatial and
temporal variation in precipitation. About one- third of the
country's area is drought prone. The south and western parts
comprising the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are the
drought prone areas. On the other hand, north and north eastern
regions including states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and
Assam are subjected to periodic flooding.
 The total availability of water in the 76 major reservoirs was
109.77 BCM at the end of the monsoon of 2005 (GOI, 2006). The
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has estimated that it is
possible to increase the groundwater availability by about 36
BCM, by taking up rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge
over an area of 45 M ha through surplus monsoon runoff. Thus,
the groundwater availability may correspondingly increase.
The recent estimates (GOI, 2006) on water demand are made by
a) Standing Sub-Committee of the Ministry of Water Resources
(MoWR) and b) the National Commission for Integrated Water
Resources Development (NCIWRD); their estimates (shown in
Table 1.2) are made till the year 2050.The estimates by MoWR
indicates that, by year 2050, the demand for water will increase
by 5 times for industries, 16 times for energy production, while
its drinking water demand will double, and irrigation demand will
raise by 50 percent.
Table 1.1. Availability of Water Resources in India

Quantity
Sr.
No Particulars (Billion Cubic
Meter)
Annual Precipitation (Including
1. 4000
snowfall)
2. Average Annual Availability 1869
3. Per Capita Water Availability (2001) 1820
Estimated Utilizable Water
4. 1123
Resources
(i) Surface Water Resources 690 km3
(ii) Ground Water Resources 433 km3
 (Source:www.wrmin.nic.in )

Table 1.2 Water Demand (in BCM) for various Sectors

Sector Standing Sub-Committee of MoWR NCIWRD

Year 2010 2025 2050 2010 2025 2050
Irrigation 688 910 1072 557 611 807
Drinking Water 56 73 102 43 62 111
Industry 12 23 63 37 67 81
Energy 5 15 130 19 33 70
Others 52 72 80 54 70 111
Total 813 1093 1447 710 843 1180

(Source: GOI, 2006)

Key Words: Water Resources, Sources of Water, National

Commission for Integrated Water Resources
Development,Water Demand, Water Availability.
LESSON 2 Irrigation Development

2.1 Irrigation Development

Irrigated agriculture has developed most extensively in the arid
and semi-arid regions and areas having prolonged dry spells. The
practice is essentially to supplement the available rainfall in an
area. The principle irrigation practice of ancient times was
building of temporary bunds across streams and then diverting
their flow to the fields. The practice of storing water in tanks was
developed at a later stage. Modern well designed large scale
irrigation system with reservoirs and delivery systems developed
mainly after 18th century.
Vedas, Ancient Indian writers and ancient Indian scriptures have
made references to wells, canals, tanks and dams. These irrigation
technologies were in the form of small and minor works, which
could be operated by small households to irrigate small patches
of land. In the south, perennial irrigation may have begun with
construction of the Grand Anicut by the Cholas as early as second
century to provide irrigation from the Cauvery River. The entire
landscape in the central and southern India is studded with
numerous irrigation tanks which have been traced back to many
centuries before the beginning of the Christian era. In
northern India also there are a number of small canals in the upper
valleys of rivers which are very old.
2.1.1 Irrigation during Medieval India
Irrigation is said to be one of the major reasons for the growth and
expansion of the Vijayanagar Empire in southern India in the
fifteenth century. Babur, in his memoirs called ‘Baburnamah’
gave a vivid description of prevalent modes of irrigation practices
in India at that time. The Gabar Bunds captured and stored annual
runoff from surrounding mountains to be made available to tracts
under cultivation.
2.1.2 Irrigation Development under British rule
According to sources of irrigation close to nineteenth century;
canals irrigated 45 %, wells 35 %, tanks 15 % and other sources
5 %. Famines of 1897-98 and 1899-1900 necessitated British to
appoint first irrigation commission in 1901, especially to report
on irrigation as a means of protection against famine in India. As
a result of recommendations of the first irrigation commission
total irrigated area by public and private works increased to 16
Mha in 1921. From the beginning of 19th century to 1921 there
was no significant increase in tube well irrigated area. During
1910 to 1950 growths rate of irrigation was estimated at 2.0 % per
annum for government canal irrigation, 0.54 % per annum for
well irrigation and 0.98 % per annum in respect of irrigation from
all sources.
2.1.3 Irrigation Development at Time of Independence
At time of independence net irrigated area of India under British
rule which include Bangladesh and Pakistan was 28.2 M ha. After
partition net irrigated area in India and Pakistan being 19.4 Mha
and 8.8 Mha respectively.
Irrigation development in Indiawas taken up in a big way after
independence through major, medium and minor irrigation
schemes. The irrigation potential has gone up from 22.6 Mha
(9.76 Mha through Major and Medium and 12.84 Mha through
Minor) prior to Plan period to 93.95 Mha by the end of IX Plan
and further to 97.15 Mha (38.87 Mha through Major & Medium
and 58.28 Mha through Minor) up to March 2004 against the
Ultimate Irrigation Potential of 139.91 Mha (58.49 Mha through
Major & Medium and 81.42 Mha through Minor). This
development of irrigation facilities has largely contributed to
country’s self-sufficiency in food grains which has gone up from
51 Million tons in 1950 to 210 million tons in 2000. Additional
Irrigation Potential of 10.50 Mha (6.5 through Major and Medium
and 4.00 Mha. through Minor) is planned to be created during the
X Plan totalling to 104.45 Mha by the end of the Xth Plan
(MoWR, 2007).

2.2 Plan Development

a) Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)
b) Command Area Development and Water Management
Programme (CADWM)
c) Bharat Nirman

a) Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)

The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) was
launched during 1996-97 to provide loan assistance to the states
to complete some of the incomplete major/medium irrigation
projects, which were in an advanced stage of completion. The
criteria for AIBP was further relaxed from April 2005 to include
minor irrigation schemes of non-special category States with
potential of more than 100 ha with preference to Tribal Areas and
drought-prone areas. After commencement of this programme 50
major/medium and 3480 Surface minor irrigation schemes have
been completed. An additional irrigation potential for 3.25
million hectare has been created through major/medium irrigation
projects up to March 2005 and an irrigation potential of 123,000
hectare has been created through surface minor irrigation schemes
up to March 2006 (GoI, 2006).
b) Command Area Development and Water Management
Programme (CADWM)
The Centrally sponsored Command Area Development (CAD)
Programme was launched in 1974-75 with the objective of
bridging the gap between irrigation potential created and that
utilized through efficient utilization of created irrigation
potential.The other aim was optimizing agricultural production
from irrigated lands on a sustainable basis. The CAD
programmewas initiated with 60 major and medium irrigation
projects. So far 310 irrigation projects with a Culturable
Command Area (CCA) of about 28.45 Mha have been included
under the programme, out of which 133 projects are currently
under implementation (GOI, 2005). However, there have been
certain constraints which are:
• Unreliability of water supply from the government sources
mainly due to system deficiency, Water logging, non-
availability of drainage system and unscientific water use,
• Gap between scientific technologies of efficient water use
and the technologies adopted at the farm level,
• Lack of participation of farmers in water management,
• Lack of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, f) Non-
inclusion of corrective measuresfor system deficiencies
• Lack of matching budgetary support by State Governments
to execute the programme.
The restructured Command Area Development and Water
Management Program (CADWM) from 2002, considered almost
all aspects of the water resources management. The programme
covers a great deal of activities responsible for bringing in greater
efficiencies in land water and crop management. The success of
the programme would, however, depend on the CADAs/State
agencies that are implementing the program through coordination
of the concerned organizations and other related inputs.

c) Bharat Nirman
Under the irrigation component of Bharat Nirman, the target of
creation of additional irrigation potential of 10 M ha in 4 years
(2005-06 to 2008-09) is planned to be meet largely through
expeditious completion of identified ongoing major and medium
irrigation projects. Irrigation potential of 42 lakh hectare is
planned to be created by expeditiously completing such on-going
major and medium projects (GOI, 2005).

2.3 Irrigation Potential Created and Utilized

Ultimate Irrigation Potential (UIP): This term refers to the gross
area that could be irrigated theoretically if all available land and
water resources would be used for irrigation.
Irrigation Potential Created (IPC): This term refers to the total
gross area proposed to be irrigated under different crops during a
year by a scheme. The area proposed to be irrigated under more
than one crop during the same year is counted as many times as
the number of crops grown and irrigated.
Irrigation Potential Utilized (IPU): This term is defined as the
gross area actually irrigated during the reference year out of the
gross proposed area to be irrigated by the scheme.
Irrigation Potential Creation: Expansion of irrigation facilities,
along with consolidation of the existing systems, has been the
main part of the strategy for increasing production of food grains.
With sustained and systematic development of irrigation, the
irrigation potential through major, medium and minor irrigation
projects has increased from 22.6 Mha in 1951, when the process
of planning began in India, to about 98.84 Mha at the end of the
year 2004-05. Plan wise irrigation potential created and utilized
through major, medium and minor irrigation projects in the
country is shown in Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

Table 2.1.Irrigation potential created and utilized during Plan

periods in India

Potential (cumulative) Potential (cumulative)

Plan Period
created (Mha) utilized (Mha)
Pre-Plan period 22.60 22.60
First Plan
26.26 25.04
(1951-56)
Second Plan
29.08 27.80
(1956-61)
Third Plan
33.57 32.17
(1961-66)
Annual Plans
37.10 35.75
(1966-69)
Fourth Plan
44.20 42.19
(1969-74)
Fifth Plan
52.02 48.46
(1974-78)
Annual Plans
56.61 52.64
(1978-80)
Sixth Plan
65.22 58.82
(1980-85)
Seventh Plan
76.53 68.59
(1985-90)
Annual Plans
81.09 72.86
(1990-92)
Eighth Plan
86.26 77.24
(1992-97)
Ninth Plan
93.95 80.06
(1997-2002)
Tenth Plan
98.84 83.56
(upto 2004-05)

(Source: www.wrmin.nic.in )
 Fig. 2.1. Irrigation potential created and utilized.
(Source:Ramanayya et al. 2008)

2.4 Causes for gap in potential Created and Utilized

(Ramanayya et al., 2008)
2.4.1 Measurement Problems
• The estimates made by the Irrigation Department do not
take into accountthe unauthorized irrigation and
pilferages of water.
• The Revenue Department goes by the revenue collected
and not by actualarea irrigated.
• The meaning of IPU is similar to the meaning of the GIA,
but the statistics are collected and published by the
Ministry of Water Resources instead of the Ministry of
Agriculture. The differences between the most recent
reported IPU (80.06 Mha) and GIA (75.87 Mha for
2000/2001) can be explained by the difference in the data
collection and sampling strategies adopted to calculate the
two quantities and by considering minor irrigation
schemes inside the command area of major or medium
irrigation schemes.
2.4.2 Design Problems
• There are certain assumptions made at the time of
designing the project. Itis necessary to verify andvalidate
 these assumptions after completingthe project and
redefine the quantum of potential created.
• The average rainfall in the area over a period of 30 years
or so isconsidered while designing the project and
calculating the dependableyield. It does not make any
allowances for variations.
• The assumption made about the cropping pattern at the
time of estimatingthe irrigation potential created may not
hold good after implementation of theproject.
• Availability of water at the beginning of each agricultural
season shouldbe the criterion for defining the potential
created. In other words, thepotential is based on the
availability of water in a particular season andvaries every
year.
• The estimation of potential utilized should also take into
account the canalbreaches and unauthorized irrigation.
LESSON 3 Irrigation Projects

3.1 Irrigation Projects

In India irrigation has always been the largest user of water.
Irrigation projects mainly consists engineering (or hydraulic)
structures which collect, convey, and deliver water to areas on
which crops are grown.
Irrigation projects may range from a small farm unit to those
serving extensive areas of millions of hectares. A small irrigation
project may consist of a low diversion weir or an inexpensive
pumping plant along with small ditches (channels) and some
minor control structures. A large irrigation project includes a
large storage reservoir, a huge dam, hundreds of kilometres of
canals, branches and distributaries, control structures, and other
works (Asawa, 2005).

3.2 Irrigation Projects Classification

Irrigation projects are classified in different ways, however, in
Indian context it is usually classified as follows:
3.2.1 Based on Cultural Command Area (CCA)
• Major Irrigation Projects: The area envisaged to be covered
under irrigation is of the order over 10000 hectare
(CCA>10,000 ha). This type of project consist huge storage
reservoirs, flow diversion structures and a large network of
canals. These are often multi-purpose projects serving other
aspects like flood control and hydro power.
• Medium Irrigation Projects: Projects having CCA less than
10,000 ha but more than 2,000 ha are classified as medium
irrigation projects. These are also multi-purpose surface
water projects. Medium size storage, diversion and
distribution structures are the main components of this type
of project.
• Minor Irrigation Projects: Projects having CCA less than or
equal to 2,000 ha are termed as minor irrigation project. The
main sources of water are tanks, small reservoirs and
groundwater pumping. A number of minor irrigation
projects may exist individually within the command area of
a major or medium irrigation project.
The Major and Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects are further
classified into two types based on irrigation method adopted.
• Direct Irrigation method: In this method water is directly
diverted from the river into the canal by the construction of
a diversion structure like weir or barrage across the stream
without attempting to store water. This method is practiced
where the stream has adequate perennial supply. Direct
irrigation is usually practiced in deltaic tracts that is, in areas
having even and plane topography.
• Indirect or Storage Irrigation Method: In this system, water
is stored in a reservoir during monsoon by construction of a
dam across the river. The stored water is diverted to the
fields through a network of canals during the dry period.
Evidently indirect irrigation is adopted where the river is not
perennial or flow in the river is inadequate during lean
period.

3.2.2 Based on the Way of Water Application

The Irrigation schemes are classified into two types based on way
of water application.
• Gravity/Flow Irrigation Scheme: This is the type of
irrigation system in which water is stored at a higher
elevation so as to enable supply to the land by gravity flow.
Such irrigation schemes consists head works across river to
store the water and canal network to distribute the water. The
gravity irrigation scheme is further classified as:
 1. Perennial Irrigation Scheme: In this scheme assured
supply of water is made available to the command area
throughout the crop period to meet irrigation
requirement of the crops.
2. Non-Perennial Irrigation (Restricted Irrigation)
Scheme: Canal supply is generally made available in
non-monsoon period from the storage.
• Lift Irrigation Scheme: Irrigation systems in which water
has to be pumped to the field or canal network form lower
elevations are categorised as lift irrigation schemes.

3.3 Some of the Major Irrigation Projects

Since independence, India has developed several major irrigation
projects. Some of the major irrigation projects are listed in Table
3.1 and also shown in Fig. 3.1.
Table 3.1. Major irrigation projects of India

Year of
Name River State CCA, ha
completion
Bhakra Punjab and
Nangal Sutlej Himachal 40,00,000 1963
Project Pradesh
Punjab,
Beas Project Beas River Haryana and 21,00,000 1974
Rajasthan
 Harike
Indira Gandhi
(Satlej and Punjab 5, 28,000 1965
Canal
Beas)
Bihar and
Koshi Project Kosi River 8.48,000 1954
Nepal
Hirakund
Mahanadi Orisa 10,00,000 1957
Project
Tungabhadra Tungbhadra - AP-
5,74,000 1953
project Krishna Karnataka
Nagarjuna
Krishna AP 13,13,000 1960
Sagar Project
Rajasthan and
Chambal
Chambal Madhya 5,15,000 1960
Project
Pradesh
Damodar Jharkhand,
Damodar 8,23,700 1948
valley project West Bengal
Gandak
Gandak Bihar-UP 16,51,700 1970
project
Kakrapar
Tapti Gujarat 1,51,180 1954
project
Koyna Koyna-
Maharashtra 1964
Project krishna
Malprabha
Malprabha Karnataka 2,18,191 1972
project
Mayurakshi
Mayurakshi West Bengal 2,40,000 1956
Project
Kangsabati
Kangsabati
and Kumari West Bengal 3,48,477 1956
project
river
 Fig. 3.1. Major Irrigation Projects of India.
(Source: http://dilipkumar.in/india/rivers/dams.php: accessed on
June 17, 2013)

3.3.1 Major, Medium and Minor Irrigation Projects -

Potential Created and Utilized
Demand for irrigation water in India is huge; however, the limits
to storage and transfer of water restrict the potential for irrigation.
The assessment of Ultimate Irrigation Potential (UIP) needs to be
periodically reviewed to account for revision in scope,
technological advancement, inter basin transfer of water, induced
recharging of ground water, etc. The UIP of projects covered
under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP) is of the
order of 139.9 Mha. Potential Created (PC) & Potential Utilised
(PU) up to end of IXth Plan are given in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2. Sector wise UIP, PC and PU Till end of IXth Plan (in
Mha)

Sector UIP PC PU
MMI 58.47 37.05 31.01
Minor Irrigation (MI)
Surface water 17.38 13.6 11.44
Ground water 64.05 43.3 38.55
Sub-Total 81.43 56.9 49.99
Total 139.9 93.95 81.00

3.3.2 Procedure for Setting up a MMI Project in India

The state planning to start a new irrigation project shall have to
prepare a report based on “Guidelines for Submission, Appraisal
and Clearance of Irrigation and Multipurpose Projects” brought
out by the Central Water Commission (CWC). This report has to
be sent to the project appraisal organization of the CWC for the
clearance with a note certifying the following:
1. All necessary surveys and investigations for planning of the
proposed irrigation project and establishing its economic
 feasibility have been carried out depending on certain
guidelines.
2. 10% of the command area of the proposed project has been
investigated in details in three patches of land representing
terrain conditions in the command for estimation of the
conveyance system up to the last farm outlets.
3. 10% of the canal structures have been investigated in full
detail.
4. Detailed hydrological, geological, construction material
investigations have been carried out for all major
structures, that is, dams, weirs (or barrages, as the case may
be), main canal, branch canal up to distributaries carrying a
discharge of 10 m s .
3 -1

5. Soil survey of the command area has been carried out as

per IS 5510-1969.
6. Necessary designs for the various components of the
project have been done in accordance with the guidelines
and relevant Indian standards.Necessary studies for
utilization of ground water have been done with special
regard to the problem of water logging and suitable
provisions have been made for conjunctive use of ground
water and drainage arrangements.
7. The cost estimates and economic evaluations were carried
out as per guidelines issued by the CWC.
It may be noted that similar report has to be made even for
multipurpose projects having irrigation as a component. Apart
from the above techno-economic studies carried out by the state
design organization, the project report should be examined by the
state-level project appraisal/technical advisory committee
comprising representatives of irrigation, agriculture, fisheries,
forests, soil conservation, ground water, revenue and finance
departments and state environmental management authority. The
techno-economic feasibility report should also be supplemented
with “Environmental Impact Assessment Report” and “Relief and
Rehabilitation Plan” because of major impact of an irrigation
project on environment.
The project proposal submitted to the CWC shall be circulated
amongst the members of the advisory committee of the ministry
of water resources for scrutiny. Once the project is found
acceptable it shall be recommended for investment clearance to
the planning commission and inclusion in the five year
plan/annual plan.

3.3 Environmental Impact of Irrigation Projects

All water resource projects, whether for irrigation or for hydro-
electric power or for flood control or for water supply, are
constructed for the well-being of human beings and have definite
impact on the surrounding ecosystems and environment. If the
projects are properly planned and suitably designed, the adverse
impacts can be minimized. Environmental evaluation or
assessment is generally done at the planning and design stages of
the project. There is a need to develop a complete checklist of the
impacts and an environmental evaluation system to quantify the
impacts of irrigation projects.
The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers
consider the ensuing environmental impacts when deciding
whether or not to proceed with a project. The International
Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an
environmental impact assessment (EIA) as "the process of
identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical,
social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior
to major decisions being taken and commitments made." EIAs are
unique in that they do not require adherence to a predetermined
environmental outcome, but rather they require decision makers
to account for environmental values in their decisions and to
justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies
and public comments on the potential environmental impacts of
the proposal.
LESSON 4 Environmental Impact Assessment & Inter Basin Water Transfer

4.1 Environmental Impact Assessment

All water resource projects, whether for irrigation or for hydro-
electric power or for flood control or for water supply have
definite impact on the surrounding ecosystems and environment.
If the projects are properly planned and suitably designed, the
adverse impacts can be minimized. Environmental evaluation or
assessment is generally done at the planning and design stages of
the project. There is a need to develop a complete checklist of the
impacts and an environmental evaluation system to quantify the
impacts of irrigation projects.
4.1.1 Definition and Purpose
The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers
consider the ensuing environmental impacts when deciding
whether or not to proceed with a project. The International
Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an EIA as "the
process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating
the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development
proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments
made". EIA has three main functions (FAO, 53):
• to predict problems,
• to find ways to avoid them, and
• to enhance positive effects
The aim of an EIA is to ensure that potential impacts are identified
and addressed at an early stage in the projects planning and
design. The assessment finding are communicated to all the
relevant groups who will make decisions about the proposed
projects, the project developers and their investors as well as
regulators , planners and the politicians. Having read the
conclusions of an environmental impact assessment, project
planners and engineers can shape the project so that its benefits
can be achieved and sustained without causing adverse impacts.

Objective of EIA
Immediate Objectives of EIA:
• Improve the environmental design of the proposal.
• Ensure that resources are used appropriately and efficiently.
• Identify appropriate measures for mitigating the potential
impacts of the proposal.
• Facilitate informed decision making, including setting of the
environmental terms and conditions for implementing the
proposal.
Long Term Objectives of EIA:
• Protect human health and safety.
• Avoid irreversible changes and serious damages to the
environment.
• Safeguard valued resources, natural areas and ecosystem
components.
• Enhance the social aspects of the proposal.

4.1.2 History of EIA

EIA was made legislation in the US in the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 as part of a technical
evaluation that would lead to an objective decision making. It has
since evolved as it has been used increasingly in many countries
around the world. As per Jay et al. (2006), EIA as it is practiced
today, is being used as a decision aiding tool rather than decision
making tool.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of India has
made a substantial effort in the implementation of the EIA in
India. The main laws in action are the Water Act (1974), the
Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), the Air (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act (1981) and the Environment
(Protection) Act (1986). The responsible body for this is the
Central Pollution Control Board. EIA studies need a significant
amount of primary and secondary environmental data. The
primary data are those which need to be collected in the field to
define the status of the environment (like air quality data, water
quality data etc.). The secondary data are those data which have
been collected over the years and can be used to understand the
existing environmental scenario of the study area.

4.1.3 Status of EIA in India

The importance and role for EIA was formally recognized at the
earth summit held at Rio conference in 1992. Principle 17 of the
Rio declaration states that –“EIA as a national instrument shall be
undertaken for the proposed activities that are likely to have
significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to
a decision of a competent national authority”.
In India many of the developmental projects till as recently as the
1980s were implemented with very little or no environmental
concerns. The environmental issues began receiving attention
when a national committee on environmental planning and
coordination was set up under the 4th five year plan. Till 1980,
the subjects of environment and forests were the concern of the
Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of
Agriculture respectively. Later, the issues were formally attended
by the Department of Environment which was established in
1980. This was then upgraded to the Ministry of Environment &
Forest in 1985. In 1980, clearance of large projects from the
environmental angle became an administrative requirement to the
extent that the planning commission and the central investment
board sought proof of such clearance before according financial
sanction.
Five years later, guidelines for Environmental Assessment of
river valley projects were issued by the Department of
Environment and Forests, Government of India. These guidelines
require various studies such as impacts on forests and wild life in
the submergence zone, water logging potential, upstream and
downstream aquatic ecosystems and fisheries, water related
diseases, climatic changes and seismicity.
A major legislative measures for the purpose of environmental
clearance was in 1994 when specific notification was issued
under section 3 and rule 5 of the environment protection Act,
1986 called the “Environment Impact Assessment Notification
1994”.
The first step in seeking environmental clearance for a
development project is to determine what statutory legislations
apply to the particular project. The MOEF has brought out several
notifications restricting the development of industries in specified
ecologically sensitive areas. In addition there are also draft rules
framed for the siting of industries.
Environmental clearance for development projects can be
obtained either at the state level or at the central level depending
on certain criteria concerning the characteristics of the project.
However (regardless of where the final environmental clearance
is obtained from), for most projects the consent must first be taken
from the state pollution control board or pollution control
committees in the case of union territories.

4.1.4 Main Steps in the EIA Process

The way in which an EIA is carried out is not rigid: it is a process
comprising a series of steps.
o Screening: First stage of EIA, which determines
whether the proposed project, requires an EIA and if it
does, then the level of assessment required. The output
from the screening process is often a document called
an Initial Environmental Examination or
Evaluation (IEE).
o Scoping: The process of determining the most critical
issues is done in this stage. Scoping is important for two
reasons. First, so that problems can be pinpointed early
allowing mitigating design changes to be made before
expensive detailed work is carried out. Second, to
ensure that detailed prediction work is only carried out
for important issues. The main EIA techniques used in
scoping are baseline studies, checklists,
matrices and network diagrams.
o Prediction and Mitigation: Once the scoping exercise
is complete and the major impacts to be studied have
been identified the prediction and mitigation work can
start. This stage forms the central part of an EIA. The
aim is to introduce measures which minimize any
identified adverse impacts and also to enhance the
positive impacts. Some of the techniques used for
prediction are Mathematical modelling and Expert
advice where as Checklists, matrices, networks
diagrams, graphical comparisons and overlays are
mitigation techniques.
o Management and Monitoring: The main output
report called an Environmental Impact Statement
contains a detailed plan for managing and
monitoring the environmental impacts both during and
after implementation of the project. The part of the EIS
 covering monitoring and management is often referred
to as the Environmental Action Plan or Environmental
Management Plan. The purpose of monitoring is to
compare predicted and actual impacts, especially if the
impacts are critical to the society or ecosystem or the
scale of the impact cannot be accurately predicted.
o Auditing: Finally, an audit of the EIA process is
carried out some times after the implementation. The
audit serves a useful feedback and learning function.
The audit should include an analysis of the technical,
procedural and decision-making aspects of the EIA.
o Managing Uncertainty: An EIA involves prediction
and thus uncertainty is an integral part. There are two
types of uncertainties that associated with the EIAs viz.
processes and predictions. For processes, the
uncertainty lies in the proper assessment of the
importance of the different aspects and in accepting or
discarding of the recommendations. For predictions the
uncertainty lies in the accuracy of the findings.
 Fig. 4.1. EIA Process. (Source:
http://old.cseindia.org/programme/industry/eia/introduction_eia.
htm: accessed on June 18, 2013)

The three core values of any EIA study that have been identified
till date are:
1. Integrity: The EIA process should be fair, objective, unbiased
and balanced.
2. Utility: The EIA process should provide balanced, credible
information for decision- making.
3. Sustainability: The EIA process should result in environmental
safeguards which are sufficient to mitigate serious adverse effects
and avoid irreversible loss of resource and ecosystem functions.

4.2 Inter Basin Water Transfer (IBWT)

Water transfer is one of the most important ways to eliminate
water resources deficits and to solve water management
problems.
4.2.1 The Need
The spatial and temporal variability of rainfall distribution results
in surplus and deficit available water resources in many of the
river basins in India at the same time. The river basins with
surplus (largely unutilized) water resources often cause floods
and hence submergence of crops whereas the river basins with
lesser available water cause draughts. Making the required water
(of proper quantity and quality) available at the place of need at
the proper time is the duty of the government. These calls for the
development and management of the water resources in an
integrated and sustainable manner: equitably, economically and
efficiently. This management process is broadly termed as
Integrated Water Resources Development and Management
which includes both within basin and inter-basin water transfer
(Thatte, 2006).
4.2.2 Definition and Objective
Inter-basin water transfer (IWBT) schemes are used to describe
man-made conveyance schemes which move water from
one river basin where it is surplus, to another basin where water
is scarce. The major objective of the proposed inter-basin transfer
of water is to meet requirements of highly water deficit areas,
where no other sources are available. IBWT projects are
commonly proposed as solutions to water distribution and supply
problems.

4.2.3 Emergence of Concept

The earliest linking works of river basin in India are the Periyar-
Vaigai Project of late 19th century. Parambkulam-Aliyar Project,
Kurnool-Cudappa canal and the recent Telugu Ganga Project are
other examples. The concept of inter-basin transfer of water
within India has been started for over 40 years with two
independent inter-basin water transfer proposals. The first Dr. K.
L. Rao’s proposal (1972) known as the ‘Ganga-Cauvery Link’
consisted of 2640 km link from Ganga near Patna to transfer the
water to the south during high flow. Another proposal which
received considerable publicity was that of Captain Dastur’s
proposal (1977) known as the ‘Garland Canal Link’ consisted of
a 4200 Km long ‘Himalayan Canal’ and a 9300 km long
‘Southern Garland Canal’. After study of these proposals, the
Government of India in 1980 prepared a National Perspective
Plan for interlinking the rivers. The plan comprises two
components:
• The Himalayan Rivers Development: The Himalayan river
component envisages storages and interlinking canal
systems to transfer surplus flows of the Kosi, Gandak and
Ghagra to the west; Brahmaputra-Ganga link to augment the
 dry weather flows of the Ganga; Ganga-Yamuna link to
serve the drought areas of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
also south Uttar Pradesh and south Bihar. This scheme will
benefit not only parts of India but also neighbouring
countries of Nepal and Bangladesh (NWDA, 1998).
• The Peninsular Rivers Development: Among the Peninsular
rivers, the Mahanadi and Godavari are considered to have
sizeable surpluses after meeting the existing and projected
needs of the states within these basins. It is therefore,
proposed to build terminal storages on Mahanadi and
Godavari rivers to divert surplus flows of Mahanadi to the
Godavari system and to further transfer surplus from the
Godavari system to water short rivers namely, Krishna,
Pennar and Cauvery. This component is divided into four
major parts:
• Interlinking of Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery rivers
and building storages at potential sites in these basins.
• Interlinking of west flowing rivers, north of Mumbai and
south of Tapi.
• Interlinking of Ken-Chambal rivers.
• Diversion of other west flowing rivers.

4.2.4 Classification of IBWT Projects (Proceedings of the

International Workshop on Inter-basin Water Transfer,
1999)
At present, a great number of various water transfer systems
operate or are under construction (local, intra-basin, inter-basin,
inter-zonal, etc.). The amount of transferred volume (V) and
distance (L) of the transfer are the most important characteristics
of such systems. These components determine both the cost of the
system and its impact on the environment. It is thus reasonable to
classify the water transfer systems by using a combined index (V
x L). The classification of water transfer projects by this indicator
is shown in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1. Classification of water transfer projects according to
its scale

Category of Volume (V, Distance (L, Scale index (V x L,

transfer km3/yr) km) km3/yr.km)
Small <1 <100 <100
Medium 1-2.5 100-400 100-1000
Large 2.5-5 400-1000 1000-5000
Very large 5-10 1000-2500 5000-25000
Largest >10 >2,500 >25000

4.2.5 Some of the Existing Inter-basin Water Transfers

Projects
Long distance inter basin transfer of water is not a new concept
and has been in practice in India since long. The details for some
of the existing links for inter-basin transfer of water are given
Table 4.2.

Table 4.2. Some of Existing IBWT Projects in India

 Project Name Location Description
Southern Transfer water from Periyar river in Kerala to the V
ar Project
India basin in Tamil Nadu
Transfer water from Chalakudy river basin to the
Southern Bharatapuzha and Cauvery basins for irrigation in
mbikulam Aliyar Project
India Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu and the Chittur
of Kerala states
Southern Transfer water from Krishna River basin to
ool Cudappah Canal
India the Pennar basin
Southern
u Ganga Project It brings Krishna River water through 406 km of ca
India
Linking the Ravi river, the Beas river and the Sutle
Northern
Gandhi Canal river through a system of dams, hydropower plants
India
tunnels, canals and irrigation systems

(Source:
http://nwda.gov.in/index2.asp?slid=107&sublinkid=7&langid=1
)

4.2.5 Environmental Impacts of Inter-basin Water Transfer

Projects
In India, the planners are familiar with the social and
environmental concerns caused by small, medium and large inter-
basin projects. So, Environmental Assessment (EA) has become
a necessary step in the evaluation of any major irrigation project,
including IBWT projects. It was noted that EAs are sometimes
simplified to safeguard water quality. Some of the impacts caused
by IBWT projects are shown below:
 o These projects lead to inadvertent introduction of flora
and fauna alien to the recipient basin from the donor
basin. This introduced flora and fauna could
theoretically grow to a proportion where it becomes a
menace to the ecology of the recipient area and can
disturb the ecological balances.
o The large storages and long links could involve a much
larger resettlement problem.
o The link canals may involve large scale interruption of
natural drainage and also a large barrier between
neighbouring communities
Module 2:Measurement of Irrigation Water

LESSON 5 Methods of Water Measurements in Open Channels

5.1Units of Water Measurement

Irrigation water is conveyed either through open channels or pipes
and knowing the quantity of water available is essential for
irrigation water management. Sometimes one will want to know
only the volume of water used; while, at other times one will want
to know the rate of flow. Conversion factors simplify changing
from one unit of measurement to another.
Water may be measured in two condition viz. (i) at rest and (ii) in
motion. At rest means volume of water is measured and different
units used for volume measurement are litre, cubic metre, hectare-
centimetre, hectare-metre etc.Water is measured in motion means
rate of flow is measured and different units used for this are litre
per second, cubic metre per second, etc.
 1. Litre: The volume equal to one cubic decimetre or 1/1000
cubic metre.
2. Cubic metre: A volume equal to that of a cube 1 metre
long, 1 metre wide and 1 metre deep.
3. Hectare – centimetre: A volume necessary to cover an
area of 1 hectare (10,000 sq.m) up to a depth of 1
centimetre (1 hectare – centimetre = 100 cu. m = 100,000
litres)
4. Hectare –metre: A volume necessary to cover 1 hectare
(10,000 sq.m) up to a depth of 1 metre (1 hectare –meter
= 10,000 cu. m = 10 M litres)
5. Litre per second: A continuous flow amounting to 1 litre
passing through a point each second.
6. Cubic metre per second: A flow of water equivalent to a
stream 1 metre wide and 1 metre deep, flowing at a
velocity of 1 metre per second.

5.1.1 Methods of Water Measurements

There are several methods used for the measurements of irrigation
water on the farm. They can be grouped into four categories as,
1. Volumetric or volume methods of water measurement
2. Area – Velocity Method
3. Measuring Structures (Orifices, Weirs and Flumes)
4. Tracer methods.

5.2 Volume Methods of Water Measurement

This method is suitable for measuring small irrigation stream. In
this case, water is collected in a container of known volume and
the time taken to fill the container is recorded. The rate of flow
is measured by the formula

5.1.Volume
Method.(Source:ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/CDrom/FAO_Training/F
AO_Training/General/x6705e/x6705e03.htm)

5.2.1 Area-velocity Method

The rate of flow of water passing a point in open channel is
determined by multiplying the cross sectional area of the flow
section at right angles to the direction of flow by the average
velocity of water. The cross sectional area is determined by
measuring the depths at various locations. The depth can be
measured by different methods like sounding rods or sounding
weights or echo-depth sounder for accurate measurement.
For discharge calculation the entire cross section is divided into
several subsections and the average velocity at each of these
sub-sections is determined by current meters or floats. The
accuracy of discharge measurement increases with the increase
in the number of segments. Some guidelines for choosing the
number of sections are:
a) The discharge in the segment should not be more than 10% of
total discharge.
b) The difference in velocities between two adjacent sections
should not be more than 20%.
c) The segment width should not 1/15th to 1/20th of total width.

Fig.5.2.Stream section for area velocity method.

(Source: Subramanya, 1994)
Calculation of Discharge
The total discharge is calculated using the method of mid
sections. It has been considered that the section is divided into
N-1 sections.
 .......(5.2)
Where,
ΔQi= discharge in ith section.
= (depth at ith section) x (½ width to the left + ½ width to the
right) X (average velocity in the ith section)

..............(5.3)
For the fist and last sections, the area is calculated as:

.........(5.4)

where,

........(5.5)

and

.......(5.6)

Similarly
 ...........(5.7)

Fig.5.3. Discharge measurement at a section.

(Source:http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_metho
ds/environ_sampling/streamgage.html accessed on
05/0602012)

The cross sectional area is determined as discussed above and

velocity is generally measured with a current metre.
Approximate values of velocity may also be obtained by the
float method. The detailed description of current meter method
is given in section 5.2.2.
5.2.1.1 Float Method
It is inexpensive and simple. This method measures surface
velocity. Mean velocity is obtained using a correction factor.
The basic idea is to measure the time that it takes for the object
to float a specified distance downstream.

Vsurface= travel distance/ travel time =

L/t .........(5.8)
Because surface velocities are typically higher than
mean or average velocitie
V mean = k .Vsurface

..................(5.9)

Where,
k is a coefficient that generally ranges from 0.8 for rough beds
to 0.9 for smooth beds (0.85 is a commonly used value).
Step 1- Choose a suitable straight reach with minimum
turbulence (ideally at least 3 channel widths long).
Step 2 - Mark the start and end point of your reach.
Step 3 - If possible, travel time should exceed 20 seconds.
Step 4 - Drop your object into the stream upstream of your
upstream marker.
Step 5 - Start the watch when the object crosses the upstream
marker and stop the watch when it crosses the downstream
marker.
Step 6 -You should repeat the measurement at least 3 times and
use the average velocity in further calculations.

Fig.5.4. Float Method

(Source:ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/CDrom/FAO_Training/FAO_Tra
ining/General/x6705e/x6705e03.htm)

5.2.2 Current Meters

In the area velocity method current meters are generally used to
measure the velocity of flow at the different sections. The
current meter consists of a small revolving wheel or vane that is
turned by the movement of water. It may be suspended by a
cable for measurements in deep streams or attached to a rod in
shallow streams. The propeller is rotated by the flowing water
and speed of propeller is proportional to the average velocity of
flow. Corresponding to the number of revolutions, the velocity
can obtained from calibration graphs or tables.

Fig. 5.5.Current meter.

(Source:http://www.weatherstation.co.in/full-
images/730336.jpg: accessed on June 18, 2013)

Procedure for velocity measurement using the current

meter:Stretch a tape across the channel cross-section. Divide the
distance across the channel to at least 25 divisions. Use closer
intervals for the deeper parts of the channel.
1. Stretch a tape across the channel cross-section.
Divide the distance across the channel to at least 25
divisions. Use closer intervals for the deeper parts of
the channel.
2. Start at the water’s edge and call out the distance
first, then the depth and then the velocity. Stand
downstream from the current meter in a position
 such that the velocity is least affected by the meter.
Hold the rod in a vertical position with the meter
directly into the water.
3. To take a reading, the meter must be completely
under water, facing the current, and free of
interference. The meter may be adjusted slightly up
or downstream to avoid boulders, snags and other
obstructions. The note taker will call out the
calculated interval, which the meter operator may
decide to change (e.g., taking readings at closer
intervals in deep, high-velocity parts of the channel).
Record the actual distance called out by the meter
operator as the center line for the subsection.
▪ Take one or two velocity measurements at each

subsection.
▪ If depth (d) is less than 60 cm, measure velocity

once for each subsection at 0.6 times the total

depth (d) measured from the water surface.
▪ If depth (d) is greater than 60 cm, measure

velocity twice, at 0.2 and 0.8 times the total

depth. The average of these two readings is the
velocity for the subsection.
4. Allow a minimum of 40 seconds for each reading. The
operator calls out the distance, then the depth, and
then the velocity. The note taker repeats it back as it
is recorded, as a check.
5. Calculate discharge in the field. If any section has
more than 5% of the total flow, subdivide that section
and make more measurements.
Current meters are designed in a manner such that the rotation
speed of the blades varies linearly with the stream velocity. This
can be expressed by the following equation:
v=aNs+
b ................(5.10)

Where,
v = stream velocity at measuring site in m/s
Ns = revolutions per second of the meter
a, b = constants of the meter.
To determine the constants, which are different for each
instrument, the current meter has to becalibrated before use.
This is done by towing the instrument in a tank at a known
velocity and recording the number of revolutions Ns. This
procedure is repeated for a range of velocities.
It has to be kept in mind that for shallow streams the
measurement can be taken at a depth= 0.6 of the total depth,
whereas for deeper streams two measurements are needed at 0.2
and 0.8 of total depth and then averaged to get the actual
velocity.

Example 5.1:
Data pertaining to a stream-gauging operation at a gauging site
are given below. The rating equation of the current meter is v =
0.63Ns + 0.08m/s. where Ns = revolutions per second. Calculate
the discharge in the stream.

Distance from the left

0 5.0 8.0 11.0 14.0 17.0 20.0 24.0
water edge (m)
Depth (m) 0 1.8 3.4 4.6 3.7 2.6 1.5 0
Revolutions of a
current meter kept at 0 42 55 93 87 48 28 0
0.6 depth
Duration of observation
0 120 120 125 135 110 100 0
(s)

Solution:

For the last and first section using equation

Average width,

For the rest of the segments,

Since the velocity is measured at 0.6 depth the measured
velocity is the average velocity at that vertical
The calculation of discharge is shown below:

Distance Average Depth y Ns = Velocity ( Segmental

from the width ( (m) rev. m/s) discharge (m
3
left m) /sec /s)
water
edge (m)
0 0 0 0.0000
5 4.225 1.8 0.350 0.3005 2.2853
8 3 3.4 0.458 0.3688 3.7613
11 3 4.6 0.744 0.5487 7.5723
14 3 3.7 0.644 0.4860 5.3946
17 3 2.6 0.436 0.3549 2.7683
20 4.225 1.5 0.280 0.2564 1.6249
24 0 0 0.0000

Sum = 23.4067

∴ Discharge in the stream = 23.40 m3/s Ans.

5.2.3 Other Method

5.2.3.1Tracer Method
In the tracer-dilution methods, a tracer solution is injected into
the stream at one point and the tracer is measured at a point
downstream to the first point. Knowing the rate and
concentration of tracer in the injected solution and the
concentration in the downstream section, the stream discharge
can be computed.Either constant rate injection method or sudden
injection method may be used for determining the discharge of a
stream by tracer dilution.
Constant rate injection method: In this method the tracer
solution is injected at a constant rate into the stream till a
constant concentration of the tracer in the stream flow at the
downstream sampling cross section is achieved. Fig. 5.6 shows
constant rate injection system.

Fig.5.6.Constant rate injection system.

(Source: Measurement and Computation of Stream
flow: Volume 1. Measurement of Stage and Discharge -
USGS)
If the tracer is injected for a sufficiently long period, sampling of
the stream at the downstream sampling cross section will
produce a concentration-time curve similar to that shown in Fig.
5.7.

Fig. 5.7.Concentration-time curve at downstream sampling

site for constant-rate injection.
(Source: Measurement and Computationof Stream
flow: Volume 1. Measurement of Stage and Discharge -
USGS)

The stream discharge is computed from the equation for the

conservation of mass, which follows:

...........(5.1
1)
 .........(5.12)

Where,
q is the rate of flow of the injected tracer solution,
Q is the discharge of the stream,
Cb is the background concentration of the stream,
C1 is the concentration of the tracer solution injected into the
stream, an
C2 is the measured concentration of the plateau of the
concentration-time curve (Fig. 5.7).

Example 5.2:
A 12g/L solution of a tracer was discharged into a stream at a
constant rate of 15 cm3 s-1. The background concentration of the
dye in the stream water was found to be 2 parts per billion. At a
downstream location sufficiently far away, the dye was found to
reach an equilibrium concentration 7 parts per billion. Estimate
the stream discharge.
Solution:
From equation 5.12 we know the stream discharge,

Given: q = 15 cm3 /s = 15 x 10-6 m3 s-1

C1 = 0.012, C2 = 7 x 10-9, Cb = 2 x 10-9
Putting the above values in the equation,

= 60 m3 /s
∴ Discharge through the stream = 60 m3 /sAns.

LESSON 6. Weirs

6.1 Introduction
Effective use of water for irrigation requires that flow rates and
volumes be measured and expressed quantitatively. Measurement
of flow rates in open channels is difficult because of non-uniform
channel dimensions and variations in velocities across the
channel. A weir is a calibrated instrument used to measure the
flow in an open channel, or the discharge of a well or a canal
outlet at the source.
6.1.1 Terms Used
1. Weir Pond: Portion of the channel immediately
upstream from the weir.
2. Weir Crest: The edge over which the water flows is
the weir crest.
3. Broad-crested weir: A weir having a horizontal or
nearly horizontal crest sufficiently long in the
direction of flow.When the crest is "broad", the
streamlines become parallel to the crest invert and
the pressure distribution above the crest is
hydrostatic.
4. Sharp Crested Weir: A weir having thin- edged crest
such that the over flowing sheet of water has the
minimum surface contact with the crest. A sharp-
crested weir allows the water to fall cleanly away
from the weir, e.g., V notch, Cipolleti weir etc. Fig. 6.1
shows sharp crested weir.
5. Head: The depth water flowing over the weir crest
measured at some point in the weir pond.
6. End Contraction: The horizontal distance from the
ends of the weir crest to the sides of the weir pond.
7. Weir Scale or Gauge: The scale fastened on the sides
of the weir or on a stake in the weir pond to measure
the head on the weir crest.
8. Nappe: The sheet of water which overflows a weir is
called a nappe.
6.1.2 Advantages of Weirs
a) Capable of accurately measuring a wide range of flows
b) Can be both portable and adjustable
c) Easy to construct
d) Tends to provide more accurate discharge rating than flumes
and orifices

Fig. 6.1.Profile of a Sharp-crested weir.

(Source:http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/flowmeter_artc_02
021403.html accessed on July 28, 2013)
6.1.3 Disadvantages of Weir
a) Relatively large head required, particularly in free flow
condition.
b) The upstream pool must be maintained clean of sediment and
kept free of weeds and trash. Otherwise, measurement accuracy
will be compromised.

6.2 Classification of Weirs

Weirs are classified based on the shape of their opening or notch.
The edge of the opening can be either sharp or broad-crested.

6.2.1 Sharp-Crested Weir

These are generally used for water measurement on the farm.
They are generally of three types depending upon the shape of
notch. These are
• Rectangular Weir
• Cipoletti Weir or Trapezoidal Weir
• V Notch Weirs or Triangular Weir
Fig. 6.2 shows different types of sharp created weirs.
Fig. 6.2. Sharp created weirs (a) rectangular, (b) Cipoletti or
trapezoidal and (c) V-notch or triangular.

6.2.2 Broad-crested Weirs

A weir that has a horizontal or nearly horizontal crest sufficiently
long in the direction of the flow so that the nappe will be
supported and hydrostatic pressures will be fully developed for at
least a short distance. Broad crested weir is shown in Fig. 6.3.
 Fig. 6.3. Broad crested weir.
(Source: http://navalfacilities.tpub.com/mo221/mo2210113.htm,
accessed on Aug 14, 2013)

Weirs may also be classified as suppressed and contracted.

6.2.3 Suppressed Weir

A rectangular weir whose notch or opening sides are coincident
with the sides of the approach channel, also rectangular, which
extend unchanged downstream from the weir. It is the lateral flow
contraction that is “suppressed”. Fig. 6.4 shows suppressed and
contracted rectangular weir.
 Fig. 6.4. Suppressed and contracted rectangular weir.
(Source:http://www.brighthubengineering.com/hydraulics-civil-
ngineering/88804-calculations-for-rectangular-weir-flow-
equations/, Accessed on Aug 14, 2013)

6.2.4 Contracted Weir

The sides and crest of a weir are far away from the sides and
bottom of the approach channel. The nappe will fully contract
laterally at the ends and vertically at the crest of the weir. Also
called an “unsuppressed” weir.

6.3 Rectangular Weirs

Rectangular weir takes its name from the shape of its notch. The
discharge through a weir or notch is directly related to the water
depth (H), (Fig. 6.5) and H is known as the head. This head is
affected by the condition of the crest, the contraction, the velocity
of approaching stream and the elevation of the water surface
downstream from the weir. Rectangular weirs can be suppressed,
partially contracted, or fully contracted.
6.3.1 Derivation of Equation

Fig. 6.5.Definition sketch for rectangular weir.

Consider Fig. 6.5

Cross sectional area = a = L.dy .........(6.1)
Velocity,

.........(6.2
)
Total discharge

......
.(6.3)
 ......(6.4)
Let

= Discharge coefficient of weir.

So,

............(6.5)
If Q = lt/s, L and H in cm then,

.......,(6.6)
For one side contraction,

...........(6.7)
For both side contraction,
 .............(6.8)

Example 6.1:
Water flows through a contracted rectangular weir 120 cm long
to a depth of 30 cm, it then flows along a rectangular channel 150
cm wide and over a second weir which has length equal to the
width of the channel. Determine the depth of water over the
second weir.

Solution:
The first weir is contracted, i.e. both end contracted.

Given,
Length of the weir (L) = 120 cm
Depth of water over the weir (H) = 30 cm

So, Discharge of flow =

=
= 344.67 L/sec
In second weir, length of the weir (L) =150 cm
Discharge through first weir and second weir is same.
Let assume, depth of water over second weir is = H cm

Now,

H= 24.97 cmAns.

So, the depth of water over the second weiris 24.97 cm.

6.4 Cipoletti Weirs

The Cipolletti weir (Fig. 6.6) is trapezoidal in shape. The slope of
the sides, inclined outwardly from the crest, should be one
horizontal to four vertical. The selected length of notch (L)
should be at least 3H and preferably 4H or longer. Cipoletti weirs
are considered fully contracted.
 Fig. 6.6 Cipoletti weirs.
Discharge through Cipoletti weir is calculated as:

(6.9)

Example 6.2:
A Cipoletti weir has a breadth of 60 cm at its crest. The head of
water flowing over the crest is 30 cm. Determine its discharge.

Solution:
Given,
Crest width (L) = 60 cm
Head of flow over the crest (H) = 30 cm
So, discharge through the weir (Q) =

= 183.37 L/sec

Discharge of Cipoletti weir is 183.37 L/sec Ans.

6.5 V- notch Weir

In this case, the notch is “V” in shape. Depth of water above the
bottom of the V is called head (H). The V-notch design causes
small changes in discharge hence causing a large change in depth
and thus allowing more accurate measurement than with a
rectangular weir. Head (H) should be measured at a distance of at
least 4H upstream of the weir.

Fig.6.7.Triangular notch weir.

Derivation of Equation:
Consider the Fig. 6.7,
Crosssectional area, dA =
xdy (6.10)

Velocity of flow, V = (6.11)

dQ = xdy. (6.12)

By Similar triangles and

On Substituting and integrating both sides of Eq. 6.12,

 (6.14)
Where,

(6.15)
If Θ =900 then

For Θ=900, H in cm and Q in L/s

(6.16)

Example 6.3:
Determine discharge of 90o V-notch having 30 cm head of flow.

Solution:

Discharge through V-notch

= 68.02 L/sec

So, Discharge through 90o V-notch having 30 cm head of flow is

68.02litres/sec.

6.6 Operation & Limitations

Properly constructed and installed weirs provide most accurate
flow measurement. However improper setting and operation may
result in large errors in the discharge measurements. To ensure
reliable results in measurement, the following precautions are
necessary in the use of weirs.
1. The weirs should be set at lower end of a long pool
sufficiently wide and deep having smooth flow at velocities
less than 15cm/sec.
2. Baffles may be put in weir pond to reduce velocity.
3. The weir wall must be vertical.
 4. The center line of the weir should be parallel to the
direction of flow.
5. The crest of weir should be level so that water passing
over it will be of the samedepth at all points along the
crest.
6. Notch should be of regular shape and its edge must be
rigid and straight.
7. The weir crest should be above the bottom of the
approach channel.
8. The crest of weir should be placed high enough so that
water will fall freely below weir.
9. The depth of water flow over the rectangular weir should
not less than about 5 cm and not more than about 2/3
crest width.
10. The scale or gauge used for measuring the head should be

located at a distance of about four times the approximate

head. Zero of scale should be exactly at the same level as
the crest level of the weir.

Limitations of Weirs:
1. Weirs are not always suitable for measuring flow.
Sufficient head is required for operating any type of weir.
2. They are not accurate unless proper conditions are
maintained.
3. They require a considerable loss of head which is mostly
not available in channels on flat gradients.
4. Weirs are not suitable for water carrying silt.
 5. Weirs are not easily combined with turnout structures
LESSON 7 Flumes

7.1 Parshall Flume

Parshall flumes are devices for the measurement of flow of water
in open channels when depth of flow is less i.e., head drop is very
small, the volume of flow is less and channel bed slope is less.
The flume consists a converging section with a level floor and
walls converges towards the throat section, a throat section with
a downward sloping floor and parallel walls, and a diverging
section with an upward sloping floor and diverging walls towards
the outlet. The size of flume is determined by the width of its
throat. The size ranges from 7.5 cm to several metres in throat
width.

Fig. 7.1.Parshall flume.

 (Source: Michael, 2009)

Parshall flumes are available in various sizes. Care must be taken

whileconstructing the flumes exactly in accordance with
structural dimensions.
On the basis of the throat width, Parshall flumes have been
classified into three main groups.
a) Very small - 25.4 mm to 76.2 mm.
b) Small 152.40 mm to 2438.4 mm.
c) Large 3048 mm to 15240 mm.

Standard dimensions of Parshall flumes with discharge values are

presented in Table 7.1 and 7.2, respectively. Discharge through
the flume can occur under either free or submerged flow
condition. Flow is submerged when the down-stream water
elevation retards the rate of discharge. To determine discharge
through the flume under free flow condition, head is measured at
upstream section (Ha).However, downstream head (Hb) is also
measured for submerged flow condition. Free flow condition
prevails if the submergence ratio (Hb/Ha) remains within 0.5, 0.6
and 0.7 for width of throat varying from 2.5 to 7.5 cm, 1.5 to 22.5
cm and 3.0 to 24.0 cm, respectively.
 Table 7.1.Dimensions and capacities of Parshall flume of
various sizes (Letter, refer Fig. 7.2)

Throat A B C D E F G K N X Y Free-flow capacity

width
cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm Minimum, Maximum,
L s-1 L s-1
7.5 31 46 18 26 46 15 30.5 2.5 5.7 2.5 3.8 0.85 28.4
15 41.4 61 39 39.7 61 30.5 61 7.6 12 5.1 7.6 1.4 110.8
23 58.8 86 38 57.5 76 30.5 45.5 7.6 12 5.1 7.6 2.5 253
30 91.5 134 61 84.5 92 61 91.5 7.6 23 5.1 7.6 3.13 456.6

(Source: Michael, 2009)

Table 7.2.Free flow discharge values for Parshall Flume

Discharge, L s-1
Head Throat width
cm 7.5 cm 15 cm 23 cm 30 cm
3 0.8 1.4 2.6 3.1
4 1.2 2.3 4 4.5
5 1.7 3.3 5.5 7
6 2.3 4.4 7.2 9.6
7 2.7 5.4 8.5 11.4
8 3.4 7.2 11.1 14.4
9 4.3 8.5 13.5 17.7
10 5 10.2 15.9 21.1
11 5.8 11.6 18.1 23.8
12 6.7 13.5 21.1 27.5
 13 7.5 15 23.3 31
14 8.5 17.3 26.7 35
15 9.4 19.2 29.5 38.7
16 10.4 21.2 32.5 42.7
17 11.4 23.2 35.6 46.6
18 12.4 25.3 39 51.2
19 13.6 27.8 42.5 55
20 14.3 30 45.8 59.7
21 15.8 32.7 49.3 64.7
22 17.1 35.2 53.3 69.8
23 18.2 37.7 56.8 74
24 19.4 40.1 60.5 79
25 20.7 42.7 64.5 84.1
26 22 45.7 69.3 89
27 23.3 48.1 72.4 94.3
28 24.8 51.5 76.7 100
29 26 54 80.7 105.1
30 27.5 57.3 85.2 111

(Source: Michael, 2009)

The discharge is measured by the following formula:

........(7.1)
Where, Q is the discharge; C, n are the flume coefficients which
vary with the size of the flume and H is the measuring head.
Table 7.3 gives a set of standard values for the C,n for different
dimensions (these co-efficient are in fps units so the calculated
discharge would be in ft3/s and head has to be in ft,)

Table 7.3. Value of C and n for different throat widths

Throat width Coefficient (C) Exponent (n)

1 in 0.338 1.55
2 in 0.676 1.55
3 in 0.992 1.55
6 in 2.06 1.58
9 in 3.07 1.53
1 ft 3.95 1.55
2 ft 8.00 1.55
3 ft 12.00 1.57
4 ft 16.00 1.58
5 ft 20.00 1.59
6 ft 24.00 1.59
7 ft 28.00 1.60
8 ft 32.00 1.61
10 ft 39.38 1.60
12 ft 46.75 1.60
15 ft 57.81 1.60
20 ft 76.25 1.60
25 ft 94.69 1.60
30 ft 113.13 1.60
40 ft 150.00 1.60
 50 ft 186.88 1.60

(Source:http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/pubs/wmm/c
hap08_10.htmlaccessed on 16/7/2013)

In the above Fig., Ha is upstream head and Hb is downstream

head.
Advantages
a) This instrument is effective when the total head drop is
small.
b) Its operation is independent of approaching velocity.
c) Being a self-cleaning device, it is not affected by sand or
silt deposition.

7.2 Cut-throat Flume

The geometry of the throat-less flumes with broken plane
transition was first developedin Punjab by Harvey in 1912. In the
cut throat flume however, theflume discharge and the modular
limit are related to the piezometric heads at two pointsin the
converging section (ha) and in the downstream expansion (hb).
One of theadvantages of a cut- throat measuring flumes is that
there areonly two walls on each side, resulting in an economic
installation. The cross-section canbe rectangular, trapezoidal or
triangular, depending only on the availability of appropriate
calibration. A U- shaped section can also be used for critical depth
flumes.

Fig. 7.2.Cut-throat flume. (Source: NPTEL, IIT Madras)

Design specifications of a cut-throat flume

L = Total length of the flume,
L1= Converging section = L/3
L2=Diverging section= 2L/3,
La=Distance to piezometer tap a = 2L/9
Lb=Distance to piezometer tap b= 5L/9
B=width of the converging and diverging section= W + L/4.5
The cut-throat flume can operate either as a free flow or a
submerged flow structure. Under free flow conditions, critical
depth occurs in the vicinity of minimum width, w, which is called
the flume throat or the flume neck. The attainment of critical
depth makes it possible to determine the flow rate, knowing only
an upstream depth, ha. The relationship between flow rate Q and
upstream depth of flow ha, in a cut-throat flume under free flow
conditions is given by the following experimental relationship:
Q = C1 han L (7.2)
In which,
Q = flow rate
C1= free flow coefficient, which is the value of Q when ha is 1.0
foot.
n = exponent, whose value depends only on the flume length L.
LESSON 8. Orifices

8.1 Free Flow Orifice

Orifices may be used to measure rates of flow when the size and
shape of the orifice and head acting upon them are known.
Orifices used in measurement of irrigation water are commonly
circular or rectangular in shape and are generally placed in
vertical surfaces, perpendicular to the direction of channel flow.
The section where contraction of the jet is maximal is known as
the vena contracta. The vena contracta of a circular orifice is
about half the diameter of the orifice itself.
 Fig.8.1. Free discharging through orifice.
(Source:http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/pubs/wmm/ch
ap02_08.html, accessed on Aug 21, 2013)

Derivation of Equation
Velocity of flow through orifice

V= ............(8.1)
Where, h=head
Discharge through orifice. Q=AV

....
.......(8.2)
Where, Cd= discharge coefficient
Co-efficient of Velocity (Cv): It is defined as the ratio of the actual
velocity of a jet of liquid at vena-contracta and the theoretical
velocity of the jet. It is mathematically expressed as:

.......(8.3)

.....
..(8.4)

Where, V= actual velocity and h = head.

Co-efficient of Contraction (Cc): It is defined as the ratio of the

area of the jet at vena-contaracta to the orifice. It is
mathematically expressed as:

........(8.5)
Co-efficient of Discharge (Cd): It is defined as the ratio of the
actual discharge from an orifice to the theoretical discharge from
the orifice. It is mathematically expressed as:

.......(8.6)
Cd = Cv * Cc .........(8.7)

8.2 Submerged Orifice

8.2.1 Fully Submerged Orifice

Fig.8.2. Fully submerged orifice.

(Source:http://www.codecogs.com/library/engineering/fluid_me
chanics/orifice/geometry/index.php accessed on August 21,
2013)
In fully sub-merged orifice, the outlet side is fully sub-merged
under the liquid and it discharges a jet of liquid into the liquid of
the same kind. It is also called totally drowned orifice. Discharge
through fully sub-merged orifice is calculated as

......(8.8)

Where,
H1= height of water above the top of the orifice on the upstream
side
H2= height of water above the bottom of the orifice
H= difference in water level
b= width of orifice

8.3.2 Partially Submerged Orifice

Fig. 8.3. Partially submerged orifice.

(Source:http://www.codecogs.com/library/engineering/fluid_me
chanics/orifice/geometry/index.php accessed on August 21,
2013)

In this case, its outlet side is partially sub-merged under liquid.

The discharge through partially sub-merged orifice is calculated
as:

.......(8.
9)

The first term in RHS in Eq. (8.9) represents flow through

drowned (submerged portion of orifice same as Eq. (8.8)),
whereas the second term represents discharge through free
portion.

Example 8.1:
The head of water over an orifice of diameter 100 mm is 10 m.
The water coming out from orifice is collected in a circular tank
of diameter 1.5 m. The rise of water level in the tank is 1.0 m in
25 seconds. Also the co-ordinates of a point on the jet, measured
from vena-contracta are 4.3 m horizontal and 0.5 m vertical. Find
the coefficients, Cd, Cv and Cc.
Solution:
Given,
Head H= 10 m.
Diameter of orifice d= 100 mm = 0.1 m
So, area of orifice a= π/4 X (0.1) 2 = 0.007853 m2
Diameter of measuring tank, D= 1.5 m
So, area = π/4 X (1.5)2 = 1.767 m2
Rise of water, h= 1 m
Time t = 25 sec
Horizontal distance x= 4.3 m
Vertical distance y= 0.5 m

Now, theoretical velocity,

Vth=
=14m/s.

Theoretical discharge,
 Qth = Vth X area of the orifice
= 14 X 0.077854 = 0.1099m3/s

Actual discharge,

=0.07068 m3/s
So,

Cd=

We know,

Cv=
And

Cc= 0.669

Example 8.2:
Find the discharge through a fully sub-merged orifice of width 2
m if the difference of the water levels on the both sides of the
orifice is 50 m. The height of water from top and bottom of the
orifice are 2.5 m and 2.75 m respectively. Take Cd= 0.6.
Solution:
Given,
Width of the orifice b = 2 m
Difference in water level H= 50 cm = 0.5 m
Height of water from top of orifice H1= 2.5 m
Height of water from bottom of orifice H1= 2.75 m

Now, discharge through fully submerged orifice is

=0.9396 m3/s Ans.

LESSON 9 Water Flow Measurement in Pipes

In the previous lesson, we have studied methods for water flow

measurements in open channel. However, irrigation water also
conveyed through pipes and therefore we will now study methods
of flow measurements in pipes.
9.1 Difference between Pipe Flow and Open Channel Flow

Open Channel Flow Pipe Flow

• A pipe is a closed conduit which is use
for carrying fluids under pressure. The
flow in a pipe is termed as pipe flow
Defines as a passage in which liquid only when the fluid completely fills th
flows with its upper surface exposed cross section & there is no free surface
to atmosphere. The flow is due to of fluid.
gravity. Flow conditions are greatly • Hydraulic grade line does not coincide
influenced by slope of the channel. with the water surface.
Hydraulic grade line coincides with the • The maximum velocity occurring at th
water surface pipe centre.
The maximum velocity occurs at a little • Velocity distribution is symmetrical
distance below the water surface. about the pipe axis.
The shape of the velocity profile is • For laminar flow, Reynolds number an
dependent on the channel roughness. for turbulent flow,
For laminar flow, Reynolds • Flow cross section is known and fixed.
number and for turbulent flow, . • Velocity is deduced from continuity
Flow cross section is unknown because equation.
flow depth is unknown.
Flow depth is deduced simultaneously
from solving both continuity and
momentum equation.
 Fig. 9.1. Pipe flow (left) and open channel flow (right).
(Source:http://www.efm.leeds.ac.uk/CIVE/CIVE2400/OpenCha
nnelHydraulics2.pdf, accessed on 05/06/2012)

From the above Fig. 9.1 we can see that the in the pipe flow there
is a pressure equal to a head y whereas in the open channel the
surface is at atmospheric pressure. denotes the head loss from
section 1 to section 2.In case of open channel the conditions are
much more varied than pipe flow in terms of surface geometry,
surface roughness, depth and velocity of flow anuniformity of
flow.

9.2 Venturimeter
9.2.1 Definition: Aventurimeter is a device used to measure the
rate of flow of a fluid through a pipe and is often fixed
permanently at different sections of the pipeline to know the
discharge there.
9.2.2 Description:Venturimeter consists of three parts:
1. A short converging part
2. A throat
3. A diverging part
Due to the constriction there is an increase in the flow velocity
and hence an increase in the kinetic energy. In the venturimeter
(Fig.9.2) the fluid is accelerated through a converging cone of
angle 15-20° and the pressure difference between the upstream
side of the cone and the throat is measured and provides the signal
for the rate of flow.

Fig.9.2.Venturimeter and its operations.

(Source:http://fetweb.ju.edu.jo/ME/courses/labs/measurements/l
absheet/Experiment%20No%203%20flow%20measurements.pd
f

The fluid slows down in a cone with smaller angle (5-7°) where
most of the kinetic energy is converted back to pressure energy.
Because of the cone and the gradual reduction in the area there is
no "vena contracta". The flow area is at minimum at the throat.

9.2.3 Principle of Operation

It works on the Bernoulli’s principle. From Bernoulli’s principle
the increase in kinetic energy gives rise to a reduction in
pressure. Rate of discharge from the constriction can be
calculated knowing the pressure reduction across the constriction,
area of cross-section, density of fluid and the coefficient of
discharge, . Coefficient of discharge is the ratio of actual flow to
the calculated flow and it takes into account the stream
contraction and frictional effects.
For measuring discharge we should apply Bernoulli’s equation at
point 1 and at point 2 (Fig.9.2).The following treatment is limited
to incompressible fluids.Friction is neglected, the meter is
assumed to be horizontal and there is no pump. If and are the
average velocities at point 1 and point 2 respectively and ρ is the
density of fluid, then Bernoulli’s equation can be written as

.......(9.1)

Where,
P1 = P2 pressure at section 1 and 2
Since Z1 =Z2 ,

......(9.2)
Now applying the equation of continuity at both points, we have

A1 v1 = A2 v1 (9.3)

.......(9.4)
Where d1, d2 and are the diameters at point 1(pipe) and at point
2(throat) respectively.
Now putting the value of in equation (2) and if

we have

............
(9.5)
To account for the friction losses a coefficient of discharge, is
introduced in the above equation and the final equation becomes:

.
..........(9.6)
depends upon the type of flow, type of fluid and dimensions of
venture tube and pipe.

Given below are the formulae to calculate the value of head

difference in terms of the liquid flowing through the venturi from
the head difference observed in the manometric liquid:
1. When the manometric liquid is heavier than the liquid flowing
through the pipe:

........(9.7)

2. When the manometric liquid is lighter than the liquid flowing

in the pipe:

.......(9.8)
Where,
h = head difference in terms of the liquid flowing in the pipe
x = head difference in the manometer
Sh = specific gravity of the liquid flowing in the pipe
So = specific gravity of the manometric liquid

Merit:
- Widely used particularly for large volume liquid and gas flows.

Demerits:
- Highly expensive
- Occupies considerable space
- Cannot be altered for measuring pressure beyond a maximum
velocity.

Example 9.1:
A horizontal venturimeter with inlet and throat diameters 36 cm
and 18 cm respectively is used to measure the flow of water. The
reading of the differential manometer connected to the inlet and
the throat is 15 cm of mercury. Determine the rate of flow. Take
Cd = 0.98.
Solution:
Given
Diameter at inlet, d1 = 36 cm
Diameter at throat, d2 = 18 cm

From equation (6) we know:

We know that,
Calculating h from equation (7)

189.0 cm of water

Putting the values in equation (6):

9.3 Pitot Tube

9.3.1 Definition
It a device to measure the fluid flow velocity at any point in a pipe
or channel.
9.3.2 Description
In its simplest form the pitot tube consists of a glass tube bent at
right angles.
 Fig.9.3.Pitot tube.(Source: Bansal, 2005,)
9.3.3 Principle of Operation
The velocity calculation is done by measuring the stagnation
pressure and then applying the Bernoulli’s theorem, the basic
working principle being the conversion of kinetic energy to
pressure energy at the point where velocity becomes zero.
Applying Bernoulli’s theorem at points 1 and 2 shown in Fig.9.3.

........(9.9)
The symbols have same meaning as in case of venturimeter.
As Z1 = Z2 and v2 = 0
 .........(9.10)

This gives the theoretical velocity. The actual velocity is given

by:

....
.. (9.11)
Where,
h = height to which the liquid rises above the pipe.
Cv= the co-efficient of pitot tube.

Merits:
- Simple in construction having no moving parts.
- Easy to install.
- Requires no external power source.
- Easy measurement and velocity.
Demerits:
- Can’t be used for turbulent flow, i.e. only used for laminar
flow.
- Less accurate in measurement of velocity due to assumption
of ideal fluid.

Example 9.2:
A pitot static tube placed in the centre of a 325 mm pipeline has
one orifice pointing upstream and other perpendicular to it. The
mean velocity in the pipe is 0.85 of the central velocity. Find the
discharge if the pressure difference between the two orifices is 50
mm of water. Take the coefficient of pitot tube as:
Cv = 0.98
Solution:
Given, Diameter of pipe = 325mm = 0.325m
Difference in pressure head = 50mm = 0.05m of water
Cv = 0.98
Calculating the central velocity using equation (9.11)

∴ Mean velocity = 0.85 * 0.97

= 0.825 m/s
∴ Discharge = mean velocity * area

LESSON 10 Pipe Orifice, Water Meter and Propeller Meter

10.1 Pipe Orifice

10.1.1 Definition
Orifice meter or orifice plate is a device (cheaper than a venture
meter) employed for measuring the discharge of fluid through a
pipe (shown in Fig.10.1). It also works on a same principle of a
venture meter.

Fig. 10.1. Orifice plate.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orifice_plate accesses on
05/06/2012 and Bansal, 2005)

10.1.2 Description
It consists of a flat circular plate which has a circular sharp edged
hole called orifice, which is concentric with the pipe. The orifice
diameter is kept generally 0.5 times the diameter of the pipe,
though it may vary from 0.4 to 0.8 times the pipe diameter.
10.1.3 Principle of Operation
The fluid on reaching the orifice plate converges to pass through
the small hole and in doing so the velocity and pressure changes.
The point of maximum contraction is called the vena contracta.
Beyond the vena contracta, the fluid expands and the velocity and
pressure change once again. By measuring the difference in fluid
pressure between the normal pipe section and at the vena
contracta, the volumetric and mass flow rates can be obtained
from Bernoulli's equation.
The value of discharge Q through the pipe is given by the
following equation:

......
(10.1)

Where,
a1 = area of pipe at section 1
a0 = area of orifice
h = differential head
g = acceleration due to gravity
cd= co-efficient of discharge for orifice meter.
The coefficient of discharge for orifice meter is much smaller than
that of venture meter.
Merits:
- Simple in construction.
- Installation is cheaper.
Demerit:
- Measurement of flow is not accurate as compared to
venturimeter.

Example10.1:
An orifice meter with an orifice diameter 10 cm is inserted in a
pipe of diameter of 30 cm diameter. The pressure gauges fitted
upstream and downstream of the orifice meter give readings of
25.524 N/cm2 and 19.62 N/cm2 respectively. Coefficient of
discharge is given as 0.6 for the pipe. Find the discharge through
the pipe.
Solution:
Given, diameter of orifice, = 10 cm

∴ Area of orifice,
Diameter of pipe, d1 = 20 cm
∴ Area of orifice,

Similarly,

5 m of water = 500 cm of water

Cd = 0.6
Calculating the discharge using equation (10.1)

10.2 Water Meter

10.2.1 Definition
A water meter is a scientific instrument for accurate measurement
of quantity of water distributed to the consumers. A typical water
meter is shown in Fig. 5.
10.2.2 Description
There are two basic requirements for accurate operation of the
water meter: (1) the pipe must flow full at all time, and (2) the
rate of flow must exceed the minimum for the rated range. Meters
are calibrated in the factory and field adjustments are usually not
required. When water meters are installed in open channels, the
flow must be brought through a pipe of known cross sectional
area.

Fig.10.2.Water meter.(Source:wikipedia accessed on

05/06/2012)

10.2.3 Type
Three basic type of water meters are:
a) Low pressure line water meter: They are used in underground
pipe line water distribution system.
b) Open flow meters: They are used to measure the flow in open
channels or gravity-flow in closed conduit system.
c) Vertical flow meter: They are used to measure flow in vertical
pipes.

Merit:
- Mainly applied flow in pipeline.

Demerit:
- Costly device.

10.3 Propeller Meter

10.3.1 Definition
Propeller meters (mechanical meter) are commercial flow
measuring devices used at the ends of pipes and in conduits
flowing full and under pressure.
10.3.2 Description
Propeller meters uses multiple blades made of rubber, plastic, or
metal. The main parts of the flow meter consist of a propeller (A)
mounted in a short section of pipe and geared to a revolution
counter (B) which records the rate of flow and the cumulative
total. A typical propeller meter is shown in Fig.10.3.
 Fig.10.3. Propeller meter inside pipe.
(Source: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A102.pdf accessed on
05/06/2012)

10.3.3 Principle of Operation

Flow meter measures velocity of flow by the water turning the
propeller as it passes by, and the area is determined from the size
of the pipe. The dial of the meter then reads directly in volume
(m3, gallon, liters etc). Rate of flow (i.e.,liter per second) is then
obtained by simply noting the rate of flow on the dial for any
given length of time as measured by a watch.
The meters are available for a range of pipe diameters from 5 to
183 cm. They are normally designed for water flow velocities up
to 5.18 meter per second (m/s). Propeller meters should be
selected to operate near the middle of their design discharge
range. This equipment can be a problem in existing irrigation
systems with oversized pipes relative to delivery needs. Sections
of the oversized pipe may need to be replaced with smaller pipes
to provide enough velocity and approach pipeline length to allow
development of velocity profiles.
Propellers are designed to pass (to some degree) weeds, moss, and
other debris, only a limited amount of foreign material that can be
tolerated in the flow. Even moderate amounts of floating moss or
weeds can foul a propeller unless it is protected by screens.
Merit
- Takes accurate measurement
Demerit
- Expensive
Module 3: Irrigation Water Conveyance Systems

LESSON 11 Open Channel Flow

There are two kinds of flow: Open channel and pipe. These flows
differ in many ways. The important difference is that open
channel flow has free water surface whereas pipe flow does not
have free water surface.
11.1 Open Channels
Irrigation water is conveyed in either open channel or closed
conduits. Open channels receive water from natural streams or
underground water and convey water to the farm for irrigation.
Open channels have free surface. The free surface is subjected to
atmospheric pressure. The basic equations used for water flow in
open channels are continuity equation, Bernoulli equation and
Darcy Weisbach equation.
 Fig. 11.1. A trapezoidal shaped open channel.
(Source:
www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/105107059/module1/.../lecture1.p
df)

11.2 Types of Open Channels

(a) Prismatic and Non-Prismatic Channels
A channel in which the cross sectional shape, size and the bottom
slope are constant over long stretches is termed as prismatic
channel. Most of the man-made or artificial channels are
prismatic channels. The rectangular, trapezoidal (Fig. 11.2),
triangular and half-circular are commonly used shapes in
manmade channels. All natural channels generally have varying
cross section and consequently are nonprismatic.

Fig. 11.2. Sketch of a prismatic channel.

 (Source:
www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/105107059/module1/.../lecture1.p
df)

(b) Rigid and Mobile Boundary Channels

Rigid channels are those in which the boundary or cross section
is not deformable. The shape and roughness magnitudes are not
functions of flow parameters. The lined channels and non erodible
unlined channels are rigid channels. In rigid channels the flow
velocity and shear stress distribution are such that no major
scouring, erosion or deposition takes place in the channel and the
channel geometry and roughness are essentially constant with
respect to time. Channels are classified as mobile channels when
the boundary of the channel is mobile and flow carries
considerable amounts of sediment through suspension and is in
contact with the bed. In the mobile channel, depth of flow bed
width, longitudinal slope of channel may undergo changes with
space and time depending on type of flow.The resistance to flow,
quantity of sediment transported and channel geometry all depend
on interaction of flow with channel boundaries.

11.3 Types of Open Channel Flow

Open channel flow can be classified into many types and
described in various ways. The following section describes
classification based on variation of flow properties such as depth
of flow, velocity etc. with respect to time and space.
a) Steady and Unsteady Flows
Flow is steady if the velocity and depth are constant with respect
to time. If the depth velocity or discharge changes with time, the
flow is termed as unsteady.
Flood flows in rivers and rapidly varying surges in canals are
examples of unsteady flow.

b) Uniform and Non-Uniform Flows

If the flow properties, say the depth of flow and discharge in an
open channel remain constant along the length of the channel, the
flow is said to be uniform. A prismatic channel carrying a certain
discharge with a constant velocity is an example of uniform flow.

Fig. 11.3. Uniform flow in a prismatic channel.

(Source: Subramanya, 2000)

If the flow properties such as depth and discharge vary with

distance along the channel is termed as non-uniform flow
 Fig. 11.4. Uniform and non-uniform flows.
(Source: www.wegc203116.unigraz.at/meted/hydro/basic/
Routing/print Version/03-streamflow_characteristics.htm)

Fig. 11.4 shows a view of uniform and non uniform flow. In

uniform flow, the gravity force on the flowing water balances the
frictional force between the flowing water and inside surface of
the channel, which is in contact with the water. In case of non-
uniform flow, the friction and gravity forces are not in balance.
The flow in open channel can be steady or unsteady. It can be
uniform or non -uniform. A non-uniform flow is also termed as
varied flow. Steady and unsteady flows can be uniform or varied.

c) Gradually Varied and Rapidly Varied Flow

The non-uniform flow can be classified as gradually varied flow
(GVF) and rapidly varied flow (RVF). Varied flow assumes that
no flow is externally added to or taken out of channel system and
hence the volume of water in a known time interval is conserved
in the channel system and hence the volume of water in a known
time interval is conserved in the channel system. If the change of
depth is gradual so that the curvature of streamlines is not
excessive, such a flow is said to be gradually varied flow (GVF).

Fig. 11.5. (a) Gradually flow. (Source: Subramanya, 2000)

Fig. 11.5 (a) shows water surface profile of a GVF; here y1 and y2
are the depth at section 1and 2, respectively. In GVF, the loss of
energy is essentially due to boundary friction. Therefore, the
distribution of pressure in the vertical direction may be taken as
hydrostatic. If the curvature in a varied flow is large and the depth
changes appreciably over short lengths, then the flow is termed as
a varied flow. It is a local phenomenon. The examples of RVF are
hydraulic jump and hydraulic drop.

Fig. 11.5. (b) Rapidly varied flow. (Source: Subramanya, 2000)

d) Spatially Varied Flow (SVF)

Addition or diminution of water along the course of flow causes
non uniform discharge and the resulting flow is known as
spatially varied flow (SVF). Hydraulic behaviour of spatially
varied flow with increasing discharge (case of drainage channel)
is different in certain respects from that of spatially varied flow
with decreasing discharge (in case of irrigation channel). Figs.
11.6 (a) shows a case of spatially varied flow with decreasing
discharge. Figs. 11.6 (b) shows case of increasing discharge.

(a) (b)
Fig. 11.6. Spatially varied flow: a) decreasing discharge, b)
increasing discharge. (Source: Subramanya, 2000).

i) Spatially Varied Flow with Increasing Discharge

In this type of spatially varied flow, an appreciable portion of the
energy loss is due to the turbulent mixing of the added water and
the water flowing in the channel. In the most cases, this mixing is
of relatively high magnitude and uncertainty. Because of the
resulting high and uncertain losses, the momentum equation is
more convenient than the energy equation in solving spatially
varied flow with increasing discharge. From a practical
viewpoint, the high energy loss seems to make channels designed
for such spatially varied flow hydraulically inefficient, but
physical circumstance and economical considerations sometimes
make the use of such channels desirable.

ii) Spatially Varied Flow with Decreasing Discharge

Fundamentally, these types of spatially varied flow may be
treated as a flow diversion where the diverted water does not
affect the energy head. This concept has been verified by both
theory and experiments. Therefore, the use of the energy equation
is more convenient in solving spatially varied flow with
decreasing discharge. The theory of spatially varied flow with
decreasing discharge was probably employed first in the design
of lateral spillways or side spillway weirs.This type of structure
is usually a long notch installed along the side of a channel for the
purpose of diverting or spilling excess flow.

The spatially varied flow with decreasing discharge is

encountered in the design of irrigation water conveyance system
whereas with increasing discharge in design of surface and
subsurface drainage systems.

11.4 Sate of Flow

The state of flow in open channels is influenced by viscosity,
gravity and inertial forces. The ratio of inertial to viscous force is
the Reynolds number.
11.4.1 Effect of Viscosity
In open channel flow may be laminar, transitional or turbulent
depending on viscosity in relation to inertial force. If viscous
forces are strong in comparison to inertial force, the flow can be
laminar otherwise vice versa for turbulentant flow.
The characteristic length-scale for an open channel of width
(b) and depth (y), the hydraulic radius (R) = (by/b+2y). As a
general rule, open channel flow in laminar, if Reynolds number
defined by

Re = is less than 500.

Where,
V = Flow Velocity
R = Hydraulic radius
v = Kinematic viscosity.
In open channels the transitional range of Re for practical
purpose, is considered between 500 and 2000.The revalue
exceeding 2000 is considered as turbulent flow.
In close conduits the flow is i) laminar for Re < 2000, ii)
transitional 2000 < Re < 4000 and iii) turbulent Re > 4000.
11.4.2 Effect of Gravity
The effect of gravity is represented by ratio of inertial forces to
gravitational forces. This ratio is known as Froude number (Fr),
given by
Fr
= (11.1)

V = mean flow velocity,

g = acceleration due to gravity
L = characteristic length (it can be hydraulic depth, y or hydraulic
radius, R ).
For the flow to be critical (Fr = 1) i.e.

(11.2)

For sub critical flow (Fr < 1) i.e.

and
For super critical flow (Fr > 1) i.e.
11.5 Seepage in Canals and Field Channels
Seepage loss in unlined canals and farm ditches often range from
one-fourth to one-third of the total water diverted. In extremely
sandy or gravelly ditches, half the water can be lost through
seepage. Reducing seepage by using improved conveyance
facilities can increase water available for crop needs, allowing
irrigation of additional land, prevent water-logging, increase in
channel capacity, reduction in maintenance cost and more
importantly enable to use available water sustainably. Especially
in the regions of water scarcity, minimising the seepage losses is
important.
11.6 Measurement of Seepage in Canal
The most commonly used methods applied for measuring the
quantity of water lost due to seepage in a canal section are as
follows:
1. Ponding method
2. Inflow-outflow method
3. Seepage meter method

11.6.1 Ponding Method: The ponding method is one of the

simplest methods of determining seepage from a canal section.
Water is ponded in temporary water-tight dikes constructed in a
straight length of canal under investigation. The time rate of drop
of the water in the canal level is measured. The dimension of the
ponded reach of the canal are measured the seepage computed as
volume of water lost from the canal per unit wetted area of canal
per unit time and normally is expressed as m3/m2/day.
11.6.2. Inflow-Outflow Method: The inflow-outflow method is
based on measuring the rates of water flowing into and out of
selected section of canal reach. It is based on water balance
approach considering the inflows outflows and losses into
account. Canal sections with minimum number of outlets and
diversions and no appreciable inflow from higher lands are
considered for seepage measurement. Water stage recorders are
also used to record the height of flow in the flume as a function
of the elapsed time. The seepage is computed as the difference in
inflow and outflow per unit wetted area of canal section under
consideration.
11.6.3. Seepage Meter Method: The seepage meter is a device
for directly measuring the flow between ground water and surface
water body such as lake or stream. The seepage meter is a
modified form of the constant head permeameter. It is mainly
used to determine location of relatively high seepage losses.
Seepage meter can be constructed from inexpensive material such
as galvanised iron sheet. Seepage meters are suitable when many
measurements are needed to characterize groundwater surface
water exchange in different sequent of water body.

11.7 Materials for Lining Canals and Field Channels

A large variety of lining materials for seepage loss control from
canals and field channels is available for use. Lining of canals or
channels offers other advantage such as enhance stability,
increasing life, protection from flood in addition to seepage
control. The various types of channel lining material commonly
used are as follows:
a) Hard surface linings
i) Cement concrete or pre cost concrete,
ii) Stone masonry,
iii) Brick tile or concrete tile
iv) Asphaltic concrete
b) Earth type lining
i) Compacted earth
ii) Soil cement
iii) Bentonite - clay soil mixture
c) Synthetic sheet/film
i) Rubber or synthetic materials
ii) Low density polyethylene sheet

The following points are normally considered for selecting

method of lining and materials.
a) Availability and cost of the material at the site or within reach.
b) Labour available for lining at a reasonable cost
c) Degree of water-tightness desired
d) Velocity of flow in the channel
e) Useful life of the lining material
f) Maintenance cost
LESSON 12 Design of Open Channel

12.1 Introduction
Open Channel is a passage through which water flows and has
upper surface exposed to atmosphere. Open channel design
involves determining cross-section dimensions of the channel for
the amount of water the channel must carry (i.e., capacity) at a
given flow velocity, slope and, shape or alternatively determining
the discharge capacity for the given cross-section dimensions.
The terminologies used in the design of open channels of different
geometry are given below:
i) Area of Cross Section (a): Area of cross section of for a
rectangular cross section, of wetted section. For a rectangular
cross section, if b = width of channel and y = depth of water, the
area of wetted section of channel (a) = b.y.
ii) Wetted Perimeter (p): It is the sum of the lengths of that part
of the channel sides and bottom which are in contact with water.
The wetted perimeter (p) = b+2y.
iii) Hydraulic Radius (R): It is the ration of area of wetted cross
section to wetted perimeter. The hydraulic radius
iv) Hydraulic Slope (S): It is the ratio of vertical drop in
longitudinal channel section (h) to the channel length (l).
Hydraulic slope

v) Freeboard: It is the vertical distance between the highest water

level anticipated in channel flow and the top of the retaining
banks. This is provided to prevent over topping of channel
embankments or damage due to trampling. This is provided
between 15.25% of normal depth of flow.

12.2 Discharge Capacity of Channel

Channel capacity can be estimated by equation given as:

(12.1)
where,
Q = channel capacity (L/min)
DDIR = design daily irrigation requirement (mm/day)
A = irrigated area supplied by canal or ditch (ha)
HPD = hours per day that water is delivered
 Ei = irrigation efficiency including conveyance efficiency of
canal or ditch (percent).

The velocity of flow in a canal or ditch should be non erosive and

non silting that prevent the deposition of suspended substances.
Normally flow velocity in excess of 0.6 m/s is non silting
(Schwab et al., 1993). The maximum velocity that does not cause
excessive erosion depends on the erodibility of the soil or lining
material. The maximum allowable velocities for lined canals and
unlined ditches listed in Table 12.1 can be used when local
information is not available.
12.3 Economical Section of a Channel
A channel section is said to be economical when the cost of
construction of the channel is minimum. The cost of construction
of a channel depends on depth of excavation and construction for
lining. The cost of construction of channel is minimum when it
passes maximum discharge for its given cross sectional area. It is
evident from the continuity equation and uniform flow formulae
that for a given value of slope and surface roughness, the velocity
of flow is maximum when hydraulic radius is maximum. The
hydraulic radius is maximum for given area if wetted perimeter is
minimum. Hence the wetted perimeter, for a given discharge
should be minimum to keep the cost down or minimum. This
condition is utilized for determining the dimensions of
economical sections of different forms of channels. Most
economical section is also called the best section or hydraulic
efficient section as the discharge passing through a most
economical section of channel for a given cross-sectional area
(A), slope of the bed (S0) and a roughness coefficient (n), is
maximum.
The conditions for the most economical section of channel
1. A rectangular channel section is the most economical when
either the depth of flow is equal to half the bottom width or
hydraulic radius is equal to half the depth of flow.
2. A trapezoidal section is the most economical if half the top
width is equal to one of the sloping sides of the channel or
the hydraulic radius is equal to half the depth of flow.
3. A triangular channel section is the most economical when
each of its sloping side makes an angle of 45o with vertical
or is half square described on a diagonal and having equal
sloping sides.
The discharge from a channel is given by

(12.2)

where Q = discharge (m3/s), A = area of cross section (m2), C =

Chezys constant,
R= Hydraulic radius (m), P = wetted perimeter (m), = bed slope
(fraction or m/m), K = constant for given cross sectional area and
bed slope and = A3/2 C So1/2
In equation (12.2) the discharge Q will be maximum when the
wetted perimeter P is minimum.
(i) Channel Shape: Among the various shapes of open channel
the semi-circle shape is the best hydraulic efficient cross sectional
shape. However the construction of semicircle cross section is
difficult for earthen unlined channel. Trapezoidal section is
commonly used cross section.
(ii) Channel Dimensions: The channel dimensions can be
obtained using uniform flow formula, which is given
by
Q = A
V (12.3)

Where,
V = flow velocity (m/s)
A = cross-sectional area of canal perpendicular to flow (m2)
Q = capacity of the channel (m3/s)
Velocity is computed by Manning’s formula or Chezy formula.
Manning’s Equation is given by

(12.4)

Chezy’s equation is given by

V = C R1/2
S1/2 (12.5)
Where,
n = Manning’s roughness coefficient
C = Chezy’s roughness coefficient
R = hydraulic radius (m)
S = bed slope (m/m)

Table 12.1. Limiting velocities for clear and turbid water from
straight channels after aging (Source: Schwab et al., 1993)
Velocity
Water
transporting
Clear colloidal silts
Material m/s m/s

Fine sand,
colloidal 0.46 0.76
Sandy loam,
noncolloidal 0.53 0.76
Silt loam,
noncolloidal 0.61 0.92
Alluvial silts,
noncolloidal 0.61 1.07
Ordinary firm
loam 0.76 1.07
Volcanic
ash 0.76 1.07
Stiff clay, very
colloidal 1.14 1.52
Alluval silts,
colloidal 1.14 1.52
Shales and
hardpans 1.83 1.83
Fine
gravel 0.76 1.52
Graded loam to
cobbles 1.14 1.52
when noncollodal
Graded silts to
cobbles 1.22 1.68
when colloidal
Coarse gravel,
noncolloidal 1.22 1.83
Cobbles and
shingles 1.53 1.68

Example12.1: Compute the mean velocity and discharge for a

depth of flow of 0.30 m from a lined trapezoidal channel of 0.6 m
wide and side slope of 1.5 horizontal : 1 vertical. The Manning’s
roughness (n) is 0.012 and the bed slope is 0.0003.

Solution:
Area of cross section (a) = by + zy2
= 0.60 x 0.30 + 1.5(0.30)2
= 0.18 + 0.135
= 0.315 m2
Wetted perimeter
Hydraulic radius (R)

Mean velocity (v)

Discharge (Q) = A x V
= 0.315 x 0.473
= 0.149

12.4 Energy Depth Relationship

From hydraulic point of view, the total energy of water in any
streamline passing through a channel section may be expressed as
total head, which is equal to sum of the elevation above a datum,
the pressure head, and the velocity head. The total energy at the
channel section is given by

(12.6)
where,
H = total energy, z = elevation head above datum, y = depth of
water in channel, V = velocity of flow, g = acceleration due to
gravity. The specific energy is the total energy at any cross section
with respect to channel bed. Considering slope of the channel bed
is very small, the specific energy E is

(12.7)
For the channel of rectangular section having width b, the cross
sectional area of channel
A=by
then

(12.8)

Differentiating equation (12.8), equating it to zero for minimum

condition, this becomes

but

Hence
When V Vc, Y = (Critical depth)
 (12.9)

is defined as Froude number, for flow to be critical its value

is equal to 1. It is greater than 1 for super critical flow and less
than 1 for sub critical flow.
Critical depth ( Yc) for rectangular channel is given by

(12.10)
The principle of design of flumes and hydraulic structures (open
drop and chute spillways) is based on the concept of specific
energy and critical flow.
Example 12.2: Compute the critical depth and specific energy
for discharge of 6.0 m3s-1 channel from a rectangular channel.
The bottom width of rectangular is 2.4 m.

Solution:

Discharge / unit width (q) =

Critical depth
= 0.860 m.
Since specific energy at critical depth (EC) = yc Therefore EC =
1.290 m.
Example 12.3: Determine the critical depth for specific energy
head of 2.0 m in a trapezoidal channel of 2.0 m bottom width and
side slopes of 1:1.

Solution:
Specific energy at initial depth ( yc) is given by

As for critical flow

where,
12.5 Velocity Distribution in a Channel Section
The velocity of flow in any channel section is not uniformly
distributed. The non- uniform distribution of velocity is due to the
presence of a free surface and the frictional resistance along the
channel surface. In a straight reach of channel section, maximum
velocity usually occurs below the free surface at a depth of 0.05
to 0.15 of the total depth of flow. The velocity distribution in a
channel section depends on various factors such as the shape of
the section, the roughness of the channel and the presence of
bends in the channel alignment. The man velocity of flow in a
channel section can be computed from the vertical velocity
distribution curve obtained by actual measurements. It is
observed that the velocity at 0.6 depth from the free water surface
or average of the velocities measured at 0.2 depth and 0.8 depth
from free water surface which is very close to the mean velocity
of flow in the vertical section. The velocity can be measured by
pitot tube or current meter.
LESSON 13. On Farm Structures for Water Conveyance

It is necessary that the flow of irrigation water in the water

conveyance system is always under control. Water control
structures are therefore required for water conveyance system to
control the flow of water and dispose at safer velocity. The
different types of flow control structures used to regulate water
flow are presented in this lesson
13.1 Drop Structures
Drop structure is used for conveying water in the channel from
higher elevation to lower elevation while controlling the energy
and velocity of the water as it passes over. These structures are
needed in canals and ditches to convey water down steep slopes
at non-erosive velocities. Drop structure is constructed at end of
each reach to lower water head abruptly in to the next reach by
subdividing the slope in to several reaches with relatively flat
slopes. Water is conveyed down the slope in the stepwise manner.
The components of drop structure include an inlet section, a
vertical or inclined drop, a stilling pool or other means of
dissipating energy, and an outlet section for discharging water
into the next reach. Kruse et al., (1980) recommend that drop
heights in conveyance canals and ditches be limited to maximum
of 0.6 m to 1 m and that drop height in distribution laterals be less
than 15 to 30 cm. Fig. 13.1 shows series of drop structures on a
steep sloping land.
Fig. 13.1. A view of Drop structures in a canal on steep sloping
land.
(Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/R4082E/r4082e06.htm)

13.2 Chute Spillways

These are used to convey water from steep slopes. Chutes are
lined, high-velocity open channels (Fig. 13.2 and 13.3). Chute
structures are constructed with concrete, bricks or cement. They
have an inlet, a steep-sloped section of lined canal where the
elevation change occurs, a stilling pool or other energy dissipation
device, and an outlet section. Chutes may be made to control flow
for elevation changes up to 6m. A straight apron is used for small
structure used in small irrigation channel.

Fig. 13.2. Chute spillway.

(Source: http://www.splash.com.my/images/spillway.jpg)
 Fig. 13.3. Section of Chute spillway.
(Source:http://www.hydrology.bee.cornell.edu/BEE473Homewo
rk_files/ChutesWeirs.pdf)

13.3 Pipe Drop Spillways

Pipe drop structure (Fig. 13.4) is used where a channel has to
cross an embankment. In such cases water can be safely
discharged from a higher to a lower one by providing a pipe drop.
This type of structure allows the discharge of water through a
pipeline, without disturbing the existing bunds or embankment.
The components of structures are gated pipe, stilling basin with
end sill. Stilling basin is provided for dissipation of energy of
water flow. A stilling basin is made up of brick or stone masonry,
or concrete. A masonry or concrete apron is provided at the inlet
end of the pipe to prevent seepage around it. The discharge
capacity of the pipe drop structure may be determined by the
relationship
Q=AV
in which,
Q = discharge (m3s-1)
A= area of cross-section of the pipe (m2)
V = velocity of flow (m/sec)

In designing the pipe size, head loss due to friction in the pipe
line, entrance losses and loss at the bends are considered.

Fig. 13.4. A drop-inlet pipe spillway with drain

pipe.
(Source: www. aqua.ucdavis.edu/Database
Root/pdf/USDA590C.pdf)
Example 13.1: Determine the capacity of 3.5 m long (l) pipe of
pipe drop spillway to be used for effective drop in head (H) as 1.2
m. The diameter of pipe (d) is 100 mm and friction coefficient (f)
is 0.012.

Solution:
The applicable formula for the total head in pipe drop spillway is

where
v = velocity of flow and g = acceleration due to gravity

Substituting the values is above equation

LESSON 14 Structures for Diversions and Channel Crossings

Water from the farm irrigation channel is diverted to branch

channels or into field channels by means of junction boxes, and
gates and siphons. These structures are used as water diversions
structures or application structures for water application from
irrigation channels of the fields. Brief description of these
structures is given in this lesson.
14.1 Check Gates
The check gate is a structure used to maintain or increase water
level in an open channel. Check is placed in an irrigation channel
to form an adjustable dam to control or rise the elevation of the
water surface upstream by at least about 8 to 12 cm above ground
surface so as to use siphon tubes or turnouts for water diversion
from channel to field efficiently. Fig. 14.1 shows the canal check
gates. There may or may not be flow past a check. When there is
no flow past them, checks act as dam that confine water release
in the area along the canal or ditch being used for irrigation.
Permanent check can be used in either lined or unlined channels.
A check structure consists of canvas, metal or masonry walls built
across the channel and provided with a suitable gate or outlet
device. The masonry wall is built in place while the check gate is
usually precast and fixed to the wall. The crest of the check gate
is at the same level as the bottom of the upstream channel.

Fig. 14.1. Canal check gates.

(Source:http://www.skiepic.com/2010_albuquerque_balloon_fie
sta/index.html)

14.2 Portable Check Dams

Portable checks can be removed when irrigation is complete and
reset at another location along the canal or open channel to irrigate
another area. They are used when the water level in canals and
ditches must be raised above the normal depth of flow to provide
head for operating outlets. Portable check dams are made of sheet
metal or plastic sheet or canvas. Canvas or plastic dams are
supported on a pipe or wooden cross-bar with suitable loops. A
loop is usually provided at the bottom to anchor the dam to a small
post. A sleeve made near the bottom of a canvas dam allows any
desired quantity of water to pass downstream, while maintaining
a constant level upstream. In very hard soil it may be necessary to
make grooves with the shovel to insert the edges. The canvas and
plastic dams are removed after irrigation, properly washed, dried
and stored in order to protect them and make usable for the next
season. Metal sheet of about 18 gauge mild steel is cut to suit the
channel cross section and driven at about 10 cm deep. Metal sheet
has greater durability than other materials. Metal dams are always
painted to prevent rusting (Michael, 2010).

14.3 Turnouts
Turnouts are constructed in the bank of a canal to divert part of
the water from the canal and ditches to basins, borders, and
distribution laterals. Turnouts can be concrete structures or pipe
structures. A turnout may have a fixed opening in the side and
equipped with the device to control the area of opening. They
usually have removable flashboards or a circular or rectangular
slide gate to regulate flow. Drop-open gates (similar to drop-open
checks) are utilized in semiautomatic turnouts. Turnout
commonly used is a metal pipe with slide gate on the inlet. The
orifice flow formula is commonly used to determine the capacity
of pipe turnout.
14.4 Siphon Tubes
Siphon tubes (Fig. 14.2) are curved plastic, rubber or
aluminum pipes that are laid over the bank of delivery channels
to deliver water to borders and furrows. The siphon tubes are
completely filled and dipped in to water. Water flows into the
tube, is pulled (siphoned) over the bank of the delivery channel,
and delivered into borders and furrows when there is sufficient
operating head and the tube is properly positioned and full of
water (primed).For a free-flowing tube, the effective operational
head is difference in elevation between the water surface at the
tubes entrance and the center of its outlet end.

Siphon tubes are available in diameters ranging between 13 and

150 mm and length of 1.2 to 3.0 m. The discharge of a siphon tube
depends on its diameter, length, and inside roughness the number
and degree of bends and the operating head.

The discharge from a siphon tubes depend on the diameters of the

tube and the difference in elevation between the water surface at
the upstream and downstream ends of the tube. It may be
estimated by the following formula:

in which,
Q = discharge from siphon tube (L s-1)
a = internal area of cross-section of tube (cm2)
g = acceleration due to gravity (cm/sec2)
H = effective head causing flow (cm)

If the outlet is not submerged, the effective head is the vertical

distance from the water level over the inlet end to the center of
the discharge end.

Fig.14.2. Siphon tubes.

(Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SiphonTubes.JPG)

14.5 Flumes
Flumes are constructed to carry irrigation water across streams,
canals, gullies, ravines or other natural depressions. They may be
open channels or pipes which are often supported by pillars or
may be fixed to bridges. Open channels are made of concrete or
wooden having rectangular or trapezoidal shapes. Alternative
steel, concrete or vitrified clay pipes could also be used. However
while using pipes, care should be taken to position them below
the water surface at the upstream end to ensure that they are full.
The supporting structure may be made of timber, steel or
concrete. Manning’s equation is used to estimate discharge of the
flumes. Flumes constructed in specially shaped and stabilized
channel section may also be used to measure flow. Flumes are
generally less inclined to catch floating debris and sediment than
weirs and therefore, they are particularly suited for measurement
of runoff.

14.6 Culverts
A culvert is a drain or pipe that allows water to flow under a road.
Fig 14.3 Shows culvert pipes below a road. Culverts are most
suitable structures at the channel crossing when the road fill is
sufficiently high and the channel bed lies on the field surface on
either side. About 45 cm soil cover is desired above the culvert
pipe (Michael, 2010). The pipe used as a culvert has the simple
function of providing passage for water underneath the path. The
headwater elevation may be above or below the top of the inlet
section. Solution of a culvert problem is primarily the
determination of the type of flow that will occur under a given
head and tail water conditions. Pipe flow (conduit controlling
capacity) will occur under most conditions when the slope of the
culvert is less than the natural slope and entrance capacity is not
limiting. The natural slope for small angles of θ is
where,
Θ =slope angle of conduit (degrees)
Hf = friction loss in conduit of length L (L)
L = length of conduit (L)
Kc= friction loss coefficient (L/L)
v = velocity of flow (L/T)
g =acceleration due to gravity (L/T2)

Fig. 14.3. Culverts.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Feccia_001.JPG)

14.7 Inverted Siphons

The inverted siphon (Fig. 14.4) is constructed when a channel has
to cross a wide depression or where the road surface lies close to
the field surface. It has an inlet and an outlet tank connected
together at their bottom by a pipe. A check gate is used at the inlet
end to control the water surface level in the upstream channel.
The tank of an inverted siphon also acts as stilling basin. The
bottom of the tanks is kept about 15-20 cm below the bottom of
the pipe to collect the silt deposited due to slow down velocity of
silt carrying water from upstream erosion.

Fig. 14.4. Inverted siphons. (Source: Murty, 1985)

LESSON 15 Underground Pipeline Systems

Water is conveyed from the water source to the cropped field

using networks of open channels and or pipe lines. Pipe lines have
several advantages over open channels. A properly designed
pipeline system saves water, energy consumption and land used
for field channels. Underground pipe line types and its
components are presented in this lesson.
15.1 Advantages of Underground Pipeline System
The water distribution system of deep wells tube, which are
usually owned by the government or cooperative or group
farming societies, usually comprise of open channels or buried
pipes (underground pipe) with outlets at suitable points in the
command area. Buried pipeline water distribution systems,
though comparatively more expensive, have major advantages
over surface water distribution systems comprising of network of
field channels. The following are the major advantages:
1. The farmers get water at or near their fields.
2. Water conveyance losses through seepage, evaporation and
breaches in the channels are avoided.
3. The quantity of water delivered from each outlet remains the
same, irrespective of the elevation of the outlet.
4. The pipeline can be laid with complete freedom to best suit
the requirements of water supply and cost of pipelines,
irrespective of the topographic features of the tube well
command area.
5. Outlet valves can be provided wherever desired in the
pipeline, as determined in the interest of minimising the
distance from the outlet to the field, the number of
cultivators served by an outlet and ensuring gravity flow
from outlet to the fields.
6. Water is supplied to each field plot either directly or through
a field channel of short length originating from the outlet.
7. Maintenance cost of the water distribution system is very
low.
8. There is full control of the water supply to the fields within
a tube well command area.

Limitations
Underground pipe line irrigation system requires high initial
investment as compared to open channel systems. This also needs
higher operating pressure and additional power to distributed
water, whereas in open channel system do not need. The canal
carrying svet laden water cannot be connected with underground
pipe line system as canal provide very little head and pipe lines
are likely to be blocked.
15.2 Low-Head Pipelines
In low head pipe line system water is taken from the water source
and directly distributed to basins, borders, and furrows. These low
head pipeline works satisfactorily on non-uniform grades, and
also at uphill and downhill the land slopes. Such pipeline consists
of an inlet, one or more outlets, with head control devices and
surge protection structures, air relief valve, flow meter and debris
and sand removal devices. Pressure relief, air release, and vacuum
relief valves that are used for pressurized pipelines are also used
with low-head pipelines. Pipelines permit the conveyance of
water on uphill or downhill slopes. These systems are also
suitable to undulating topography and can supply water at any
part of the farm. The pipe line systems can be buried or on the
surface. Surface pipe lines portable and these are brought back
after irrigation. The buried pipe lines placed below the ground
surface are permanent and called as permanent underground
pipeline. Underground pipe line conveyance system is preferred
over surface pipe lines as the cultivation can be done on the land
above pipeline and it does not affect farming operation.
15.3 Types of Irrigation Water Conveyance Pipeline System
Generally there are three types of irrigation water conveyance
pipe line systems. The first is the completely portable surface pipe
line system. In this system water is supplied from source and
applied to the field from open end of pipe line or using gated
outlets. In second system, a combination of buried and surface
pipes are used, where buried permanent pipe lines are used to
transmit water from source to risers. These risers supply water to
surface pipes .In third system, water is delivered from riser/alfalfa
valve and channel border or basins, eliminates the need for
surface pipes. Water is released on the portion of the field to be
irrigated from risers. Irrigation pipe must be sized carefully to
deliver enough discharge and at the same time it should be
economical.
15.4 Pressure Variations in Irrigation Pipe Lines
Pressure in the pipe line increases or decreases due to change in
elevation (uphill or downhill conditions).
The difference in pressure between two locations along a pipeline
can be estimated using following equation.

(15.1)

Where,
Hd, Hu pressure at down- and upstream position, respectively
(kPa);
HL= energy loss in pipe between the up-and downstream positions
(m);
ΔHe = difference in elevation between up-and downstream
positions (m);

When the change in elevation between the up-and downstream

positions is uphill, the sign of is plus (+) conversely, this sign is
negative ( ) when the elevation at the upstream location exceeds
the elevation at the downstream location.

Equation 15.2 can be used to estimate the energy loss term,

HL = F · Hf + Ml (15.2)

Where,
F = constant that depends on the number of outlets removing
water from the pipe between source and application points
Hf = friction head loss in pipe (m).This is also called as the major
loss.

Ml = minor head losses through the fittings provided in the

pipeline system (m)

Estimation of Head Loss Due to Friction or Major Loss: Head loss

due to friction in irrigation pipe is estimated by using Darcy
Weisbach, Hazen Williams or Scobey equations. Fresh live Darcy
Weisbach equation computes head loss due to friction in laminar
or turbulent flow in pipelines on rational basis as given by
equation (15.3).
Darcy Weisbach Equation:

(15.3)

where
Hf = loss of head due to friction
L = length of pipe
D = the inside pipe diameter
V = the mean velocity
g = the acceleration due to gravity, and
f = friction coefficient.

Equation (15.3) is dimensionally consistent and can be used with

the same ‘f’ values for FPS or SI units. Values of f have been
related to boundary roughness dimensions on pipe surface and
determined empirically. These are tabulated in
Hazen Williams Equation: The Hazen Williams equation can be
written as:
V = K R0.63 S0.54 (15.4)

where
V = velocity of flow in pipe line
R = the hydraulic radius of pipe and
S = the slope of pipeline (fraction)

In SI units (R in mm),
The constant K = 0.0109K1

Where
K1 = the Hazen – Williams resistance coefficient

The values of K1 range from 144 to 146 for aluminium pipes. K1

values for the pipes of other materials are available in hydraulic
handbooks. (James, 1988).
Scobey Equation: The Scobey equation given for riveted steel
pipe has also been used to compute head loss in aluminium pipe.
The Scobey equation is given by
S = 10-3KV1.9 D-1.1 (15.5)

In SI units velocity (V) in m/s, inside diameter (D) in mm

S = slope (m/m)

The constant K = 516 KS, where KS = Scobey resistance coefficent

The exponents in the Scobey equation may have different values

for other pipe materials (Brater and King, 1976). Recommended
values for K1 and KS available in the chapter 5 in James (1988),
are used to compute pipe size.

Estimation of Minor Losses: Energy losses through fittings and

valves also need to be considered in the design of an irrigation
pipeline. These so-called ‘‘local’’ or minor losses are frequently
estimated by applying a coefficient to the velocity head at the
fitting. The sum of all local losses is then added to frictional head
loss to estimate total loss in the pipeline. Local loss coefficients
to be used in the equation is given:
The values of local loss coefficient (K) due to fittings, joints,
valves, elbows and Tees can be obtained from the book entitled
“Design and Operation of Farm Irrigation Systems” Kruse, et al.
(1980).

15.5 Components of Underground Pipelines

All the low head underground pipe line system requires pump
stand as inlet or gravity inlet, gate stands, pressure relief valves,
outlets and end plug. Typical components of underground
pipeline are illustrated in Fig. 15.1.

Fig. 15.1. Components of an underground pipeline irrigation

system.
(Source: Michael (2010), pp.369)
15.5.1 Inlet Components of Underground Pipeline System
Water inlet components are required to carry water from the
source in to low head underground pipelines. An inlet structure is
required to develop adequate pressure and full flow capacity so as
to distribute water at different points on the farm. Inlet
components use a sand trap and trash screen to prevent entry of
debris and heavy suspension of sand in the pipe lines.

Pump Stand
A pump stand is located at the inlet end of underground pipeline
system. Pump stand must be high enough to provide the pressure
needed at all the pipe outlets. Pump stands size is larger than the
diameter of pipe line, to dissipate high velocity stream and release
of entrapped air before water enters pipeline. A view of the pump
stand is shown in Figure 15.2.
 Fig. 15.2. Pump stands for underground pipeline.
(Source: Michael (2010), pp.362)

Gravity Inlets
The gravity inlet is used when water surface elevation of the water
source is sufficient to allow gravity flow into the pipeline and to
provide the adequate pressure needed at every point of pipe line
and outlet. The low head underground pipe line directly
connected with water source can be used for delivering water
from a minor canal as shown in Fig. 15.3.

Gate Stands

Gate stands are installed to control flow into branch lines. These
are installed where branch lines take off from main line. They also
prevent high pressure and act as surge chamber. Each outlet of a
gate stand is equipped with slide gate or gate valve to release
water through a particular gate valve. Fig. 15.4 shows branching
off water from main pipeline and (gate stand).
Fig. 15.3. A sectional view of an inlet for taking water from a
minor canal into an underground pipeline. (Source: Michael,
2010)

Fig. 15.4. (a) Gate stands and (b) Overflow from Gate stands.
 (Source: James, 1988)

Pressure Relief Valves

Pressure relief valves open at certain preset pressure and
discharge fluid to relieve the surge. They close immediately when
pressure drops below settings. In situation, when rapid changes in
flow velocity are necessary, the pressure relief valves are used to
prevent water hammering. The air inlet valves (also called
vacuum relief) are used at desired places in the pipe lines to
prevent vacuum formation. The air vents are also used to release
entrapped air and to prevent vacuum formation. These air release
devices (air vents) are installed at inlet end near pump stands,
sharp bends, high elevation points and before end of pipe lines.

15.5.2 Outlet Structures

Outlet structures are devices that release water from pipelines to
any desired locations in the farm. They consist of a riser pipe, and
one or more valves to control the flow. The most common outlet
consists of a concrete riser pipe and valves to control the flow.
The riser valves, hydrants and gated pipes are connected with
riser pipe to distribute water to furrow or a border or a basin. A
section of riser pipe with alpha-alpha valve is shown through Fig.
15.5.
 Fig. 15.5. Section of an alfalfa valve for a low head pipeline.
(Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0231E/t0231e04.htm)

Hydrants
Hydrants are devices placed over riser valve outlets as a means of
connecting portable gated pipes to the pipeline. They are portable
so that they can be moved from one valve outlet to another to
serve the portion of the field which is being irrigated at a
particular time. Hydrant can also be used for connecting the
suction hose of a pump to the water supply carried in the pipeline
under low pressure, so that the pump can develop the high
pressure.
End Plug
The function of an end plug is to close a line and to absorb the
pressure developed at the end of the line, on account of water
hammer. The plug is backed by a masonry block which provides
sufficient strength to meet unexpected high pressure developed
due to sudden opening or closing of valves.
LESSON 16. Design and Operation of Underground Pipeline System

16.1 Design of Underground Pipeline Systems

The design of underground pipe line system requires information
on land topography, location of water source and water discharge.
Pump stands must be of high elevation to allow sufficient
operating head for the pipeline. However, stands higher than
necessary may permits high heads of water to build up, leading to
excessive line pressures. The working pressures in the pipeline
are kept within one-fourth the internal bursting pressures of the
pipe. When it is necessary to design pipelines with higher heads,
reinforced concrete pressure pipes are used. The sizes of the
outlets are selected to suit the flow required at diversion points.
The PVC and HDPE are also used for water distribution at low
and moderate pressure. The components of the systems such as
pipeline size and height of Pump stands and control stands must
be designed so as to obtain a balanced water distribution and
provide trouble free operation.
The height of water in the pump stands is estimated as follows:
Depth of water in pump stand (HPS ) (m) = Reduced level at height
point (m) + losses in the pipe line Reduced level at pump stand
(m). A free board of 0.5m of water head is added to get the height
pump stand.
Losses in pipe line are head loss due to friction and also known
as major loss. Various equations such as Darcy-Weisbach, Hazen
Williams and Scobey have been proposed to determine head loss
due to friction (Refer lesson 15). The Darcy’s Weisbach equation
is scientifically based and applicable to both laminar and
turbulent flows.
The Darcy-Weisbach equation is

(16.1)

where,
Hf = head loss due to friction,(m)
f = friction factor,
L = length of the pipe(m)
d = Inside diameter of the pipe (m)
V = mean velocity of flow (m s-1)
g = acceleration due to gravity (m s-2)

The friction factor f is function of Reynolds number (Re) and

relative roughness &. For laminar flow (Re , the friction factor is

(16.2)
where
V = velocity, m s-1
D = diameter of pipe, m
ν = Kinematic viscosity, m2 s-1

For Re between 2000 and 100,000 (Turbulent flow)

f = 0.32 Re -0.25 (16.3)

For Re > 100,000 (Fully turbulent flow)

(16.4)

For most commercial materials, the friction factor is represented

by the semi- empirical equation

(16.5)

Minor Losses
Head losses in underground pipeline are also caused by inlets,
bends, gate valves, outlets (rivers, valves etc.) and other
appliances such as fittings expansions and constructions due to
entry and exit losses and abrupt and gradual changes in velocity.
These losses are, referred to as minor losses.
These losses are given by equation (16.6).Each term in the
equation represents the head loss due exit, entry or fitting or
connections in the pipeline.

(16.6)

Where,
K1, K2, ... Kn are coefficients for each item where minor head loss
exists.
These minor loss coefficients can be obtained from Michael,
(2010).

The values of coefficient as 0.5 for pipe flush with wall, 0.1 for
bell entrance and 1.0 for bends. are used. If the gated pipes are
used, then pressure required to operate these pipes are included
(Michael, 2010).
Diameter of Pipe Line
The diameter of pipe line is computed considering the head loss
due to friction in pipe line (Equation 16.1) and discharge. Too
small, diameter will increase the pumping cost due to increased
frictional head losses and too large pipe diameter will add to the
system cost. The material and size of pipe are selected
considering the hydraulically efficiently and pumping cost.

Example 16.1: A 500 m long 200 mm diameter pipe is used as

underground irrigation water supply system. The velocity of
water flow is 5m/s, the PVC pipe is used which has =0.00026 m.
Use kinematic viscosity v as = 1.007 , Determine the head loss in
pipe.

Solution:
The head loss due to friction is computed using the Darcy-
Weisbach equation
The relative roughness

From Moody diagram, the friction factor (f) (at = 9.93 X

105 and = 0.0013) = 0.021
Head loss due to friction (Hf)

16.2 Laying Out of Underground Pipeline System

Preparation of contour map is essential requirement to lay and
construct underground pipeline for a command area. The map
should depict North direction and important features locating
revenue division and sub divisions. The map should show field
boundaries, streams, rivers, tanks, earth embankments, roads,
wells and village boundary and other major features of the area
which will come under the command of the tubewell and the area
immediately adjoining it. The alignment of the buried pipeline
water distribution system and the location of the valves should be
planned based on the inspection of the field contours and the
various features on the ground. The alignment of the earthen field
channels and essential field structures like inverted siphons are
decided based on the ground elevation. Profiles along each pipe
and channel route are surveyed and plans are prepared showing
depth, gradient and earth work along their length and the location
of the structures. These include inlet, water control and diversion
structures, air release vents and end plugs.
After laying of PVC pipes and backfilling of the trenches and
construction of the outlet structure, the water is allowed to pass
through the pipeline. All air in the pipe should be allowed to
escape through the pressure release pipe. For 3 to 4 days, all the
outlets are kept open for 3 to 4 hours, with the pump in operation,
in order to check if there are any leakages in the pipe or in any of
the outlets. If leakage is noticed, repairs are done after draining
the entire pipeline system.

16.3 Operation and Maintenance of Underground

Pipeline Systems
The underground pipeline may fail due to i) lack of inspection or
maintenance, ii) improper construction, iii) improper design
and iv) wrong manufacturing processes and poor quality
materials used.

The underground pipelines operate without trouble when it is

properly designed and correctly installed. Inadequate procedures
in design and installation and unforeseen situations give rise to
the following troubles.
a) Development of longitudinal cracks in the pipe, usually
at the top or both at top and bottom
b) Telescoping of sections
c) Pushing of the pipe into the stands
d) Development of circumferential cracks
e) Surging or intermittent flow of water
Leak Testing and Repair
All buried low pressure irrigation pipelines should be tested for
leaks before the trench is filled. The pipeline should be filled with
water and slowly brought up to operating pressure with all
turnouts closed. Any length of pipe section or joints showing
leakage should be replaced and the line retested. The water should
remain in pipelines throughout the backfilling of trenches,
because the internal pressure helps to prevent pipe deformation
from soil loading and equipment crossings. Underground
pipelines should be inspected for leakage at least once a year.
Leaks may be spotted from wet soil areas above the line that are
otherwise unexplained. Small leaks in concrete pipeline can be
repaired by carefully cleaning the pipe exterior surrounding the
leak, then applying a patch of cement mortar grout. For larger
leaks, one or more pipe sections may have to be replaced.
Longevity of concrete pipelines can be increased by capping all
opening during cold winter months to prevent air circulation.
Small leaks in plastic pipe, except at the joints, can sometimes be
repaired by pressing a gasket-like material tightly against the pipe
wall around the leak and clamping it with a saddle. Where water
is supplied from a canal to portable surface pipe, sediment often
accumulates in the pipe. This sediment should be flushed out
before the pipe is moved. Otherwise, the pipe will be too heavy
to be moved by hand and may be damaged if it is moved
mechanically. Buried plastic pipelines can be expected to have a
usable life of about 15 years, if well maintained. The annual cost
of maintenance can be estimated as approximately 1% of the
installation cost.
Module 4: Land Grading Survey and Design

LESSON 17 Land Grading Survey and Design

Land grading is the operation carried out to reshape the land by

cutting, filling and smoothing to a designed continuous surface
grade. The uniform grade is needed to control flow for irrigation
and drainage purposes without soil erosion.A topographic map is
a map that contains the information about the general topography
of an area on the earth surface. The topographic map includes
contours lines, location of natural features such as gullies, ditches
and location of man-made features, such as buildings, roads,
culverts, bridges etc. These are needed for detailed planning.
Contour lines of the topographic map present the topography of
an area. A contour line is an imaginary line that is obtained by
joining the points of constant elevation on the surface of the
ground. Fig. 17.1 depicts the different characteristics of contour
lines.
A series of closed contours with higher values inside indicates a
summit or hill and outside indicate a depression (Fig. 17.1 a & b).
The contours lines form U-shaped curves and the higher values of
contour inside the loop indicate a ridge line, V-shaped curves and
the lower values of contour inside the loop indicate a valley line
(Fig. 17.1 c & d). Contour lines cannot cross one another or merge
on the map except in case of an overhanging cliff (Fig. 17.1 e &
f). If several contour lines coincide the horizontal equivalent to
zero then it indicates a vertical cliff. Four sets of contours (shown
in Fig. 17.1g) shows a saddle a depression between summits. It is
a dip in a ridge or the junction of two ridges. Line passing through
the saddle and summits shows a watershed line.
Fig. 17.1. Characteristics of contour lines. (Source: Mal, 1995)
After the topographic survey, proper estimation for cut and fill
depths at different locations are prepared to obtain a suitable
grade with a minimum volume of earthwork. The uniform grades
allow fields to be laid out for irrigation runs of the proper length
for border and ridges and furrows irrigation methods. Land
grading is also beneficial in unirrigated areas to conserve
moisture. In the process of land grading, the soil surface is formed
to a predetermined grades so that each row or the surface slopes
can also meet drainage requirement. This is accomplished by
cutting, filling, and smoothing to a planned continuous surface
grades with uniform slopes but not necessarily plane surfaces. In
developing a land grading plan, filling depressions with soil from
adjoining mounds and ridges and establishing grade in the
direction of row grade, tillage or predominant natural slope is
emphasized to minimize cuts and fills.

17.1 Land Levelling

Land levelling is the process of modifying the surface relief by
grading and smoothing to a planned grade and to certain
specifications required to facilitate or to improve the uniform
application of water for irrigation and drainage purpose.

17.1.1 Criteria for Land Levelling

Criteria for land levelling depend on the soil profile conditions,
land slope, climate, crops to be grown, methods of irrigation, and
the farmers’ requirement. Land levelling should never be planned
without knowing the soil-profile conditions and the maximum cut
that can be made without seriously affecting agricultural
production. Land levelling modifies the land surface for efficient
surface irrigation. Irrigated land is also levelled to obtain good
surface land drainage. The entire farm should be divided into
smaller field subdivisions based on natural topographical
boundaries in the initial plan itself, even though only a part of the
farm may be levelled at the first instant. Each field subdivision
may be further divided into relatively narrow strips on the
approximate contour to reduce the slope of safe limits and avoid
deep cuts of the surface soil. Each strip is a separate field for land
levelling design. The irrigation and drainage systems for a
particular field should be taken up simultaneously. The earth
work (a cut) soil can be used as a fill (making embankment) for
irrigation channel and cut soil area can be used for making
channel.

a) Soil Profile Conditions

Soil profile study is desired before undertaking the levelling
work. The soil profile map should depict details of soil texture of
surface and subsurface soils. This should also include physical
properties including infiltration rate, irrigation properties and the
soil bulk density. The soil properties with reference to field
capacity, wilting point and bulk density are required for deciding
the duration of irrigation. The infiltration rate is required for
deciding length of border & furrow and size of basins. Soil profile
map should also provide the details of sand, depth of gravel, hard
pans, rock or other material that might limit the depth of cut, as
well as the extent of such areas. Soils with deep, well drained
subsoils generally have little limitation on depth of cut. Cuts of 3
to 4 m can be made in soils with deep subsoils without
permanently reducing potential crop production (Anderson et al.,
1980). Deep cuts in shallow soils may expose inert materials
which may not be desirable to grow crops. Addition of organic
matter and fertilizers in soils can amend soil condition to grow
crops without affecting crop productivity appreciably. Where
deep cuts are unavoidable and the soil is shallow the harmful
effects of top soil removal may be mitigated by scraping and
storing the top soil, which is then replaced by the new grade after
the movement of the subsoil material. Bench terracing in small
strips minimises the harmful effects of severe top soil removal.

b) Land Slope
A good land grade is designed to achieve high irrigation
efficiencies considering soil infiltration characteristics, irrigation
stream size, the crops to be grown and erosion hazard from
rainfall and degree of uniformity in water distribution. Sometimes
excessive cuts are desired to eliminate cross slopes. To reduce the
extent of cuts, the field is divided into parts and the levelling is
done in strips at different elevations, separated by low ridges. This
practice of grading is known as bench levelling. This type of
levelling is especially required if there is considerable difference
in elevation between adjacent strips. Earth work is done along the
width of benches. The amount of earthwork is governed by the
magnitude of the diagonal slope at right angles to the direction of
irrigation. Safe limits of longitudinal slope of fields for different
soil types are given in Table 17.1. (a).
 Table 17.1. (a) Recommended safe limits of land slope for
efficient irrigation

Type of Longitudinal
soil slope %
Heavy (clay) soils 0.05 to 0.20
Medium (loamy) soils 0.20 to 0.40
Light (sandy) soils 0.25 to 0.65

(Source: Michael, 2010)

c) Cross Slope
Cross slope (slope perpendicular to longitudinal slope) is desired
to reduce cut yardage or to establish the "plane of best fit." Cross
slopes must be such that "breakthroughs" from both irrigation
water and runoff from rainfall are held to a minimum.
Recommended cross slopes for different furrow grades are
presented in Table 17.2. (b).
Table 17.1. (b) Maximum recommended cross slope

Furrow Grade Cross Slope

0.1 percent 0.3 percent
0.2 percent 0.3 percent
0.3 percent 0.3 percent
0.4 percent 0.4 percent
0.5 percent 0.5 percent
 (Source: extension.missouri.edu/p/G1641)

d) Rainfall Characteristics
Rainfall characteristics viz. depth, duration and frequency
influence the land drainage requirement or drainage coefficient.
Land grading must meet the drainage requirements. Land grades
should be non erosive so as to dispose excess rainfall at safer
velocity without causing soil erosion.

e) Cropping Pattern
The high value crops with high labourer requirement along with
their sensitivity to water stagnation justify the need for degree of
levelling to reduce labour and production costs. Vegetables, oil
seeds, pulses, medicinal plants justify a high levelling cost
whereas a fodder crop or some cereal crops may need a much
smaller investment as they tolerate some degree of water logging.

f) Irrigation Methods
Pressurized irrigation methods may not need high degree of land
levelling, whereas surface irrigation needs proper land grading
and levelling. When several methods of irrigation are to be used
in the same field, the requirements of maximum length of run for
surface irrigation methods should be worked out based on the soil
texture.
Land Clearing
The land clearing includes removal of unwanted trees, brush,
vegetation, trash and boulders from the area specified for land
grading. The land clearing operation involves heavy earth moving
machineries such as bulldozers, root rakes, stumpers, root cutters,
rotary choppers and other appropriate machinery.

17.2 Levelling Layout of Field for Irrigation and Drainage

Systems
The location of the field boundaries, irrigation water supply
system, drains and farm roads and other physical features are
required to be known prior to land levelling. The levelling plans
should include estimate of volume of earth work for cut and fill.
There should be proper ratio between excavations and fill. The
plan should furnish information on soil, topography, and the
requirement of the farmer. So that alternative field plan
arrangements to accommodate desired changes. The planner
should consider and visualise all possible layouts and the one best
suited to the site should be selected considering water application
methods, crops to be grown and the farmer’s choice. In making
layout, planner should also consider location, size of drainage and
irrigation ditches, pipelines location for water supply, easy access
of movement of farm machineries to all fields, provision for
combining smaller fields to larger fields and possibility of
changing in cropping system.
Plans and Specifications
The field layout involves proper planning of field to arrange
irrigation, drainage and roads for efficient irrigation and disposal
of water.

a) Field Arrangement
Laying out fields of workable size and shape is important for
successful irrigation farming. The fields are laid out as nearly
rectangular as possible. Sharp turns in field boundaries should be
avoided as far as possible in order to facilitate the use and
movement of farm equipment. The field length is based on the
maximum allowable length of run for the irrigation method
selected. The field length may be equal to single run length or a
multiple of the run lengths. Alternatively the field lengths may be
limited by ownership boundaries. Table 17.2 provides the range
of lengths for border strip and furrow methods of irrigation.

Table 17.2. Recommended length of run for border strip and

furrow methods of irrigation

Soil type Length of run

Sandy and sandy loam soils 60 to 120 m
Medium loam soils 100 to 180 m
Clay loam and clay soils 150 to 300 m

(Source: Michael, 2010)

Separation of fields will be desirable along the line of slope
change. Sharp bends in otherwise nearly straight contours
indicate change in the direction of maximum slope. Separation of
fields at the bend is desirable for surface irrigation methods.
Contour lines either close together or far apart may imply that the
average natural slope is either too steep or too flat. Normally the
lengths of fields are kept minimum to reduce the amount of cuts
and fills required. Greater irregularity in spacing and direction of
contours may show that the topography is non-uniform to the
extent that it fails to show where a separation into fields can be
made advantageously. Such areas are set apart to be graded
individually as units. Excessively irregular or closely spaced
contours indicate high cost of levelling.

b) Field Road System

Field road system is made to provide access to all areas of the
farm for equipment, transportation of farm produce and operation
of the irrigation system. Normally field roads are located at higher
elevation than irrigation channels and followed below by field
drains.

c) Drainage
Provision should be made to drain the excess rainfall promptly
and safely. If the land is not naturally well drained, artificial
drainage must be established along with installation of irrigation
system. Seepage from over-irrigated areas at higher elevations
and irrigation canals can damage lands in low-laying area.
Interceptor drains may be necessary at the upper boundaries of
the low-laying area to divert the seepage and prevent water
logging. Integrated irrigation and drainage planning is often
necessary for laying out a farm area for efficient water use.

17.3 Survey and Staking

a) Land Levelling Design
In order to carryout land levelling program topographic survey is
performed.
The field is divided in the grids of equal sizes. Generally grids of
15 m×15 m or 30 m×30 m are used. The size of grid depends on
degree of precision required. The grid points are located by
establishing two or more base lines in each direction then to sight
in the rest of the stakes. The elevations at each stakes are
determined using the dumpy level. The normal procedure of
survey is adopted for determination of elevation. Based on the
observations of staff reading, the reduced levels of the grid points
are estimated. The contour lines are drawn using the elevation
values, and contour map is prepared. The field is graded as per
requirement using contour map.

b) Procedure for Determination of Centroid of a Field

The field could be a rectangular, triangular or an irregular in
shape. The centroid of a rectangular field is located at the point of
intersection of its diagonals, whereas the intersection of the lines
drawn from its corner to mid points of the opposite sides of
triangle is the centroid of triangular field. In case of irregular field
the area is divided into rectangles and right angled triangles for
the determination of centroid. The centroid is located by
computing moments from two reference lines at right angle to
each other. The distance to the centroid of the field from any line
of reference is equal to the sum of the products obtained by
multiplying the area of each part times the distance from the line
of reference to its centroid, divided by the total area of the field.
By computing the distance to the centroid from two lines of
reference perpendicular to each other, the exact point of centroid
can be obtained.

The following example 17.1 illustrates the procedure to compute

centroid of a field.

Example 17.1: Compute the elevation of centroid of a rectangular

field. Stakes are to be kept to carry out levelling work of the field.
The elevations at grid points as obtained from a topographic
survey are stated below.

Elevation of stations at lines

Stations 1 2 3 4 5
 A 9.56 9.34 9.02 8.84 8.76
B 8.37 8.24 8.98 8.68 8.57
C 9.22 9.04 8.94 8.56 8.48
D 8.92 8.84 8.76 8.31 8.02

Solution:
Sum of elevations of the 20 stations = 175.45 m
Total number of stations = 20

Elevation of centroid =

m
LESSON 18 Land Leveling Methods

A precise land leveling improves irrigation and energy efficiency.

This also reduces labor requirement for water application. 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. Further farm machineries movement
compact soil and disturb soil pores and thereby reduces water
movement through side. Hence it is essential to estimate locations
and volumes of cuts and fills, maintain proper cut-fill ratio by
minimally affecting the crop production and at the same time
involving the less cost for land leveling. Hence for land leveling
design should be done properly. There are several methods for
land leveling design. These methods are: Plane method, Profile
method, Plan inspection method and Contour adjustment
methods. The procedures adopted to use these methods are briefly
presented in this lesson.
18.1 Plane Method
The plane method is the most commonly used method of land
levelling design. This method is feasible whenever it is required
to grade the field to a true plane. The procedure involves first
determining the centroid of the field as per the procedure
explained in section 17.3 of lesson 17 and 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. The following example
illustrates the method to estimate average elevation and elevation
at different grid points for a desired slope.

Example 18.1: The elevations of grid points selected at 25 m

interval are determined from a topographic survey for land
leveling programme. The elevations of points are as given below
in the table.
 Elevation (m)
Stations
Line No. 1 Line No. 2 Line No. 3 Line No. 4 Line No. 5
A 97.30 97.75 98.30 98.52 99.40
B 96.90 97.12 97.90 97.80 98.62
C 96.14 96.86 97.35 97.60 97.42
D 95.72 96.28 96.94 97.16 96.84

The field is to have downfield slope of 0.2%. Determine: i)

elevation of centroid of the field, and ii) formation levels at grid
points and amount of cut and fill at each grid point.

Solution:

Total number of stations = 20

Sum of the elevations of the 20 stations = 1947.92 m
Elevation of the centroid m
The field is to be given 0.2% slope. At 50 m from the North South
line passing through centroid, the elevation of this point is 0.1 m
below the centroid, or 97.296 m.

The formation of grid levels at each point are estimated as given

in this table
 Elevation (m)
Stations
Line No. 1 Line No. 2 Line No. 3 Line No. 4 Line No. 5
A 97.296 97.346 97.396 97.446 97.496
B 97.296 97.346 97.396 97.446 97.496
C 97.296 97.346 97.396 97.446 97.496
D 97.296 97.346 97.396 97.446 97.496

Cuts and Fills

Cut and fill are computed by subtracting the original elevation of
the point from the formation level at the grid point. At station A1,
the cut/fill is 97.296 – 97.30 = (-) 0.004. The results of cut / fill
are given in following table.

Elevation (m)
Stations
Line No. 1 Line No. 2 Line No. 3 Line No. 4 Line No. 5
A - 0.004 - 0.404 - 0.904 - 1.074 - 1.904
B + 0.396 + 0.226 - 0.504 - 0.354 - 1.124
C + 1.156 + 0.486 + 0.046 - 0.154 + 0.076
D + 1.576 + 1.066 + 0.456 + 0.286 + 0.656

(+ Sign indicates fill and – sign indicates cut)

Σ cut = Σ fill = 6.426 m
Computation of Slopes of Plane of Best Fit
The computation of slopes of plane of best fit is given by
 E = a + S x X + Sy Y (18.1)

where,
E = elevation at any point (L)
a = elevation at the origin (L)
Sx and Sy = slope in the x and y directions, respectively (L/L)
X any Y = distance from the origin (L)

The slope of any line in X or Y direction is determined by the

statistical least – square procedure, (Schwab et al., 1993). The
least –squares plane by definition is that which gives the smallest
sum of all the squared differences in elevation between the grid
points and the plane. It is called the plane of best fit. These slopes
can be computed from two simultaneous equations stated below

(ƩX2 – n X2c)Sx + [Ʃ (XY) – nXCYC ]Sy = Ʃ (XE) –

nXcEC (18.2)

(ƩY2 – nY2c)Sy+ [Ʃ (XY) – nXCYC ]Sx = Ʃ (YE) – nYc

EC (18.3)
where
n = total number of grid points
XC = X distance to the centroid
Yc = Y distance to the centroid
Ec = elevation of the centroid (average elevation of all
points).

For rectangular fields the terms involving XY become zero and

(18.4)

The slope Sy can be obtained from Eq. (18.4) by substituting Y

for X. Although Eq. (18.4) is valid only for rectangular fields, a
satisfactory solution can often be obtained by taking one or more
arbitrarily selected rectangular areas within the field and
extending the slopes of the plane to the remaining areas.

Average elevation of the field is determined by adding the

elevations of all the grids and dividing the sum by number of
points.
Example 18.2: Establish the equation for determining the
elevation at any point using plane of best fit approach for the field
shown in Fig. 18.1.

(Elevations of different grids of field are in meter)

Solution:
The plane of best fit approach uses following equations for
determination of slopes in X and Y direction. The following table
illustrates the computation procedure for determining plane of
best fit.

Line No. 12 3 4 5 6 7
 No. of stakes in Y-direction 5 5 5 5 5 4 3
Product of line × stake 5 10 15 20 25 24 21

In X- direction,
i) Total no. of stakes = 32
ii) Product = 120

iii) Average

Line No. of stakes in X- Product of line (no.) × stake

no. direction (no.)
5 5 25
4 6 24
3 7 21
2 7 14
1 7 7

In Y- direction,
i) Total no. of stakes = 32
ii) Sum of product is = 91

iii) Average
Hence co-ordinates of centroid = (3.75, 3.84)

No. of stakes (n) = 32, XC = 3.75,YC = 2.84

Ec= (3.4 + 3.2+ 2.7 +…. + 1.8 +1.4) / 32 = 2.37 m

∑X2 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 + 22 +…. + 62 + 72 + 72 + 72 = 566

nXC2 = 32 × 3.752 = 450
nYC2 = 32 × 2.842 = 258.1

∑ (YE) = 204.2
nYc Ec = 32 × 2.84 × 2.37 = 215.4

∑ (XY) = (1×1) + (1×2) + (1×3) +….(7×1) + (7×2) + (7×3) = 327

nXc Yc = 32 × 3.75 × 2.84 = 340.8

∑ (XE) = 255.8
nXc Ec = 32 × 3.75 × 2.37 = 284.4

Equation (18.2) is replaced here

 (ƩX2 – n X2c)Sx + [Ʃ (XY) – nXCYC ]Sy = Ʃ (XE) –
nXcEC
or, (566 – 450) Sx + (327– 340.8) Sy = 255.8 –
284.4 (18.5)

Equation (18.3) is reproduced

(ƩY2 – nY2c)Sy+ [Ʃ (XY) – nXCYC ]Sx = Ʃ (YE) – nYc
EC
or, (319 – 258.1) Sy+ (327 – 340.8) Sx = 204.2 –
215.4 (18.6)

From Eq. (18.6)

60.9 Sy – 13.8 Sx = –11.2 (18.7)

From Eq. (18.5)

13.8 Sy + 116 Sx = –28.6 (18.8)

Eq. 18.7 ´ 13.8 ⇒ 840.42 Sy – 190.44 Sx = –

165.6 (18.9)
Eq. 18.8 ´ 60.9 ⇒ –840.42 Sy + 7064.4 Sx = –
1741.74 (18.10)

From Eq. 18.9 and Eq. 18.10

6873.96 Sx = –1896.3
or, Sx= –0.276 /100 m

From Equation (18.7)

60.9 Sy – 13.8 × (–0.276) = –11.2
or, Sy = –0.246 /100 m

Since the plane of best fit must pass through the centroid,
substituting the above values in Eq. (18.1).
E = a + SxX + SyY (18.12)
or, 2.37 = a + ((–0.276 ) × 3.75) + ((–0.246) × 2.84)
or, a = 4.103 m

The elevation of the origin as 4.103 m

Hence elevation at any point in the field is given by

E = 4.103 – 0.276 X – 0.246Y

18.2 Profile Method

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. With this method, ground profiles are plotted and a
grade is established that will provide an appropriate balance
between cuts and fills as well as reduce haul distances to a
reasonable limit. It is usually well adopted to leveling design of
very flat land with undulating topography on which it is desired
to develop a fairly uniform surface relief. Using profile method
the designer works with profiles of the grid lines rather with
elevations. 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.
Profiles may be plotted across the slope or down the slope. Trial
grade lines are plotted on each profiles based on the design
criteria. The balance between cuts and fill is approximated by eye
and comparing the areas between the plotted profiles and the trial
grade line. Usually several trials are necessary before a
satisfactory set of grade lines are attained. 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.
18.3 Plan Inspection Method
The plan inspection method is a rapid method. Although this
method does not ensure minimum cuts and fills or the shortest
length of haul, however it gives quick estimate. This method is
adapted to moderate flat land slopes. A proposed ground surface
map is overlaid on the original contour map. Hence it involves
contour adjustment using procedure. New contour lines are drawn
using uniform slope and spacing between them.

18.4 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
LESSON 19 Contour Bench Levelling and Earthwork Quantities Computation

In this lesson, purpose of construction of contour benches, its

design and computation of earth work quantities are presented.
Irrigation in undulating fields and steep slope is a very difficult
task. Rainfall erosion and moisture conservation can be controlled
and retained by forming contour benches. Earthwork computation
is an important task in land levelling.
19.1 Contour Bench Levelling
Contour bench levelling is a method for cutting length of slope to
a desired grade and preparing land for irrigation. The undulated
field is cut into a number of steps approximately by using
contours; each step is levelled and made as an independent area.
Thus a series of steps are formed in successive elevations around
the slope. Benches are used for forming the border, furrow and
check basin the slope. The contour bench levelling provides
controlled irrigation water flow on the flat slopes and for efficient
irrigation. Contour bench levelling controls erosion from rainfall,
and permits soil building processes thereby resulting in increase
of fertility and improved soil structure. The flat benches provide
greater opportunity time for infiltration thereby reducing the
quantity of irrigation water needed to meet plant requirements.

19.1.1 Construction of Contour Benches

The components of bench cross-section are shown through Fig.
19.1. Selecting the proper cross section for contour benches is one
of the most important steps of planning for contour bench
construction.
 Fig. 19.1. Cross section of bench and bund. (Source: Michael,
2010)
Let W be the bench width of the farmable area. This width should
be such that it can accommodate the widest of farm equipment to
be used for farming.

The other parameters are:

Wʹ = overall bench width (m)
W = width of cultivable strip (m)
t = top width of dike (m)
h = height of dike (m)
H = vertical interval between benches (m)
Z = side slope of dike (dimensionless)
S = slope of land (dimensionless)

The relationship between W, W and H can be expressed as:

W = H/S (19.1)

or, H=W S (19.2)

(19.3)

The side slopes of dike (Z) should have stable side slopes. The
side slope of 2:1 is normally provided. The area where stones are
presents in the field much steeper slope can be used. Stones
should be used to support the bund. Top width of the dike, (t)
should be sufficient to prevent further lowering of its height by
trampling or by other sources.

It is a usual practice to keep the top width of dike equal to the

vertical interval between benches.
t=H (19.4)

Example 19.1: A trapezoidal bund of 80 m long is to be

constructed having bottom width as 4 m and top width as 2 m.
The height of one end of bund is 1.2 m and that of the other end
is 1.5 m. Determine the volume of earth fill for making bund.

Solution:

The volume of earth fills for making bund

Area of one end of bund (A1) = ½(4+2) 1.2 =3.6 m2

Area of other end of bund (A2) =½(4+2) 1.5 = 4.5 m2

 V = 324.00 m3

Hence volume of earth fill = 324.00 m3

Example 19.2: The random field ditch drains are to be used for
removal of drainage water. The plan, profile and cross section are
shown Fig.19.1. Estimate the volume of earth work for cutting.

Fig. 19.2. Layout of random field drain for computing the earth
work in cutting. (Source: Schwab et al., 1993)
Solution:
The levelling instrument was used to obtain the depth of cut for
the ditch grade of 0.15 per cent. The procedure used to compute
earth work is illustrated in the following Table 19.1.

Cross-
Average Volume
Station Cut Top Distance
sectional Cross-
Width of cut
(m) (m) (m) sectional area (m)
area (m 2
) (m3)
(m2)
0+00 0 0 0
0+10 0.20 2.0 0.40 0. 2 10 2.00
0+20 0.35 3.5 1.23 0.82 10 8.20
0+30 0.70 7.0 4.9 3.07 10 30.70
0+40 0.45 4.5 2.03 3.47 10 34.70
0+50 0.00 0.0 0.0 1.02 10 10.20
Total 85.80

The total volume of earthwork in cutting is 85.8 m3

19.2 Earthwork Quantities Computation

Earthwork quantities need to be computed for desired land
levelling method and for generated cross section. The common
methods for computing earthwork quantity are: end area method,
prismoidal and four point method.

a) End Area Method

The areas of cuts and fills on the profiles or grid lines are used to
compute the volume between the adjacent profile or grid lines,
given by relationship

(19.5)

In which,
V = volume of cut or fill, m3
L = distance between profiles or lines, m
A1 = area of cut or fill in the first profile or line, m2
A2 = area of cut or fill in the second profile, m2

b) Prismoidal Formula
A precise method of computing the volume of earthwork in land
levelling makes use of the prismoidal formula
 (19.6)

In which
V = volume of earthwork, m3
L = perpendicular distance between end planes, m
A1= area of the first end plane, m2
A2 = area of the second end plane, m2
Am = area of middle section parallel to end planes (m2)

c) Four – Point Method

A commonly used method called the four-point method is
sufficiently accurate for land grading. Volume of cuts for each
grid square is given by

(19.7)

where,
Vc = volume of cut, m3
L = grid spacing, m
C =sum of cut on the four corners of a square grid, m
F = sum of fill on the four corners of a square grid, m

For computing Vf the volume of fills, (ƩC)2 in the numerator of

equation 19.7 is replaced by (ƩF).

Example 19.3: Compute the balancing depth (volume of

earthwork in cutting is equal to volume of earthwork in filling)
for a canal having a bed width as 8 m with side slopes of 1:1 in
cutting and 2:1 in filling. The bank embankments are kept 2 m
higher than the ground level (berm level) and crest width of
embankments is 2.0 m.

Solution:
The channel section is shown in Fig 19.3. Let d1 be the balancing
depth, i.e. the depth for which excavation and filling becomes
equal.
 (All dimensions are in meter)
Fig. 19.3. Cross section of a canal with embankment.

Let the length of canal be L meter.

Area of cutting (A1) = (8+d1) d1
Volume of earthwork in cutting V1=
[(8+d1).d1].L (19.8)

Area of cross section of two embankments

Volume of earthwork in filling in construction of embankments =
24 L m2

Equating equations (19.8) and (19.9), we get

[(8+ d1) d1]L = 24L (19.10)

or, d1+ 8 d1 – 24 = 0
Ignoring infeasible –ve sign, we get = 2.325 m
Balancing depth = 2.325 m
LESSON 20 Equipment for Land Grading

Land levelling involves cutting, moving and filling earth material,

where cut and fill areas separated by some distance. Land
levelling is performed in 5 to 10 years period.
Land grading involves smoothing of the soil surface to correct
localized minor surface irregularities. Land grading is reshaping
of the field surface to make field suitable to control flow of water,
to check soil erosion and to provide efficient surface drainage
system. In rice field, the land grading is often performed under
saturated conditions with animal or machinery power.
Land grading is performed using equipment operated by animal
and mechanical power. The brief descriptions of the land
levelling/land grading equipments are presented in this lesson.
20.1 Equipment Operated with Animal Power
20.1.1 Animal Drawn Buck Scraper
Animal drawn buck scraper is used for land grading and leveling
fields of smaller and medium sizes. Buck scraper is a simple
implement for land grading. The operator can control the depth of
cut depends upon the load on scraper. The operator stands on the
scraper board to allow deeper cut. Some time it is used to move
the soil. The parts of the buck scrapers are the front board, the tail
board, joints, handle and hitch. The implement has several
operation features. The most important dimensions of the
implement are the location of the hinge point of the tail board at
the back of the front board and the position of ‘eye bolt’ or hitch
of the chain on the front board. The centre of hinge pin is set at
11 cm, from the bottom of the front board (Fig. 20.1). The
position of ‘eye bolt’ or hitch points on either side is set at 6.5 cm
from the bottom of the front board (Michael, 2010).
 Fig. 20.1. Animal drawn wooden buck scraper.
(Source: Michael, 2010)

After loading, the operator can move back and walk behind the
implement, since the scraper will usually carry a full load without
the operator riding or holding the handle unload, the handle is
lifted and the soil load is dumped. Uniform spreading of the earth
material may be done by slightly raising the handle to distribute
out material in a thin layer.
20.1.2 Animal Drawn Bund Former
It is a simple implement for making bunds (ridges). It is used for
preparation of ridges or bund for check basin or border irrigation.
It can also be used in dry farming areas to conserve soil moisture.
On steep slopes, bunds are made along the contour to prevent soil
erosion during heavy rains. The implement consists of two blades,
flat iron frame bent at an angle a handle attached to the frame with
tie bars and wooden beam. The operator's handle is made of wood
for providing better grip and convenience, and it’s attached to the
frame with the help of suitable brackets. The frame is bent at an
angle and has holes for adjusting the space between the blades.
The profile of blades is made to a shape so that bund formed is
trapezoidal and remains stable. The blades are attached to the
frame with fasteners. For operation, a pair of bullock pulls the
implement; the blades gather the loose soil and accumulate it in
the form of bund. Fig. 20.2 shows an animal drawn bund former.

Fig. 20.2. Animal drawn bund former.

(Source:
http://agricoop.nic.in/dacdivision/Machinery1/chap1b.pdf)

20.2 Equipment Operated with Mechanical Power

Mechanical power drawn equipment such as bulldozers, tractor
drawn scrapers and disc ridges are used for land grading and earth
forming operation. Land smoothing is done by tractor drawn land
planes. The crawlers and rubber tired wheel type tractors are also
used for land grading. The sizes of equipment vary and operated
by medium size farm tractors to heavy crawler tractors. The
crawler tractor is used for heavy earth movement and it gives
greater traction on the varying ground conditions encountered in
land grading. It is more capable than wheel tractor in loading an
attached scraper, and for cutting and pushing of earth when
equipped with dozer blade. There is a variety of equipment that is
used for land shaping; each type of machine has its own
capabilities and limitations. Land shaping is done with an earth
moving scraper. A motor grader is used on small fields for narrow
benches or where only minor grading work is needed. It is also
used to shape the ridge on the downhill side of benches and the
slope from one bench to another.

20.2.1 Bulldozers
A bulldozer is a specialized tractor with two additional parts; a
blade and a ripper. It is used to level the ground at construction
sites and in many other places. Bulldozer, consists of crawler
tractors equipped with dozer blades, is frequently employed in
cutting and pushing earth to short distance. They are suitable for
rough grading when the haul distance does not exceed 25 meters.
Bulldozer has attachments such as rippers, brush rakes and U
blades.
a) Rippers: Rippers are hydraulically operated devices that consist
of one or more shanks or teeth. It is mounted on the rear of the
bulldozer tractor used to remove material from the ground and
remove rocks from the soil. It is also used to aerate the soil for
drying or adding moisture.
b) Brush Rakes: Brush rakes are attached to the front of the
bulldozer in place of the blade. It is used to clear vegetation and
debris from the soil without removing the top soil.
c) U-blade: A U-blade is attached to bulldozer in place of the
standard blade. The U-blade gets its name from the fact that when
viewed from above it looks like a “U”. Because the blade is
curved in at both edges, it will lose less soil in front of it than a
standard blade and it will carry the soil for a longer distance.

20.2.2 Tractor Drawn Scrapers

Scrapers are available in a wide range of sizes. The size ranging
in capacity from 1.5 m3 to 19 m3. Large size scrapers where large
quantities of earth are to be moved over an appreciable distance.
The carrier-type scrapers are widely used for large scale land
grading operations. It consists of a bowl or bucket mounted on
rubber-tyred wheels with a blade and apron across its front end
for cutting, scooping and retaining soil. To load, the bowl is
lowered and the apron is partly lifted. In hauling position the
apron is closed and the bowl is lifted clear of the ground. To dump
or spread, the apron is lifted and the load is pushed forward
through the open end of the bowl by an ejector bowl. The machine
cuts to grade, hauls the load for fairly long distances and spreads
the soil evenly at the desired location. The capacity of carrier type
scrapers range from 1 to 2.5 cubic meters. For medium size and
small level levelling work the wheeled type scrapers are used. To
operate such scrapers it is necessary to loosen the ground with a
plough or harrow. The scrapping operation is done by pushing the
soil in a short distance and dumping at a desired place.

20.2.3 Elevating Scraper

Elevating Scraper are suitable for large size farm, the 5-and 8-
yard sizes can be easily handled by a 3-4 plough tractor,
whereas the 11- yard size pulled by larger farm or industrial
tractors is becoming increasingly popular. Their desirable feature
is the ability of the PTO driven elevator to get a heaping load each
time under varying depths of cut and soil textures. Also the
cutting and spreading can be done evenly.

20.2.4 Bottomless Scraper

Bottomless scrappers are used as finishing equipment to obtained
desired uniform surface. The two wheeled bottomless scraper is
sometimes used ahead of land planning to remove surface
irregularities too large to be planned and too small to be taken
care of economically with a carryall scraper. This machine has
number of widths that serve various purposes, including widths
up to 18 feet for handling large value of earth over a short haul.
Hydraulic controls facilitated cutting, dragging, and dropping the
load.
20.2.5 Levellers and Floats
The levellers and floats that can be pulled by medium sized farm
tractors are more important in maintaining the smoothness of
levelled field than in removing small irregularities left by heavy
levelling equipment. Even wooden floats or drags ensure better
land preparation.

20.2.6 Crawler Tractors

A crawler tractor gives superior traction on various soil and
ground conditions encounter during operations. The top speed is
limited to about 5 miles per hour when pulling a scraper; it is
restricted to relatively short hauls.

20.2.7 Tractor Drawn Two Wheeled Automatic Levellers

The use of automatic type levellers each year does much to
improve field surfaces for irrigation. The two wheeled automatic
type leveller is usually used for the fine grading of small and
medium size fields. It is operated on a medium size fields by a
medium size wheel tractor. The machine has an adjustable blade
which is so constructed that it will drag a considerable volume of
earth. Wheeled scrapers and leveller blades are frequently used
for medium and small scale levelling. They are also called
bottomless scrapers.
20.3 Laser Guided Land Levelling
The word “laser” is an acronym for Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of Radiations. The lasers used agricultural
land levelling and in construction or usually of the helium-neon
type, producing red coloured light. Such machines are now
becoming very common in agricultural operations (laying pipe
lines, excavating ditches and canals and lining canals) in
developed and developing countries. The laser guided system can
be mounted on bulldozers, scrapers, road graders and even
terracers. Some of the advantages over conventional land
levelling are: time saving, little or no error, less labour, cost
effective and downloading the land elevation data on laptop for
land levelling design.

The laser guided land levelling consists of following components:

1) Laser Transmitter
2) Laser Sensor
3) Electronic Hydraulic Control System

1) Laser Transmitter: The laser transmitter sends a self levelled

3600 continuous laser from a tripod in the middle of work site,
where a person is excavating. The laser is projected at the plane
or slope desired for excavation.
2) Laser Sensor: The laser is picked up by one or more receivers
that are hand held, rod mounted or equipment mounted receivers.
3) Electronic Hydraulic Control System: The laser receivers are
connected to the equipments hydraulics. The signals from laser
are used to control hydraulic valves. These controls are basically
for controlling the desired depth of cut and tracking the elevation
of the field.
Module 5: Soil –Water – Atmosphere − Plants Interaction

LESSON 21 Soil Water

21.1 Introduction
Soil-water-plant relationship relates to the properties of soil and
plant that affect the movement, retention and use of water. Due to
inadequate and/or uneven distribution of rainfall during the
cropping season, it becomes necessary to apply additional water
to the soil for plant use in the form of irrigation. Therefore, proper
understanding of the soil-water-plant relationship is a prerequisite
for the sound design of any efficient irrigation system.
21.1.1 Soil

Fig.21.1.Volume composition & sectional view of soil.

 (Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/r4082e/r4082e03.htm
accessed on May 26, 2013)

A soil matrix consists of solid, liquid and gaseous phases (Fig

21.1). The solid phase is the soil matrix comprising mineral,
organic matter and various chemical compounds. The liquid
phase contains all the dissolved substances. Liquid phase also
referred by the soil moisture or soil water or soil solution. The
gaseous portion of the soil consists of soil air and it occupies
those spaces between the soils particles which are not filled with
water (Fig 21.1).
In a completely dry soil, all of the pore spaces (i.e., space
between soil particles) are filled with air, and in a completely
wet soil all of the pores are filled with water. However, in most
of the field situations the pore spaces are filled with both air and
water. Finally, soil water and air vary in composition, both in
time and space.

21.1.2 Soil texture

It refers to the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay in a
given soil. Various combinations of sand silt and clay are used
to classify soil according to its texture (Table 21.1).
Table 21.1. Common textural classes found in the field

Common names of soils Textural

Sand Silt Clay
(General texture) class
 86-
Sandy soils (Coarse texture) 0-14 0-10 Sand
100
70-86 0-30 0-15 Loamy sand
Loamy soils (Moderately
50-70 0-50 0-20 Sandy loam
coarse texture)
Loamy soils (Medium texture) 23-52 28-50 7-27 Loam
20-50 74-88 0-27 Silty loam
88-
0-20 0-12 Silt
100
Loamy soils (Moderately fine
20-45 15-52 27-40 Clay loam
texture)
Sandy clay
45-80 0-28 20-35
loam
Silty clay
0-20 40-73 27-40
loam
45-65 0-20 35-55 Sandy clay
0-20 40-60 40-60 Silty clay
Clayey soils (Fine texture)
40-
0-45 0-40 Clay
100

(Source:FAO: accessed on May 26, 2013)

The textural class of a soil can be accurately determined in the
laboratory by mechanical analyses. Fig. 21.2 show various
textural classes and is used to identify soil textural class based
on information on Percent sand, silt and clay fraction in soil
sample. Sand, silt and clay are size groupings of soil particles as
shown below in Table 21.2:
 Table 21.2. Size groupings of soil particles

Diameter limits
Name of soil
(mm) (USDA
separate
classification)
Clay less than 0.002
Silt 0.002–0.05
Very fine sand 0.05–0.10
Fine sand 0.10–0.25
Medium sand 0.25–0.50
Coarse sand 0.50–1.00
Very coarse sand 1.00–2.00

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_texture: accessed on

May 26, 2013)

Water holding capacity, permeability and infiltration rate of soil

depends on the texture. For example, fine textured soils (clayey
soils) have relatively higher water holding capacity, but the
permeability for water and air is slow resulting in poor drainage
and hence water logging. On the other hand, coarse textured
soils (sandy soils) have very low water holding capacity and
hence rapid drainage takes place. Therefore, crops grown on
these soils require frequent irrigations in smaller amounts.
Considering its various effects, the loamy soils are ideal for
growing most crops under irrigated conditions.
 Fig. 21.2.Textural soil classes.
(Source:http://www.infohow.org/science/geology-environment-
weather/soil-triangle: accessed on May 22, 2013)

21.1.3 Soil Structure

The structure of a soil refers to the arrangement of the individual
soil particles with respect to each other and the formation of
aggregates within the soil mass (Fig. 21.3). Soil structure has
important role in water movement, plant root penetration, air
movement etc.
 Fig. 21.3. Soil structure. (Source: Rao, et al., 2010)

The dominant shape of soil aggregates in a horizon determines

their structural type, and it include speroidal (granular or
crumbly subtypes), platy; prism like (columnar or prismatic
subtypes) and block like (cube and sub-angular subtypes) (Fig.
21.4). The soil structure primarily influences root penetration
and proliferation, total porosity and permeability of air and
water.
 Fig. 21.4. Soil structural types. (Source: Rao, et al., 2010)

21.2 Soil Water Relations

As we discussed earlier the basic components of the soil consists
of solid mineral particles, organic matter, the voids among the
particles and water and air occupying the voids. Fig. 21.5 shows
a schematic representation of the soil in relative proportions
both in masses and volumes. The physical properties of the soil,
including its ability to store water, are highly related to the
fraction of the bulk soil volume that is filled with water and air.
For plant growth and development to be normal, a balance of
water and air in the pore space must be attained. If water is
limited, plant growth may be inhibited by water stress. If air
(aeration) is limited, usually by too much water, then growth
may be limited by insufficient aeration.
The relationship between the three phases of soil can be
described in a number of mathematical relationships. These
relationships can be used to calculate one soil property from
another.

Fig. 21.5. Three phases of soil.

Referring to Fig. 21.5 the following notations are used:

Va = Volume of air
Vw = Volume of water
Vs = Volume of solids
Vv = Volume of voids (Va+Vw)
Vt = Total Volume (Va+Vw+Vs)
Ma = Mass of air (negligible)
Mw = Mass of water
Ms = Mass of solids
Mt = Total mass (Ma+Mw+Ms)

21.2.1 Particle density (ρs)

It is the ratio of a given mass (or weight) of soil solids to that of
its volume and it is given by

(21.1)

Sometimes it is referred to as true density. It is usually expressed

in terms of g/cm3 and varies between the narrow limits of 2.6 to
2.75 g/ cm3. Particle density is a constant for a soil with a given
texture and is independent of size and arrangement of the soil
particles.

21.2.2 Dry Bulk Density (ρb)

It is the density of the undisturbed (bulk) soil sample which is
the ratio of dry mass of the soil to its total volume. It is given by
 (21.2)

This is expressed as gm/cm3.Drybulk density can be calculated

by collecting a known volume of soil to get the soil volume (Vt),
and drying the associated soil to get the mass of dry soil (Ms).

21.2.3 Total (Wet) Bulk Density (ρ)

It is the mass of moist soil per unit volume and is represented as:

(21.3)

Bulk density has a pronounced effect on the soil properties like

permeability of soil for water and air, and penetration of plant
roots through the soil. Compression or compaction of soil
particles can increases bulk density but it reduces the soil
porosity and in turn the soil water storage capacity. The bulk
density values for different soil textural classes are given in
Table 21.3.

Table 21.3. Bulk density values of various soil types (USDA -

SCS)
 Soiltexture Bulkdensity(g/cm3)
1. Sandy 1.60–1.70
2. Loamysand 1.60–1.70
3. Sandyloam 1.55–1.65
4. Finesandyloam 1.50–1.60
5. Loamysoil 1.45–1.55
6. Siltyloam 1.40–1.50
7. Siltyclayloam 1.35–1.45
8. Sandyclayloam 1.40–1.50
9. Clayloam 1.30–1.50
10.Claysoil 1.25–1.35
(Source:Rao, et. al (2010))

Example 21.1:
Calculate the dry bulk density from the following data
Fresh weight of soil = 2505g; Weight of water = 740g; Height of
core = 10cm;
Diameter of the core = 12cm

Solution:

Volume of the core =

 DryBulkdensity =

21.2.4 Porosity ( )
Porosity is the void space in a given volume of soil that is
occupied by air and water. The total porosity is calculated as
follows:

(21.3)

(21.4)

Generally total porosity varies from 30% to 60% for agricultural

soils. Coarse textured soils are normally less porous (35%–
50%) than the fine textured soils (40% – 60%). However, the
mean size of individual pores is greater (>0.06mm in diameter)
in the coarse textured soils than the fine textured soils.From
irrigation water management point of view, knowledge of
porosity in a given volume of soil is very important, because it is
an index of moisture storage capacity and the aeration
conditions. These are two most important factors that influence
the plant growth.
Example 21.2
Calculate the porosity from the following data
Bulk density = 1.31 g/ cm3and particle density = 2.64 g /cm3.

Solution:

Porosity ( n ) =
21.2.5 Void Ratio (e)
It is the ratio of the pore space to the volume of solids and is
given by

(21.5)

21.2.6 Soil Water Content

The mass water content or soil moisture content(θm) is the ratio
of the mass of water in a sample to the dry soil mass, expressed
as either a decimal fraction or as percentage. It is often referred
to as ‘gravimetric water content’. The mass water content is
found by

(21.6)
It is determined by weighing the soil sample collected from
field, drying the sample for at least 24 hours at 105 0C, and then
weighing the dry soil. Difference in mass of the wet and dry
sample represents the mass of water in the soil sample (Mw).
The mass of the sample after drying represents the mass of dry
soil (Ms).

The volumetric water content ( ) represents the volume of water

contained in total volume of undisturbed soil. The volumetric
water content is defined as

(21.7)

Determination of volumetric water content requires the volume

of the undisturbed soil sample which is sometimes difficult to
measure.However, it can also be determined from mass water
content and specific gravity (ratio of bulk density of soil to
density of water) as follows

(21.8)

Where,
Pw= density of water which is 1 g/cm3

When comparing water amounts per unit of land area, it is

frequently more convenient to speak in equivalent depths of
water rather than water content. The relationship between
volumetric water content and the equivalent depth of water in a
soil layer is:

d=Θv.L (21.9)

Where,
d = equivalent depth of water in a soil layer and
L = depth increment of the soil layer.

Example 21.3
A field soil sample prior to being disturbed has a volume of 82
cm3. The sample weighed 125 grams. After drying at 1050C for
24 hours, the dry soil sample weighs 100 grams. What is the
mass water content? What is the volumetric water content?
What depth of water must be applied to increase the volumetric
water content of the top 1m of soil to 0.40?
Given: Ms = 100 g
Mw = 125 g - 100 g = 25 g
Vt= 82 cm3
Find: Θm, Θv and d

Solution:

Dry bulk density=

Θv = Θm = of soil.
The current depth of water in 1 m of soil is: d = Θv . L =
0.3025 1 = 0.3025 m.
The depth of water in 1 m of soil when Θv = 0.40 will be
d = Θv . L = 0.4 X 1 = 0.4 m.
Thus, the depth of water to be added is 0.0975 m (0.4m -
0.3025m).

21.3 Kinds of Soil Water

Water present in the soil is referred to as the soil moisture. It is
divided into three categories viz., gravitational water, capillary
water and hygroscopic water (Fig. 21.6).

Fig. 21.6. Physical classification of soil water.

(Source : Rao et. al 2010)

21.3.1 Gravitational Water

Water held between 0.0 to 0.33 bars (0 to −33 kPa) soil moisture
tension, that moves downward freely under the influence of
gravity to the water table is termed as gravitational water (Fig.
21.). It is also referred to as free water. Gravitational water is of
no use to plants as it drains out due to gravity. It reduces
aeration in the soil and hence, its removal from soil is necessary
for optimum plant growth.

21.3.2 Capillary Water

Capillary water is the water held in the capillary pores (micro
pores). Capillary water is retained on the soil particles by
surface forces, adhesion i.e., attraction of water molecules for
soil particles, cohesion i.e., attraction between water molecules
and surface tension phenomena. Adhesion is a process of the
attraction of solid surface for water molecules and forms a very
thin film of water at solid-liquid interface. On the other hand,
cohesion is attraction of water molecules for each
other. Capillary water is held between tension of about 0.33
bars (−33 kPa or 1/3 atmosphere, moisture content at field
capacity) to 31 bars (−3100 kPa or 31 atmosphere, hygroscopic
coefficient) as shown in Fig. 21.7. However, the water within
the capillary range is not equally available i.e., it is readily
available starting from 0.33 bars up to a certain point often
referred to as critical soil moisture and thereafter up to 15 bars
(−1500 kPa) it is available in lesser amounts. Further below, the
water is held very tightly in thin films and is practically not
available for plant use between 15 bars and 31 bars tension.

21.3.3 Hygroscopic Water

It is the water held tightly to the surface of soil particles by
adsorption forces. Hygroscopic water is held tightly in thin films
of 4 – 5 milli microns thickness on the surface of soil colloidal
particles at 31 bars tension (−3100 kPa) and above (Fig. 21.7). It
is essentially non-liquid and moves primarily in the vapour
form. This water is unavailable to the plants as huge pressure
force would be needed to extract it.
 Fig. 21.7. Diagrammatic representation of different types of
water.
(Source: Irrigation principles and management, University of
Nebraska)
LESSON 22. Infiltration

22.1 Infiltration Process

The process of entry of water into the soil is called infiltration,
and the time rate at which water percolates into the soil is known
as infiltration rate. Thus information about infiltration is needed
for –
1) Hydrologic studies to determine runoff and percolation
components
2) Designing irrigation systems
3) Managing of irrigation event, i.e., to determine water
application rate and application time.
During the initial conditions when the soil is dry, the infiltration
rate is high and decreases with time and tends to approach a
constant rate (Fig. 22.1). This constant rate of infiltration is
referred as the basic infiltration rate or final infiltration capacity
or simply infiltration capacity of soil. The downward movement
of infiltrated water through the soil profile is known as
percolation. Accumulated infiltration or cumulative infiltration is
the total quantity of water infiltrated into the soil in a given time.
Fig. 22.1 shows both infiltration rate curve and accumulated or
cumulative infiltration curve. Infiltration rate may change with
respect to location, time/season and initial soil moisture content.

In water management and conservation studies, accurate

information regarding the rate at which different soils will take
water under different field conditions is required. The rate of
entry of water into soil and the cumulative infiltration varies
widely across different soil types and also within a single soil
type, depending upon soil water content and management
practices.
Why Infiltration Rate Decreases with Time?
1. The decrease in infiltration rate results from the decrease in
the matric suction gradient (constituting one of the forces
drawing water into the soil) which occurs as infiltration
proceeds. If the surface of an initially dry soil is suddenly
saturated, the matric gradient acting in the surface layer is at
first very steep. As the wetted zone deepens, however, this
gradient is reduced. Furthermore, as the thickness of the
wetted soil increasesthe matric suction gradient eventually
 tends to become vanishingly small. Finally, infiltration rate
reaches steady state condition.

Fig.22.1. Plot of accumulated infiltration and average infiltration

rate against elapsed time.(Source: www.scielo.br: accessed on
May 28, 2013)
2. The decrease of infiltration rate from an initially high rate can
in some cases result from gradual deterioration of soil structure,
and consequent partial sealing of the profile by the formation of a
dense surface crust or form the detachment and migration of pore-
blocking particles or swelling of clay or air entrapment.
22.2 Infiltration Equations
Manyequations have been developed to represent the infiltration
phenomena. Most of them are empiricalequations and have been
developed to match observed data sets.One of the most commonly
used infiltration equations particularly in the field of irrigation is
the Kostiakov equation. It is described by the following equation:
Z=atb (22.1)
and infiltration rate is given by,
I = ( a b ) tb-1 (22.2)

Where,
Z = depth of infiltration,cm
t = time or intake opportunity time, min
I = infiltration rate, cm/min, and
a and b= parameters (a > 0 and 0 <b< 1)

From Eq. (22.2), it is clear that as t → 0, I → ∞ and as

t → ∞ , I → 0. In reality, infiltration rate, I, does not attain
these values. However, because of the simplicity of the model it
has been used widely in irrigation studies. Parameters of Eq (22.1)
can be determined by plotting on log-log paper the accumulated
infiltration Z against time and fitting a straight line.Similarly,
parameters of Eq. (22.2) can also be determined.
log Z = log a + b log t (22.3)
Or log I = log (ab) + (b-1) log t (22.4)
Example 22.1:
A double ring infiltrometer test was conducted prior to an
irrigation event and data recorded are given Table 21.1.
Determine the parameters of the Kostiakov infiltration Equation
(22.1).
Solution:
Take the log of time, t and as well as accumulated infiltration, Z.
The log values are reported in Table 22.1. These log-log values
are plotted and simple linear regression was performed, which
resulted the following equation:
log Z = -0.502 + 0.773 log t
Taking the anti-log, the following equation results
Z = 0.315 log t(0.773)

Time, t Cum. Infil., Z log(t) log(Z) Predicted, Z

(min) (cm) (cm)
3 0.85 0.477 -0.071 0.736
5 1.12 0.699 0.049 1.093
10 1.77 1 0.248 1.868
15 2.44 1.176 0.387 2.555
20 3.07 1.301 0.487 3.191
25 3.63 1.398 0.56 3.792
30 4.18 1.477 0.621 4.366
35 4.73 1.544 0.675 4.919
40 5.26 1.602 0.721 5.454
45 5.8 1.653 0.763 5.973
50 6.34 1.699 0.802 6.48
55 6.83 1.74 0.834 6.976
60 7.31 1.778 0.864 7.461
65 7.82 1.813 0.893 7.937
70 8.3 1.845 0.919 8.405
75 8.79 1.875 0.944 8.866
80 9.27 1.903 0.967 9.319
85 9.78 1.929 0.99 9.766
90 10.26 1.954 1.011 10.208
95 10.7 1.978 1.029 10.643
100 11.2 2 1.049 11.074
105 11.67 2.021 1.067 11.499
110 12.16 2.041 1.085 11.92
115 12.62 2.061 1.101 12.337
120 13.09 2.079 1.117 12.75
125 13.59 2.097 1.133 13.158
130 14.02 2.114 1.147 13.563
135 14.48 2.13 1.161 13.965
140 14.98 2.146 1.176 14.363

Fig. 22.2 shows the comparison between the observed and

predicted cumulative infiltration.
 Fig. 22.2. Comparison between observed and predicted
accumulated infiltration using the Kostiakov model.

To overcome the restrictions of original Kostikov infiltration

equation, it was modified to include steady state infiltration term.
The Modified Kostiakov Equation is given by
Z = a tb + c . t (22.4)
I = ( ab ) tb-1 + C (22.5)

Where a and b are the parameters and c is the steady state

infiltration rate. The steady infiltration rate can be determined
from infiltration measurements, when infiltration rate approaches
near steady-state condition.
22.3Measurement of Infiltration
Infiltration rates are measured in a number of different ways. Out
of several methods three which are commonly used are:
a) The use of double ring or cylinder infiltrometer (Fig 22.3)
b) Measurement of subsidence of free water in a large basin
c) Estimation of water front advance data

Infiltration rates for border type, and sometimes furrow type,

irrigation systemsare commonly measured with a single-ring or
double-ring type infiltrometer. Fig. 22.3 shows double ring
infiltrometer.

Fig.22.3. Section view of double-ring infiltrometer.

View at left is at t = 0 andview at right is after infiltration has

proceeded for some time.
 The cylinders are usually 25 cm deep and are formed of 2 mm
rolled steel. The measurements are taken in inner cylinder having
diameter of 30 cm. The outer cylinder, having 60 cm diameter, is
used to create a buffer zone to reduce the lateral flow of water
from the inner one. The cylinders are installed 10 cm deep in the
soil. The water level in the inner cylinder is measured with a point
gauge or ordinary scale installed inside the cylinder. The change
in water level is measured with respect to time using a stop watch
until the infiltration rate reached steady state (basic infiltration
rate).
22.4 Factors Affecting Infiltration
The major factors influencing the infiltration include initial soil
moisture content, soil surface conditions, hydraulic conductivity
of the soil profile, texture, porosity, degree of swelling of soil
colloids, organic matter, and vegetative cover, duration of
irrigation or rainfall and viscosity of water. Initial moisture
content has direct effect on infiltration rate and total amount of
infiltration. Infiltration decreases with increase in initial soil
moisture content. Infiltration rate or total infiltration increases as
permeabilityand porosity increases. Cultivation increases the
infiltration by improving the porosity. Infiltration rates are
normally lower in heavy textured soils than in light textured soils
(Figs. 22.4 and 22.5). Vegetation improves the infiltration of soil.
 Fig.22.4. Rate of infiltration as an irrigation proceeds andthe
steady rate of
Infiltration for three soil textures.(Source: Okstate.edu: accessed
on May 28, 2013)

Fig. 22.5. Cumulative infiltration for three soil textures.(Source:

Okstate.edu: accessed on May 28, 2013.)
Finally, it may be noted that infiltration characteristics of soils are
highly vary both in space as well as in irrigation season. This is
implies that there is need to evaluate infiltration characteristics at
multiple sites as well as during crop season to obtain
representative values of infiltration. Such information will be
helpful to both designing and managing irrigation systems.
LESSON 23 Soil Water Movement

23.1 Types of Water Movement

Movement of water within the soil is a highly complex
phenomenon dueto the variation in the states and directions
inwhich water moves and the variation in the forces that cause it
to move. Generally three types of water movement within the soil
are recognized –saturated flow, unsaturated flow and water
vapour flow (Fig. 23.1). Water in the liquid phase moves through
the water filled pores within the soil (saturated condition) under
the influence of gravitational force. Water exists as thin films
surrounding the soil particles (unsaturated condition), which
moves under the action of surface tension. Water in the vapour
form diffuses though air filled pores along the vapour pressure
gradient.In all cases water flow is along the energygradients i.e.,
from a higher to lower potential.
 Fig. 23.1.Different types of soil water movement.
(Source:http://www.terragis.bees.unsw.edu.au/terraGIS_soil/ima
ges/water_fig_9.jpg: accessed on May 29, 2013)
23.2 Soil Water Movement in Saturated Condition
Under saturated condition of soil, all the macro and micro pores
are filled with waterand any water flow under this condition is
referredto as saturated flow.The saturated flow of water depends
upon twofactors namely hydraulic gradient i.e., the hydraulic
force driving the water through the soil andhydraulic
conductivity i.e., the ease with which the soil pores permit water
movement.
Assuming the soil to be a bundle of straight and smooth tubes,
knowledge of the size distribution of the tube radii could enable
us to calculate the total flow through a bundle caused by known
pressure difference, using Poiseuille’s equation:

(23.1)
Where, q = volume of flow per unit time cm3/sec
P= pressure difference between two ends of the tube of length l,
dynes/cm2
r = radius of the tube, cm
l = length of the tube, cm
μ = viscosity of liquid, dynes-sec/m2
The above equation indicates that the pore size is of outstanding
significance, as its fourth power is proportional to the rate of
saturated flow. Generally the rate of flow follows:
Sand > Loam > Clay
Unfortunately, soil pores are not like straight tubes, but are of
varying shapes and sizes, highly irregular and interconnected.
This complexity in shape causes change in fluid velocity from
point to point, even along the passage. For this reason, flow
through complex porous media is generally described in terms
of macroscopic flow velocity vector, which is the overall
average of the microscopic velocities over a total volume of soil.
Thequantity of water flowing through a section of saturated soil
per unit of time isgiven by the Darcy’s law. Fig. 23.2 show
typical setup for Darcy’s Law.
 Fig. 23.2 Definition sketch of Darcy’s Law.
(Source: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org)

The law states that, the quantity of water passing through a unit
cross sectional area of soil is directly proportional to the
hydraulic gradient. Mathematically,

(23.2)

(23.3)
Where, Q = volume flow cm3
q = volume of flow per unit time cm3/sec
t = time, sec
A= cross-sectional area of the soil through which the water
flows, cm2
Ksat= saturated hydraulic conductivity, cm/sec
 Δh = change in water potential between the endsof the column,
cm

(forexample, 1 - 2 )
L = the length of column, cm
i= , hydraulic gradient.
V = velocity of flow cm/sec or velocity flux, v. It is the flow per
unit area.
The negative sign denotes that the direction of flow is opposite
to that of the head causing the flow. It is omitted in further
discussions as its significance lies only in indicating the
direction which is the same (towards the decreasing gradient) in
all cases.
Darcy’s law is valid only when flow is laminar. Reynold’s
number, the index used for describing the nature of flow is given
by

(23.4)

Where, Re = Reynold’s number

= density of fluid
V=velocity of flow
 D = mean diameter of the soil particles
μ= dynamic viscosity of the fluid.

The Darcy’s law is valid for flows where Re is less than one.
In equation 23.3 the replacing Δμ by Δψ and we get

(23.5)
Where, Δψ = is the change in potential between two points at a
distance l.
Application of Darcy’s law and continuity equation of three
dimensional flow of an incompressible fluid through a porous
medium results in the derivation of Laplace equation. It is given
by

(23.6)
It states that the second partial derivatives of the water potential
with respect to x,y and z directions sums to zero.
23.3 Unsaturated Water Movement
As gravity drainage continues the soil macrospores emptied and
aremostly filled up with air and the micro pores or capillary
pores with water and some air. Movement of wateroccurring
under this condition is termed as the unsaturated flow condition.
In the case of unsaturated flow condition, the water potential is
the sum of metric potential ( ψm) and gravitational potential
(ψg) . Metric potential is only applicable in the case of
horizontal movement of water. In the case of downward
movement of water, capillary and gravitational potential act
together. In the case of upward capillary movement of water,
metric potential and gravitational potential oppose one
another.For unsaturated flow condition of water through soil,
equation 23.5 can be modified as:

(23.7)
Darcy’s law can be applied in the case of unsaturated flow
conditions with some modifications.
Unsaturated, 1-D horizontal flow is given by

(23.8)
Unsaturated, 1-D vertical flow is given by

(23.9)

Where K is hydraulic conductivity and D is diffusivity.

23.4 Hydraulic Conductivity

The hydraulic conductivity of a soil is the ability of soil to
transmitwater when subjected to a hydraulic gradient. Hydraulic
conductivity is defined by Darcy'slaw Eq. (23.3).
Fig. 23.3.Soil hydraulic conductivity versus soil water potential.
(Source: Rao et. al, 2010)

The hydraulic conductivity is defined as the ratio of Darcy's

flow velocity atunit hydraulic gradient. K has a dimension of
length per unit of time (L/T) which is same as that for velocity.
The hydraulic conductivity is moreor less constant in a soil
having a stable structure, however, it changes as the soil
structure, density and porosity change. With variation in soil
texture the hydraulic conductivity valuesare different. Typical
values of saturated Hydraulic conductivity for different soil
texture are given in Table 23.1.

Table 23.1. Saturated hydraulic conductivity for different soil

textures
 Hydraulic
Soil Hydraulic conductivity, Soil conductivity, K
class K (mm/hr) class
(mm/hr)
Clay
Sand 50 (25-250) 8 (3-15)
loam
Sandy Silty
25 (12-75) 3 (0.25-5)
loam clay
Loam 12 (8-20) Clay 5 (1-10)

(Source: Hansen et al., 1979)

Clay soil with a large proportion of fine pores shows poor

hydraulic conductivity as compared to a sandy soil with higher
proportion of larger pores(Fig. 23.3). Higher bulk density and
massive structure reduce the hydraulic conductivity ofthe soil.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity for a particular soil is always
constant, whereasunsaturated hydraulic conductivity is a
function of soil water content.

23.4.1 Laboratory Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity

Darcy’s law can be applied for the determination hydraulic
conductivity in laboratory. There are two methods which are
used for the determination for this purpose.

23.4.1.1 Constant Head Permeameter

The constant-head permeameter test is the most commonly used
method for the determination of the saturated hydraulic
conductivity of coarse-grained soils in the laboratory. In this
method a constant hydraulic gradient is maintained by adjusting
the inflow to maintain a constant level in the inflow tank.Figure
23. 4 show the setup of constant head and falling head
permeameters.

Fig. 23.4.Experimental set for the determination of saturated

hydraulic conductivity in Laboratory. A) Constant head method.
B) Falling head method.
(Source:http://biosystems.okstate.edu/darcy/Conductivity/Image
523.gif : accessed on May 29, 2013)

The hydraulic conductivity, K is determined by the

equation
 (23.10)
Where,
V= flow volume in time t
A= cross sectional area of sample
L= length of sample
Δh = difference in head (h1-h2).

23.4.1.2 Falling Head Permeameter

The falling-head test is meant for fine-grained soils. Like the
constant-head method, the falling-head test is having the direct
application of Darcy's law to a one-dimensional, saturated
column of soil with a uniform cross-sectional area. The falling-
head method differs from the constant-head method in that the
liquid that percolates through the saturated column is kept at an
unsteady-state flow regime in which both the head and the
discharged volume vary during the test. In the falling-head test
method, a cylindrical soil sample of cross-sectional area A and
length L is placed between two highly conductive plates. The
soil sample column is connected to a standpipe of cross-
sectional area a, in which the percolating fluid is introduced into
the system. Thus, by measuring the change in head in the
standpipe from h1 to h2 during a specified interval of time t, the
saturated hydraulic conductivity can be determined as follows
 (23.11)

Example 23.1:
If the elevation of h1 is 35m and the elevation of h2 is 0m, what
is the hydraulic gradient if the distance from h1 to h2 is 5.6 km?
(Answer in m/km).
Solution:
Given, h2-h1= 35m and L=5.6 km
We know: i= (h2-h1)/L
i= 35/5.6 = 6.25m/km.Ans.

Example 23.2:
Find the velocity of the water flow between two wells located at
a distance of 1000 m and the hydraulic conductivity is
114m/day. Drop in elevation between two well is given as 60 m.

Solution:
Given: K=114m/day, h2-h1=60m, L=1000m
We know, Hydraulic gradient, i = h2-h1/L = 60/1000
= 0.06
We know,
V=KI or
V=K(h2-h1/L)
V=114m/day * 0.06
V=6.84 m/day. Ans.

Example 23.3
An aquifer is 2045 m wide and 28 m thick. Hydraulic gradient
across it is 0.05 and its hydraulic conductivity is145m/day.
Calculate the velocity of the groundwater as well as the amount
of water that passesthrough the end of the aquifer in a day if the
porosity of the aquifer is 32%.

Solution:
Given:K=145m/day, i= 0.05, W=2045m, D=28m, Porosity
=32%
First we must solve for V. We know,
V= Ki =145m/day X 0.05
=7.25m/day
Now that we know V we can determine the discharge (Q) of
water through the end of the aquifer
Q= Area. Velocity = A. V= (2045m x 28m) x 7.25m/day
Q=415,135 m3/day.

This means that each day, if the aquifer had a porosity of 100%,
like a river, would have discharge of 415,135 m3/day.

However, the aquifer has porosity of 32 % and hence discharge

through aquifer would be
415,135 m3/day X0.32 = 132843.2 m3/day. Ans

Example 23.4:
A constant head permeability test was performed on a medium
dense sand sample of diameter 60 mm and height 150 mm. The
water was allowed to flow under a head of 600 mm. The
permeability of sand was 4 x 10-1 mm/s. Determine (a) the
discharge (mm3/s), (b) the discharge velocity.

Solution:
(a) We know,
Discharge

(b) Discharge velocity 1.60 mm/s

Example 23.5:
During a falling head permeability test, the head fell from 600
mm to 300 mm in 540 s. the specimen was 50 mm in diameter
and had a length of 100 mm. The cross – sectional areaof the
stand pipe was 60 mm2. Compute the coefficient of permeability
of the soil.
Solution:
Given, a = 60 mm2, L= 100 mm,
t = 540 s, h1= 600 mm, h2= 300
mm.

We know,

LESSON 24 Soil Water Constants

24.1 Soil Moisture Constants

In the previous lecture (21) we have discussed the types of soil
water and also measures of water content in the soil. From
previous discussion, it is clear that a part of capillary water is
useful for plant uptake and thus we need to replenish this part of
soil water during irrigation. In order to manage irrigation, we need
to define soil water constants that are used as reference points for
practical irrigation water management. These constants are
briefly explained below:
24.1.1 Saturation Capacity
Saturation capacity of soil refers to the condition when all the
macro and micropores are filled with water and the soil is at
maximum water retention capacity (Fig. 24.1).The metric suction
at this condition is almost zero and it is equal to free water surface.

24.1.2 Field Capacity

The field capacity is the amount ofwater held in soil after excess
water has been gravity drained and the rate of
downwardmovement has relatively stable, which usually takes
place within 1 – 3 days after a rain or irrigation. At fieldcapacity,
the soil moisture tension depending on the soil texture ranges
from 0.10 to 0.33bars. Field capacity is the upper limit of
available soilmoisture. The field capacity is greatly influenced by
soiltexture, finer the soil particles higher the water retention due
to very large surface areaand vice versa. It can be seen from Table
2.1 that moisture content at field capacity of clay soil is much
higher (40%) as compared to that of coarse sand (10%).

Field capacity of soil can be determined by ponding water over

the area of 2 to 5m2 for two to three days, with surface evaporation
prevented by spreading polyethylene sheet on thick straw mulch
over the soil surface. After three days soil samples from different
depth will give the field capacity. As a rule of thumb, 1 day of
drainage will generally be adequate for sandy soils,2 days for silt
loam soils, and 3 days for silty clay loam soils.

24.1.3 Permanent Wilting Point

Permanent wilting point is considered as lower limit of available
soil moisture. At this stage, water is held tightly by the soil
particlesthat the plant roots can no longer obtain enough water to
satisfythe transpiration requirements; and remain wilted unless
the moisture replenished. The soil moisture tension atpermanent
wilting point is about 15 bars.

24.1.4 Available Soil Moisture

Available soil moisture is the moisture between field capacity
(0.33 bars) andpermanent wilting point (15 bars) which is referred
as readily available water (TAW) for plant growth. The water
present above the field capacity and below the permanent wilting
point is not available to the plant. The available soil moisture is
expressed as depth of water per unit of soil and is calculated
according the following formula:

(24.1)
Where,
TAW = Total available water (cm)
ΘFC = Volumetric moisture content at field capacity (fraction)
ΘPWP = Volumetric moisture content at Permanent wilting point
(fraction)
drZ = Depth of root zone(cm).

Fig. 24.1.Soil condition at Saturation, Field Capacity and

Permanent wilting point.
(Source: www.terragis.bees.unsw.edu.au: accessed on May 30,
2013)
 Table 24.1. soil water characteristics for various soil textures*
(Source: Eisenhuer, et al. 2008)

Although plants are theoretically able to obtain water from the

soil whenever water contents exceed PWP, the actual rate at
which they transpire decreases as stomata close in response to
declining soil water contents. Fig. 24.2 indicate that soil moisture
stress coefficient (Ks) remains almost unity for soil water content
reductions between Fc and θt indicate that water is more readily
available. However, as the moisture content decrease below θtsoil
moisture stress coefficient decreases below unity and causes
decreases in the crop transpiration (ET) at the same rate.
Therefore, irrigations are generally scheduled to maintain soil
water contents above θt. The water content between θFc&θt is
called Readily Available Water (RAW). The concept of
maximum allowable deficiency (MAD), is also used to determine
the amount of water that can be used without adversely affecting
the plant. The MAD is defined as:

(24.2)
The value of MAD depends on soil and crop generally assumed a
constant, but should be optimised based on local conditions.

Fig. 24.2.Soil moisture stress as a function of TAW.

(Source: Allen et al.1998)

24.2Soil Water Potential

The driving force for water flow in the soil-plant-atmosphere-
continuum (SPAC) is the difference in water potential. Water
flows from high to low potential.Soil water potential (Ψt) is an
indicator or measure of amount of work needed to be done to
displace a unit quantity of water from a given reference point. The
water potential (ψ) can be expressed as the potential energy per
unit mass, volume or weight.

Units of Water Potential

Mass basis : Joules/kg
Volume basis: Pascal
Weight basis : Meters or mm

The three major components of soil water potential are

gravitational potential (Ψg), matric potential (Ψm), and osmotic
potential (Ψo). The soil water potential (Ψt) then is
Ψt = Ψp(m) + Ψz +Ψo (24.3)

Where,
Ψp(m) = Pressure or (matric) potential
Ψz = gravitational potential
Ψo = osmotic potential
24.2.1 Gravitational Potential (Ψz)
Gravitational potential energy at a point Z above a reference point
can be expressed as

(24.4)
Where, Pw = density of water
V = Volume of water, cm3
g = Acceleration due to gravity
M = Mass of water
Gravitational potential energy per unit mass of water is the
gravitational constant multiplied by the distance of the reference
position and can be expressed as

Ψz / unit mass of water (24.5)

If the unit quantity of weight is used then the gravitational

potential can be related to a distance. In other words, it is a vertical
distance from an arbitrary reference elevation to the point of
question.

(24.6)
Example 24.1:
Given: Two points is a soil. Each point is located a specified
distance above a reference elevation. Point A is 150mm above the
reference and point B is 100 mm below reference.

Find: - The Ψz at each point

- Difference in Ψz (Δ Ψz) between the two points.
Solution:

= 150 – (-100) = 250 mm

24.2.2 Pressure Potential (Ψp)

Pressure potential, under field conditions, applies mostly to
saturated soil. For weight basis, it is the vertical distance from a
point in question to tree water surface. The hydrostatic pressure
of water with reference to atmospheric pressure can be expressed
as:
Pressure (P) = ρwgh (24.7)
The potential energy of the water isPdv, where dv is the
infinitesimal volume of water. The pressure potential on volume,
weight and mass basis can be expressed as

(24.8)

(24.9)

(24.10)

The pressure potential also known as the submergence potential,

is an expression of the +ve pressure exerted on a point by the
overburden pressure. It is measured by piezometer. Ψp is always
be positive and to be zero if the water table below the point is
question. In the example 24.1, if water table is reference and point
B lies 100 mm below the water table then
Ψp (A) = 0 Ψp (B) 100mm
If
Ψp> 0 then +ve number and Ψm = 0
Ψm> 0 then –ve number and Ψp = 0

24.2.3 Metric Potential (Ψm)

It is the negative pressure potential related to the adsorptive forces
of the soil matrix. Considering an infinitesimal volume dv of
water, with pressure deficit, P, the metric potential will be Pdv.
The pressure potential on volume, weight and mass basis can be
expressed as
Metric potential per unit
volume (24.11)
Metric potential per unit
mass (24.12)
Metric potential per unit
weight (24.13)
On weight basis Ψm is the vertical distance between a point in the
soil and the water level of manometer connected to this point.

24.2.4 Osmotic Potential (Ψo)

Osmotic potential exists when soil water is having dissolved
solids or salts. The osmotic potential affects the water uptake by
plants. The osmotic potential is nearly zero where rainfall is
significant and irrigation water is nearly free of salts, i.e., the
concentration of salts in the soil is generally low. The osmotic
potential has no effect on the flow of water through the soil
profile.

24.3 Soil Moisture Measurement Methods

Measurement of soil-water is very important for many studies
related to water management including irrigation scheduling, but
it is not a simple process. Several methods have been proposed
and each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some
of the methods most commonly used are discussed below:

24.3.1 Direct Methods

24.3.1.1 Gravimetric Method
The gravimetric method is the standard, direct measurement of
soil water by which all indirect methods are calibrated. This
method involves collecting soil sample from the field using
auger,and determining its moist and dry weights. The moist
weight is determined byweighing the soil sample (Ms) as it is at
the time of sampling, and the dry weight is obtained after drying
the soil sample in an oven at 105°C for 24 hours. The weight loss
represents the soil water (Mw).

(24.14)
24.3.1.2 Volumetric Method
The volumetric water content is defined as the volume of water
present in agiven volume (usually 1 m3) of dry soil. This method
involves collecting soil sample from the field using core
samplerof known volume from representative depths in the root
zone and then determining itsmoist and dry weights using the
similar process as in case of gravimetric water content
method. The difference in wet and dry mass of soil represent
amount of water in the sample. The volumetric wetness can then
be calculated as follows:

(24.15)
To calculate the volume water content from gravimetric water
content, we need toknow the bulk density ρbof dried soil and is
calculated as follows:

(24.16)
Depth of water (mm) per unit depth of soil (ds) = Θv X ds = Θm
X ρb X ds (24.17)
24.3.2 Indirect Methods
24.3.2.1 Electrical Resistance Blocks
Electrical resistance blocks consist of two electrodes enclosed in
a block of porous material. The block is often made of gypsum,
and is referred to as gypsum blocks. The electrodes are connected
to insulated lead wires that extend upward to the soil
surface.Gypsum blocks or electrical resistance blocks, with two
electrodes, are placed at a desired soil depth and allowed to
equilibrate (Fig. 24.3). Resistance blocks work on the principle
that water conducts electricity. When properly installed, the water
suction of the porous block is in equilibrium with the soil-water
suction of the surrounding soil.Electrical resistance of the block
is measured by a meter. Electrical resistance of the soil decreases
with increase in water content, i.e., low resistance (400 – 600
ohms) at field capacity and high resistance (50,000 to 75,000
ohms) at wilting point. Soil water content is obtained with
calibration curve, for the same block, of electrical resistance
against known soil water content.

Fig. 24.3. Measurement of soil moisture by Resistance blocks.

(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf :
accessed on May 30, 2013)

24.3.2.2 Neutron Scattering Technique

The neutron scattering method is an efficient and reliable
technique for monitoring soil moisture in the field.The neutron
moisture meter consists of two main components (Fig. 24.4) viz.,
a probeand scaler. A probe contains a source of fast neutrons
either mixture of americium and beryllium or mixture ofradium
and beryllium, whereas scaler monitors the flux of slow or
thermalized neutrons, which is proportional to soil water
content.When the probe inserted in the access tube at desired
depth, the fast neutronsare emitted radially into the soil. These
fast neutrons thermalized when collide with hydrogennuclei
(namely protons).Sphere of influence is spherical in shape, and
rages in size from 10 cm in wet soil to 25 cm or more in dry soil.
The slowed or thermalized neutrons when pass through detector,
create a small electrical pulses which are amplified and counted
byscaler over a specified interval of time. Scaler displays either
counts or volumetric water content.

Fig. 24.4.Measurement of soil moisture by neutron probe.

(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf :
accessed on May 30, 2013)

24.3.2.3 Time Domain Reflectrometery (TDR)

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is a relatively new method for
the measurement of soil water content and electrical conductivity.
Fig. 24.5 shows TDR probe for soil moisture measurement. TDR
measures the transit time of an electrical signal along metallic
probes. This time is closely related to the dielectric constant of
the material surrounding the probe. The dielectric constant of
liquid water is much higher (about 80) than soil solids (2 to 5).
Thus, the time measured can be related to soil water content. The
TDR method offers a number of advantages over other soil water
measurement methods. These include
• Better accuracy to within 1 or 2% volumetric water content;
• Soil-specific calibration is not needed in many case;
• TDR has excellent spatial and temporal resolution; and
• Measurements are simple to obtain, andthe method is
capable of providing continuous measurements
throughautomation and multiplexing.
• Allows to measure moisture content near soil surface thus
is compliments neutrons probe, which not measure surface
water contents well.
 Fig. 24.5. TDR probe for soil water measurement.
(Source:http://www.enviromonitors.co.uk/catalogue/tdr100-
soilmoisture accessed on August 28, 2013)

24.3.2.4Tensiometer
Tensiometer measures the matric potential, which indicate the
tenacity with which water is held by the soil (Fig. 24.6). To
obtain soil water content from tensiometer, soil moisture
characteristics curve (a relationship between soil water content
and matric potential) is required. Tensiometer consists of a porous
ceramiccup which is connected through a tube to a vacuum gauge
(or manometer). The tensiometer is filled with water before
inserting in the soil. When the Tensiometer is initially placed in
the soil, the watercontained in the tensiometer is generally at
atmospheric pressure (essentially, 0 barstension). Soil water,
being generally at sub- atmospheric pressure, exercises a suction,
which draws out a certain amount of water from the rigid and air
tighttensiometer thus causing negative pressureinside the tube.
This is indicated by a vacuum gauge or manometer. Under field
conditions the sensitivity of mosttensiometers is a maximal
tension of about 0.85 bars or 85 kPa.Tensiometers are suited well
for use in sandy soil since large part of plant available water is
held at tension less than 1 atmosphere. One the other hand, they
are not well suited for fine textured soil since only part of plant
available water is held at tension less than 1 bar.

Fig. 24.6.Measurement of soil moisture tension by tensiometer.

(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on May 30, 2013)

Example 24.2:
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/cm3. 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.
Solution:
Water mass = weight of moist sample- weight of dried sample=
120 – 100 = 20 g.
We know,

Therefore, = 20 %
And,
Depth of water (mm) per unit depth of soil (ds) = Θv X ds = 0.48
X 75 = 36 cm (Ans)

LESSON 25 Evapotranspiration

25.1 Evaporation and Transpiration

Evapotranspiration is one of the major components of the
hydrologic cycle and affects crop water demand. Therefore, its
quantification is necessary for proper irrigation planning. The
term evapotranspiration refers to combination of two processes,
namely, evaporation and transpiration (Fig. 25.1). Evaporation is
a process by which water is lost in the form of vapour from natural
surfaces, such as freewater surface, bare soil, from live or dead
vegetation. Transpiration is a process by which water is lost in the
form of vapour through plant leaves. Therefore
evapotranspiration is a combined loss of water from the soil
(evaporation)and plant (transpiration) surfaces to the atmosphere
through vaporization of liquid water, and is expressed in depth
per unit time (for example mm/day).
Consumptive use (CU) – CU is used to designate the losses due
to ET and water that is used for its metabolic activities of plants
thus CU exceed ET by the amount of water used for digestion,
photosynthesis, transport of minerals and photosynthates,
structural support and growth. Since this difference is usually less
than 1%, ET and CU are normally assumed to be equal. But both
(CU &ET) terms are used simultaneously.
 Fig.25.1.Evapotranspiration process.
(Source:http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/demosites/series
6/605/html/resources/visitor_centre/fact_sheets/text_evap_trans.
htm: accessed on June 3, 2013)

ET can be either directly measured for a given crop, soil and

climatic conditions or computed using the reference crop ET,
which is generally estimated by various methods depending upon
availability of data for a particular case.

25.2 Concept of Reference Crop Evapotranspiration

Reference Crop ET – is the potential ET for a specific crop
(usually either grass or alfalfa) and set of surrounding (advective)
conditions. According to Doorenbos and Pruitt (1977) ”ET from
an extensive surface of 8 10 15 cm tall, green grass covers of
uniform height, actively growing, completely shading the ground
and not short of water”. Allen et al. (1998) modified the above
definition to represent hypothetical grass surface. Reference crop
evapotranspiration from an extensive surface of green grass of
uniform height(0.12m), actively growing, completely shading the
ground with an albedo of 0.23 and having ample water supply is
called reference crop evapotranspiration and is denoted by ETo
(Fig. 25.2).

Fig. 25.2.Estimation of reference crop evapotranspiration.

(Source: http://moreprofitperdrop.files.wordpress.com : accessed
on June 3, 2013)

Climatic parameters are the only factors affecting ETo and it can
be computed from weather data. ET for specific crop can be
estimated using reference crop ET and crop coefficients. Typical
ranges for ETo values for different agro-climatic regions are given
in Table 25.1.
 Table 25.1. Average ETo for different agro-climatic regions in
mm/day

Mean daily temperature (°C)

Regions Cool Moderate Warm (>
(~10°C) (20°C) 30°C)
Tropics and subtropics
Humid and Sub-humid 2–3 3-5 5–7
Arid and Semi-arid 2–4 4-6 6–8
Temperate region
Humid and Sub-humid 1–2 2-4 4–7
Arid and Semi-arid 1–3 4-7 6–9

(Source:http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on June 3, 2013)

25.3 ET Estimation Methods

Due to wide application of evapotranspirtaion data, various
indirect ET estimation methods have been developed over the
years. These methods can be grouped into four major categories.
Although there is large number of methods developed in each
category, a few examples are given below:
1. Temperature based (Thornwaite, SCS BlaineyCriddle,
FAO24 BlaneyCriddle, Hargreaves)
2. Radiation based (Turc, Preistly Taylor, Jensen-Haise, and
FAO 24 Radiation)
 3. Pan evaporation based ( Pan evaporation, FAO 24 Pan)
4. Combination (Penman, Penman Moneith, FAO 56 Penman
Monteith)

Data requirement as well as performance of each of these methods

varies. In order to help user with ETo estimation, A Decision
Support System for ETo estimation is developed at IIT Kharagpur
(Bandopadhyaya et al. 2012), which estimates ETo by 22 well
established method and ranks them based on their ETo estimation
performance.

25.3.1 Hargreaves Methods

Hargreaves method is a temperature based method and it was
derived to overcome non availability of solar radiation data at
many locations. Hargreaves and Samani (1985) recommended
estimating solar radiation from extraterrestrial radiation and
proposed the following equation for estimating ETo in mm/day

(25.1)

Where,
TD = difference between mean monthly maximum and minimum
temperatures in °C,
RA= extraterrestrial solar radiation in MJ m-2 d-1,
Tmean = mean monthly air temperature in °C.

25.3.2 ThornthwaiteMethod
The relationship is expressed as:

(25.2)

Where,
ETo = Monthly potential evapotranspiration (cm) or reference
crop ET (i.e., ETo)
T= Mean monthly temperature (°C)
I = A heat index for a given area which is the sum of 12 monthly
index values i
i is derived from mean monthly temperatures using the following
formula:

(25.3)
a = an empirically derived exponent which is a function of I

25.4
25.3.3 Pan Method
The amount of water evaporating from a pan is determined by
measuring change in water level in the pan and correcting from
precipitation (assuming that water loss due to wind action,
animals, birds etc., has been prevented or is negligible). USBR
Class A Pan evporometer is most commonly used for estimation
of pan evaporation and is shown in Fig. 25.3. It is relatively
inexpensive and simple way of assessing the evaporative
capabilities of the atmosphere.

Fig. 25.3. Pan evaporimeter. (Source:

http://www.polylabindia.com/open-panevaporimeter-
1622575.html, accessed on August 29, 2013)

Reference Crop ET (ETo) is related to Epas follows:

ETo = Ep .kp (25.5)

Where,
ETo = Reference crop ETo in mm/day
Ep = pan evaporation (mm/day)
Kp = pan coefficient

Kp accounts for differences in pan type and conditions upwind of

the pan, and for dissimilarities between plants and evaporation
pans. Kp values for USBR class a Pan can be chosen from Table
25.2.

Table 25.2.PanCoefficient for USBR Class a pan at varying

location of fetch, mean RH and wind run

Windward side distance RH mean %

Wind
of green crop low
medium high >
<
km/day m 40-70 70
40
Light 1 0.55 0.65 0.75
10 0.65 0.75 0.85
< 175 100 0.7 0.8 0.85
1000 0.75 0.85 0.85
Moderate 1 0.5 0.6 0.65
 10 0.6 0.7 0.75
175-425 100 0.65 0.75 0.8
1000 0.7 0.8 0.8
Strong 1 0.45 0.5 0.6
10 0.55 0.6 0.65
425-700 100 0.6 0.65 0.7
1000 0.65 0.7 0.75
Very
1 0.4 0.45 0.5
strong
10 0.45 0.55 0.6
> 700 100 0.5 0.6 0.65
1000 0.55 0.6 0.65

(Source: FAO 24)

25.3.4 FAO-56 Penman – MonteithMethod

Allen et al. (1998) modified the Penman–Monteith equation for
estimation of grass reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo). The
mathematicalrelationship is as follows:

(25.6)

Where,
ETo = Reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Rn = Net radiation at the crop surface (MJ/m2/day)
G = Soil heat flux density (MJ/m2/day)
T = Air temperature at 2 m height (°C)
U2 = Wind speed at 2 m height (m/s)
es = Saturation vapour pressure (kPa)
ea = Actual vapour pressure (kPa)
(es – ea) = Saturation vapour pressure deficit (kPa)
Δ = Slope vapour pressure curve (kPa/°C)
γ = Psychrometric constant (kPa/°C)
Details of parameter estimation for the above ETo methods can
be found in Allen et al. (1998) and Michael (2008).
Application & Limitations
• Method requires all weather data, i.e., minimum and
maximum temperature, minimum and maximum RH, wind
speed, Solar radiation or sunshine hour
• Wide applicability i.e., in arid, semi-arid, humid, sub-humid
conditions
• Gives a very satisfactory estimate of ETo
• Can provide basis for developing consistent crop
coefficients

25.4 Crop Evapotranspiration

Estimation of evapotranpiration for a specific crop (ETc) requires
first calculating the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and then
multiplying the crop coefficients (Kc) to estimate actual:
ETc = ETo x Kc (25.7)
Where, ETc is the ET of a specific crop,ETo is the grass-reference
ET, and Kc is the crop coefficient for a given crop.

25.4.1 Crop Coefficient Concept

While ETo accounts for variations in weather and is used as an
indicator of atmospheric demand for water, Kc values account for
the difference between EToand ETc and link them. Kc is the crop
coefficient for a given crop and growth stage, and is usually
determined experimentally. Each agronomic crop has a set of
specific crop coefficients used to predict water use rates at
different growth stages.

There are four main crop growth stages: initial, crop

development, mid-season, and late season:
a) Initial period – planting to 10% ground cover
b) Crop development – 10% ground cover to effective cover i.e.,
flowering
c) Mid-season – Effective cover to start of maturity i.e.,
senescence of leaves
d) Late season – Start of maturity to harvest.

These crop development stages along with crop coefficient

variation for a typical crop are depicted in Fig. 25.3.Tables 25.3
presents length of growth stages of some of the representative
crops whereas Table 25.4 shows values of crop coefficient during
different stages. Crop coefficient values vary with the
development stage of the crop. In the case of annual crops, Kc is
typically low at seedling, emergence and establishment stage,
increaseswith increase in ground cover and attains maximum
value at mid-season stage andthereafter decreases towards
ripening and maturity stage.

Fig. 25.3.Variation of crop coefficient with crop growth stages.

(Source: Allen et al. 1998)
 Table 7.7.Length of crop growth stages (days)

Mid Late
Initia Developmen
l t Panting
Crop Region
date
(Lini) (Ldev) (Lmid (Llat
) )
Bean, Calif.,
20 30 30 10 Feb/Mar
green Mediterrian
Calif. Desert,
Cabbage 40 60 50 15 Sept
USA
Cauliflowe Calif. Desert,
35 50 40 15 Sept
r USA
Apr/Ma
Tomato 35 40 50 30 Calif., USA
y
Cucumber 20 30 40 15 Jun/Aug Arid region
Potato 30 35 50 30 Apr Europe
High
Groundnut 35 35 35 35 May
Latitudes
Lentil 25 35 70 40 Oct/Nov Arid region
Soybeans 20 30/35 60 25 May Central USA
Egypt;
Mar-
Cotton 30 50 60 55 Pakistan;
May
Calif.
Sesame 20 30 40 20 Jun China
Apr/Ma
Sunflower 25 35 45 25 Medit.; Calif.
y
Wheat 15 25 50 30 Nov Central India
Maize India (dry,
20 35 40 30 Oct
(grain) cool)
 Dec; Tropics;
Rice 30 30 60 30
May Medit
Sugarcane,
30 50 180 60 Tropics
ratoon
Banana, Mediterranea
120 90 120 60 Mar
Istyr n
Low
Grapes 20 40 120 60 Apr
Latitudes
Mediterranea
Citrus 60 90 120 95 Jan
n

(Source: Allen et. al, 1998)

Table 7.8.Single crop coefficients for grass reference crop and

mean maximum plant heights for well managed no stressed
condition in sub-humid regions (RHmin = 45% and u2 = 2 ms-1)

Maximum crop height,

Crop Kc_ini Kc_mid Kc_end
h (m)
Bean, green 0.5 1.05 0.90 0.4
Cabbage 0.7 1.05 0.95 0.4
Cauliflower 0.7 1.05 0.95 0.4
0.70 –
Tomato 0.6 1.15 0.6
0.90
Cucumber 0.5 1.00 0.90 0.3
Potato 0.5 1.15 0.75 0.6
Groundnut 0.4 1.15 0.60 0.4
Lentil 0.4 1.10 0.30 0.5
Soybeans 0.4 1.15 0.50 0.5-1.0
 1.15-
Cotton 0.35 0.70-0.50 1.2-1.5
1.20
Sesame 0.35 1.10 0.25 1.0
Sunflower 0.35 1.0-1.15 0.35 2.0
0.25 –
Wheat 0.3 1.15 1.0
0.40
Maize 0.60,
0.3 1.20 2.0
(grain) 0.35*
Rice 1.05 1.20 0.90-0.60 1
Sugarcane 0.40 1.25 0.75 3
Banana,
0.50 1.10 1.00 3
Istyr
Grapes 0.30 0.85 0.45 2
Citrus** 0.65 0.60 0.65 3

(Source: Allen et. al., 1998)

* First and second values correspond to harvest at high grain

moisture and at complete field dry conditions, respectively.
** No ground cover, 50% canopy

Example 25.1:
Determine ETo for March from pan evaporation data of Palakkad,
Kerala. Daily mean pan evaporation for the month of March =
7.01mm, Average relative humidity = 63.45 %, Average wind
speed at 2m height = 1.157 m/s. At Palakkad, evaporation pan is
placed in an area surrounded by green crops. The windward side
distance of green crops is about 100 m.

Solution:
For the given conditions, Kp from Table 25.2 is 0.8
ETo = Kp x Epan
= 0.8 x 7.01
= 5.61 mm. Ans

Example 25.2:
Determine monthly water requirements and total water
requirement of a groundnut crop grown in the rice fallows at
Palakkad, Kerala.

Month January February March April

Kc Values 0.51 0.93 1.14 0.82
ETo mm/day 4.60 5.00 5.59 5.20

Solution:
For the month of January:
Kc =0.51
No of days =31
ETo = 4.60

Therefore, ETc = ETo x Kc x No of days

= 4.60 x 0.51 x 31
= 72.725 mm

For the month of February:

Kc =0.93
No of days =28
ETo = 5.00

Therefore, ETc = ETo x Kc x No of days

= 5.00 x 0.93 x 28
= 130.2 mm

For the month of March:

Kc =1.14
No of days =31
ETo = 5.59

Therefore, ETc = ETo x Kc x No of days

= 5.59 x 1.14 x 31
= 197.47 mm

For the month of April:

Kc =0.82
No of days =30
ETo = 5.20

Therefore, ETc = ETo x Kc x No of days

= 5.20 x 0.82 x 30
= 85.2 mm

Total water requirement = Jan +Feb+Mar+Apr = 485.72 mm Ans.

Irrigation requirement for the above months are calculated by
subtracting monthly effective rainfall from ETc of respective
months.

Key Words: Evapotranspiration, Crop coefficient

LESSON 26 Crop Water Requirement

26.1 Crop Water Requirement

It is defined as the total quantity of water required by a crop
irrespective of its source in a given period of time for its normal
growth and developmentunder field conditions at a given place.
In means that it is the total quantity of waterrequired to mature an
adequately irrigated cropto meet the losses due to
evapotranspiration (ET), plus the losses during theapplication of
irrigation water (unavoidable losses) and the additional quantity
of waterrequired for special operations such as land preparation,
transplanting, leaching of saltsbelow the crop root zone, frost
control etc. It is expressed in depth per unit time.
(26.1)
In other words, crop water requirement is total water demand for
growing a crop. Crop water demand can also be expressed in term
of supply as:

WR = IRR + ER +ΔS +GWC (26.2)

Where:
WR = Total depth of water required during the life of crop
irrespective of source
CU = Consumptive use (total water required for all plant
processes)
ER = Effective rainfall received during crop life
ΔS = Profile water use i.e., difference in soil moisture in the crop
root zone at the beginning and end of the crop
GWC= Groundwater contribution, if any
IRR = Irrigation

In the previous lecture crop ET estimation procedure based on

reference crop ET and crop coefficient approach is described. A
number of methods are available for estimation of reference crop
ET (ETo) using the weather data. However, crop ET can also be
measured using the field water balance or lysimeter. These
methods are laborious and time consuming and therefore, indirect
methods of crop ET estimation are commonly used and will be
covered in this lecture.

The term effective rainfall has a different meaning to different

users. For example for hydrologist effective rainfall means runoff,
whereas for irrigation engineers of agriculturist effective rainfall
means useful or utilizable rainfall for the purpose of crop
growth. Dastane (1974) has definedeffective rainfall as “that
portion of the total annual or seasonal rainfall which is useful
directly and/or indirectly for meeting the crop water needs in
cropproduction at the site where it falls but without pumping”.
Thus, it is the portion of rainfall that does not include losses due
to surface runoff, unnecessary deep percolationand residual
moisture after harvest. This concept of effective rainfall is
suggested for use in planning andoperation of irrigation projects.
A number of factors affects effective rainfall include, rainfall
characteristics, land topography, soil and crop characteristics,
management practices, carryover moisture content and
groundwater contribution. A number of methods are in practice
for determining effective rainfall. These include, field water
balance approach, drum culture approach for rice, and empirical
relationship (SCS method).The water requirement of different
crops are given in Table 26.1.

Table 26.1. Water requirement of different crops

 (Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf)

26.1.1 Net Irrigation Requirement

The net irrigation requirement is the total amount of irrigation
water required tobring the soil moisture content in the root zone
depth of the crops to field capacity i.e., difference between the
field capacity and the soil moisture content in the root zone before
application of irrigation water. Thismay be obtained by the
relationship given below:

(26.3)
Where,
NIR = net amount of water to be applied during an irrigation, cm
Mfci = gravimetric moisture content at field capacity in the ith
layer of the soil, (%)
Mbi = gravimetric moisture content before irrigation in the ith
layer of the soil, (%)
ρbi = bulk density of the soil in the ith layer, g/cm3
Di = depth of the ith soil layer, cm, within the root zone, cm
N = number of soil layers in the root zone D.
26.1.2 Gross Water Requirement
The total amount of water, inclusive of losses, applied
throughirrigation is termed as gross irrigation requirement which
in other words in net irrigationrequirement plus application and
other losses.

(26.4)

26.1.3 Duty of Water (D)

This is defined as the area that can be irrigated with a continuous
non-stopsupply of irrigation water at the rate of one cumec or
cusec throughout the baseperiod. It is expressed as acre/cusec or
hectare/cumec.

26.1.4 Base Period (B)

This is the period over which irrigation water is to be supplied for
the production of any crop. Normally this is equal to the period
between the first and last irrigation applied to acrop.

26.1.5 Delta (Δ)

This the depth of water required by a crop during the crop season
to meet itsrequirements. This does not have any relevance to the
area of the cropped field. It isexpressed in mm or cm.
Relationship between D, Δ and B

(26.5)

Where, Δ in cm, B in days and D in ha/cumec.

26.2 Methods of Crop Water Requirement Determination

26.2.1 Direct Measurement of Evapotranspiration
Plant water use is an important management input, thus, it is
critical to know ET.Several methods have been developed to
measure evapotranspiration is already discussed earlier (see
section 25.3), a few aresummarized here.

26.2.1.1 Aerodynamic Methods

The vapour pressure of the air and air flowvelocities can be
measured at several levels above a plant canopy. By evaluating
thesemeasurements, the instantaneous evapotranspiration rate can
be determined. Summingthese instantaneous measurements
provides an estimate of evapotranspiration for a day.This
technique requires very accurate equipment because the air moves
erratically abovethe canopy.
26.2.1.2 Soil Water Balance Methods
Soil water is the source for evapotranspiration, andseveral
methods have been used to relate changes in soil water to plant
water use. Theprimary components of the soil water balance are
illustrated in Figure 26.1. The soil waterbalance can be expressed
as:

(26.6)

Where,
ET = amount of evapotranspiration during the period,
AWe = amount of soil water in the root zone at the end of a period,
AWb = amount of soil water in the root zone at the beginning of
a period,
P = total precipitation during the period,
dg = gross irrigation during the period,
Uf = groundwater contribution to water use during the period,
Ri= surface water that runs onto the area during the period,
Ro = surface runoff that leaves the area during the period, and
dp = deep percolation from the root zone during the period.
 Fig.26.1.Sketch illustrating the components of the soil water
balance.
(Source:http://gilley.tamu.edu/BAEN464/Handout%20Items/Cu
enca%20Book%20Chapter%203%20Soil%20Physics.pdf
accessed on June 4, 2013)

Soil water content can be measured using neutron scattering or

other techniques described earlier. Deep percolation is difficult to
measure and is often assumed to be insignificant unless
substantial rainfall occurs or large irrigations are applied. A
significant problem with the soil water balance technique is that
repetitive measurements must be made throughout the season.
One week is usually the shortest period for using the soil water
balance method to estimate ET.
26.2.1.3 Lysimetry
Lysimetersare measuring device used for estimating
evapotranspiration. It consists of specially designed open-top
tanks buried in the field that are filled with undisturbed soil, and
planted with the same crop as the surrounding area. Water used
for ET by plants grown in the lysimeter must come from the soil
water within the tank. ET can be measured by monitoring soil
water contents and water applications from irrigation or rain. The
soil tank is used to isolate soil water from the surrounding area
and to prevent runoff, upward groundwater flow, and drainage
entering into the system. For some applications drainage is
allowed and the volume of deep percolation is measured. The soil
water within the tank can be measured with traditional methods
such as neutron probes. The amount of water in the tank can also
be determined by weighing the tank, soil, plants, and soil water.
Since soil water is the only item that changes significantly over
short time periods, the change in weight equals the amount of
water used for ET.
 Fig.26.2. Cutaway drawing of weighing type lysimeter.
(Source:www.regional.org.au : accessed on April 30, 2013)

Example 26.1:
A tank has a water spread area of 40 ha. With an average water
depthof 3m. Calculate the area of paddy crop (120 days duration)
that can be irrigated, if the duty is expressed as:
• 960 ha per m s
3 -1

• 110 ha cm and
• 90 ha / million cu m of water

Solution:
The total water available = 40 x 3 x 100 ha. Cm

1. Area that can be irrigated = 111 ha. Ans.

2. Area that can be irrigated 108 ha. Ans.
3. Water available in million cu. m

Area that can be irrigated = 108 ha. Ans.

Example 26.2:
The following data were obtained in determining the soil moisture
content at successive depths in the root zone prior to applying
irrigation water.

Depth of Wt. moist soil Oven dry wt. of soil

sampling, cm sample, gm sample, gm
0-25 135.60 127.82
25-50 137.28 128.95
50-75 123.95 116.32
75-100 111.92 103.64

The bulk density of the soil in the root zone was 1.65 gm/cc. the
available moisture holding capacity of the soil was 18.0 cm/m
depth. Determine
1. The moisture content at different depths in the root zone
2. Moisture content in the root zone at the time of irrigation
3. Net depth of water to be applied to bring the moisture content
to field capacity
4. Gross irrigation requirement at an estimated field irrigation
efficiency of 70 %

Solution:
a. Soil moisture content at different depths
 0-25 cm: = 6.08% = 6.08 x 1.65 = 10 cm/ m
depth
= 10 x 25/100 = 2.5 cm

25-50 cm: = 6.46% = 6.46 x 1.65 = 10.66 cm/ m

depth
= 10.66 x 25/100 = 2.66 cm

50-75 cm: = 6.53% = 6.53 x 1.65 = 10.77 cm/ m

depth
= 10.77 x 25/100 = 2.69 cm

75-100 cm: = 7.98% = 7.98 x 1.65 = 13.18 cm/ m

depth
= 13.18 x 25/100 = 3.292 cm

b. Moisture content in the root zone at the time of irrigation =

2.5+2.66+2.69+3.292 = 11.14 cm
c. Net irrigation requirement = 18 – 11.14 = 6.85 cm

d. Gross irrigation requirement = 6.85 / 70 x 100 = 9.79 cm. Ans.

Example 26.3:
Determination of monthly water requirements of groundnut
having monthly crop coefficient 1.12 and ETo = 5.06 mm /day.
Consider month with 30 days.
Solution:
Daily water requirement ETc= ETo x Kc = 5.06 x 1.12 = 5.66 mm
Monthly water requirement = 5.66 mm x 30 = 170.016 mm Ans.
LESSON 27. Irrigation Scheduling

27.1 Irrigation Scheduling Concept

Irrigation scheduling is essential for good water management and
it deals with two classical questions related to irrigation. These
are (1) how much to irrigate and (2) How often to irrigate. How
often and how to irrigate is function of irrigation water needs of
the crop. For example, if irrigation water need of crop is 5
mm/day, each day crop needs a water layer of 5 mm over the
whole cropped area. However, 5 mm of water need not be
supplied every day. Generally, drips irrigation systems are
designed to meet irrigation water requirement on daily or at an
interval of 2-3 day days. However, longer gap between
irrigations is maintained in other irrigation system. In any case,
irrigation interval is chosen such that crop does not suffers from
water tress.
In many cases irrigation scheduling is performed based on the
irrigator's personal experience, plant appearance, watching the
neighbor, or just simply irrigating whenever water is available.
However, over the year a number of irrigation scheduling
techniques based on soil water monitoring, plant monitoring and
water balance approach have been developed. Soil water
monitoring techniques are already covered. We will summarize
these methods in this lecture but will focus on irrigation
scheduling based on soil water balance approach. Each of these
irrigation scheduling philosophies have some shortcomings. To
overcome these in the future a combination of soil water
monitoring and plant status will be the most appropriate choice.

27.1.1 Advantages of Irrigation Scheduling

Irrigation scheduling offers several advantages:
1. It enables the farmer to schedule water rotation among
the various fields to minimize crop water stress and
maximize yields.
2. It reduces the farmer's cost of water and labouras it
minimizes thenumber of irrigations.
3. It lowers fertilizer costs by holding surface runoff and deep
percolation (leaching) to a minimum.
 4. It increases net returns by increasing crop yields and crop
quality.
5. It minimizes water-logging problems by reducing the
drainage requirements.
6. It assists in controlling root zone salinity problems through
controlled leaching.
7. It results in additional returns by using the "saved" water
to irrigate non-cash crops that otherwise would not be
irrigated during water-stress periods.

27.1.2 Full Irrigation

It provides the enough water to meet the entire irrigation
requirement and is aimed at achieving the maximum production
potential of the crop. Excess irrigation may reduce crop yield
because of decreased soil aeration.

27.1.3 Deficit Irrigation

It means partially meeting the crop water requirement. It is
practiced when there is water scarcity or the irrigation system
capacity is limited. With deficit irrigation root zone is not filled
to the field capacity moisture level.Deficit irrigation is justified in
case where reducing water application below full irrigation causes
production cost to decrease faster than revenue decline due to
reduced yield. This method allows plant tress during one or more
periods of growing season. However, adequate water is applied
during the critical growth stages to maximize water use
 efficiency. Critical growth stage of some the crops are shown in
the following Table 27.1.

Table 27.1.Critical growth stages for managing water use

efficiency

Growth period Most

Growth Interval in which irrigation
Crop sensitive to
Produces Greatest Benefits
water Stress
Sorghum Boot- heading Boot- soft dough
Wheat Boot- flowering Jointing- soft dough
Corn Tassel- pollution 12 leaf- blister kernel
First bloom- peak
Cotton First bloom- boils well- formed
bloom
Flowering –
Dry beans Axillary bud- podfill
early podfill
Potatoes Tuberization Tuberization- maturity
Flowering- early
Soybean Axillary bud- podfill
podfill
WUEa is maximized when water
Sugarbeets No critical stages depletion is limited ton about 50%
available water depletion

(Source: James, 1988)

27.1.4 Irrigation Interval

It is the number of days between two successive irrigations. It
depends on the crop ET, effective rainfall, and available water
holding capacity of the soil in the crop root zone and management
allowable depletion.
27.2 Methods of Irrigation Scheduling
Over the years, a number of methods have been developed for
irrigation scheduling. These can be broadly classified into
following categories:
1. Soil indicators
2. Climatological
3. Plant indices
4. Water balance

27.2.1 Soil Indicator

There are number of methods based on soil indicators. These
include feel and appearance, soil moisture monitoring using
gravimetric method, neutron probe, TDR, or soil moisture tension
measurement using tensiometer, porous block etc. Soil moisture
as well as soil moisture tension measurement is already discussed
in previously. In these methods, the available soil water held
between field capacity and permanent wilting point in the
effective crop root zone depth is taken as guide for determining
practical irrigation schedules. Alternatively soil moisture tension
is also used as a guide for timing irrigations. Feel and appearance
is one of the oldest and simple methods of determining the soil
moisture content. It is done by visual observation and feel of the
soil by hand. The accuracy of judgment improves with
experience.

27.2.2 Climatological Approach (IW: CPE Ratio)

Irrigation scheduling on the basis of ratio betweenthe depth of
irrigation water (IW) and cumulative evaporation from U.S.W.B.
Class A panevaporimeter minus the precipitation since the
previous irrigation (CPE) proposed by Prihar et al. (1974). The
accuracy of the method depends on proper installation of pan
evaporimeter and raingauge and the measurements of pan
evaporation and rainfall. Further, suitability of the method is site
specific and limited to particular variety of crop. An IW/CPE
ratioof 1.0 indicates irrigating the crop with water equal to that
lost in evaporation from theevaporimeter. A few examples of
optimal IW/CPE ratios for important crops are given inTable
27.2.

Table 27.2. Optimum IW/CPE ratios for scheduling irrigation in

important crops

Crop Optimum IW/CPE ratio

0.75 to 1.0 IW/CPE ratio depending on crop
Groundnut ♦ developmental stages in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra
& West Bengal
0.5 to 1.0 IW/CPE ratio depending on crop
Sunflower ♦
developmental stages at Hyderabad & Kanpur
 1.0 IW/CPE ratio at Ludhiana, Kanpur and
Wheat ♦
Bikramganj
Bengal
♦ 0.4 IW/CPE ratio at Ludhiana
gram
Mustard ♦ 0.4 IW/CPE ratio at Hissar
0.75 to 1.0 IW/CPE ratio depending on crop
Maize ♦
developmental stages at Delhi & Hyderabad
0.5 to 1.0 IW/CPE ratio depending on crop
Sugarcane ♦
developmental stages at Lucknow

(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on June 3, 2013)

27.2.3 Plant Indices Approach

The plants readily respond to the deficit in soil water. Some of the
indices used to schedule irrigation based on this response are
discussed below:

27.2.3.1 Visual Plant Symptoms

The visual signs of plants are used as an index for
schedulingirritations. These include colour of plants, curling and
rolling of leaves, wilting of leaves, change in leaf angle etc. Plant
water stress in maize and beans crop is reflected throughrolling of
leaves in case of maize and change in angle of leaves in case of
bean (Fig. 27.2). Successful interpretation of crop stress requires
keen observation and experience. Secondly sometimes symptoms
may be misleading and by the time they appear it may be too late
to irrigate.

Fig. 27.3.Rolling of leaves in maize and change of leaf angle in

beans.
(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on June 3, 2013)

27.2.3.2 Plant Water Potential

Plant water potential is a measure of the energy status of plant
water and is analogous to the energy measurements of soil
water.This serves as a better index of physiological and bio-
chemicalphenomena occurring in the plant. Plant or leaf water
potential can be precisely measuredeither by a Pressure bomb or
pressure chamber apparatus (figure. 27.4) are generally used for
in situ measurement of leaf water potential, whereas the dye
method is used in the laboratory. The critical plant water potential
varies with crop. When potential values falls below critical limits
specific to crop and growth stage, physiological and growth
factors are adversely affected and thus they can serves as a
guideline for irrigation scheduling. In case of cotton critical
potential ranges from 1.2 to 1.25 MPa throughout the crop life,
whereas for sunflower they are 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 MPa at vegetative,
pollination and seed formation, respectively.

Fig. 27.4.Pressure chamber apparatus.

(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on June 3, 2013)

27.2.3.3 Canopy Temperature

The canopy temperature reflects the internal water balance of the
plant, and can be used as a potentialindicator for scheduling
irrigation to crops. It can be measured by porometer, infrared
thermometer (Fig 27.5) etc.The leaf canopy temperature is
sensitive index in crops like soyabean, oats, barley, wheat,
sorghum and maize.
 Fig. 27.5.Infrared thermometer for scheduling irrigations to
crops.
(Source: http://www.angrau.ac.in/media/7380/agro201.pdf:
accessed on June 3, 2013)

27.2.4 Water Balance Approach

Irrigation scheduling based on water balance approach uses
readily available information on weather, crop and soil
information. The soil water balance can be expressed in terms of
soil moisture depletion as follows:

(27.1)
where SMD= total soil moisture depletion in the root zone and is
defined as the difference between total soil moisture stored in the
root zone at the field capacity and the current moisture status; ETc
= crop evapotranspiration; DP = deep percolation; I = irrigation
amount; Pe= effective rainfall; GW = the capillary rise/ground
water contribution and i = time index.
The initial soil moisture depletion at the beginning of the water
balance or can be either assumed at field capacity or determined
using the measured value of moisture content as follows:

(27.2)
Where, Drz = effective root zone depth, which increases during
the growing season and reaches a maximum depth, = volumetric
moisture content at field capacity and = initial volumetric
moisture content.
Daily crop evapotranspiration can be calculated as:

(27.3)
WhereETo= grass reference crop ET and can be estimated using
the methods discussed previously; Kc = crop coefficient which is
a function of the crop type and the growth stage; Ks = crop stress
coefficient which is a function of the soil moisture available to the
crop.

Crop stress coefficient varies with moisture content as shown in

Fig. 24.2. It can be estimated as follows for soil moisture
depletion greater than readily available water (SMDi> RAW):

(27.4)
Ks,i = 0
SMDi<RAW (27.5)

Fig. 24.2.Crop stress coefficient variation with moisture content.

(Source: FAO 56)
Deep percolation from the root zone occurs when excess water
from rain or irrigation fills the root zone beyond field capacity. It
can be assumed that soil water content returns to the field capacity
within the same day of wetting event. The deep percolation can
be determined as follows:
(27.6)

The deep percolation is zero (DPi = 0), when irrigation and

effective rainfall are less than or equal to SMD and ETc.
Effective rainfall can be considered as some fixed percentage of
rainfall and capillary rise can be neglected if water table is far
below root zone. After evaluating each term of Eq. (27.1),
irrigation scheduling can be performed based on fixed interval,
fixed depth or management allowable depletion (MAD) criteria.
• For fixed interval, the estimated irrigation requirement is
equal to soil moisture depletion at the end of the interval,
• For fixed depth case, irrigation is required when soil
moisture depletion becomes equal to irrigation depth.
• In the case of irrigation scheduling based on MAD, both day
of irrigation and depth are estimated as follows:

(27.7)
Where AD = allowable depletion, MAD = management allowable
depletion limit, defined as the fraction of TAW that can be safely
removed from the soil to meet the daily ET demand on day i. In
this case irrigation is given on the day i, when the soil moisture
depletion reaches the allowable depletion. The required irrigation
depth is equal to soil moisture depletion.

NRCS (1997) reported that MAD should be evaluated according

to crop needs, and, if needed, adjusted during the growing season.
Values of MAD, during the growing season are typically 25 to 40
percent for high value, shallow rooted crops; 50 percent for deep
rooted crops; and 60 to 65 percent for low value deep rooted
crops. Recommended MAD values by soil texture for deep rooted
crops are:
• Fine texture (clayey) soils 40%
• Medium texture (loamy) soils 50%
• Coarse texture (sandy) soils 60%

Note that in all the cases, irrigation depth calculated is net

irrigation depth and in order to determine gross application depth
leaching requirement and application efficiency need to be taken
into consideration. However, in many field conditions leaching
requirement is need not to be considered for each irrigation.
Example 27.1:
For a crop with effective rooting depth of 150 cm, calculate the
irrigation interval. Given, field capacity = 14%, permissible
depletion 7 %, and crop evapotranspiration = 285 mm/ month.

Solution:

Irrigation interval =11.05 = 11 days

Example 27.2:
In the above problem, if during the period under consideration
there is an effective rainfall of 35 mm, the irrigation interval will
be,

Irrigation interval = =14 days

Example 27.3:
A bean crop is grown in clay loam soil and is completely
developed. The groundwater table is more than 5 m below the
surface. At the beginning of mid season stage of crop, the
moisture content is at field capacity. Reference crop
evapotranspiration and precipitation values for the 10 day period
are given below.

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ETo mm/d 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.2 5.4
P, mm/d 0 0 0 0 5 0 0.2 0 0 0

Furthermore, consider effective root zone depth as 60 cm, crop

coefficient as Kcmid 1.05, volumetric water content at field
capacity and permanent wilting points as 36% and 18%,
respectively. Using the above information develop irrigation
schedule based on a fixed interval of a week and MAD.

Solution:
Effective root zone depth = 60 cm, Kcmid = 1.05, = 36%, =
18% and MAD = 0.5 (based on soil)
Total available water, TAW = (Θfc - Θpwp ). Drz = (0.36 - 0.18)
(60) = 10.80 cm
Allowable depletion, AD = MAD .TAW = (0.5)(10.80) = 5.4 cm
= 54 mm

At the beginning soil moisture is at field capacity and thus SMDi-

1 = 0. Calculation for each day is shown below:

Day SMDi-1 EToi Kci Ksi ETci DPi Ii Pei SMDi

(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
1 0.0 5.6 1.05 1.0 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.9
2 5.9 5.4 1.05 1.0 5.7 0.0 0.0 11.6
3 11.6 5.9 1.05 1.0 6.2 0.0 0.0 17.7
4 17.7 5.8 1.05 1.0 6.1 0.0 0.0 23.8
5 23.8 5.6 1.05 1.0 5.9 0.0 0.0 5.0 24.7
6 24.7 5.8 1.05 1.0 6.1 0.0 0.0 30.8
7 30.8 5.9 1.05 1.0 6.2 0.0 0.0 0.2 36.8
8 36.8 5.8 1.05 1.0 6.1 0.0 0.0 42.9
9 42.9 5.2 1.05 1.0 6.0 0.0 0.0 48.4
10 48.9 5.4 1.05 1.0 6.2 0.0 0.0 54.0

For MAD based scheduling, 54.0 mm of irrigation would be

required on the morning of 11th day, whereas irrigation amount
would be 36.8 mm after a week.
LESSON 28. Irrigation Efficiency

The term irrigation efficiency expresses the performance of a

complete irrigation system or components of the system.
Irrigation efficiency is defined as the ratio between the amount of
water used to meet the consumptive use requirement of crop plus
that necessary to maintain a favourable salt balance in the crop
root zone to the total volume of water diverted, stored or pumped
for irrigation. Thus, water applied by the irrigation system and not
being made available to be taken up by plant roots is wasted and
reduces irrigation efficiency. Fig. 28.1 shows components of
water loss from source to point of application. In addition, losses
can also occur during storage in case of pond, tank, or reservoirs.
The major causes for reduced irrigation efficiency include storage
losses, conveyance losses and field application losses. In India,
overall irrigation efficiency of major irrigation projects ranges
between 35-40%. This is one of the reasons for increasing gap
between irrigation potential created (102.77 M ha till end of 10th
plan 2007) and utilized (87.23 M ha). This gap of about 16%, is
same as the irrigation potential created between 1951 and 1970.
At the end of eighth plan, Planning commission estimated that
with a 10% increase in the present level of water use efficiency in
irrigation systems, an additional 14 Mha area can be brought
under irrigation from the existing irrigation capacities. In order to
meet the growing demands of water for food, environment, urban
and industry, it is necessary to improve irrigation efficiency at all
levels.
 Fig. 28.1.Schematic water flow in irrigation drainage system.
(Source: Bos et al., 2009)

28.1 Definition of Various Efficiencies

28.1.1 Reservoir Storage Efficiency
It is the efficiency with which water is stored in the reservoir. It
is expressed as follows,

(28.1)

Where,
Ve = evaporation volume from the reservoir
Vs = seepage volume from the reservoir
Vt = inflow to the reservoir
Vo= volume of out flow from the reservoir
ΔS = change in reservoir storage

28.1.2 Water Conveyance Efficiency

The conveyance efficiency is used to measure the efficiency of
water conveyance systems associated with the canal network,
water courses and field channels. It isdefined as the ratio between
the water that reaches a farm or field and that diverted from the
irrigation water source. Mathematically it is represented as
follows:

Ec=100(Vf/Vd)
(28.2)

Where,
Ec= the conveyance efficiency (%),
Vf = the volume of water that reaches the farm or
field (m3),
Vd= the volume of water diverted (m3) from the
source.
Ecalso applies to segments of canals or pipelines, where the water
losses include canal seepage or leaks in pipelines. The global
Eccan be computed as the product of the individual component
efficiencies, Eci, where i representthe segment number. Typically,
conveyance losses are much lower for closed conduits or
pipelines compared with unlined or lined canals. Even
theconveyance efficiency of lined canals may decline over time
due to material deterioration or poor maintenance.

28.1.3Application Efficiency
Application efficiency relates to the actual storage of water in the
root zone to meet the crop water needs in relation to the water
applied to the field. It might be defined for individual irrigation
or parts of irrigations or irrigation sets.Application efficiency
includes any application losses to evaporation or seepage from
surface water channels or furrows, any leaks from sprinkler or
drip pipelines, percolation beneath the root zone, drift from
sprinklers, evaporation of droplets in the air, or runoff from the
field. In case of surface irrigation evaporation losses are generally
small but runoff and deep percolation are substantial. However,
air losses (droplet evaporation and drift) can be very large if the
sprinkler design or excessive pressure produces a high percentage
of very fine droplets. Application efficiency is defined as:

Ea =
100(Vs/Vf) (28.3)
 Where,
Ea= the application efficiency (%),
Vs= the volume of water stored in root zone
(m3),
Vf = the water delivered to the field or farm
3
(m ).

Table 28.1. Typical values of application efficiency for different

irrigation systems

(Source: Raghuwanshi, 2013)

28.1.4Storage Efficiency
The water storage efficiency evaluates the storage of water in the
root zone after the irrigation in relation to the need of water prior
to irrigation.
Es= 100
(Vs/Vrz) (28.4)

Where,
Es= the storage efficiency (%)
Vrz= the root zone storage capacity (m3).
The root zone depth and the water-holding capacity of the root
zone determine Vrz. The storage efficiency has little utility for
sprinkler ormicro irrigation because these irrigation methods
seldom completely refill the root zone.

28.1.5Water Distribution Efficiency

It is the ratio between the mean of numerical deviations from the
average depth of water storedduring irrigation (Y) and the
average depth stored during irrigation (d). It is mathematically
expressed as:

(28.5)
Where,
Υ= Average numerical deviation in depth of water stored from
average depthstored during irrigation
d = Average depth of water stored during irrigation.

It is a measure of water distribution within the field. A low

distribution efficiencymeans non-uniformity in the distribution of
irrigation water. This may be due to uneven landlevelling. There
may beexisting low patcheswhere water will penetrate more and
high patches where water cannot reach. This leaves some spots
unirrigated unless excess irrigation water is applied. Excess
waterapplication lowers irrigation efficiency.It may be noted that
water distribution efficiency is identical to Christiansen’s
Uniformity Coefficient which is discussed later.

28.1.6 Water Use Efficiency

The term water use efficiency denotes the production of crops per
unit water applied. It is expressed as the weight of crop produce
per unit depth of water over a unit area. i.e., kg/cm/ha.

28.1.6.1 Crop Water Use Efficiency

It is the ratio of crop yield per amount of water depleted by the
crop in the process of evapotranspiration (ET).
Crop water use efficiency = Y/ET (28.6)
28.1.6.2 Field Water Use Efficiency
It is the ratio of crop yield (Y) to the total amount of water used
in the field (WR).
Field water use efficiency = Y/WR (28.7)

28.2 Irrigation Uniformity

Uniformity is a measure to describe evenness ofwater application
over the length of the field.It is a statistical measure of the
distribution of the applied water, which is affected by various
factors suchas the method of irrigation, topography,
infiltrationcharacteristics, and hydraulic characteristics(pressure,
flow rate, etc.) of the irrigation system.
It is generally expressed using Christiansen’scoefficient of
uniformity (CU), distribution uniformity(DU) and emission
uniformity (EU) for drip irrigationsystems.Irrigation application
distributions are usually based on depths of water (volume per
unit area); however, for micro irrigation systems they are usually
based on emitter flow volumes because the entire land area is not
typically wetted.

28.2.1 Christiansen’s Uniformity Coefficient

Christiansenproposed acoefficient intended mainly for sprinkler
system based on the catch volumes given as:
 (28.8)
Where, CU is the Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient in percent,
X is the depth (or volume) of water in each of the equally spaced
catch containers in mm or ml, and x is the mean depth (volume)
of the catch (mm or ml).

28.2.2 Low-Quarter Distribution Uniformity

It is defined as the ratio of the average infiltration in the lower
quarter to the average infiltration over the entire field

(28.9)
Where,
DU is the distribution uniformity (%) for the lower quarter of the
field, Vp is the mean application volume (m3)or depth in the lower
quarter, and Vfis the mean application volume (m3)or depth for
the whole field.

28.3 Deep Percolation Ratio and Tail Water Ratio

The Deep Percolation Ratio (DPR) and Tail Water Ratio (TWR)
were developed to take into account the losses occurring via deep
percolation and runoff in surface irrigation methods.
28.3.1 Deep Percolation Ratio
It is the ratio of amount or depth of deep percolation to the amount
or depth of applied water and is expressed as:

(28.10)

Where,
VDP = amount of water lost to deep percolation
Vf = amount of water delivered to the field

28.3.2 Tail Water Ratio

It is the ratio of amount or depth of runoff to the amount or depth
of applied water and is expressed as:

(28.11)

Where,
Vro = amount of runoff from field.
28.4 Overall Project Efficiency
It is the ratio between the average depth of water stored in the root
zone duringirrigation and water diverted from the reservoir. It is
mathematically expressed as:

(28.12)
Where:
Eo = overall efficiency (%)
Vs= Water stored in the root zone (cm)
Vd= Water diverted from the reservoir (cm)

Or

(28.13)

Example 28.1:
Compute the reservoir storage efficiency for a 24 hr period when
3795 lit/min of water are diverted from reservoir based on the
following data,
Reservoir inflow rate = 4425 lit/min and ΔS = 415 m3.

Solution:
 We know,

Where,

ΔS = 415m3

= 92.27% Ans.

Example 28.2:
A stream of 140lps was diverted from a canal and 110 lps were
delivered to the field. An area of 1.65 ha was irrigated in eight
hours. The effective depth of root zone was 1.85 m. The runoff
loss in the field was 435 m3. The depth of water penetration varied
linearly from 1.85 m at thehead end of the field to 1.25 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
applicationefficiency, water storage efficiency and water
distribution efficiency,irrigation was started at a moisture
extraction level of 50 percent ofthe available moisture.

Solution:
1. Water conveyance efficiency, Ec=100(Vf/Vd) = 100(110/140)
=78.5%
2. Water application efficiency, Ea = 100(Vs/Vf)
Water delivered to the field = (110 x 60 x 60 x 8) / 1000 = 3168
m3
Water stored in the root zone = 3168 – 435 = 2733m3
= (2733 x 100)/ 3168 = 86.26%

3. Water storage efficiency

We Know, Es= 100 (Vs/Vrz)

Now, Water holding capacity of the root zone = 20 x 1.85

= 37 cm
Moisture required in the root zone =

Or
 = 3052.5 m3

Water storage efficiency =

= 96.3%

4. Water distribution efficiency

We know, x 100

Numerical deviation from depth of penetration

At upper end = 1.85 – 1.55 = 0.3
At lower end = 1.55 – 1.25 = 0.3

Average numerical deviation = = 0.3

= 80.6%
Module 6: Surface Irrigation Methods

LESSON 29 Surface Irrigation

29.1 Introduction
Surface irrigation is the oldest and widely used method of water
application to agricultural land. The term 'surface irrigation' refers
to a broad class of irrigation methods in which water is distributed
over the field by overland flow. A flow is introduced at upper
edge of the field which covers the field gradually. The water front
advance is dependent largely on the differences between the
inflow onto the field and the accumulating infiltration into the
soil. In addition, other factors such as field slope, surface
roughness, and the geometry or shape of the flow cross-section
also influence advance rate. In this chapter the components and
hydraulics of irrigation will be discussed.
29.1.1 Physical Systems
The primary purpose of the physical system is to supply water to
an area for crop production and it consists of four subsystems as
shown in Fig 1 and Fig 2.These are:
1. The water supply subsystem
2. The water delivery subsystem
3. The water use subsystem
4. The water removal subsystem

1. Water Supply Subsystem

The sources of water for supply to the water supply subsystem
include both surface and subsurface water resources. The water
supply sub-system constitute mainly reservoirs, river diversions,
ponds, tanks, open wells and pumping of groundwater.
2. Water Delivery Subsystem
The function of water delivery sub-system is to convey good
qualitywater in adequate quantities from the source to the fields
through main canal, distributaries, minors and field channels. The
flow in the delivery system is regulated using a number of
structures (gate, turnouts, values etc.). Water delivery system is
designed to reduce seepage and erosion.

Fig.29.1.Typical irrigation physical system components.

(Source: Chapter_two_Surface_Irrigation%20pdf-2)
 Fig.29.2.Flowchart showing the different subsystems and their
interconnection.(Source:http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0444e/
A0444E03.htm)

3. Water Application Subsystem

The output from water delivery sub-system is the input for water
application sub-system. Water application system deals with on
farm irrigation. Water available at field is applied using either
surface or pressurised irrigation methods. The main function of
this system is to distribute the desired amount of water to field to
provide favourable environment for crop production while
ensuring minimum environmental damage.
4. Water Removal Subsystem
This sub-system is used for removal and disposal of surface and
sub- surface waters from the fields to facilitate agricultural
operations and crop growth.
The functions of this subsystem are as follows:
- To provide proper root aeration by lowering ground water
table.
- To maintain appropriate salinity levels within the soil
profile.
- To dispose (remove) excess irrigation or rainwater from
the field.

29.2 Surface Irrigation Process (Hydraulic Phases)

In surface irrigation, water is applied directly to the soil surface
from a channel located at the upper reach of the field. Gravity
provides the major driving force to spread water over the irrigated
field. Once distributed over the surface of the field and after it has
entered the soil, water is often redistributed by forces other than
gravity. Generally, in a surface irrigation event four distinct
hydraulic phases can be discerned, as illustrated graphically in
Fig. 29.3:

1. Advance Phase
The time interval between the start of irrigation and arrival of
theadvancing (wetting) front at the lower end of the field is known
as advance phase. Rate of advance depends on the factors like
inflow, field slope, soil intake rate and surface roughness.

2. Ponding (Wetting Storage Or Continuing) Phase

The period of time between the end of the advance phase and the
cutoff of inflow is known as ponding phase or wetting phase. The
term “wetting phase” is usually usedfor furrow and border where
tail water runoff can occur, whereas “ponding” is thepreferred
term for basin irrigation (no tail water runoff). The wetting or
ponding phase will not be present if the inflow is terminated
before the advance phase is completed, a typical situation in
borders and basins, but a rarity in furrows.
 Fig.29.3.Time-space trajectory of water during a surface
irrigation showing its advance, wetting, depletion and recession
phases.
(Source-Chapter_two_Surface_Irrigation%20pdf-2)

3. Depletion (Vertical Recession) Phase

The time interval between the cut-off of the supply and the
complete disappearance of water from the inflow end is called the
depletion phase.

4. Recession (Horizontal Recession) Phase

The time required the water to recedefrom all points in the
channel, starting from the end of the depletion phase is known as
recession phase. Recession continues until either the front reaches
the end of the field. Like advance phase, the rate of recession also
depends upon the inflow rate, the slope of the field, the infiltration
capacity of the soil, and hydraulic roughness. Recession will tend
to be most rapid when the inflow rate is low, the field slope is
steep, the infiltration capacity is high, and/or the hydraulic
roughness is small.
• Cut off time (tco): Cumulative time since the initiation of
irrigation until the inflow is terminated.
• Cutback irrigation: The practice of using a high unit
discharge during the advance phase and a reduced one
during the wetting or ponding phase to control runoff.
The time and space references are shown in Fig.3 are relatively
standard. Time is cumulative since the beginning of the irrigation,
distance is referenced to the point of the field upto which water
has entered or is receding from. The advance and recession curves
are therefore trajectories of the advancing and receding water
fronts. The period defined between the two curves at any distance
is the time water is on the surface, at that point, and therefore is
also the time during water is infiltrating into the soil (known as
the infiltration opportunity time or intake opportunity time).

29.3 Factors Affecting Performance of Surface Irrigation

The performance of a surface irrigation system is dependent on
many factors, which are shown in the following functional
relationship; it has of a paramount importance to discuss each one
of them in detail.

(29.1)

Where, P = performance of surface irrigation

I = symbolizes the infiltration parameters
So = channel bed slope
n = hydraulic resistance
G = symbolizes geometry parameters
Zr = required amount of application
q0 = unit flow rate at the head end of the channel
tco = time of cut off
L = furrow length

29.3.1 Unit Flow Rate (q0 )

Inlet flow rate is one of the key variables in influencing the
outcome of an irrigation event. It affects, the rate of advance to a
significant degree and also recession to a lesser extent. Thereby
having a significant effect on uniformity, efficiency and adequacy
of irrigation, it should not be too high as to cause scouring and
should not be too small as otherwise the water will not advance
to the downstream end.
29.3.2 Cut of Time(tco )
Cut off time is the time at which the supply is turned off,
measured from the onset of irrigation. The ideal time of cutoff
occurs when the infiltrated depth in the least-watered portion of
the field is equal to the irrigation requirement. The most important
effect of cutoff is reflected on the amount of losses, deep
percolation and surface runoff, and hence efficiency and
adequacy of irrigation.
29.3.3 Channel Length(L)
The length of a basin or border or a furrow should be determined
considering the soil type, method of irrigation and from previous
studies to estimate advance and recession over the length of the
channel, the resulting distribution of infiltrated water, volume of
runoff and the performance indices. There always exist a certain
optimal channel length that would minimize irrigation water
losses yet results in acceptable levels of adequacy and uniformity.
29.3.4 Required Amount of Application ( Zr)
This parameter represents the amount of water that needs to be
stored in the crop root zone per irrigation to sustain normal crop
growth. The crop type, stage of growth, presence or absence of
shallow water table, and limiting soil horizons (such as hard
pans), among other things, determine the effective crop root
depth. Soil type is the factor that determines how much water can
be stored per unit depth of soil. These factors, along with the
climatic conditions of an area should be considered to determine
the required amount of application ).
29.3.5 Manning’s Roughness Coefficient (n)
A parameter in Manning’s equation, known as the Manning’s n,
is used as a measure of the resistance effects that flow might
encounter as it moves down the furrow, border or basin, which is
in fact a representation, in lumped form, of the effect of the
roughness of the physical boundaries of the flow and cultivation
practices. The Manning’s n has a pronounced effect on the
hydraulics of the surface irrigation and hence on the efficiency.
29.3.6 Channel Bed Slope (So)
The bed slope of a furrow or a border or a basin needs to be known
in order to estimate maximum non-erosive flow rates. Bed slope
is the average slope in the direction of irrigation and is an easy
parameter to measure. For borders and furrows bed slope should
not be too high to cause scouring and must not too low so as to
result in a very slow advance with the end outcome being an
inefficient irrigation.
29.3.7 Infiltration Parameter
Knowledge of the infiltration characteristics of the soil iscritically
important for evaluation, design or management of a surface
irrigation system, without which it is very difficult to accurately
judge system performance, applicationefficiency and uniformity.
Therefore, infiltration parameter,(in case of the modified
Kostikov infiltration functionk, a, ) and should bedetermined
prior to the actual design stage.
29.4 Intake Opportunity Time
Time interval during which water is available to enter the soil
between the time it arrives at a point during the advance phase
and departs during recession. It is thevertical distance between the
advance and recession curves. For irrigation uniformity to be high
opportunity time must be same throughout the field.

LESSON 30 Surface Irrigation Methods

30.1 Surface Irrigation Methods

Surface irrigation methods refer to water application through
gravity flow to the cultivated land. Water is applied either the
entire field (uncontrolled flooding) or part of the field (furrows,
basins, border strips). For efficient application of water it is
important to select the method of irrigation which best suitsthe
crop and soil characteristics of the field. In doing so it may be
essential to use more than one method of irrigation in an area or a
given farm (shown in Fig. 30.1).

Fig. 30.1.Different methods of irrigation on a farm.

(Source: Water Management (Agro. 201 Lecture Notes))

The factors which determine the suitability of any method of

irrigation are local conditions (soil type - its permeability & water
storage capacity; land topography, climate, water availability &
water quality), crop type, type of technology, previous
experiences, required labour inputs etc. Good yield of crops can
be obtained from irrigated land only if the water is applied
judiciously to meet the needs of the plant. Fig. 30.2 provides a
brief classification of surface irrigation methods.

Irrigation Method can be broadly classified into three categories.

Fig.30.2.Classification of surface irrigation methods.

Surface irrigation methodscan also be divided into the following

two groups
1. Uncontrolled Surface Flooding
 2. Controlled Surface Flooding
30.1.1Uncontrolled Surface Flooding or Flooding
It consists of applying water to the field without any bunds to
guide the flow of water wetting the soil surface completely.
Generally it is practiced only when irrigation water is abundant
and where land levelling is not followed (shown in Fig 30.3).
Sometimes it is also adopted in the initial stages of land
development. This method is most commonly used for irrigation
of crops sown by broadcasting method viz., rice, low value
pastures, lawns and millets etc.

Fig.30.3.Wild flooding.
(Source:http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/unintendedconseque
nces/toc.htm)
Advantages:
1. No land levelling & land shaping required
2. Low labour and land preparation costs
3. Less skill required by irrigator

Disadvantages:
1. Applied water is lost by deep percolation & surface runoff
2. Low irrigation application efficiency

30.1.2Controlled Surface Flooding

30.1.2.1 Basin Irrigation
In this method the field is divided into square or rectangular plots
of 4 to 4000 m² guided by bunds on all the sides (Fig. 30.4). In
some cases (ring basin) the plot may also be circular. This method
is usually practiced in nearly levelledlands and hence the depth of
wetting is more uniform in this method. However, it is
particularly useful on fine textured soils with low infiltration and
percolation ratesso that the water is retained on the surface and in
the root zone for a longer period of time. The field channels
supply water to each basin, during which the basins are filled to
desired depth and water is retained until it infiltrates into the soil.
This method is most commonly used for irrigating crops like
groundnut, finger millet, sorghum, vegetable crops etc. Basin
irrigation is generally not suited to crops which cannot stand in
wet or waterlogged conditions for periods longer than one day.
These are generally tuber and root crops like potato, cassava beet
and carrot. Basins are also used for leaching salts below the crop
root zone depth by percolating water in the reclamation of saline
soils.
Basins are mainly of two types:
1. Check basin (square or rectangular in shape)
2. Ring basin (circular in shape)
30.1.2.1.1 Check Basin
The size of check basins may vary from one meters square, used
for growing vegetables and other intensive cultivation, to as large
as one or two hectares or more, used for growing rice under wet
land conditions. The shape and design of basins generally
depends on the topography of the area it is being designed for.
Check basins can be further divided into rectangular and contour
types.

Fig.30.4.Check basin method of irrigation.

 (Source:Water Management (Agro. 201 Lecture Notes))

Advantages:
1. Water can be applied uniformly.
2. Even small streams can be used for irrigation of crops
efficiently.
3. Simple and cheap when equipment is used for constructing
bunds

Disadvantages:
1. Unless the land is levelled, distribution of water in plot is
uneven.
2. Considerable area is lost under field channels and bunds i.e.
nearly 30% of area.
3. Bunds interfere in working of inter-cultivation equipment
4. More labour is required for field layout and irrigation

30.1.2.1.2Ring Basin Method

This method is a modification of check basin method and is
suitable for sparsely grown orchard crops and cucurbits (Fig.
30.5). In this method a circular bund is constructed around each
tree/plant or group of plants/trees to create a basin for irrigation.
These basins are suitably connected to irrigation conveyance
channels in such a way that either each basin is irrigated
separately or a group of basins are irrigated at once by flowing
water from one basin to another through inter- connections.

Fig.30.5.Ring basin method of irrigation.

(Source: Water Management (Agro. 201 Lecture Notes))

Advantages:
1. High irrigation application efficiency can be achieved with
properly designed system
2. Unskilled labour can be used

Disadvantages:
1. High labour requirement
2. Bunds restrict use of modern machinery in the field
3. Limited to relatively uniform lands

30.1.2.2Border Irrigation Method

In case of border irrigation, the field is divided into a number of
long parallel strips, generally 5 to 15 m in width and 75 to 300 m
in length separated by small border ridges or low dykes of about
15 cm (Fig. 30.6).
Irrigation water is released into each strip connected directly to
irrigation channel situated at the upstream end of the border strip.
The sheet of water advances towards the downstream
(Fig30.6).After sufficient water is applied to one strip, the
irrigation stream is turned into another strip. A specific
requirement in border irrigation is that the longitudinal slope must
be uniform, and the transverse slope must be zero or negligible (<
0.03%). This method is suitable for irrigating a wide variety of
close growing crops such as wheat, barley, groundnut, bajra and
berseem.
 Fig.30.6.Border irrigation method.
(Source: Water Management (Agro. 201 Lecture Notes))

Two types of borders are formed:

1. Straight Border
These borders are formed along the general slope of the field.
Theseare preferred when fields can be levelled or be given a
gentle slopeeconomically.
2. Contour Border
These are formed across the general slope of the field and are
preferred when land slope exceeds the safe limits. Based on the
management strategy adopted, borders can be grouped into three
major categories which are fixed flow, cutback and tail water
reuse.
Advantages:
1. Large water streams can be used safely
2. Provides uniform wetting of soil profile
3. Low labour requirement

Disadvantages:
1. Requires relatively large water streams for quick advance of
water to minimize deep percolation losses at the upper end of the
border strip.
2. Wastage of water by deep percolation in coarse textured soils.

30.2 Furrow Irrigation Method

Furrow irrigation system is primarily used for vegetables.
Furrows are sloping channels dug in the soil with the crops being
planted on the ridges. It has advantage that water is applied only
in furrows instead of being applied on the whole field. This saves
water and at the same timethe plant does not come in direct
contact with water which is an added advantage as some plants,
like vegetable crops,are very sensitive to ponded water.
Infiltration occurs laterally and vertically through the wetted
perimeter of the furrow thus the root zone of the crops gets the
desired moisture.
On the basis of their alignment furrows may be classified into
straight furrows (Fig30.7) and contour furrows (Fig30.8).
Based on their size and spacing furrows may be classified as deep
furrows and corrugations. In general, small plants need small
furrows; like vegetables need furrows of 7.5 to 12.5 cm depth
while some row crops like orchards need much deeper furrows.
Corrugation irrigation consists of running water in small furrows
called corrugation which direct the flow down the slope.
Corrugations (Fig 9) are V-shaped or U-shaped channels about 6
to 10 cm deep, spaced 40 to 75 cm apart.
It is commonly used for irrigating non-cultivated crops like small
grains and pastures growing on steep slopes.

Fig.30.7.Straight furrow. (Source: Furrow irrigation

configurations (after USDA-SCS, 1967))
 Fig.30.8.contour furrow irrigation system. (Source: Furrow
irrigation configurations (after USDA-SCS, 1967))

Advantages:
1. Fairly high irrigation application efficiency among surface
irrigation methods
2. Furrows serve as field drains in areas of heavy rainfall
3. Low evaporation losses

Disadvantages;
1. Not suitable in coarse textured soils with high infiltration rates
2. Possibility of intra-furrow soil erosion
3. Labour intensive

Fig.30.9.Corrugation system.
(Source: Water Management (Agro. 201 Lecture Notes)

30.3Criteria for Surface Irrigation Method Selection

The deciding factors for the suitability of any surface irrigation
method are natural conditions (slope, soil type), type of crop,
required depth of application, level of technology, previous
experiences with irrigation, required labour input. Moreover the
irrigation system for a field must be compatible with the existing
farming operations, such as land preparation, cultivation, and
harvesting practices.
The following outline lists a number of factors of the environment
which will have a bearing on the evaluation of irrigation system
alternates and the selection of a particular system. Not all points
will be equally significant in each case, but the outline can serve
as a useful checklist to prevent overlooking important factors:

30.3.1. Physical Factors

Crops and cultural practices are of prime importance while
selecting an irrigation system.Hence, proper knowledge of
agronomic practices and irrigation intervals is necessary for
proper use of irrigation water and to increase water use efficiency.

The following physical factors need to be given due

consideration.
Crop Parameters
- Tolerance of the crop to soil salinity during development
and maturation.
- Magnitude and temporal distribution of water necessary
for maximum production.
- Economic value of crop.

Soils Parameters
- Texture and structure;infiltration rate and erosion
potential;salinity and internal drainage, bearing strength.
- Sandy soils have a low water storage capacity and a
high infiltration rate. Under these circumstances, sprinkler or drip
irrigation are more suitable than surface irrigation. Clay soils with
low infiltration rates are ideally suited to surface irrigation.
- High intake characteristicrequire higher flow rate to
achieve the same uniformity and efficiency.
- Crusting of soil and its effects on infiltration
- Reclamation and salt leaching- basin irrigation
- Spatial variability
Field Topography
- Uniform, mild slopes facilitate surface irrigation.
- Location and relative elevation of water source – water
diversion, pumping
- Acreage in each field
- Location of roads, natural gas lines, electricity lines,
water lines and other obstructions.
- Shape of field – non rectangular shapes are more difficult
to design for
- Field slope – steepness & regularity
- Furrow&borders 2-6% maximum
Climate and Weather Conditions
- Under very windy conditions, drip or surface
irrigation methods are preferred.
- Scalding (the disruption of oxygen-carbon dioxide
exchange between the atmosphere and the root)& the effect of
water temperature on the crop at different stages of growth -risk
in basin irrigation.
- Irrigation with cold water early in the spring can
delay growth, whereas in the hot periods of the summer, it can
cool the environment— both of which can be beneficial or
detrimental in somecases.

Water Supply
The following parameters are important:
- Source and delivery schedule
- Water quantity available and its reliability
- Water quality
- Water table in case of ground water source.

Availability and Reliability of Electricity

Availability and reliability of energy for pumping of water is of
muchimportance.
30.3.2 Economic Considerations
The following points need to be considered while selecting
irrigation alternatives.
- Capital investment required and recurring cost.
- Credit availability and interest rate.
- Life of irrigation system, efficiency and cost economics.

30.3.3 Social Considerations

- The education and skill of common farmers and labours
available for handling the irrigation system
- Social understanding of handling of cooperative activities and
sharing of water resources
- Legal and political considerations, local cooperation and
support, availability and skill of labour and level of automatic
control
LESSON 31 Surface Irrigation Hydraulics

31.1 Flow Regimes and Models

The process of surface irrigation combines the hydraulics of
surface flow in the furrows or over the irrigated land with the
infiltration of water into the soil profile.
The flow is unsteady and varies spatially. The flowat a given
section in the irrigated field changes over time and depends upon
the soil infiltration behaviour.

Performance necessarily depends on the combination of surface

flow and soil infiltration characteristics.

The Equations describing the hydraulics of surface irrigation are

the continuity and momentum equation.These equations are
known as the St.Venantequation.In general, the continuity
equation expressing the conservation of mass, can be written as:

(31.1)

The momentum equation expressing the dynamic equilibrium of

the flow process is:

(31.2)

Where, y - Depth of flow (m)

t -Time from beginning of irrigation (sec)
v - Velocity of flow as f (x, t) (m/s)
x - Distance along the furrow length (m)
I - Infiltrations rate as f (x, t) (m/s)
g - Acceleration due to gravity (m/s²)
So- Longitudinal slope of furrow (m/m)
Sf- Slope of energy grade line (friction slope) in (m/m)
A - Cross-sectional area as f (x, t) (m²)
Q - The discharge (m³/s)

These equations are first-order nonlinear partial differential Eq.

without a known closed-form solution. Appropriate conversion or
approximations of these equations are required. So, several
mathematical simulation models (Full hydrodynamic, zero-
inertia, kinematic-wave and volume-balance) have been
developed, however, among them volume balance models are
more commonly used for design. The volume balance models
consider only the continuity eq. (31.1) and ignore the momentum
eq. (31.2).

Empirical Infiltration Equation

Infiltration rate affects surface flow as well as performance of
irrigation. Several expressions have been proposed for expressing
infiltration rate as a function of elapsed time.

31.1.1The Lewis- KostiakovEquation

A widely used empirical expression, for design of surface
irrigation system, was originally proposed by Lewis (1937) but
was erroneously attributed to Kostiakov.

Fig.31.1.Infiltration rate and Cumulative infiltration vs. elapsed

time.
(Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0231e/t0231e05.htm)

Cumulative: Z = kta (31.3)

(31.4)

Where, Z= the cumulative depth of infiltration or the volume of

water per unit soil surface area
t = elapsed time
 k and a = empirical parameters
i = the infiltration rate

Disadvantages of the original Lewis- KostiakovEquation

• It doesn't account for different initial soil water contents.
• For long infiltration times it erroneously predicts zero rate.

Infiltration rate never becomes zero instead it reaches a steady

state or constant rate condition after a long time. Therefore, the
above Eq. was modified to reflect the steady state infiltration rate
which may occur during surface irrigation system with longer set
times.

31.1.2 Modified KostiakovEquation

The later problem can be fixed by adding a parameter
representing a final infiltration rate (constant infiltration rate) to
the previous Eq. (31.1) and (31.2). So the equation becomes:
Z = kta + fo t (31.5)

(31.6)
 • Because of its simplicity, this model is frequently used in
agricultural irrigation studies.
• Parameters k and a can be estimated by plotting the
infiltration rate (I) or cumulative infiltration (Z) against
time on log-log paper and fitting a straight line.

31.2 Volume Balance Concept

Volume balance equation

(31.7)

Fig. 31.2.Approximation of sub-surface and surface profiles

during volume-balance.

Also assume that advance characteristics follow a power function

x = ptr (31.8)
Power Advance Volume Balance Model
Using power advance, Elliott and Walker (1982) gave the
following solution to the volume balance considering Modified
Kostiakoveq:

(31.9)

Where, Q0 = inflow rate, m³/min

A0 = cross sectional area of flow inlet, m²
x = the advance distance, m
t= the advance time to distance x since beginning of irrigation,
min
k and a= coefficients of modified Kostikov’s Eq.
f0= basic infiltration rate, m³/m/min
p and r =empirical parameters of advance curve
σy =surface storage factor and generally it has a value of 0.77
σzis defined as:

(31.10)
31.3 Advance Time Determination
Water will be distributed within a surface-irrigated field non-
uniformly due to the differential time required for water to cover
the field. To account for these differences in the design
procedures, it is necessary to calculate the advance trajectory
(curve).

It is first necessary to describe the flow cross section using two of

the following functions:
A = a1 ya2 (31.11)
And
WP = b1yb2 (31.12)

Or as a simpler substitute,
AR0.67 = p1Ap2 (31.13)

Where, A= cross sectional flow area, m²

R = hydraulic radius, m
y = flow depth, m
WP= wetted perimeter, m
a1, a2, b1, b2, p1,p2 = empirical shape coefficients

For border and basin systems,a1, a2, b1 and p1 are equal to 1. The
value of b2 is 0.0 and p2 is 3.3333.
The next step is to determine the cross-sectional flow area at the
field inlet . For sloping fields, this can be accomplished with the
Manning Eq. as follows:

(31.14)

Where, Q0 = Field inlet discharge, m³/min/unit

width
n = Manning roughness coefficient
S0 = field slope

The design input data required at this point are , field length (L),
S, nand . This information can be used to solve the volume
balance Eq. for the time of advance,

(31.15)

Where,

Computation Steps of Advance Time

 1. The first step is to compute the flow cross-sectional area
2. Make an initial estimate of power advance exponent (r) and
label this value , usually setting , = 0.1 to 0.9 are good initial
estimates. Then, a revised estimate of r is computed and
compared below.
3. Calculate the subsurface shape factors
4. Calculate the time of advance by Newton- Raphson
technique.

• Assume an initial estimate of tL as T1, Then

• Compute a revised estimate of tL (say T2) as,

(31.16)

• Compare the initial and revised of . If they are within about

0.5 minutes or less, the analysis proceeds to step 4. If they
are not equal, let T1 = T2 and repeat steps b through c. It
should be noted that if the inflow is insufficient to complete
the advance phase in about 24 hours, the value of is too
small or the value of L is too large and the design process
should be restarted with revised values. This can be used to
evaluate the feasibility of a flow value and to find the inflow.
5. Compute the time of advance to the field midpoint , using
the same procedure as outlined in Step 4.
• The half-length (0.5L) is substituted for ‘L’ and ‘ ’ for ‘ ’.
• Volume balance Eq. is used with half length (0.5L) to find
an appropriate value of
6. Compute a revised estimate of ‘r’ say

(31.17)

7. Compare the initial estimate with the revised estimate

• If the difference between the two values is less than 0.0001
(error criterion), the procedure for finding is concluded.
• If not then is replaced with and steps 3-6 are repeated until
the prescribed error criterion is satisfied.
31.4 Intake Opportunity Time Determination
The basic mathematical model of infiltration utilized in the intake
opportunity time determination is the Kostiakov- Lewis relation:

(31.18)

Where, Z- required infiltrated volume per unit length, m³/m

(per furrow or per unit width are implied)
t- The design intake opportunity time, minute
a -The constant exponent
k - The constant coefficient, m3/mina/m of length
fo - the basic intake rate, m3/min/m of length
In order to express intake as a depth of application, Zmust be
divided by the unit width. For furrows, the unit width is the furrow
spacing, w, while for borders and basins it is 1.0. Values
of k, a, fo and w along with the volume per unit length required to
refill the root zone, Zreq, are design input data.

The volume balance design procedure requires that the intake

opportunity time associated with be known. This time,
represented by can be obtained from modified Kostiakov Eq.
using the Newton-Raphson procedure.

A step by step procedure for the calculation of intake opportunity

time is given below:
1. Make an initial estimate of and level it
2. Compute a revised estimateof ,

(31.19)
3. Compare the values of the initial and revised estimates of ( )
by taking their absolute difference. If they are equal to each
other or within an acceptable tolerance of about 0.5 minutes, the
value of is determined as the result. If they are not sufficiently
equal in value, replace( ) and repeat steps 2 and 3
LESSON 32 Furrow Irrigation System

As discussed in the previous lecture on surface irrigation

methods, furrow irrigation is a class of surface irrigation methods
in which water is field is divided into ridge and furrows. The crop
is grown on the ridge whereas irrigation water is applied to the
furrow.
32.1 General Adoptability
The adaptability of furrow irrigation to a specific site depends on
climate, soils, topography, crops to be grown, and water supply.

32.1.1 Climatic Factors

- Precipitation and wind may affect suitability as well as the
design criteria.
- Risk of surface runoff and excessive soil erosion due to
excessive precipitation, concentrated runoff in the channels
resulting in crop damage from flooding; these conditions must be
considered in determining which furrow method is suitable for a
given area.
32.1.2Soil
- Medium to moderately fine-textured soils of relatively high
availablewaterholding capacity are desirable
- Intakecharacteristics should facilitate both lateral and
vertical water penetration (Fig. 32.1)
- Furrow irrigation generally is not recommendedon soils
containing high concentrations of salts.

Fig. 31.1. Lateral and vertical water movement during furrow

irrigation. (Source:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w3094e/w3094e03.htm)

32.1.3Topography
- The rows can be laid out on a continuous grade.
- The topography must be such that levelling does not expose
unproductive soil or that the cost oflevelling is not excessive.
- The topography must not be so steep that it exceeds the
allowable corrugation grade or prohibits installation of graded
contour furrows that meet the design grade and cross-slope
criteria.
32.1.4Crops
- Adapted for nearly allirrigated crops except those grown in
ponded water, such as rice.
- Suitable for irrigating crops subject toinjury if water covers
the crown or stems of the plants.
32.1.5Water Supply
The quantity and quality of the water supplydetermines its
suitability for use in furrow irrigation.

32.2 Furrow Irrigation Design Consideration

Efficient irrigation by furrow method is obtained by selecting
proper combination of spacing, length, slope of furrows, suitable
size of the irrigation stream and duration of water application.
32.2.1 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.
Table 32.1.Recommended furrow spacing for different soil
types, and depths of irrigation for complete wetting

Soil type Depths of irrigation (m) Furrow spacing (cm)

Sandy soil 1 to 1.5 50 to 60
Clay soil 1 to 1.5 100 or more

32.2.2Furrow Length
The optimum length of a furrow is usually the longest furrow that
can be safely and efficiently irrigated. Proper furrow length
depends largely on the hydraulic conductivity of soil. The length
of furrow may be limited by the size and shape of the field.
Table32.2. Recommended furrow length for different soil types,
furrow slopes and depths of irrigation

Furrows length (m)

Furro Slope type
w Clay loam san
slope ds
(%) Net depth of water application
7.5 cm 15cm 5 cm 10 cm 5 cm 7.5 cm 10 cm
0.05 300 400 120 270 60 90 150
0.10 350 440 180 330 90 120 190
0.20 370 470 220 370 120 190 250
0.30 390 500 280 400 150 225 280
0.50 380 500 280 370 120 190 250
1.0 270 400 250 300 90 150 220

32.2.3Furrow Slope
Furrow slope controls the speed at which water flows down the
furrow. A minimum slope of 0.05% is needed to ensure surface
drainage. In general, the ranges in slope recommended for borders
apply to furrows also.

32.2.4 Furrow Stream

The size of furrow stream usually varies from 0.5 to 2.5 litres 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 empirical formula:

(32.1)

Where,
qm = maximum non-erosive stream, Lsec-1
s= slope of furrow expressed in percent
The average depth of water applied during irrigation can be
calculated from the following relationship:

(32.2)
Where,
d = average depth of water applied,cm
q= stream size, Ls-1
 t= duration of irrigation, h
w = furrow spacing, m
L= furrow length, m
Problem 32.1:
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?

Answer:
In case of furrow irrigation non-erosive stream,

Where,
qm= maximum non-erosive stream, litres per second
s= slope of furrow expressed as a percent
So,

In a furrow 4lt/s water is applied.

Average depth of water applied,

Where,
d = average depth of water applied, cm
q= stream size, Ls-1
t= duration of irrigation, h
w = furrow spacing, m
L= furrow length, m

Now,
LESSON 33 Border Irrigation System

In border irrigation the field is divided into number of graded

strips by constructing dikes or ridges. Water is introduced at the
upper end and flows as a sheet down the strip. The strips are
generally not closed at the end.
33.1 General Adaptability
Border irrigation is suited to all crops that are not damaged by
inundation for short periods. It can be used on nearly all irrigable
soils but is best suited to soils whose intake rates are neither
extremely low nor extremely high.

33.2 Design Considerations

33.2.1 Layout
The border strips are so located that a supply channel or pipeline
delivers water to the upper end of the border. It is also suggested
that the border strips are constructed parallel to the filed boundary
to facilitate the intercultural operations. For long fields with soils
having high infiltration capacity more than one border strip
should be constructed along the entire length of the field. The
main factors to be considered during the design of layout are
given below:

33.2.2 Water Source Location

It is desirable to choose a water source in the central position of
the filed to minimize the construction of channel and pipes also
keeping in mind the fact that the water source should be in a
position to facilitate the gravity flow to the field channels.

33.2.3 Border Strip Width

- Border strip widths suitable for any particular field depend
on (1) available stream size (2) amount of cross slope that must
be removed, (3) kind of equipment used, and (4) accuracy of land
levelling as related to the normal depth of flow expected.
- The width of a border usually varies from 3 to 15 meters,
depending on the size of irrigation stream available and the degree
of land levelling practicable.

33.2.4 Border Strip Length

Longer border strip are desirable to reduce the labour and other
operating costs, however the aspect of uniformity and application
efficiency of the border strip should be kept in mind while
determining the length of the border. Long border strips are easier
to farm than short strips because fewer turns by farm equipment
are required. Soil type is the most important aspect which
determines the length of the border. Typical border lengths for
different soils are given in Table 33.1

Table 33.1. Recommended border length for different type of

soil for moderate slopes and small to moderate size irrigation
streams

Type of soils Border length, (m)

Sand 60 to 90
Loamy sand 75 to 150
Sandy loam 90 to 250
Clay loam 90 to 300
Clay 180 to 350

33.2.5 Land Smoothening

Land smoothening increases the efficiency by eliminating any
furrows in which the flow might accumulate. Borders with zero
cross slopes are preferred for higher irrigation efficiencies
however in undulating terrain cross slopes might be present.
While levelling the land the topography must be studied carefully
to economize the operation by levelling the smaller slopes.
33.2.6 Stream Size
The design stream size should be large enough to spread adequate
amounts of water across the length and breadth of the border;
however it should be erosive in nature. The design stream size
should also result in rates of advance and recession which are
essentially equal.
- The size of irrigation stream needed depends on the
infiltration rate of the soil and the width of the border strip.
- The depth of water applied to the soil can be regulated by
the size of the irrigation stream.

Table 33.2. Some typical values of stream sizes to suit varying

soil characteristics and border slopes

Flow per metre width of

Border
Soil Type border strip, litre per
Slope (%)
second
Sandy soil, infiltration rate 0.20-0.40 10-15
2.5 cm per hour 0.40-0.65 7-10
Loamy sand, infiltration 0.20-0.40 7-10
rate 1.8 to 2.5 cm per hour 0.40-0.60 5-8

Sandy loam, infiltration 0.20-0.40 5-7

rate 1.2 to 1.8 cm per hour 0.40-0.60 4-6
Clay loam, infiltration rate 0.15-0.30 3-4
0.60 to 0.80 cm per hour 0.30-0.40 2-3
Clay, infiltration rate 0.20
0.10-0.20 2-4
to 0.60 cm per hour

33.2.7 Irrigation Time

Irrigation time is the infiltration opportunity time. It is calculated
from the empirical equations to calculate depth of infiltration
noting that the cumulative infiltration should be able to meet the
irrigation requirements.

33.2.8 Inflow Time

The inflow time is selected keeping in mind that the desired depth
of irrigation be applied in the far end of the border. The inflow
time is calculated assuming that the advance and the recession
curves are parallel.

33.2.9 Border Ridge Height

- On non-cohesive soils, border ridges with a settled height
of more than20 cm are difficult to construct and maintain without
making them excessively wide.
- In addition, where salinity is a problem, salt can accumulate
in the ridge crest. The higher the ridge, the more pronounced the
salt accumulation is likely to be.

33.3 Design of Border Irrigation System

Assumptions
• Surface water profiles at time of cutoff (the time at which
water inflow is shutoff to the field,) as well as (at the end
of depletion and also at the beginning of recession,) are
straight lines with end points corresponding to uniform flow
conditions (Fig.33.1).
• Depth at the downstream end remains constant during the
depletion phase and runoff () occurs at a constant rate.
• During both depletion and recession phases, the sum of
infiltration (I) and runoff () remains equal to the pre cutoff
unit inflow rate
 Fig.33.1. Water surface profiles at the beginning of depletion
and recession phases.
With these assumption, the time required from the cutoff time to
the end of depletion phase, is equal to the time required to remove
a triangular volume of length L and height at a constant rate as
both infiltration and runoff. It can be expressed as:

(33.1)
At the beginning of recession, it is assumed that the depth changes
with distance at uniform rate over the entire length of border,
which can be expressed as:

(33.2)
Where is function of at time td and can be evaluated as follows:

(33.3)

For border, A = y and WP = 1 and therefore R = y or and I is

the average infiltration rate (m/sec) over the length, L.
Sy becomes

(33.4)
I can be expressed as a mean of infiltration rate at the upstream
end (I()) and at the downstream end I(td - tL):

(33.5)
Walker and Skogerboe (1987) provided an equation for
estimating the recession time as follows

(33.6)
A step wise design procedure for free drained borders:
1. Collect information related to field characteristics, soil, crop,
and water supply.
 Table 33.3. Data required for the design of basin irrigation
systems

Sl. no Design variables symbols

1 Kostiakov-Lewis infiltration model parameters a ,k ,fo
2 Field length L
3 Field width Wf
4 field slope S0
5 Mannings roughness coefficient n
6 Border shape coefficients ρ1,p2
7 Required depth of irrigation Zreq
8 Soil erosive velocity Vmax
9 Water supply rate Q
10 Duration of water supply T

2. Determine the maximum (Qmax) and minimum (Qmin) values

of unit inflow rate Q0 (m³/min/m) using below equation (to limit
the flow within the non-erosive velocity with sufficient depth to
spread laterally):

(33.7)

(33.8)
3. Select unit flow rate ) between and in such a way that it results
in a set width that contains an even number of borders of
satisfactory width and integer number of sets using below
equation:

(33.9)

(33.10)
4. Compute the inflow depth at the inlet (m) using below
equation:

(33.11)
5. Compute (min) to satisfy the irrigation requirement from the
following equation

(33.12)
Where Zreqis the required depth of infiltration.
6. Compute the time of advance to the end of border (min) (using
procedure described in Lecture 31).
7. Compute the time of recession (minutes since the beginning
of irrigation) assuming that the design will meet irrigation
requirement at the end of the border

8. Compute the depletion time (min) by using Newton Raphson

method as follows:
a) Assume initial guess of td as T1 = tr
b) Compute the average infiltration rate along the border by
averaging the rates as both ends at time T1

(33.13)
c) Compute the relative water surface slope,

(33.14)
d) Compute a revised estimate of the depletion time,

(33.15)
e) Compare the initial guess, with the new computed value. If
both values are equal then is found and continue with step 9.
Otherwise, set and repeat steps b through e.

9. Compare the depletion time with the required intake

opportunity time. As recession is an important process in border
irrigation, it is possible for the applied depth at the end of the field
to be greater than at the inlet. If td > rreq , the irrigation at the field
inlet is adequate and the application efficiency, Eacan be
calculated by using the following estimate of time of cutoff

(33.16)

(33.17)
10. If td < rreq the irrigation is not complete and the cutoff time
must be increased so the intake at the inlet is equal to the
required depth. The computation proceeds as follows

(33.18)

Example 33.1:
Design a border irrigation system for the following conditions:
Field length, L = 200 m
Field width, W = 100 m,

The typical slopes are 0.8% in the 100 m dimension and 0.1% in
the other
the Manning roughness coefficient for first irrigations will be
taken as 0.04 and for the later irrigations as 0.10

Soil texture = silt

Design irrigation requirement = 8 cm
Shape parameters ρ= 1 and ρ2 = 1.67
Soils appear to be relatively non-erosive and have been tested to
yield the following infiltration function:

First irrigation:
Second irrigation:
Infiltration function parameters: k = 0.0053, a = 0.327 and =
0.000052
Available supply rate, Q= 1.8 m³/min
Supply duration =36 hrs.

Solution:
1. Calculate the maximum inflow per unit width for the first
irrigation along the 200 m length where erosion is most likely:

And similarly for irrigations along the 100 m (SO = 0.008)

direction

The minimum flow using later field roughness where spreading

may be a problem is for the 200 m length
Or in the 100 m direction:

2. Compute (min) to satisfy the irrigation requirement ,for first

irrigation and for second irrigation
3. Select within the range of and in case of later irrigation
• The flow is adjusted and possible combinations are listed
below

Number of
borders, Border width,(Wb) Unit inflow rate (Q0)
m m³/min/m
(Nb)
1 100 0.018
2 50 0.036
3 33 0.545

Q0 = 0.036m³/min/m is selected
4. For an inflow of 0.036 m3/min/m, the advance time along the
200 m length under later conditions is about 301.8 min
5. Compute the inflow depth at inlet (m) using the Mannings
equation as follows:

And value should be less than the ridge height

6. Compute the time of recession (in minutes since the
beginning of irrigation) assuming that the design will meet the
irrigation requirement at the end of the border

7. Compute the depletion time in min using the Newton

Raphson method as follows:
a) Assume an initial estimate of td as td = tr = 980.8 min
b) Compute the average infiltration

c) Compute

d) Compute new value of as using below equation as follows:

e) The initial guess () is not close to the new computed value ()
and repeat step b through e.
8. Correct value of = 802.7 min
9. Compute new by substituting in place of in following
equation

10. Compute application efficiency

11. Check the water availability constraint and repeat steps 4 to

10 for other unit inflow rates. Choose the design which gives
maximum Ea value.

This series of computations is repeated for the full range of

discharges, field lengths and infiltration conditions. The
following table gives a detailed summary of selected options for
the first and subsequent irrigation conditions running in both the
200 m and 100 m directions.

First irrigation, L= 200m

 Field
Border Unit Advance Recession Application
Sets Cutofftime,hr on
width,m flow,m³/min time,hr time,hr efficiency,%
time,hr
2 50 0.036 6.36 11.34 12.83 22.67 65.3
3 33 0.545 3.11 8.10 9.59 24.29 60.4
4 25 0.072 2.14 7.12 8.61 28.49 52
5 20 0.09 1.64 6.63 8.12 33.16 44.7

Later irrigation, L= 200m

Field
Border Unit Advance Recession Application
Sets Cutofftime,hr on
width,m flow,m³/min time,hr time,hr efficiency,%
time,hr
1 100 0.018 15.55 23.66 26.86 23.66 62.6
2 50 0.036 5.03 13.12 16.34 26.24 56.5
3 33 0.0545 3.15 11.25 14.47 33.76 43.4

First irrigation, L= 100m

Field
Border Unit Advance Recession Application
Sets Cutofftime,hr on
width,m flow,m³/min time,hr time,hr efficiency,%
time,hr
2 100 0.018 5.27 11.21 11.74 22.42 66.1
3 67 0.0269 2.35 8.30 8.83 24.89 59.8
4 50 0.036 1.44 7.39 7.92 29.55 50.1
5 40 0.045 1.03 6.98 7.51 34.91 40.4
 Later irrigation, L= 100m

Field
Border Unit Advance Recession Application
Sets Cutofftime,hr on
width,m flow,m³/min time,hr time,hr efficiency,%
time,hr
1 200 0.009 12.89 23.07 24.20 23.07 64.2
2 100 0.018 3.45 13.61 14.76 27.23 54.5

LESSON 34. Basin Irrigation System

Basin irrigation is a class of surface irrigation methods in which

area is divided into number checks or basins.
34.1 General Adoptability
Basin irrigation design is simpler than either furrow or border
design since tail water is prevented fromthe existing field and the
slopes are usually very small or zero. Thus, recession and
depletion are accomplished at the same time and nearly uniform
over the entire basin. Because longitudinal and transverse slopes
are small or zero, the driving force in the flow is limited to the
hydraulic slope of the water surface. Consequently, the
uniformity of the field surface topography is critically important.
Check basin irrigation is suited for smooth gentle and uniform
land slopes and for soils having moderate to low infiltration rates.
Steep slopes require complex layouts and heavy land levelling.
Both row crops and close-growing crops are adopted to be used
with basins as long as the crop is not affected by temporary
inundation or is planted in raised beds so that it will remain above
the water level. The method is specially adopted for irrigation of
grain and fodder crops in heavy soils where water is absorbed
slowly and is required to stand for a relatively long time to ensure
adequate irrigation.
Check basins are useful when leaching is required to remove salts
from the soil profile. The method enables the conservation of
rainfall and reduction in soil erosion by retaining a large part of
the rain in the basin to be infiltrated gradually, without loss due
to surface runoff. The method usually results in high water
application and distribution efficiencies if the desired net depth of
irrigation can be estimated adequately and if the size of the
irrigation streams measured properly.

34.2 Design Consideration

Check basins are necessarily rectangular or square areas with
bunds constructed around the area to control the irrigation water.
However for rolling topography the bunds are constructed along
the contours and are intersected at definite intervals by cross
ridges. The size of the area may vary widely (1 sq. m to 2 ha),
based upon the crop, available water supply, soil infiltration
characteristics and other local factors. For soils with high
infiltration capacity (loam and sandy loam) large sized basins
may prove to be uneconomical and inefficient (in terms of
irrigation efficiencies). However for clay soils with lower
infiltration rates the size can of the check basin can be increased.
The height of the bund depends on the amount of water to be
retained while its width depends mainly on the bearing strength
of the soil.

34.2.1 Layout
In order to maximize the spacing between supply channels it is
desirable that the long axis of the basin be perpendicular to the
supply channel or pipe line (Fig 1). The main factors to be taken
into consideration are:

Fig.34.1.Layout of check basin irrigation system.

(Source: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/Webcourse-
contents/IIT%20Kharagpur/Water%20Resource%20Engg/pdf/m
3l04.pdf)
34.2.2Water Source Location: It is desirable to choose a water
source in the central position of the filed to minimize the
construction of channel and pipes also keeping in mind the fact
that the water source should be in a position to facilitate the
gravity flow to the field channels.
34.2.3 Terrain: Level land facilitates the construction of
rectangular basin whereas in undulating topography the basin
shapes are generally irregular. In case of high slopes terracing is
done to obtain level basins.
34.2.4 Basin sizes: Basin dimensions are generally determined by
the inflow stream size and the infiltration characteristics of the
soil. Longer basins can be designed for fine textured soils whereas
the basin size has to be kept small for sandy soils. The following
table (Table 34.1) gives a rough estimate of the basin size for
different soil types. However local factors and previous
experience play a major role in the determinate of basin size.

Table 34.1.Area of basins for different soil types.

Maximum width (m)

Slope %
average range
0.2 45 35-55
0.3 37 30-45
0.4 32 25-40
0.5 28 20-35
0.6 25 20-30
0.8 22 15-30
1.0 20 15-25
 1.2 17 10-20
1.5 13 10-20
2.0 10 5-15
3.0 7 5-10
4.0 5 3-8

34.2.5 Basin Width

The main limiting factor for basin width is the slope of the land.
For higher slopes the width should be small or else huge amount
of earthwork would be necessary to level the land. The other
factors which play an important role in the determination of basin
width are depth of fertile soil, method of basin construction and
agricultural practices.
If the topsoil is shallow, there is a danger of exposing the infertile
subsoil when the terraces are excavated. This can be avoided by
reducing the width of basins and thus limiting the depth of
excavation. Basins are narrow if they are constructed by the hand
but they are wider when machines are used. The basins can be
narrow if hand implements are used for intercultural operations
however if machines are to be used for intercultural operations
the width should be larger. Table 34.2 gives a standard for the
basin width in different slopes.

Table 34.2.Approximate values for the maximum basin or

terrace width(m)
 Maximum width (m)
Slope %
average range
0.2 45 35-55
0.3 37 30-45
0.4 32 25-40
0.5 28 20-35
0.6 25 20-30
0.8 22 15-30
1.0 20 15-25
1.2 17 10-20
1.5 13 10-20
2.0 10 5-15
3.0 7 5-10
4.0 5 3-8

(Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/s8684e/s8684e03.htm)

From the above discussions the following conclusions can be

drawn:
Basins should be small if the
1. Slope of the land is high
2. Soil is highly permeable (sandy)
3. Inflow stream is small in size
4. Required depth of the irrigation is small
5. Field preparation is done by hand or animal traction.
Basins can be large if the
1. Slope of the land is gentle or flat
2. Soil has low infiltration rate (clay)
3. Inflow stream is large in size
4. Required depth of the irrigation application is large
5. Field preparation and intercultural operations are mechanized.

34.2.6Land Smoothening
The levelling of the land by the removal of high and low areas,
which cause uneven infiltration, is essential to achieve higher
irrigation efficiencies. The levelling of the land also facilitates the
construction of supply channels and farm roads.
34.2.7Stream Size
For level basins the maximum non erosive stream size should be
used to achieve better uniformity and minimum deep percolation
losses.
34.2.8Irrigation Time
Irrigation time is the infiltration opportunity time. It is calculated
from the empirical equations to calculate depth of infiltration
noting that the cumulative infiltration should be able to meet the
irrigation requirements. The level of water in the field may be
maintained by the use of check gates with the height of the shutter
adjusted to the required depth of submergence.
34.2.9Inflow Time
The time for which the water flows into the basin is called the
inflow time. This is selected to allow the desired depth of
infiltration taking place at the far end of the basin. In general this
is the summation of the advance time and the time required to
deliver the volume of water needed for adequate irrigation.
34.2.10 Ridge/Bunds Dimensions
Bunds form an important part of any basin. Bunds are small
earthen borders which contain the irrigation water within the
basin. The height of the bund is determined by the depth of
irrigation to be maintained within the basin. The width of the bund
should be such that the bund is stable.
Temporary bundsare usually 60-120 cm wide at the base and
have a height of 15-30 cm above the original ground surface,
including a freeboard of 10 cm (which means an irrigation depth
of 5-20 cm). Temporary bunds are rebuilt each season and they
surround fields on which annual crops are grown. Permanent
bundsusually have a base width of 130-160 cm and a height of
60-90 cm when constructed. The settled height will be 40-50 cm.
This settling (compaction of the soil) will take in several months.
Permanent bunds are mostly used in rice cultivation, where the
same crop is planted on the same fields year after year. The bunds
are used as paths in the rice fields as well.
Water is conveyed to the field by a network of laterals which are
fed by a main supply channel situated on the upper side of the
field.Generally every two rows of check basins are fed by one
lateral (Fig.34.1). The size of the inflow stream should be
sufficient enough to cover the basin within a short period of time
and provide adequate amount of water to supply the infiltration
demands.
For irrigating widely spaced plants in the orchards ring basins
may be used. In this method, generally for each tree, a separate
basin is made which is usually circular in shape as shown in Fig.
34.2. The size of the basin may be increased as the plant matures.
The entire area is not flooded in the case of ring basin and hence
the irrigation efficiency increases.

Fig 34.2.Layout of ring basin irrigation system.

(Source:http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/Webcourse-
contents/IIT%20Kharagpur/Water%20Resource%20Engg/pdf/m
3l04.pdf)

34.3 Hydraulics of Check Basin

The irrigation event in the check basin can be considered to have
the following four phases.

34.3.1 Initial Spreading of the Entrance Stream To Cover The

Full Width
After the initiation of the stream into the field the stream spreads
along the width of the border till the total width of the border is
covered. The stream also advances along the slope during this
period.
34.3.2Water Front Advance
The water front advance takes place in almost similar manner to
that of border irrigation. Land slope, surface roughness, soil type
and stream size play the main role in determining the advance
characteristics of the water front.
34.3.3 Water Storage
The ponding of water begins once the water reached the
downstream end of the check basin. The volume of water stored
during a time period is equal to the difference of the volume
admitted to the basin and the amount of infiltration taking place.
34.3.4 Recession of Water
In case of check basin the recession of water takes place due to
infiltration and the empirical infiltration equations can be used
calculate the time required for complete subsidence of water.
Advantages
1. Water can be applied uniformly.
2. Even small streams can be used for irrigation of crops
efficiently.
3. Simple and cheap when equipment is used for constructing
bunds.
Disadvantages
1. Unless the land is levelled, distribution of water in plot is
uneven.
2. Considerable area is lost under field channels and bunds i.e.
nearly 30% of area.
3. Bunds interfere in working of inter-cultivation equipment
4. More labour is required for field layout and irrigation
Module 7: Pressurized Irrigation

LESSON 35. Sprinkler Irrigation

The sprinkler irrigation is one of the pressurised irrigation

methods, in which water is sprayed into the air and fall on the
ground surface somewhat resembling rainfall. The spray of water
is developed by the flow of water under pressure through small
orifices or nozzles. The pressure created by the pump, which
causes the water to flow out through the sprinkler nozzle. The
nozzles are mounted on the pressurized pipe system. With careful
selection of nozzle sizes and spacing, sprinkler pipe spacing and
operating pressure the amount of irrigation water required to fill
the crop root zone can be applied nearly uniform at the sprinkling
rate to suit the infiltration rate of soil. Pipes used for the sprinkler
irrigation system are usually light in weight hence can be
conveniently installed and transported in the field from one place
to another. The pipes need to be flexible, crack and impact-proof,
capable to sustain the desired pressure and temperature; and
durable.
In this system the water is supplied from the water source through
network of pipes and sprinkler nozzles located at a fixed height
and a velocity which breaks water jet into small droplets that fall
on to the soil or crop surface. As water is not allowed to flow over
land surface, the water losses in the process of conveyance and
distribution are completely eliminated. Hence compared to
surface irrigation methods, high irrigation efficiency is achieved
in sprinkler irrigation method of water application. The sprinkler
irrigation system requires less labour than surface irrigation. This
method is highly suitable on sandy soils where water lost through
infiltration is very high. Fig. 35.1 shows application of irrigation
water in the form of spray resembling rainfall through sprinkler
nozzles using a pump for developing the required pressure.

Fig. 35.1. Farmland sprinkler irrigation.

(Source:http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_irrigationmgt_
sprinklerirrigation.html)
35.1 Critical Appraisal of the Adaptability of Sprinkler
Irrigation
Sprinkler system needs the various essential components to
enable the water to fall on soil surface in the form of spray and
hence involves high initial capital cost. Comparatively sprinkler
system requires higher pressure to develop the spray having the
droplets of required size, hence this method needs more energy
than other water application methods. The method also requires
needs high operational skills, desired pressure, application rate,
droplet sizes and application uniformity are to be maintained for
successful implementation. The maintenance cost of various
components used in the system is relatively greater. Hence there
exists a need to make efficient design and layout the system to tap
its full potential for water saving and crop yield.

Sprinkler irrigation system is adoptable to following situations:

• Almost all types of soils and terrains.
• Successfully irrigate high permeable soils that are difficult
to irrigate using surface irrigation methods.
• Lands with combination of shallow soils and terrain that
prevent proper land grading smoothing.
• Lands having steep slopes and erodible soils and undulating
terrain that would be too costly to make smooth for use.
• Areas prone to frost and fog in Northern India this method
can be used to minimise their effect of frost and fog on crop
damage.
• Suppressing dust during to dust storm during summer and
cooling the local environment.
35.2 Advantages and Limitations of Sprinkler Irrigation
• Advantages
(i) In sprinkler method of irrigation the water is moved through
the network of pipes from the source to the field, thereby
minimising the water losses in the process of conveyance and
distribution. The studies conducted in different parts of India
showed that this method can save water to the extent of 30 per
cent compared to surface irrigation method. Hence this method
has the distinct advantage of water saving over surface irrigation
methods.
(ii) Frequent application of water and depths matching with the
water requirement of crops. Therefore it is possible to maintain
the soil moisture in the root zone of crops within allowable
depletion level for a specified type of soil.
(iii) As there is no overland flow, water is not moved on land
surface, this method is suitable for irrigating all types of soils
except very heavy clay. This method is particularly suitable for
irrigating close growing crops where the plant population per unit
area is more.
(iv)It is suitable for oil seeds and cereal and vegetable crops.
(v) It is not necessary to overland flow by gravity therefore
expenditure of land levelling and smoothening are not required
done in surface irrigation methods.
(vi)There is no necessity of making bunds, ridges, field channels
etc. for ponding or guiding water. The land used for these
construction is saved and can be used for crop cultivation.
(vii) Due to high pressure requirement the nozzles are less
susceptible to clogging compared to drip irrigation method.
(viii) Chemicals and fertilizers can be applied along with water.
(xi) This method saves the fertilizers and other nutrients there is
no deep percolation and leaching.
(x) The damage on vegetables, citrus, apple, mango, litchi, and
other fruit crops to fog, frost and high solar radiations can be
protected.
(xi) High water use efficiency can be achieved with proper
planning and design of sprinkler irrigation system.
(xii) Plant protection chemicals can be applied to distant part of
plant, which is not possible in other methods of irrigation.

• Limitations
Alongside the different benefits offered by this method as
explained above, there are certain limitations of this method.
These are stated below.
(i) High initial investment as compared to surface irrigation
methods.
(ii) The fine-textured soils which have a low infiltration rate
cannot be irrigated efficiently.
(iii) Sprinkler irrigation is not feasible in hot climate and high
wind areas, as major portion of water will be lost through
evaporation and water distribution is affected due to high wind
speed.
(iv) High operational costs due to higher energy requirements.
(v) Not suitable for crops that require ponding water. However,
research experiments on paddy crops have given promising
results.
(vi) In humid regions, not suitable for crops prone to diseases due
to moist environment.
(vii) Water with impurities and sediments may damage the system
components.

35.3 Scope and Status of Sprinkler Irrigation in India

Agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water and
consuming more than 80% water available. However the demand
of water has been consistently increasing from other sectors like
municipal, industry, hydropower etc. and each of these sectors is
provided water often be at the cost of agriculture. The surface
method of irrigation is practiced in large parts of the country. In
this method more than 50% of applied water is lost in the process
of conveyance, application, runoff and evaporation and less than
50% water is utilized for consumptive use of crop. The drip and
sprinklers methods of water application, the crop efficiency
utilize water for consumptive use. The drip and sprinkler methods
saves the water more than 50% of water applied and hence these
methods assume high importance. Hence these two methods are
to be used for efficient distribution and application of water for
crop production under the circumstances of increasing
competition of water from other sectors and need to bring more
area under irrigation due to increased demand for food.
In India, the area irrigated by the sprinkler system is about 3.59
million ha, which is less than 2.5 % of the total area under
irrigation. Table 35.1 provides the statistics of a area under
sprinkler and drip irrigation systems in different states of India.
As on March 31, 2012 Rajasthan has the largest area under
sprinkler irrigation followed by Haryana. The sprinkler system
was first introduced in the mid-1950s by few progressive farmers
of the Narmada valley in Madhya Pradesh, Southern region of
Haryana and north eastern part of Rajasthan and parts of Punjab
to overcome the problem of water scarcity. Realizing the
importance of this system, its adoption later spread to more areas
in these states and also in the states of Maharashtra and
Karnataka. It is estimated that about 1, 35,000 sprinkler sets were
in use in India in 1997 (INCID, 1994). About 65 % of the area
under sprinkler irrigation is under field crops like cereals, pulses,
oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and vegetables and the rest 40% under
tea, coffee and cardamom plantations in the Western Ghats region
and in the North Eastern states. The popularization of sprinkler
irrigation in India received significant support from the various
schemes involving subsides by the central and state governments.
In India, per hectare investment for irrigation projects has
increased enormously. Therefore it is necessary to bring more
area under sprinkler and drip irrigation methods so that the saved
water can utilized for bringing more area under irrigation. In view
of the scarcity of water and the cost escalation of irrigation
projects, it is essential and necessary to economize the use of
water and at the same time increase the productivity per unit area.
This could be achieved only by large-scale adoption of sprinkler
and drip irrigation systems for achieving economy. The
application of sprinkler and drip irrigation at commercial level
was encouraged by the formation of a National Committee on the
use of Plastics in Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture
Government of India. Later on it was renamed as the National
Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture. The
Committee established twenty two Precision Farming
Development Centres in different agro climatic regions of the
country for conducting research on micro irrigation and to take
the proven technologies to the farmers through demonstrations
and training. Thus in view of water scarcity, growing demands of
water from other sectors, increasingly high investment of creation
of new water resources and encouragement of State and Central
Governments, there is scope for adoption of sprinkler and drip
irrigation methods of irrigation in India Tiwari (2009).

Table 35.1. Area under Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation Methods

AREA AS ON 31.03.2012 (Ha)

Sl. No. State Drip Sprinkler Total
1 Rajasthan 55715 1098133 1153848
2 Maharashtra 778660 347623 1126283
3 Andhra pradesh 665661 323457 989118
 4 Karnataka 293593 385675 679268
5 Haryana 17772 542431 560204
6 Gujarat 309520 246222 555742
7 Madhya Pradesh 110550 176223 286774
8 Tamil Nadu 206756 28217 234973
9 West Bengal 589 150576 151165
10 Chhattisgarh 11328 136310 147638
11 Orissa 12320 46090 58410
12 Sikkim 3460 2339 14799
13 Punjab 27615 11559 39174
14 UP 13973 17328 31301
15 Kerala 17301 4280 21581
16 Bihar 752 36628 37381
17 Nagaland 0 3962 3962
18 Jharkhand 1273 8842 10115
19 Goa 874 761 1635
20 HP 116 581 697
21 Ar Pradesh 613 0 613
22 Assam 116 129 245
23 Mizoram 72 106 178
24 Uttranchal 38 6 44
25 Manipur 30 0 30
26 Others 15000 30000 45000
Grand Total 2543696 3597479 6150176

Source: NCPAH (2013)

LESSON 36 Types and Components of Sprinkler System

The success of sprinkler irrigation system depends on the

selection of appropriate sprinkler type and their components.
These components together are responsible for efficient
application of water as well as high application efficiency. This
lesson deals with types and components of sprinkler irrigation
system.
36.1 Types of Sprinkler System
Sprinkle irrigation systems are classified on the basis of
portability of different components and on the basis of spray
pattern. On the basis of portability these can be portable, semi
portable, semi-permanent and permanent.

36.1.1 Classification Based on Spray Pattern

Sprinkler systems are classified into the following two major
types (on the basis of the arrangement for spray of irrigation
water).
i. Rotating head or revolving sprinkler system.
ii. Perforated pipe system.

i) Rotating Head: In this type of system small spraying size

nozzles are placed on pipes of certain height known as riser pipes.
The nozzles mounted on the riser pipes are fixed at uniform
intervals along the length of the pipe laid on the ground surface
called as lateral pipes. Water is supplied from the source to
laterals through network of pipes consisting of mainline and sub
mainline, called as main and sub main. Water with pressure is
supplied to main; main to sub main and sub main to laterals using
a pump. The sprinkler heads mounted on the risers which are
above the crop height and rotated through 90o to 360o, to irrigate
a rectangular strip. In rotating type sprinklers, the most common
device to rotate the sprinkler nozzle is a small hammer activated
by the thrust of water striking against a vane connected to it. The
pressure requirement varies from 2.0 to 4.0 kg cm-2 with
application rate from 4.0 to 20.0 mm hr-1 depending on the nozzle
size, spacing etc. Fig. 36.1. shows different type of rotating type
sprinkler irrigation systems.

Fig. 36.1. Rotating type sprinkler irrigation systems.

(Source: www.agritech.tnau.ac.in)

ii) Perforated Pipe System: This system consists of pipes having

holes or nozzles along its length through which water is sprayed
under pressure. This system is usually designed for relatively low
pressure (1 kg cm-2). The application rate ranges from 1.25 to 5
cm per hour for various pressure and spacing. The example shown
in the Fig. 36.2.

Fig. 36.2. Perforated pipe type of sprinkler system.

(Source: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in & www.sherriffgrasscare.co.uk)

36.1.2 Classification Based on the Portability

i) Portable System: A portable system has portable mainlines,
submains, laterals, and a portable pumping unit. The entire system
can be moved from field to field. As all the components of the
system need to be moved, the labour requirement is high;
however initial investment on this type of the system is less.
ii) Semi-Portable System
A semi-portable system is similar to a portable system except that
the location of water source and pumping plant is fixed. Fig. 36.3
shows Semi-portable sprinkler system. Other components are
moved from one field to another. Such a system may be used for
more than one field where there is an extended mainline, but may
not be used for more than one farm unless there are additional
pumping units.

Fig. 36.3. Semi-portable sprinkler irrigation system.

(Source: www.agritech.tnau.ac.in)

iii) Semi-Permanent System: A semi-permanent system has

portable lateral lines, permanent mainlines, submains, and a
stationary water source with pumping unit. The mainlines and/or
submains are usually buried. The risers are located for nozzle
connections at suitable intervals to connect with laterals.
iv) Permanent System: A permanent system has buried
mainlines, submains, and laterals with a stationary pumping plant
and/or water source. Sprinkler nozzles are permanently located
on each riser. Such systems are expensive, however these are
suitable for automation. Permanent systems are suitable for
orchards.
v) Solid Set System: In case of a solid set system, the movement
of laterals is eliminated at least for one crop season their
movement. The laterals are positioned in the field before the crop
season starts and kept there for the whole crop season. This
system is beneficial when frequent moving of the laterals is not
required crops need frequent irrigation in small depth.
vi) Set-Move Irrigation Systems: Set-move sprinkler irrigation
systems are moved from one set (irrigation) position to another
by hand or mechanically. Set-move systems remain stationary
when water is applied. When the desired amount of water has
been applied, the water is shut off and the sprinkler laterals are
drained and moved to the next set position. When the move is
complete the water is turned on and irrigation resumed at the new
set position. This sequence is repeated until the entire field has
been irrigated. Set-move systems commonly have a single
mainline laid through the centre of the field with one or more
laterals on each side of the mainline.

The systems can be moved by different means as described

below:
a) Hand-Move: Hand-move laterals are moved by uncoupling,
picking –up, and carrying sections of lateral pipe by hand to the
next set position where the lateral sections are reconnected.
Earlier hand-move sprinkler lateral were made up of aluminium
of different diameter. Now these are made with HDPE available
in 50 to 150 mm (2 to 6 in) in diameter and 6, 9, or 12 m (20, 30,
or 40 ft) long.
b) Tow-Move: Tow-move sprinkler systems are the least
expensive type of mechanically moved set-move system. Each
section of a tow-move lateral has skids or wheels so that the entire
laterals can be pulled to the next set position. Usually a tractor is
hooked to the mainline end attached with lateral and the lateral is
dragged in the other direction across the mainline in an opposite
S-shaped curve. The moves are made easier when mainlines are
buried.
Tow-move systems are not used extensively because moving the
lateral is tedious. It requires careful attention and may damage
crops. Tow-move systems are suitable to forage and row crops.
c) Side-Roll: A side-roll or wheel-move system, is the
mechanically moved set-move system. Each section of pipe in a
side-roll lateral has a wheel, with the pipe serving as the axle of
the wheel. A gasoline engine and transmission with a reverse gear
at the centre or the end of the lateral supplies the power needed to
roll the lateral, which may be as long as 800 m (about one-half
mile), from one set position to the next. The lateral is commonly
100 or 125 mm (4 or 5 in) in diameter. Each lateral section is
usually 12.2 m (40 ft) long with a wheel at its centre and a
sprinkler mounted on a short riser at one end. Often the sprinklers
have self –levellers to “right” the sprinkler when the lateral is
stopped so that the riser is tilted” from its upright position. A drain
valve that opens automatically when there is a loss of pressure is
usually located opposite each rise. This allows the lateral to be
quickly drained and permits moving the lateral with a minimum
time loss. The most common spacing along the mainline is 18.3
m (60 ft).
d) Gun-Type: The set-move system consists of a larger-volume
(big-gun) sprinkler mounted on a wheeled cart or trailer that is
moved from set to set with a tractor or by hand. Sprinklers with
capacities as large as 4700 L min-1 (about 1250 gpm), wetted
diameters of as much as 180 m (about 600 ft), and a recommended
operating pressure range of 480 to 896 kPa (70 to 130 psi) are
commonly used. These systems are sometimes used for waste
water disposal.
36.2 Components of Sprinkler System
Sprinklers or nozzles, laterals, sub-mains, and mainlines are the
primary components of a sprinkle irrigation system. Sprinklers
spread water as “rainlike” droplets over the land surface. Laterals
receive water from the mainline and sub-main and convey to the
sprinklers. Mainlines convey water from the water source to the
sub-mains and laterals. Fig.36.4. shows the components of a
portable sprinkler irrigation system. A sprinkler system usually
consists of the following components.
1. A pump unit
2. Fertiliser application units and filters
3. Pipe network- main/sub-mains and laterals
4. Sprinkler head
5. Couplers, valves, risers, bends, plugs etc.

i) Pumping Unit: Sprinkler irrigation system distributes water by

spraying it over the fields. The water from the source (ground
water / surface water) is pumped under pressure to sprinkler
system. The pressure created through pump forces water through
sprinklers or through perforations or nozzles in pipelines and then
forms a spray. A high speed centrifugal or turbine pump can be
used for operating sprinkler irrigation to individual fields.
Centrifugal pump is used when the distance from the pump inlet
to the water surface (suction head) is less than eight meters. For
pumping water from deep wells or more than eight meters, a
submersible pump is used. The driving unit of pump may be either
an electric motor or an internal combustion engine.

Fig. 36.4. Component of a portable sprinkler irrigation

system (Source: Schwab et.al. (1993), pp. 427)

ii) a. Fertiliser Application Unit: Soluble chemical fertilizers

can be injected into the sprinkler system and applied to the crop.
The fertilizer applicator consists of a sealed fertilizer tank with
necessary tubings and connections. A venturi injector is
connected with the main line, which creates the differential
pressure to suck fertilizer solution to flow in the main line.

b. Filters: Filters are used to filter the suspended particles and

debris flowing with water.
iii) Pipe Network: The pipe network consists of mains/submains
and laterals. Main line conveys water from the source and
distributes it to the submains. The submains convey water to the
laterals which in turn supply water to the sprinklers. Aluminium
or PVC or HDPE pipes are generally used for portable systems,
while steel pipes are usually used for center-pivot laterals.
Asbestos, cement, PVC and wrapped steel are also used for buried
laterals and main lines.
iv) Sprinkler Head: Sprinkler head distributes water uniformly
over the field without generating runoff and loss due to deep
percolation. Types of sprinklers are rotating head or fixed type.
The rotating type can be adopted for a wide range of application
rates and spacing (Fig. 36.5). They are effective with pressure of
about 10 to 70 m head at the sprinkler. Pressures ranging from 16
to 40 m head are considered to be the most practical for normal
uses.
Fixed head sprinklers are commonly used to irrigate small lawns
and gardens. Perforated lateral lines are also used to sprinkle
water. They require less pressure than rotating sprinklers.
However they release more water per unit area than rotating
sprinklers. Hence fixed head sprinklers are adoptable for soils
with high intake rate. Fig. 36.5 shows the rotating head sprinkler
head.
 Fig. 36.5. Sprinkler head.
(Source:http://www.jains.com/irrigation/popups%20and%20spri
nklers/sprinklersystems.htm)

iv) Couplers & Fitting Accessories: Couplers are used for

connecting two pipes and uncoupling quickly and easily.
Essentially a coupler should provide: a) a reuse and flexible
connection, b) not leak at the joint, c) be simple and easy to couple
and uncouple, and d) be light, non-corrosive, durable. Fig 36.6
shows different types of sprinkler fittings and accessories. Some
of the important fittings and accessories used in sprinkler system
are given below.
a) Water meters: It is used to measure the volume of water
delivered in to the system. This is necessary to operate the system
to supply the required quantity of water.
b) Flange, couplings and nipples are used for proper connection
to the pump, suction and delivery.
c) Pressure gauge: It is used to measure operating pressure of
sprinkler system. The sprinkler system is operated at the pressure
to apply the desired depth of water and ensure application
uniformity.
d) Bend, tees, reducers, elbows, hydrants, butterfly valve and
plugs are other components of a sprinkler system. They are used
as per requirements.

Fig. 36.6. Different fittings and accessories.

(Source: www.agritech.tnau.ac.in)
LESSON 37 Design of Sprinkler Irrigation System-I

37.1 General Considerations

A sprinkler irrigation system needs to be laid and designed
properly to suit the conditions of a particular site to achieve high
efficiencies. The choice of sprinkler system depends on i) land
topography that cannot be properly leveled owing to the subsoil
being exposed and cost involved in land leveling ii) soil texture,
particularly infiltration rate of the soil so that the application or
precipitation rate of the system is less than the infiltration rate of
the soil iii) available water resources and eventually matching the
capacity of sprinkler system with the water requirement of the
crops and, the system with high water application efficiency, and
iv) cost effective from the point of crop production economics.
This lesson deals with various aspects required for the design of
sprinkler irrigation system.
37.2 Inventory of the Land and Water Resources
The inventory of resources includes following:
i) Topographical map of the Area: The topographical map of the
field needs to be prepared. The map should include the field
boundaries and the locations of the bunds, farm roads building
and location of water resources. The map may also include
possibly the areas selected for cultivation of different crops in the
field. This is required for knowing the total area to be irrigated for
different crops and then estimating the quantity of water required
for each irrigation. The map should also include the contour map
of the area. The contour map enables to determine the slope of the
field, if any, in both the direction. The slope is required to decide
the layout and placement of the pipe network (main, sub main and
laterals) and computation of the elevation difference which is
required for the design of pipes in terms of its diameter and length.
ii) Water Resources: The information on quantity and quality of
available water resources is required for design of sprinkler
system. The quantity of the water resources in terms of the
seasonal availability of the water; and discharge available for
irrigating the field and duration for which it is available per day
are required to match with the crop water requirement. This
information is particularly required for deciding whether the
entire area of the proposed field or the portion of the area of the
field can be irrigated. The location of the source of water in the
field is desired to estimate the length and diameter of the main,
sub main and lateral pipes. The water quality parameters include
EC, pH and SAR. Some crops may have detrimental or scorching
effect on leaves, if water having high soluble salts used for
sprinkling water. The quality of water is thus important to decide
its suitability for crops for sprinkler irrigation. This information
is also required for deciding the irrigation frequency. The water
with high soluble salt contents may be required to be applied more
frequently compared to good quality water.
iii) Crops to be Irrigated: The information on crops, its root zone
depth, crop coefficient, and allowable depletion level is required
for computing the water requirement of the crops and irrigation
frequency. The climatic and soil parameters are required to
determine crop water requirement.
iv) Soils: The soil parameters such as field capacity, wilting point,
bulk density and infiltration rate are used for irrigation system
design. Field capacity, wilting point, bulk density are required for
estimating the available soil water in the root zone. Allowable soil
water depletion for a specified crop and climate data are required
for computing the depth of irrigation and frequency of irrigation.
The information on infiltration rate is used in selecting the nozzle
size, type of nozzle and lateral spacing.
 v) Climate: The weather parameters such as pan evaporation,
rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine
hours are required to compute the water requirement of the crops.
The peak water requirement estimation requires peak summer
weather parameters such as solar radiation, temperature, humidity
etc.
vi) Availability of Power Source: The type of source of power can
be electricity or diesel or both. Irrigation system can be planned
and designed based on the assured timings of availability of
power supply.
37.3 Types of Sprinkler Systems Layout
The layout of sprinkler system is made based on water source and
location of water supply. The source of water supply for sprinkler
irrigation can be surface water (river, canal, pond etc.) or ground
water (a tube well or open well). When deciding the location of
well, it can be located at a corner or, at the center of the farm to
minimize the length of main pipe. The source at higher elevation
is desirable. The layout of the mains depends on the location of
the well. Fig. 37.1 shows the layout of stationary water source and
pump at center of field and laterals are moved to successive
position up one side of the main and then down on the other. Fig.
37.2. shows fully portable pumping set unit. In a Portable
sprinkler system field channel runs along one edge of the farm. In
this system a portable pumping set and sprinkler unit with the
lateral extending to the field are used to draw water directly from
the channel and distribute it through the sprinklers. Another
alternative is to have a permanent pumping plant at the source and
distribute water in buried pressurized pipelines. These pipelines
will usually run down the center of the field so that the outlets
offer little hindrance to tillage and other farm operations.

To obtain a reasonable degree of uniformity in the discharge of

each sprinkler, the mains should run in the direction of the
steepest slope, with the laterals at right angles and as close as on
contours. Generally design is made considering running on level
land. If the lateral slopes upgrade appreciably, it is difficult to
design for a very long pipe length. If it slopes downgrade, the
length can be longer than usual, but rarely does the slope remains
uniform for each setting.

Fig. 37.1. Layout plan for sprinkler irrigation system for

stationary water Source of well and pump. (Source: Michael,
2010)
Fig. 37.2. Typical field layouts for fully portable sprinkler units
drawing water from streams or field channels. (Source: Michael,
2010)

37.3.1 Layout for Set-Move Sprinkler System

Different layouts for set-move sprinkle systems are shown
through Figs. 37.3 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), & (f). The guide lines for
set-move sprinkler system are stated below:
i) Mains should be laid up and downhill.
ii) Laterals should be laid across slope or nearly on the contour
as for as possible.
iii) For multiple lateral option, lateral pipe sizes should be limited
to not more than two diameters.
iv) If possible, water supply nearest to the center of area should
be chosen.
v) Layouts should facilitate minimal lateral movement during a
crop season.
vi) Differences in number of sprinklers operating for various
setups should be minimum.
vii) Booster pumps should be considered where small portions of
field would require high pressure at the pump.
viii) Layout should be modified to apply different rates and
amounts of water where soils are greatly different in the design
area.
ix) Mainline and sub main layout is keyed to lateral layout.
x) When laterals run across prominent slopes, mainlines or sub
mains will normally run up and down the slopes Fig 37.3(a) and
(b).
xi) When it is necessary to run laterals up and down hill, the
mainlines or sub mains should be located on ridges Fig 37.3(c),
(d), (e) & (f) to avoid laterals to run uphill.
 Fig. 37.3. Layouts for set-move sprinkle systems. (Source:
James Larry, 1988)

(a) Layout on moderate, uniform slopes with water supply at

center (b) Layout illustrating use of odd number of laterals to
provide required number of operating sprinklers. (c) Layout with
gravity pressure where pressure gain approximates friction loss
and allows running laterals downhill. (d) Layout illustrating area
where laterals have to be laid downslope to avoid wide pressure
variation caused by running laterals upslope. (e) Layout with two
main lines on ridges to avoid running laterals uphill. (f) Layout
with two main lines on the sides of the area to avoid running the
laterals
uphill.

37.3.2 Split Lateral Layouts

i) In this layout mainlines and sub mains are located such that set
move laterals may operate on either side of them (Fig. 37.3 (a),
(b) and (e)).
ii) They minimize friction loss because of shorter laterals.
iii) Split layouts also allow set-move laterals to be rotated around
mainlines (Fig.37.3 (a), (b)).
iv) Labor requirement is reduced by eliminating the need to move
lateral pipes back to starting point (Fig 37.3(c) and 37.3(d)).

37.4 Sprinkler System Design Parameters

37.4.1 Sprinkler Discharge Considering Area of Coverage: The
actual selection of different components of the sprinkler system
is based on specifications furnished by the manufacturers of the
equipment. The selection depends on wetting diameter of nozzle,
at a given operating pressure at nozzle, sprinkler discharge,
combination of sprinkler spacing and lateral moves, application
rate suiting to soil and wind conditions. The required discharge of
an individual sprinkler is a function of the water application rate
and the two-way spacing of the sprinklers. It may be determined
by the following equation:

(37.1)

in which,
q = required discharge of individual sprinkler,
S1 = spacing of sprinklers along the laterals, m
Sm= spacing of laterals along the main, m
I = optimum application rate, mm

The values of maximum rate of application for various soil types

and slopes are presented in Table 37.1.

Table: 37.1 Maximum application rates for different types of

soils

0 to 5% 5 to 8 % 8 to 12 %
Soil texture and profile
slope slope slope
Coarse sandy soils to 2 m 5.10 3.75 2.54
Coarse sandy soils over more
3.75 2.54 1.9
compact soils
Light sandy loams to 2 m 2.54 2.03 1.5
Light sandy loams over more
1.9 1.27 1.02
compact soil
Silt loam to 2 m 1.27 1.02 0.76
Silt loams over more compact
0.76 0.63 0.38
soils
Heavy textured clays or clay
0.38 0.25 0.20
loams

Source: Adapted from SCS (1993).

37.4.2 Height of Sprinkler Riser Pipes: Sprinklers are located just

above the crops to be irrigated and, therefore, the height of the
risers depend upon the maximum height of the crop. To avoid
excessive turbulence in the riser pipes the minimum height of
riser is 300 mm for 25 mm diameter and 150 mm for 15 mm to
20 mm diameter.

37.4.3 Sprinkler Spacing: The uniformity of water distribution

from sprinklers depends on the operating pressure, wind velocity,
rotation of sprinklers, spacing between sprinklers and laterals.
The spacing of sprinklers on laterals and the laterals spacing are
adjusted for obtaining maximum uniformity for given condition.
Greater depth of water accumulate near sprinkler head and depth
decreases gradually with distance from the sprinklers. Therefore
there is a necessity of overlapping of the spray pattern of the
individual sprinkler, to obtain uniform depth of water application.
Sprinklers are arranged along a lateral such that the diameter of
the water spread area of sprinkler is overlapped. If there is a wind
of considerable speed, the spacing between sprinklers is further
reduced as given in Table 37.2.

Table. 37.2. Overlapping of sprinkler spacing for different wind

speeds.

Average wind
Sl.No. Spacing
speed
65% of the water spread area of a
1 No wind
sprinkler
60% of the water spread area of a
2 0-6 km/h
sprinkler
50% of the water spread area of a
3 6.5 to 13 km/h
sprinkler
30% of the water spread area of a
4 Above 13 km/h
sprinkler

Source: Adapted from SCS (1993)

37.4.4 Capacity of sprinkler system: The capacity of a sprinkler

system is a important design parameter. This is estimated after
knowing the total area to be irrigated by a sprinkler irrigation
system. The formula to compute system capacity is given by
 Q =
2780 (37.2)

in which,
Q = discharge capacity of the pump,
A = area to be irrigated, ha
d = net depth of water application, cm
F = number of days allowed for the completion of one irrigation
H = number of actual operating hours day-1
E = water application efficiency, per cent

37.4.5 Sprinkler Discharge: The discharge of a sprinkler is

estimated by knowing the diameter of nozzle and operating
pressure available at the nozzle by following formula.
Q = C
A (37.3)

where,
Q = discharge, cm3 s-1
C = sprinkler discharge coefficient which vary from 0.80 to 0.95
A = cross – sectional area of nozzle or orifice, cm2
g = acceleration due to gravity, cm/s2, and
h = pressure head, cm

37.4.6 Spread of Sprinkler: The area covered by a rotating head

sprinkler can be estimated from the formula stated in equation
37.4.

(37.4)
where,
R = radius of the wetted area covered by sprinkler, m
d = diameter of nozzle, m
h = pressure head at nozzle, m

The maximum coverage is attained when the jet emerges from the
sprinkler nozzle at angle between 300 and 320.

37.4.7 Rate of Water Application or Precipitation Intensity: The

rate of water application by an individual nozzle is estimated by
the formula as stated below.

(37.5)
where,
Ra = rate of water application, cm
Q = rate of discharge of sprinkler,
A = wetted area of sprinkler, m2
LESSON 38 Design of Sprinkler Irrigation System-II

In previous lesson, the inventory of the resources required for the

design of sprinkler system, layout and types of the sprinkler
system and the formulae for estimating the sprinkler discharge
etc. were described. This lesson presents the design description of
network of the pipes i.e. lateral, sub main and main.
38.1 Hydraulic Design of Pipe Network
As stated in previous lesson, the pipe network in the sprinkler
irrigation system consists of the lateral, sub main and main
pipeline. The sprinkle nozzles are mounted on the laterals; laterals
are connected to the sub main and sub main to the main. Main
pipe line takes water from the source through the pump. It is
desired to design the pipe network appropriately for uniform
water application and economical system cost. As the sprinkler
system requires pressure to operate, both uniformity water
application and system economy are affected by the frictional
head loss through the pipes. Large variation in friction head loss
in the lateral or sub main reduces the uniformity in water
application on the other hand too small variation results in high
uniformity, which requires larger pipe size makes system more
expensive. Hence it requires optimal combination of hydraulic
and economic consideration.

There are several formulae available in the literature for

estimating frictional head loss through sprinkler pipes.

However the Hazen-Williams equation is commonly adopted and

given by

(38.1)

Where,
Hf (100) = a friction loss per 100 m (100 ft) of pipe, m/100 m.
C = a friction coefficient which is a function of pipe material
characteristics;
Q = the flow of water in the line L s-1 (ft3 s-1) (gal min-1);
D = the inside pipe diameter, mm (ft) (in.);
K = a constant which is 1.22 × 1012 for metric units, 473 for Q in
ft3 s-1 and D IN ft, and 10.46 for Q in gal min-1 and D in inch: the
value C increases as the pipe increases. As the number of couplers
decreases, the value C increases. Pipe materials with smoother
inside wall will have a higher C value. Table 38.1 provides the
values of C for different pipe materials.
 Table 38.1. Typical values of C for use in Hazen-Williams
equation

Sl. No. Pipe material C

1 Plastic 150
2 Epoxy-coated steel 145
3 Cement asbestos 140
4 Galvanized steel 135
Aluminum (with 130
5
coupler every 9.0 m)
6 Steel (new) 130
Steel (15 years old) or 100
7
concrete

(Source: Keller and Bliesner, 1990)

Flow Velocity in Pipe: Normally flow velocities in pipes should

not exceed 3m s-1 (10 ft s-1). For permanent systems with
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipe, and asbestos cement (AC)
pipe used for water supply, water flow velocity should not exceed
2.25 m s-1 and most manufactures caution against using water
flow velocity in excess of 1.6 m s-1.
Allowable Head Loss in Sprinkler Pipe: Pressure loss occurs due
to friction and joints. This should not exceed practical value.
Normally it should be between 15 and 20 per cent of the total
head. The recommended practice to design the sprinkler lateral is
not to exceed the pressure variation more than 20% of the higher
pressure. The difference in elevation head is considered while
determining the variation in pressure. This may be paying of
laterals in upward slope or down slope. While the lateral is laid
on up slope direction, the less pressure is available at the nozzle
while lateral laid on down slope direction, the additional pressure
is available at the sprinkler nozzle due to gain in energy.
Pipe with Multi Outlet: When there are no outlets along the length
of the lateral or sub main (usually called as closed pipe line or
blind pipe), the head loss due to friction can be computed by
Hazen-William formula (Equation 38.1). However, in sprinkler
lateral or sub main, outlets along the length of the pipe are given
as sprinkler heads or sprinkler laterals as the case may be. Flow
of water through the closed or blind pipe of a given diameter
causes more frictional head loss compared to that of a pipe with
number of outlets along the length of the pipe which is due to the
fact that the flow rate decreases with every passing outlet. To
accurately compute friction loss in the lateral with multi outlet,
start at the last outlet on the pipe line and work back to the head
of the pipeline, computing the friction head loss between each
outlet for the flow rate between two outlets. Table 38.2 is a ready
reckoner table for estimation of head loss due to friction from
aluminum pipe. Christainsen (1942) has simplified the procedure
for choosing size of pipe for a given discharge and friction loss
(Table 38.2). In case of multiple outlets the frictional head loss
through the blind pipe is computed for the given flow rate and
then multiply with reduction factor (F) due to reducing flow rate.
The reduction factor depends on the number of equally spaced
outlets on the lateral.
 Table: 38.2 Friction head loss in irrigation pipes.
Friction head loss in meters per 100 meters in lateral line of
portable aluminum pipe with coupling (Based on Scobey’s
formula and 9 meters pipe length)

Diameter of pipe
Flow
5.0 cm 7.5 cm 10.0 cm 12.5 cm 15.0 cm
litres/sec
Ks 0.34 Ks 0.33 Ks 0.32 Ks 0.32 Ks 0.32
1.26 0.32
1.89 2.53
2.52 4.49 0.565 0.130
3.15 6.85 0.858 0.198
3.79 9.67 1.21 0.280
4.42 12.9 1.63 0.376 0.122
5.05 16.7 2.10 0.484 0.157
5.68 20.8 2.63 0.605 0.196
6.31 25.4 3.20 0.738 0.240 0.099
7.57 4.54 1.04 0.339 0.140
8.83 6.09 1.40 0.454 0.188
10.10 7.85 1.80 0.590 0.242
11.36 9.82 2.26 0.733 0.302
12.62 12.0 2.76 0.896 0.370
13.88 14.4 3.30 1.07 0.443
15.14 16.9 3.90 1.26 0.522
16.41 19.7 4.54 1.47 0.608
17.67 22.8 5.22 1.70 0.700
18.93 25.9 5.96 1.93 0.798
20.19 29.3 6.74 2.18 0.904
21.45 32.8 7.56 2.45 1.02
22.72 36.6 8.40 2.74 1.13
23.98 40.6 9.36 3.03 1.26
25.24 44.7 10.3 3.34 1.38
26.50 11.3 3.66 1.51
27.76 12.3 4.00 1.66
29.03 13.4 4.35 1.80
30.29 14.6 4.72 1.95
31.55 15.8 5.10 2.12
34.70 18.9 6.12 2.52
37.86 22.2 7.22 2.98
41.01 25.9 8.40 3.46
44.17 29.8 9.68 3.99
47.32 33.8 11.0 4.54
50.48 12.5 5.15
53.63 14.0 5.78
56.79 15.6 6.44
59.94 17.3 7.14
63.10 19.0 7.86

(Source: Michael, 2010)

Assuming first sprinkler is at the same as other sprinklers located
on the lateral, The F can be computed using following expression
(Christiansen, 1942).

F= (38.2)

where
F = reduction factor
N = number of outlets
m = exponent used in the head loss equation (In Hazen-William’s
equation the m = 1.852 and for Darcy’s Weisbach equation m=2)

For N>10, the last term in equation 38.2can be omitted.

Jensen and Fratini (1957) modified the above expression for F to

account for the first sprinkler being located one-half the sprinkler
spacing from the supply line. They assumed that no water flows
past the last sprinkler. The modified expression (Equation 38.3)
indicates that the F factor is more than 5 percent larger for N<20.

(38.3)
 Estimates of F values are easy to obtain using Equation (38.2),
but these estimates become much more tedious when using
equation (38.3) for large values of N. To simplify their use, F
values for m = 1.90 are presented in Table 38.3.
38.1.1 Design of Sprinkler Laterals
As stated earlier in design of sprinkler laterals the pressure
variation should not exceed more than 20% of the higher pressure.
The design capacity for sprinklers on a lateral is based on the
average operating pressure.

Table 38.3. Reduction factor ‘F’ for friction loss in aluminum

pipe with

No. of 1st sprinkler 1st sprinkler No. of 1st sprinkler 1st sprinkler
sprinklers is one is 1/2 sprinklers is one
on lateral sprinkler sprinkler on lateral sprinkler is1/2
interval interval interval from sprinkler
from main from main main interval
from main
1 1.000 1.000 16 0.365 0.345
2 0.625 0.500 17 0363 0.344
3 0.518 0.422 18 0.361 0.343
4 0.469 0393 19 0.360 0.343
5 0.440 0.378 20 0.359 0.342
6 0.421 0.369 22 0.357 0.341
7 0.408 0.363 24 0.355 0.341
8 0398 0.358 26 0.353 0.340
9 0.391 0.355 28 0.351 0.340
10 0.385 0.353 30 0.350 0.339
11 0.380 0.351 35 0.347 0.338
12 0.376 0.349 40 0.345 0.338
13 0.373 0.348 50 0.343 0.337
14 0.370 0.347 100 0.338 0.337
15 0.367 0.346 >100 0.335 0.335

multiple outlets
(Source: Michael, 2010)

Where, the friction loss, Hf in the laterals is within 20% of the

average pressure.
The average pressure head, can be expressed approximately by

(38.4)
where, = pressure at the sprinkler on the farthest end.
If the lateral is on nearly level land or on the contour, the head at
the main is given
Hn = Ho +
Hf (38.5)
 Fig. 38.1. Pressure profile in a lateral laid uphill. (Source:
Michael, 2010)
Solving Equation (38.4) in terms of Ho and substituting in
Equation 38.5it becomes

(38.6)

where,
Ha = Average pressure
Hf = Head loss due to friction in lateral pipe
Hn = Pressure required at the main to operate, m
He = Maximum difference in elevation between the first and last
sprinkler on a lateral pipe, m
Hr = the riser height, m
The term is positive if lateral is laid up slope and negative, if
lateral is laid down slope

38.1.2 Design of Main Pipe

As stated earlier the sub main pipe supplies the water to sprinkler
lateral and main supplies water to the sub main. If more numbers
of sub mains are operated simultaneously at same time (a case for
the large field) the procedure described for the design of the
lateral may be used. However, when a single sub main is operated,
the size of sub main and main pipe line is selected such that the
annual operating cost and initial cost of the sub main line and
mainline should be low.
Normally friction loss of 3 m for small sprinkler system and 12 m
for large sprinkler systems are used in design of main pipe line.

38.2 Pumps and Power Units

The suitable size of pump is selected considering the maximum
total head against which the pump expected to operate and deliver
the required discharge. This is be determined by

(38.7)
where,
Ht = total design head against which the pump is working, m
Hn = maximum head required at the main to operate the sprinklers
on the lateral at the required average pressure, including the riser
height, m
Hm = maximum friction loss in the main and in the suction line,
m
HJ = elevation difference between the pump and the junction of
the lateral and the main, m, and
Hs= elevation difference between the pump and the source of
water after drawdown, m
The discharge required to be delivered by pump is determined by
multiplying the number of sprinklers that are operated at any
given instant of time by the discharge of each sprinkler. Once the
head and discharge of the pumps are known, the pump may be
selected from rating curves or tables provided by the manufacture.
The horse power requirement of pump is given by

hp = Qt × Ht / 75 × nP (38.8)

Qt = total discharge, L s-1,

Ht = total head, m
np = efficiency of pump(fraction)

Example 37.1:
Design a sprinkler irrigation system to irrigate 5 ha Wheat crop.
Assume
Soil type = silt loam, Infiltration rate at field capacity = 1.25 cm
h-1, Water holding capacity = 15 cm m-1, Root zone depth = 1.5
m, Daily consumptive use rate = 6 mm day-1, Sprinkler type
= Rotating head.

This example is adopted from Tiwari (2009).

Solution:
Step I
Given infiltration capacity =1.25 cm h-1
Hence maximum water application rate = 1.25 cm/h

Step II
Total water holding capacity of the soil root zone = 15 x 1.5 =
22.5 cm
Let the water be applied at 50% depletion, hence the depth of
water to be
applied = 0.50 x 22.5 = 11.25 cm
Let the water application efficiency be 90 per cent
Depth of water to be supplied = 11.25 / 0.9 = 12.5 cm

Step III
For daily consumptive use rate of 0.60 cm
Irrigation interval = 11.25 / 0.6 = 19 days
In period of 19 days, 12.5 cm of water is to be applied on an area
of 5 ha. Hence assuming 10 hrs. of pumping per day, the sprinkler
system capacity would be

Step IV
Let the spacing of lateral (Sm) = 18 m,
Spacing of Sprinklers in lateral (Sl) = 12 m
This selection is based on using following consideration:
Operating pressure of nozzle = 2.5 kg cm-2
Maximum application rate = 1.25 cm h-1
 Referring sprinkler manufacturer’s M/S NOCIL, Akola
catalogue (Table 38.4), the nozzle specifications with this
operating pressure and application rate is:
Nozzle size : 5.5563 x 3.175 mm
Operating pressure : 2.47 kg/cm2 and
Application rate : 1.10 cm hr-1 (which is less than the
maximum allowable application rate of 1.25 cm h-1)
Diameter of coverage : 29.99 ≈ 30.0 m
Discharge of the nozzle : 0.637 L s-1 = 0.637 x 10-3 m3s-1

Step V

Total no. of sprinkler required = = 14.12 ≈ 14 sprinklers

Considering two sprinkler laterals, therefore 7 sprinklers on each
lateral.
Step VI

Using Table 38.3, the sprinklers spaced at 12 m intervals on each

lateral. The lateral lines will be at 18 m spacing.

Step VII
Total length of each lateral = 12 x 7 = 84
Operating pressure = 2.47 kg cm-2

Total allowable pressure variation in the pressure head is 20%,

hence maximum allowable pressure variation in pressure = 0.2 x
2.47 = 0.494 kg/cm2 = 4.94 m
Assume pressure variation due to elevation = 2 m
Permissible head loss due to friction = 4.94 – 2 = 2.94 m
Total flow through the lateral = 7 x 0.637 x 10-3 = 4.459 x 10-3
m3s-1

Reduction factor (F) = = 0.333 + 0.071 + 0.0034 =

0.407

Head loss due to friction = using Darcy’s weisbach equation and

reduction factor.

Hf =

or 2.94 =
Hence diameter of lateral = 63 mm
Assume height of riser pipe =1 m
The head required to operate the lateral lines (Hm) = 24.7 + 2.94
+ 2 + 1 = 30.6 m
Frictional head loss in main pipe line (Hf) = 30.6 0.2 = 6.12 m

Calculating in the same way as done in case of lateral

or
D = 69.10 ≈ 75 mm
Total design head (H) = Hm+ Hf +Hj +Hs

Where,
Hj = Difference in highest junction point of the lateral and main
from pump
level = 0.5 m (assume)
Hs = Suction lift (20 m, assume)
H = 30.6 + 6.12 + 0.5 + 20 = 57.22 m
The pump has to deliver 0.009 m3s-1 of water against a required
head of 57.22 m
Hence, the horse power of a pump at 60% efficiency

Table 38.4. Design specifications of sprinkler with different

nozzle size and operating pressure for high pressure models
Model HP.

Opera Application rate

Dia
ting Disch
Nozzle Size of
Press arge 12 x 12 x 18 x 18 x 24 x
Spray 12 18 18 24 24
ure
c c c c c
Rang Spre Kg/ p L gp in in in in in
m ft m/ m/ m/ m/ m/
e ad cm2 si s-1 m /h /h /h /h /h
h h h h h
2.1 3 27 92. 0.5 7.7 1. 0. N N N N N N N N
1 0 .7 3 88 6 50 58 A A A A A A A A
7/32” 1/8”
2.4 3 29 99. 0.6 8.4 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N N N
5.556 3.17 7 5 .9 7 37 0 60 63 10 42 71 28 A A A A
3mm 5mm
2.8 4 32 10 0.6 8.9 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N N N
2 0 .0 6.7 80 7 70 67 10 45 76 30 A A A A
 3.1 4 33 11 0.7 9.5 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N N N
7 5 .9 3.0 21 1 80 71 20 47 80 32 A A A A
3.5 5 35 11 0.7 10. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. N N
2 0 .8 9.3 60 03 90 75 30 50 74 33 63 25 A A
4.2 6 39 13 0.8 10. 2. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.
3 0 .2 0.7 33 99 10 82 40 53 93 36 69 27 52 20
2.1 3 31 10 0.8 11. 2. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N N N
1 0 .4 4.7 78 59 20 86 50 58 98 39 A A A A
2.4 3 34 11 0.9 12. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. N N N N
7 5 .0 3.3 50 54 40 94 60 62 10 42 A A A A
2.8 4 36 12 1.0 13. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N
9/32” 1/8”
2 0 .3 1.0 16 41 50 00 70 67 10 44 85 33 A A
7.143 3.17
3.1 4 38 12 1.0 14. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. N N
8mm 5mm
7 5 .5 8.3 77 21 70 10 80 71 20 47 90 35 A A
3.5 5 40 13 1.1 14. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.
2 0 .6 5.3 35 98 80 10 90 74 30 50 95 37 71 28
4.2 6 44 14 1.2 16. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0.
3 0 .5 8.3 44 42 10 20 10 82 40 54 00 41 78 31
2.1 3 36 12 1.4 19. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. N N
3/8” 1/8” 1 0 .3 1.0 49 12 60 40 40 95 60 63 20 48 A A
9.525 3.17 2.4 3 39 13 1.5 20. 3. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0.
mm 5mm 7 5 .2 0.7 68 69 90 50 60 00 70 69 30 51 98 39
 2.8 4 41 13 1.6 22. 4. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0.
2 0 .9 9.7 76 12 20 60 80 10 90 73 40 55 00 41
3.1 4 44 14 1.7 23. 4. 1. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0.
7 5 .5 8.3 77 45 40 70 00 20 00 70 50 58 10 44
3.5 5 46 15 1.8 24. 4. 1. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0.
2 0 .9 6.3 72 71 70 80 10 20 10 82 60 61 20 46
4.2 6 51 17 2.0 27. 5. 2. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0.
3 0 .4 1.3 52 08 10 00 40 30 30 90 70 67 30 50

(Source: M/S NOCIL, Akola, Maharashtra)

Table 38.5. Design specifications of sprinkler with different
nozzle size and operating pressure for low pressure models
Model LP

Opera Application rate

Dia
ting Disch
Nozzle Size of
Press arge 6 x 6 6 x 9 9 x 9 6 x 12 x
Spray 12 12
ure
Rang Spre Kg/ p m ft L gp c in c in c in c in c in
e ad cm2 si s-1 m m/ /h m/ /h m/ /h m/ /h m/ /h
h h h h h
7/32” 1/8” 1.06 1 19 65. 0.4 5. 4. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
5 .6 3 17 50 20 60 80 10 90 73 10 82 00 41
5.556 3.17 1.41
3mm 5mm 2 22 75. 0.4 6. 4. 1. 3. 1. 2. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
1.76 0 .6 3 81 34 80 90 20 30 10 84 40 95 20 47
2.11
 2.47 2 25 84. 0.5 7. N N 3. 1. 2. 0. 2. 1. 1. 0.
5 .3 3 37 08 A A 60 40 40 94 70 10 30 53
2.87
3 27 92. 0.5 70 N N 3. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0.
0 .7 3 88 76 A A 90 50 60 00 90 20 50 58
3 29 99. 0.6 8. N N 4. 1. 2. 1. 3. 1. 1. 0.
5 .9 7 37 40 A A 20 70 80 10 20 30 60 63
4 32 10 0.6 8. N N 4. 1. 3. 1. 3. 1. 1. 0.
0 .0 6.7 80 97 A A 50 80 00 20 40 30 70 67
13/64 1/8” 1.06 1 18 63. 0.3 4. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. N N
”
5 .9 0 74 93 70 50 50 98 70 65 90 74 A A
3.17 1.41
5.159 5mm 2 21 72. 0.4 5. 4. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
4mm 1.76 0 .8 7 31 68 30 70 90 10 90 75 20 85 11 42
2.11 2 24 81. 0.4 6. 4. 1. 3. 1. 2. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
2.47 5 .3 0 82 36 80 90 20 30 10 84 40 95 20 47
2.82 3 26 89. 0.5 6. N N 3. 1. 2. 0. 2. 1. 1. 0.
0 .7 0 27 95 A A 50 40 30 92 60 00 30 52
3 28 96. 0.5 7. N N 3. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0.
5 .9 3 71 53 A A 80 50 50 00 90 10 40 56
4 30 10 0.6 8. N N 4. 1. 2. 1. 3. 1. 1. 0.
0 .8 2.7 10 05 A A 10 60 70 10 10 20 50 60
5/32” 1/8” 1.06 1 16 55. 0.2 3. 2. 1. 1. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. N N
5 .5 0 63 47 60 00 80 69 20 46 30 52 A A
3.968 3.17 1.41
8mm 5mm
1.76
 2.11 2 19 63. 0.3 4. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. N N
0 .1 7 03 00 00 20 00 80 30 53 50 60 A A
2.47
2 21 71. 0.3 4. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0.
2.82 5 .3 0 39 47 40 30 30 89 50 59 70 67 88 35
3 23 78. 0.3 4. 3. 1. 2. 0. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0.
0 .4 0 71 89 70 50 50 97 60 65 90 73 93 37
3 25 84. 0.4 5. 4. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
5 .3 3 01 29 00 60 70 10 80 70 00 79 00 39
4 27 90. 0.4 5. 4. 1. 2. 1. 1. 0. 2. 0. 1. 0.
0 .0 0 29 66 30 70 90 10 90 75 20 84 10 42

LESSON 39 Application of Fertilizers and Chemicals through Sprinkler System

Sprinkler systems are also used to apply should fertilizers,

herbicides, and pesticides along with water. The process of
applying fertilizers along with water through pressurized
irrigation system is known as the fertigation. The process of
applying all types of soluble chemicals including fertilizers along
with water through the pressurized irrigation system is known as
chemigation. The commonly used to inject chemicals and
fertilizers through a sprinkler system devices are: Pressurized
tank, venture system and pump.
39.1. Advantages of Fertigation / Chemigation
1. The fertigation/chemigation facilitates frequent
application of fertilizers and chemicals to the crop in an
 amount as per the need of the crops during a specified
crop growth stage and conditions.
2. There is controlled application of fertilizers and chemicals
along with water and hence if the uniformity in application
of water is high the, efficiency of application of fertilizers
and chemicals will also be high.
3. There is less wastage of fertilizers and chemicals therefore
saving the expensive commodity.
4. Due to efficient application, the crop yield also increases.
5. As there is controlled application, the leaching of the
fertilizers and chemicals is minimized, reducing the
groundwater pollution and environmental hazards.

39.2 General Points Consideration for Fertigation

1. The following points should be considered in operation of
fertigation/chemigation system.
2. The fertilizers/chemicals to be used should be water
soluble.
3. The fertilizers/chemicals should be injected at the
upstream end of the filters to ensure that any undissolved
particles of the fertilizers/chemicals are removed before
entering in to the system.
4. The irrigation system should be pressurized before starting
the process of fertigation and chemigation.
5. The system should be equipped with the anti-siphon
device to protect the water supply from contamination of
the fertilizers/chemicals. For this purpose, it is important
 to provide check and vacuum relief valves (anti-siphon
devices) for preventing the chemical from draining or
siphoning back into the irrigation well or to other water
supply source. The vacuum and check valves must be
located between the pump and the point of chemical
injection. If water is blend from the main irrigation supply
into the chemical supply tank, the connecting line too
must be equipped with a check valve to prevent the supply
tank from overflowing and contaminating the adjacent
area with chemical solution.
6. The coefficient of uniformity (CU) of water application of
irrigation system should be between 80 to 90%. This is use
to ensure uniform application of the chemicals to the area
that is being fertilized or treated with herbicides or
pesticides. Non uniform systems would results in poor
placement of the chemicals.
7. The size of the pump or rate of chemical injection into the
sprinkler system should be checked closely so as to ensure
desired application rate of the chemical. The rate of
injection also depends on requirement: a) for continuous
injection b) the entire volume of chemical is injected in the
beginning or at the end of the irrigation set. Intermittent
injection requires the system to be flushed intermittently.
39.3 Fertigation / Chemigation Devices
There are several equipments available for the application of
fertilsers/chemicals through the sprinkler irrigation systems. The
choice of a particular method depends on: flow rate, operating
pressure, type of fertilizers/chemicals to be used, concentration
of the fertilsers/chemicals, time of operation and power source.

The selected equipment should be able to satisfy the following

requirements.
• Desired rate of application
• Desired duration of application
• Desire proportion of fertilizers
• Staring and completion time
• Normally the concentration of the fertilizers is in the range
of 200 to 500 ppm and that for bactericides it is in the 0.5
to 10 ppm

39.3.1 Pressurized Tank

A pressure differential is created by throttling the water flow in
the control head and diverting a fraction of the water through a
tank containing the fertilizer solution. Fig.39.1 shows a fertilizer
used for sprinkler and micro irrigation system. A gradient of 0.1
to 0.2 bar (1 – 2 m) is required to redirect an adequate stream of
water through a connecting tube of 9 – 12 mm diameter. The
pressurized tank is generally, made of corrosion resistant
enamel-coated or galvanized cast iron, stainless steel or
fiberglass. This should withstand the network working pressure.
The diverted water is mixed with solid soluble or liquid
fertilizers in the pressure tank. Once the solid fertilizer had been
fully dissolved, continuous dilution by water gradually decreases
the concentration of the chemical solution. The tank should have
enough capacity to store the required quantity. This device is
cheap and simple to use. A wide dilution ratio can be attained
without external source of energy.

Fig. 39.1. Fertilizer tank.

(Source:
http://www.jains.com/Fertigation/fertilizer%20tank.htm)

Limitations: Nutrient/Chemical concentration in the irrigation

water cannot be precisely regulated. Prior to each application,
the tank has to be refilled with fertilizer. Valve throttling
generates pressure losses, and the system cannot be straight
forwardly automated.
39.3.2 Venturi Injector
The fertilizer solution is injected in to the system by suction
generated by water making water-to flow through a constricted
passageway called venturi. The high flow velocity of water in
the constriction reduces water pressure below the atmospheric
pressure, so that the vacuum is created and fertilizer solution is
sucked from an open tank into the constriction through a small
diameter tube. Fig. 39.2 shows a venturi injector used for
chemicals and fertilizer injection.

Fig. 39.2. Venturi injector. (Source:

http://www.netafimusa.com)

Venturi is made of corrosion-resistant materials such as copper,

brass, plastic and stainless steel. Venturi devices require excess
pressure to allow for the necessary pressure loss. Maintaining a
constant pressure in the irrigation system guarantees uniform
long-term nutrient concentration. Common head losses are
above 33% of the inlet pressure. Double stage ventury injectors
have lower pressure loss and pipe diameter. It can be adjusted by
valves and regulators, suction rates vary from 0.1 to 2000 .
Venturi injectors are installed on the line or on a bypass. The
injection rate depends upon the pressure loss, which ranges from
10% to 75% of the system’s pressure and is controlled by the
injector type and operating conditions. The injection rate can be
controlled by
• Changing the flow through the venture injector
• Controlling the system operating pressure
• Adjusting the control valve at discharge side
• Using the metering valve

Advantages: Cheap open tanks may be used for storing the

fertilizers/chemical. A wide range of suction rates can be created
by changing the diameter of the venturi dimensions of
converging and diverging sides; and valves. It has simple
operation and low wear. It requires easy installation and
mobility. It is compatible with automation. It provides uniform
nutrient concentration.
Limitations: There is a significant pressure loss. The injection
rates are affected by pressure fluctuations.

39.3.3 Injection Pumps

Hydraulic Pumps: These are versatile, reliable feature low
operation and maintenance costs. A diaphragm or piston
movement injects the fertilizer solution into the irrigation
system. Water-driven diaphragm and piston pump combine
precision, reliability and low maintenance costs. Fig. 39.3 shows
piston and diaphragm pump.
Hydraulic pump used in fertigation can be automated. A pulse
transmitter is mounted on the pump. The movement of the
piston or diaphragm spoke sends electrical signals to the
controller that measures the delivered volume. Measurement can
also be performed by small fertilizer-meters installed on the
injection tube. The controller allocates fertilizer solution
according to a preset program.
In glasshouses, simultaneous application of a multi-nutrient
solution is routine practice. When the distinct chemical
compounds in the fertilizers are incompatible and cannot be
combined in a concentrated solution due to the risk of
decomposition or precipitation, two or three injectors are
installed inline one after another, in the control head. The
application ratio between the injectors is coordinated by the
irrigation controller. In high valve crops grown in glasshouses
on detached media, the irrigation water is mixed with fertilizers
in a mixing chamber (mixer).
Electric Pump: Electric pumps are inexpensive and reliable
(Fig.39.4). Operation costs are low. They can be readily
integrated into automatic systems. A wide selection of pump is
available from small low-capacity to massive high-capacity
pumps. The injection pressure is the range of 1 – 10 bars.
Electric piston pumps are exceptionally precise and appropriate
for accurate mixing in constant proportions of several stock
solutions.
Variable speed motors and variable stroke length allow for a
wide range of dosing from 0.5 to 300 Lh-1 at the working
pressure of 2 – 10 bars.

Fig. 39.3. Piston (left) and diaphragm (right) hydraulic pumps

and no – drain hydraulic pump. (Source:
http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)

Fig. 39.4. Electric pump. (Source:

http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)

39.4 Dosing Patterns

 Normally two types of dosing are practiced for chemicals and
fertilizers injection. These are: i) quantitative and ii)
proportional dosing.
I) Quantitative Dosing: A measured amount of fertilizer is
injected into the irrigation system during each water application.
Injection may be initiated and controlled automatically or
manually.
Ii) Proportional Dosing: It maintains a constant predetermined
ratio between the irrigation water and the fertilizer solution.
Pumps inject the fertilizer solution in a pulsating pattern.
Venturi injectors apply the fertilizer continuously and in
constant concentration.

39.5 Prevention and Precautions

Avoiding Corrosion Damage: Most fertilizer solutions are
corrosive. Accessories exposed to the injected solution should
be corrosion-resistant. The injection device and irrigation system
must be thoroughly flushed after fertilizer injection.
Backflow Prevention: Whenever the irrigation system is
connected to a potable water supply network, strict precautions
should be taken to avoid backflow of fertilizer containing
irrigation water. Fig. 39.5 shows back flow prevention valves.
Back – siphonage: Back siphonage occurs when low pressure in
the supply line is created by an excessive hydraulic gradient in
undersized pipes in the supply line. A break in the supply line,
pump or power failure occurs.
Back – Pressure: It occurs when the pressure in the irrigation
system is higher than in the water supply network. This happens
when booster pumps are used for irrigation or when the area
under irrigation is topographically higher than a local water
supply tank.

Fig. 39.5. Tedem backflow preventer.

(Source: http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)

An atmospheric vacuum breaker installed beyond the last valve

allows air to enter downstream when pressure falls. A pressure
vacuum breaker has an atmospheric vent valve that is internally
loaded by a spring. This valve is unsuitable for fertigation
system and it is operated by an external source of energy.
Vacuum breakers are effective only against back– siphonage and
do not prevent back-pressure.
Location of Fertigation Device: The fertigation devices should
be installed between the sand filter, (if installed) and the screen
or disc filter. It is essential that the fertigation devices be
installed at the upstream end of the screen or disc filters to
prevent any impurities in the fertilser/chemical solution from
entering the irrigation system.
39.6 Fertilizer Quantity Computation
The quantity of fertilizer to be injected in the system is
calculated using the following formula given by Michael (2010).

in which,
WF= amount of fertilizer required in per setting, kg
Ds= distance between sprinklers, m
Dl= distance between laterals, m

Ns= number of sprinklers, and

Qf= recommended fertilizer dose, kg/ha

Example 39.1: A sprinkler system is used apply fertilizer at the

recommended dose of 60 kg/h at each setting. The sprinkler
laterals are spaced at 20 m on the main line. Ten sprinklers are
attached in a lateral and these are spaced at 12 m apart.
Determine the amount of fertilizer to be applied in each setting.

Solution:
Ds = 12 m, = 20 m, Ns = 14 and Qf = 60 kg/ha
 = 14.4 kg

References
http://www.jains.com/Fertigation/fertilizer%20tank.htm
http://www.netafimusa.com
http://www.amiad.com/products.asp
Michael, A. M. (2010). Irrigation Theory and Practice, Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, India.

Suggested Reading
Heermann, D.F. and Kohl, R.A. (1980). Fluid Dynamics of
Sprinkler systems. (In Design and Operation of Farm Irrigation
Systems, Chapter 14, edited by Jenson, M.E.) ASAE
Monograph 3. St. Joseph, MI.
James, Larry G. (1988). Principles of Farm Irrigation System
Design, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York: 180.
39.1. Advantages of Fertigation / Chemigation

i) The fertigation/chemigation facilitates frequent

application of fertilizers and chemicals to the crop in an
amount as per the need of the crops during a specified crop
growth stage and conditions.

ii) There is controlled application of fertilizers and chemicals

along with water and hence if the uniformity in application of
water is high the, efficiency of application of fertilizers and
chemicals will also be high.

iii) There is less wastage of fertilizers and chemicals therefore

saving the expensive commodity.

iv) Due to efficient application, the crop yield also increases.

v) As there is controlled application, the leaching of the

fertilizers and chemicals is minimized, reducing the
groundwater pollution and environmental hazards.

39.2 General Points Consideration for Fertigation

The following points should be considered in operation of
fertigation/chemigation system.

i) The fertilizers/chemicals to be used should be water

soluble.

ii) The fertilizers/chemicals should be injected at the upstream

end of the filters to ensure that any undissolved particles of the
fertilizers/chemicals are removed before entering in to the
system.

iii) The irrigation system should be pressurized before starting

the process of fertigation and chemigation.

iv) The system should be equipped with the anti-siphon device

to protect the water supply from contamination of the
fertilizers/chemicals. For this purpose, it is important to
provide check and vacuum relief valves (anti-siphon devices)
for preventing the chemical from draining or siphoning back
into the irrigation well or to other water supply source. The
vacuum and check valves must be located between the pump
and the point of chemical injection. If water is blend from the
main irrigation supply into the chemical supply tank, the
connecting line too must be equipped with a check valve to
 prevent the supply tank from overflowing and contaminating
the adjacent area with chemical solution.

v) The coefficient of uniformity (CU) of water application of

irrigation system should be between 80 to 90%. This is use to
ensure uniform application of the chemicals to the area that is
being fertilized or treated with herbicides or pesticides. Non
uniform systems would results in poor placement of the
chemicals.

vi) The size of the pump or rate of chemical injection into the
sprinkler system should be checked closely so as to ensure
desired application rate of the chemical. The rate of injection
also depends on requirement: a) for continuous injection b) the
entire volume of chemical is injected in the beginning or at the
end of the irrigation set. Intermittent injection requires the
system to be flushed intermittently.

39.3 Fertigation / Chemigation Devices

There are several equipments available for the application of

fertilsers/chemicals through the sprinkler irrigation systems. The
choice of a particular method depends on: flow rate, operating
pressure, type of fertilizers/chemicals to be used, concentration of
the fertilsers/chemicals, time of operation and power source.

The selected equipment should be able to satisfy the following

requirements.

· Desired rate of application

· Desired duration of application

· Desire proportion of fertilizers

· Staring and completion time

· Normally the concentration of the fertilizers is in the

range of 200 to 500 ppm and that for bactericides it is in the
0.5 to 10 ppm

39.3.1 Pressurized Tank

A pressure differential is created by throttling the water flow in

the control head and diverting a fraction of the water through a
tank containing the fertilizer solution. Fig.39.1 shows a fertilizer
used for sprinkler and micro irrigation system. A gradient of 0.1
to 0.2 bar (1 – 2 m) is required to redirect an adequate stream of
water through a connecting tube of 9 – 12 mm diameter. The
pressurized tank is generally, made of corrosion resistant enamel-
coated or galvanized cast iron, stainless steel or fiberglass. This
should withstand the network working pressure. The diverted
water is mixed with solid soluble or liquid fertilizers in the
pressure tank. Once the solid fertilizer had been fully dissolved,
continuous dilution by water gradually decreases the
concentration of the chemical solution. The tank should have
enough capacity to store the required quantity. This device is
cheap and simple to use. A wide dilution ratio can be attained
without external source of energy.
 Fig. 39.1. Fertilizer tank.

(Source:
http://www.jains.com/Fertigation/fertilizer%20tank.htm)

Limitations: Nutrient/Chemical concentration in the irrigation

water cannot be precisely regulated. Prior to each application, the
tank has to be refilled with fertilizer. Valve throttling generates
pressure losses, and the system cannot be straight forwardly
automated.
39.3.2 Venturi Injector

The fertilizer solution is injected in to the system by suction

generated by water making water-to flow through a constricted
passageway called venturi. The high flow velocity of water in the
constriction reduces water pressure below the atmospheric
pressure, so that the vacuum is created and fertilizer solution is
sucked from an open tank into the constriction through a small
diameter tube. Fig. 39.2 shows a venturi injector used for
chemicals and fertilizer injection.
 Fig. 39.2. Venturi injector. (Source:
http://www.netafimusa.com)

Venturi is made of corrosion-resistant materials such as copper,

brass, plastic and stainless steel. Venturi devices require excess
pressure to allow for the necessary pressure loss. Maintaining a
constant pressure in the irrigation system guarantees uniform
long-term nutrient concentration. Common head losses are above
33% of the inlet pressure. Double stage ventury injectors have
lower pressure loss and pipe diameter. It can be adjusted by valves
and regulators, suction rates vary from 0.1 to 2000 .
Venturi injectors are installed on the line or on a bypass. The
injection rate depends upon the pressure loss, which ranges from
10% to 75% of the system’s pressure and is controlled by the
injector type and operating conditions. The injection rate can be
controlled by

· Changing the flow through the venture injector

· Controlling the system operating pressure

· Adjusting the control valve at discharge side

· Using the metering valve

Advantages: Cheap open tanks may be used for storing the

fertilizers/chemical. A wide range of suction rates can be created
by changing the diameter of the venturi dimensions of converging
and diverging sides; and valves. It has simple operation and low
wear. It requires easy installation and mobility. It is compatible
with automation. It provides uniform nutrient concentration.
Limitations: There is a significant pressure loss. The injection
rates are affected by pressure fluctuations.

39.3.3 Injection Pumps

Hydraulic Pumps: These are versatile, reliable feature low

operation and maintenance costs. A diaphragm or piston
movement injects the fertilizer solution into the irrigation system.
Water-driven diaphragm and piston pump combine precision,
reliability and low maintenance costs. Fig. 39.3 shows piston and
diaphragm pump.

Hydraulic pump used in fertigation can be automated. A pulse

transmitter is mounted on the pump. The movement of the piston
or diaphragm spoke sends electrical signals to the controller that
measures the delivered volume. Measurement can also be
performed by small fertilizer-meters installed on the injection
tube. The controller allocates fertilizer solution according to a
preset program.

In glasshouses, simultaneous application of a multi-nutrient

solution is routine practice. When the distinct chemical
compounds in the fertilizers are incompatible and cannot be
combined in a concentrated solution due to the risk of
decomposition or precipitation, two or three injectors are installed
inline one after another, in the control head. The application ratio
between the injectors is coordinated by the irrigation controller.
In high valve crops grown in glasshouses on detached media, the
irrigation water is mixed with fertilizers in a mixing chamber
(mixer).

Electric Pump: Electric pumps are inexpensive and reliable

(Fig.39.4). Operation costs are low. They can be readily
integrated into automatic systems. A wide selection of pump is
available from small low-capacity to massive high-capacity
pumps. The injection pressure is the range of 1 – 10 bars. Electric
piston pumps are exceptionally precise and appropriate for
accurate mixing in constant proportions of several stock
solutions.

Variable speed motors and variable stroke length allow for a wide
range of dosing from 0.5 to 300 Lh-1 at the working pressure of 2
– 10 bars.

Fig. 39.3. Piston (left) and diaphragm (right) hydraulic pumps

and no – drain hydraulic pump. (Source:
http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)
 Fig. 39.4. Electric pump. (Source:
http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)

39.4 Dosing Patterns

Normally two types of dosing are practiced for chemicals and

fertilizers injection. These are: i) quantitative and ii) proportional
dosing.

I) Quantitative Dosing: A measured amount of fertilizer is

injected into the irrigation system during each water application.
Injection may be initiated and controlled automatically or
manually.

Ii) Proportional Dosing: It maintains a constant predetermined

ratio between the irrigation water and the fertilizer solution.
Pumps inject the fertilizer solution in a pulsating pattern. Venturi
injectors apply the fertilizer continuously and in constant
concentration.

39.5 Prevention and Precautions

Avoiding Corrosion Damage: Most fertilizer solutions are

corrosive. Accessories exposed to the injected solution should be
corrosion-resistant. The injection device and irrigation system
must be thoroughly flushed after fertilizer injection.

Backflow Prevention: Whenever the irrigation system is

connected to a potable water supply network, strict precautions
should be taken to avoid backflow of fertilizer containing
irrigation water. Fig. 39.5 shows back flow prevention valves.

Back – siphonage: Back siphonage occurs when low pressure in

the supply line is created by an excessive hydraulic gradient in
undersized pipes in the supply line. A break in the supply line,
pump or power failure occurs.
Back – Pressure: It occurs when the pressure in the irrigation
system is higher than in the water supply network. This happens
when booster pumps are used for irrigation or when the area under
irrigation is topographically higher than a local water supply tank.

Fig. 39.5. Tedem backflow preventer.

(Source: http://www.amiad.com/products.asp)

An atmospheric vacuum breaker installed beyond the last valve

allows air to enter downstream when pressure falls. A pressure
vacuum breaker has an atmospheric vent valve that is internally
loaded by a spring. This valve is unsuitable for fertigation system
and it is operated by an external source of energy. Vacuum
breakers are effective only against back– siphonage and do not
prevent back-pressure.
Location of Fertigation Device: The fertigation devices should
be installed between the sand filter, (if installed) and the screen or
disc filter. It is essential that the fertigation devices be installed at
the upstream end of the screen or disc filters to prevent any
impurities in the fertilser/chemical solution from entering the
irrigation system.

39.6 Fertilizer Quantity Computation

The quantity of fertilizer to be injected in the system is calculated

using the following formula given by Michael (2010).

in which,

= amount of fertilizer required in per setting, kg

 = distance between sprinklers, m

= distance between laterals, m

number of sprinklers, and

= recommended fertilizer dose, kg/ha

Example 39.1: A sprinkler system is used apply fertilizer at the

recommended dose of 60 kg/h at each setting. The sprinkler
laterals are spaced at 20 m on the main line. Ten sprinklers are
attached in a lateral and these are spaced at 12 m apart. Determine
the amount of fertilizer to be applied in each setting.

Solution:

Ds = 12 m, = 20 m, Ns = 14 and Qf = 60 kg/ha

= 14.4 kg
LESSON 40 Evaluation of Rotating Head Sprinklers and Operation of Sprinkler System

40.1 Evaluation of a Sprinkler Head

The sprinkler head is evaluated based on the water distribution
pattern from the sprinkler nozzle, discharge of sprinkler nozzle,
radius of throw, sprinkler rotation and precipitation or water
application depth collected in a standard catch can under set of
condition specified in the BIS (IS: 10802-1984).
40.1.1 Site Conditions and Test Equipment
i) Sprinkler site: The sprinkler should be located in an area where
the surface is smooth or where vegetative growth is less than 150
mm in height. The surface grade should not exceed 2 percent
within the wetted area of sprinkler under test.
ii) Collector Description and Location: The collectors or catch
cans used for any one test should be such that the water does not
splash in or out. The type of collector should be identified and
recorded on the data sheet. If an evaporation suppressant is used
its type and method of application should be identified and
recorded on the data sheet. The spacing of the collectors depends
on the radious of throw of the sprinklers and given in Table 40.1.

Table 40.1. Spacing of collectors

Sprinkler radius of Maximum collector spacing center to

throw, m center, m
0.3-3 0.30
3-6 0.60
 6-12 0.75
>12 1.50

iii) Sprinkler mounting: The sprinkler nozzle height above the

nearest collector(s) for test purposes is given in Table: 40.2.

Table 40.2. Nozzle heights

Maximum nozzle
SL.
Sprinkler type height above collector
No.
(mm)
Riser mounted, rotating sprinkler 915
of not more than 30 mm nominal
1 inlet size
Riser mounted, rotating sprinkler 1830
2 of not less than 30 mm nominal
inlet size
Riser mounted, 460
3
non-rotating sprinkler
Grade mounted sprinkler Sprinkler lid level with
4 the collector in the non-
operating position
Hose end base mounted sprinkler Bottom of sprinkler
5 base to be level with
the collector inlet.
iv) The sprinkler should remain vertical (within 20) throughout
the duration of the test.
v) The position of all collectors should be maintained such that
the entrance portion is level.
vi) The height of the top of any collector should be a maximum
of 0.9 m above the ground.
40.1.2 Wind Measuring Equipment and Location for
Outdoor Tests
The sprinkling pattern is influenced by wind; hence the
mesiurment of wind velocity and direction are required to be
known for sprinkler performance. Wind velocity should be
measured with a rotating cup anemometer. The wind direction
should be determined with a wind vane. Wind velocity sensing
equipment should be located at a minimum height of 4.0 m. These
equipments should be located outside the wetted area of the
sprinkler and at a location that is representive of the wind
conditions at the sprinkler location. The maximum distance of the
sensor location should exceed 45 m from the wetted area of the
sprinkler under test.
40.1.3 Measurements
i) Sprinkler Pressure: The sprinkler base pressure should not vary
more than ± 3 percent during the test period. Pressure should be
measured with pressure measuring device accurate within ± 3
percent of the sprinkler test pressure and recorded in kPa. The
pitot tube is the commonly used pressure measuring device for
measuring the pressure at the nozzle of the sprinkler.
ii) Sprinkler Flow: The flow through the sprinkler should be
measured to an accuracy of ± 3 percent of the sprinkler flow rate
and recorded in m3/h. Data rates up to 95 m3/h. Rates than 95 m3/h
should be listed to at least the nearest 0.2 m3/h. Data rates up to
95 m3/h. Rates than 95 m3/h should be listed to at least the nearest
0.2 m3/h. The flow rate can be measured by connecting the tube
to the nozzle and measuring the volume of water collected in a
water tank for a specified time.
iii) Sprinkler Radius of Throw
a) The radius for rotating sprinklers should be defined as the
distance measured from the sprinkler centerline to the farthest
point at which the sprinkler deposits water at the minimum rate
of 0.25 mm/h over the inlet surface area of the collector.
b) The radius for non-rotating sprinklers should be defined as the
farthest distance measured from the sprinkler centerline to the
point at which the sprinkler deposits water at the minimum rate
of 0.25 mm/h typically measured at any arc of coverage except at
the arc extremes of part circle sprinklers.
c) The radius of throw for both full and part circle sprinklers
should be reported to the nearest 0.3 m.
iv) Sprinkler Rotation: The sprinkler rotation speed should be
measured only while the sprinkler is rotating from its own drive
mechanisms and should be recorded.
v) Collector Readings: The amount of water in each collector
should be accurately determined and recorded showing the
location of the collectors relative to the sprinkler. For multi-leg
tests, the reading for each leg should be recorded independently.
 vi) Test Records and Data Recording: The data outlined in this
section should be recorded on appropriate forms. Supplemental
data describing the conduct of the test may be included on the
form.
40.2 Moisture Distribution Pattern and Uniformity of
Coverage
The application efficiency of sprinkler depends upon the degree
of uniformly of water application. The basic objective of sprinkler
irrigation is to apply uniform depth of water at a given application
rate. The uniformly of water application depends upon the water
spray distribution characteristics of sprinkler nozzle and sprinkler
spacing. The spray distribution characteristics change with nozzle
size and operating pressure. The drops are larger and the water
from the nozzle falls in a ring away from the sprinkler at lower
pressures. For higher pressures, the water from the nozzle breaks
up into very fine drops and falls close to the sprinkler. External
factors such as wind also distorts the application pattern. Higher
the wind velocity, greater the distortion and this factor should be
considered when selecting the sprinkler spacing under windy
conditions. This distribution pattern from sprinklers for favorable
wind conditions and optimum pressure is shown in Fig. 40.1. It
can be seen that the depth of water applied surrounding the
sprinkler decreases with increase in the distance from the
sprinkler. Similar pattern of the water in the soil can be observed
in figure. The figure clearly shows that the pattern of moisture
distribution is not uniform with the single sprinkler. Therefore to
obtain the uniformity in water application, it is necessary that the
moisture distribution pattern of the adjacent sprinklers be
overlapped properly .Fig. 40.2 shows the water distribution
pattern of overlapped sprinklers. The wetted circles formed by
adjacent sprinklers are overlapped so as to add water to areas of
the adjoining sprinklers for obtaining the depth of water
application. The aggregate depth of distribution obtained by
overlapping thus becomes nearly uniform as shown in Fig. 40.2.
The Fig 40.1 also shows the moisture distribution pattern of a
rotating head sprinkler under windy conditions and corresponding
moisture distribution in soil.

Fig. 40.1. Moisture distribution pattern from a rotating head

sprinkler under favourable & windy conditions of pressure and
wind.
 (Source: Michael, 2010)

Fig. 40.2. Water distribution pattern from overlapped sprinklers.

(Source: Michael, 2010)

40.3 Uniformity of Coverage

Measuring Distributions: The distribution of sprinkler systems
can be evaluated by measuring the patterns of individual
sprinklers, and then by combining, as discussed in the previous
section, or by sampling directly, ASAE Recommendations S330
(ASAE Yearbook, 1979) describes procedures for measuring the
distribution of a single sprinkler including the format for
presenting the data. According to ASAE measurements the test
site should be nearly level and the minimum clean distance
upwind should be positioned at least 60 cm above the collectors,
and 90cm above the surface. Preferably, the sprinkler should be
located in the center of the grid of the four adjacent central
collectors. A minimum of 80 collectors should receive water
during a test. Wind direction and total wind movement at the 4-m
height should be recorded for interpretation of the data. The
distribution of a typical sprinkler system can be evaluated with a
grid of catch cans or collectors. The grid should be located over a
length equal to at least the sprinkler spacing on the lateral and
over a width at least equal to lateral spacing. For linear moving
systems, one or two lines of measuring devices perpendicular to
the travel path may be more practical and meaningful than a grid
system.

Uniformity Coefficients (Cu): It is a measurable index of the

degree of uniformity obtainable for any size sprinkler operating
under given conditions. This uniformity coefficient is affected by
the pressure nozzle size relations, sprinkler spacing and by wind
conditions. The coefficient is computed from field observations
of the depths of water collected in catch cans or collectors placed
at regular intervals within a sprinkled area as per procedure
described in preceding sections. It is expressed by the equation
developed by Christiansen (1942):

(40.1)
in which
Cu = coefficient of uniformity
m = average value of all observations (average application rate),
mm
n = total number of observation points
X = numerical deviation of individual observation s from the
average application rate, mm.
A uniformity coefficient of 100 per cent (obtained with
overlapping sprinklers) is indicative of absolutely uniform
application, whereas the water application is less uniform with a
lower value of coefficient. A uniformity coefficient of 85 per cent
or more is considered to be satisfactory.
Pattern Efficiency: The pattern efficiency (also known as
distribution efficiency)is calculated with the total depths of water
collected at each of the catch cans placed at the grid points. The
minimum depth is calculated considering average of the lowest
one fourth of the depths collected in catch cans used in a particular
test. Pattern efficiency is given by

(40.2)
The pattern efficiency is useful in calculating the average depth
to be applied for a certain minimum depth. The pattern efficiency
is influenced by the wind conditions.
The application efficiency is given by

(40.3)

40.4 Operation and Maintenance

The operation mode for a solid-set or permanent sprinkler system
depends upon the design and use of the system, available labor,
water supply, and available capital. Either system can be designed
on the lateral or area (block) design method. With the lateral
design method, individual laterals are controlled by valves and
each lateral may be operated as desired. Normally, more than one
lateral is operated simultaneously, but the operating laterals
usually are widely separated in the field. The lateral design
method minimizes the main or supply line pipe size, but it
increases the number of valves required and also the time to open
and close valves when a manually operated valve system is used.
With the area (or block) design method, a contiguous portion of
the field is irrigated at one time. Usually a sub-main is installed
to supply water to that portion of the field.
For frost and snow protection, the entire system may be operated
at one time. Depending upon the crop being protected, the
application rate will be 2 to 5 mm (0.08 to 0.18 in.) per hour. Both
undertree and overtree systems are used; however with saline
water only undertree systems should be used. Single nozzle,
medium pressure sprinklers should be used for frost and snow
protection. For crop cooling and blossom delay, the entire system
may be sequenced in alternate on-off modes as one portion of the
system may be operated at a time and the operation can be
switched to another portion of the system, Sequencing is best
accomplished with electric controllers and automatic valves. If
the system is being used strictly for irrigation, only a portion of
the system is normally operated at one time. Where several hours
are required for irrigation, control may be manual or automatic.
A sprinkler system like any other farm equipment needs
maintenance to keep it operating at peak efficiency. Parts of the
system subject to wear are the rotating sprinkler heads, the
pumping set, the couplers and the pipeline. General principle
regarding the maintenance of the pipes and fittings and sprinkler
heads are given below:
1. Pipes and Fittings: The pipes and fittings require virtually no
maintenance but attention must be given to the following
procedures:
(a) Occasionally clean any dirt or sand out of the groove in the
coupler in which the rubber sealing ring fits. Any accumulation
of dirt or sand will affect the performance of the rubber sealing
ring.
(b) Keep all nuts and bolt tight.
(c) Do not lay pipes on new damp concrete or on piles of fertilizer.
Do not lay fertilizer sacks on the pipe.

The pipes are automatically emptied and ready to be moved.

When the pump is first started and before the pressure has built
up in the system the seals may give a little leakage. With full
pressure in the system the couplers and fittings will be effectively
leak free. If however there is a leakage check the following:
(a) There is no accumulation of dirt or sand in the groove in the
coupler in which the sealing ring fits. Clean out any dirt or sand
and refit the sealing ring.
(b) The end of the pipe going inside the coupler is smooth clean
and not distorted.
(c) In the case of fittings such as bends, tees and reducers ensure
that the fitting has been properly connected into the coupler.
2. Sprinkler Heads: The sprinkler heads should be given the
following attention.
(a) When moving the sprinkler lines make sure that the sprinklers
are not damaged or pushed into the soil.
(b) Do not apply oil, grease or any lubricant to the sprinklers.
They are water lubricated and using oil, grease or any other
lubricant may stop them from working.
(c) Sprinkler usually have a sealed bearing and at the bottom of
the bearing there are washers. Usually it is the washers that wear
and not the more expensive metal parts. Check the washers for
wear once a season or every six months this is especially
important where water is sandy. Replace the washers if worn.
(d) After several seasons operation the swing arm spring may
need tightening. This is done by pulling out the spring end at the
top and rebending it. This will increase the spring tension. In
general check all equipment at the end of the season and make
any repairs and adjustment and order the spare parts immediately
so that the equipment is in perfect condition to start in the next
season.

Storage: The following points are to be observed while storing the

sprinkler equipment during the off season:
(a) Remove the sprinklers and store in a cool dry place.
(b) Remove the rubber sealing rings from the couplers and fittings
and store them in a cool, dark place.
(c) The pipes can be stored outdoors in which cases they should
be placed in racks with one end higher than the other. Do not store
pipes along with fertilizer.
(d) Disconnect the suction and delivery pipe work from the pump
and pour in a small quantity of medium grade oil. Rotate the pump
for a few minutes. Blank off the suction and delivery branches.
This will prevent the pump from rusting. Grease the shaft.
(e) Protect the electric motor from the ingress of dust, dampness
and rodents.
40.5 Common Troubles and Remedies in Operation of
Sprinkler System
The following are the general guidelines to identify and remove
the common troubles in the sprinkler systems:
1) Pump does not Prime or Delivers Water
i) The pump suction lift should be checked, if it is within the
limits. If not lower the pump closer to the water.
ii) Check the suction pipeline and all connections for air leaks.
All connections and flanges should be air tight.
iii) Check that the strainer on the foot valve is not blocked
iv) Check that the flap in the foot valve in free to open fully.
v) Check the pump gland (s) gently. If necessary repack the gland
(s) using a thick grease to seal the gland satisfactorily.
vi) Check that the gate valve on the delivery pipe is fully closed
during priming and opens fully when the pump is running.
vii) Check that the direction of rotation of the pump is correct.

2) Sprinklers do not Turn

i) Check pressure.
ii) Check that the nozzle is not blocked. Preferably unscrew the
nozzle or use a small soft piece of wood to clear the blockage. Do
not use a piece of wire or metal as this may damage the nozzle.
iii) Check that the sprinkler can usually be pushed down towards
the riser pipes so that the water pressure flushes out the bearing.
If the bearing is still stiff dismantle and then clean it. Do not use
oil, grease or any lubricant.
iv) Check that the condition of washers at the bottom of the
bearing and replace then if worn or damaged.
v) Check that the swing arm moves freely and that the spoon
which moves into the water stream is not bent by comparing it
with a sprinkler which is operating correctly. If it is bent then very
carefully bend it back into position.
vi) Adjust the swing arm spring tension. Usually it should not be
necessary to pull up the spring by more than about 6mm.
3) Leakage from Coupler or Fittings
The sealing rings in the couplers and fittings are usually designed
to drain the water from the pipes when the pressure is turned off.
This ensures that the pipes are automatically emptied and ready
to be moved. When the pump is first started and before the
pressure has built up in the system the seals may give a little
leakage. With full pressure in the system the couplers and fittings
will be effectively leak-free. If, however, there is a leakage, check
the following:
i) There is no accumulation of dirt or sand in the groove of the
coupler in which the sealing ring fits. Clean out any dirt or sand
and refit the sealing ring.
ii) The end of the pipe going inside the coupler is smooth, clean
and not distorted.
iii) In the case of fittings such as bends, tees and reducers ensure
that the fitting has been properly connected into the coupler.

Example 1: Determine the uniformity coefficient, Pattern and

application efficiencies from the following data obtained from a
field test on a square plot bounded by four sprinklers:

Sprinkler (S) - 4.76 x 3.2 mm nozzles at 2.8 kg/cm3

Spacing- 16 m x 12 m
 Wind- 5 km/hr from south-west
Humidity- 49 percent
Time of test- 2 hour

S 9.4 8.1 7.1 S

8.6 8.1 10.4 10.7 8.8
9.4 9.6 9.6 9.9 9.4
9.9 8.4 9.6 9.1 9.6
S 8.4 7.1 7.3 S

Note: S indicates location of sprinklers.

Solution:

Application
rate Numerical Frequency
Observation Frequency
deviations x deviations
x frequency
10.7 1 10.7 1.6 1.6
10.4 1 10.4 1.3 1.3
9.9 2 19.8 0.8 1.6
9.6 4 38.4 0.5 2
9.4 3 28.2 0.3 0.9
9.1 1 9.1 0 0
8.8 1 8.8 0.3 0.3
 8.6 1 8.6 0.5 0.5
8.4 2 16.8 0.7 1.4
8.1 2 16.2 1 2
7.3 1 7.3 1.8 1.8
7.1 2 14.2 2 4
21 188.5 ΣX=17.4

Mean = = 8.97
Cu= 100
= 100

Total catch in 21 locations=188.5 mm in 2 hours

Average catch (188.5/21) = 8.97

Average of the lowest one fourth of the cans (5 out of 21)

= (37.7/5)=7.54 mm or 3.77 mm/hr
Pattern efficiency = (7.54/8.97) *100= 84 percent
Average rate applied =
= 0.45 cm/hr
Application efficiency = (0.377/0.56) x 100= 83.77 percent
LESSON 41 Drip Irrigation

41.1 Introduction
Drip irrigation also called as trickle irrigation is the method of
applying filtered water (and fertilizers soluble in water) at a low
discharge through the emitters or drippers directly onto or in to
the soil. The pressure that need to maintained at the emitters, also
called as operating pressure, is usually small operating pressure
(20 to 200 kPa or 1 to 2 kg/cm2) compared to the operating
pressure required at the nozzle or sprinkler of the sprinkler
irrigation system. The discharge of the emitter varies from 0.5 to
12 lph depending on the soil type, discharge available at the
source and the area to be irrigated. The low discharge of the
emitter results in partial wetting of soil root zone.
The drip irrigation is one of the micro irrigation methods. The
micro irrigation method is the low pressure irrigation system that
sprays, sprinkles, mists, delivers or drips the water frequently at
low discharges onto or into the soil near the plant roots and
causing only partial wetting of the soil surface. The other types of
the micro irrigation methods are micro-sprinkler, micro-jet,
bubbler. In micro irrigation methods water is conveyed through
the network of the pipes directly in to the field and applied at or
near the crop root zone. Micro irrigation defers from sprinkler
irrigation by the fact the only part of the soil surface is wetted in
micro irrigation methods and these methods operate on low
pressure and deliver low discharge.
A precise amount of water equal to daily consumptive use or the
depleted soil water that change with crop growth stages and
weather conditions can be applied through drip irrigation
methods. In this method the soil water can be maintained near to
field capacity (or within allowable depletion range) or at low
tensions during the entire crop growth period. Due to regulated
flow in low volumes, deep percolation losses can be completely
prevented and evaporation loss is also reduced. Therefore this
method is preferable in arid regions where water is scarce
compared to others methods. Due to the provision of frequent
water application and possibility of maintaining the soil at low
tension poor quality water in respect of salt concentration can also
be used. It enables application of fertilizer along with irrigation
water. Due to these facts, drip irrigation ensures optimum growth,
better fruiting and early maturity of crops by assuring balanced
soil water, air and nutrients throughout the crop period.

41.2 Advantages and Limitations of Drip Irrigation

Due to the possibility of applying water frequently in low
volumes along with fertilizer and causing only partial wetting of
soil, this method offers various advantages over the surface and
sprinkler irrigation methods. However at the same time, this
method involves high level of technology compared to the surface
irrigation method and therefore for its successful operation, the
method needs to be
used carefully. This section describes the advantage and
disadvantages of drip irrigation method along with its
adoptability.
41.2.1 Advantages
• Water Savings: In drip irrigation system, the water is not
moved over the soil surface or through the air. Therefore the
conveyance losses are totally eliminated. As water does not
come in contact with the foliage, the interception losses are
also eliminated. In addition to this as this method can wet
only the desired soil root zone keeping other portion of the
soil dry, the losses in application are also reduced. Due to
regulated flow and application of water in low volumes, the
deep percolation losses are also reduced to a great extent. All
these utilities in drip irrigation method make this method to
use water efficiently and reduce/eliminate the water losses
in the process of conveyance, distribution, application and
storage. Therefore this method can save water to the extent
of 40 to 60 % without compromising the crop growth.
• Improved Plant Growth and Crop Yield: As this method
allows the efficient application of water in low volumes
frequently, it is possible to maintain the water content in the
soil root zone near to the field capacity or within allowable
depletion soil moisture. At this level the soil moisture
tension is low and the plant need not to exert much to extract
water from the soil. Therefore the plants are not subjected to
water stress during the entire crop growth period. This also
maintains the favorable air and water ratio in the soil root
zone and thus improving the plant growth and in the process
obtaining the higher crop yield compared to other methods.
It has been reported that drip irrigation increases the yield
from 10 to 60% depending upon soils and crops over
conventional methods of irrigation (INCID, 1994).
• Labor & Saving: There is considerable saving in labor, as the
well-designed system needs labor only to start or stop the
system. This method is also adaptable to automation of low
to high level in water and fertilizer application. Therefore the
expenses on the manual labourer can be reduced to a great
extent.
• Energy Saving: Because of high irrigation efficiency, less
amount of water is required to be applied and hence less time
is required to supply the desired quantity of water and
therefore this, method saves energy. In addition to this the
low pressure is required to operate the emitters compared to
sprinkler irrigation system, therefore there is a need of low
horse power pump, further causing the saving in energy.
• Suitability to Poor Soils: Very light soils are difficult to
irrigate by conventional methods due to deep percolation of
water. Like-wise, very heavy soils with low infiltration rates
are difficult to irrigate even by sprinkler method. However,
drip irrigation has been found successful in both types of
soils.
• Weed Control: In drip method, due to partial wetting of soil,
weed infestation is very less in comparison to other methods
of irrigation. This reduces the need of expensive and
environmentally hazardous chemicals and laborers for the
application of these chemicals.
• Economy in Cultural Practices & Operations: Besides
achieving effective control of weeds, it also increases the
efficiency of other operations like spraying, weeding,
harvesting etc. due to the possibility of arranging the
geometry of the plantation to suit to these operations. There
by reducing the operational costs even upto the extent of
50%.
• Use of Brackish/Saline Water: In this method the soil
moisture can be maintained at low tension and therefore best
suited to the application of brackish/saline water which is
otherwise not possible in surface irrigation method due to
moisture at high tension because of prolonged interval
between two irrigations. As the irrigation requirement of this
method is almost reduced by more than 50%, the use of
water with salt loads cause the less salt accumulation
compared to surface irrigation methods.
• Enhanced Fertilizer Application Efficiency: In drip
irrigation system, water soluble fertilizers can be applied. As
water can be precisely applied in the root zone, fertilizer can
also be applied in the root zone of the crop only. Therefore
the losses of fertilizers in the process of deep percolation,
leaching, runoff etc can be considerably eliminated
enhancing the saving of precious fertilizer and causing the
minimum hazards to the environment reducing the
groundwater pollution.
• No Soil Erosion: As water is not moved over the land
surface, there is no soil erosion due to drip irrigation.
• No Land Preparation: Preparation of leveled bed, bund and
channels is not necessary as water is not required to move on
the land surface. Only land smoothening will suffice.
• Minimum Diseases and Pest Problems: In drip system,
because of less atmospheric humidity minimum diseases and
pest problems are observed.
• Adaptability to Application of Mulches: In water scarce
region, the mulching has been found very successful for
saving water. The drip irrigation method wherein the
drippers can be placed below the mulch cover is suitable for
the situations where the mulches are required to be used. The
 drip irrigation method along with the mulching has been
found a very formidable option in regions where water
shortage is acute.

41.2.2 Limitations
The limitations of drip system are
• Initial Heavy investment: The drip irrigation method
involves the use of several components to apply water as per
its principle compared to surface and sprinkler irrigation
methods. Therefore the initial cost required for the
procurement of these components of the system and its
installation is high. Often farmers may not afford this
investment. However realizing the importance of this
method in water saving and other factors, the Central and
various State government agencies including National
Horticulture Mission on Micro-irrigation bear the partial
expenses on this system by offering the subsidy to the
farmers on the procurement of this system. Though the initial
cost is high, in long term the system is beneficial as it saves
water, energy, fertilizers, labor and produces more crop
produce.
• Extensive Maintenance Requirement: If the proper filtration
system is not used emitter clogging could be the most serious
problem in drip irrigation the remedial measures on which
could be expensive. Apart from this, salt and chemical
deposits can accumulate at openings of the emitters partially
or fully plugging the tehm. Clogging can adversely affect the
flow rate and uniformity of water application, increased
 maintenance costs as it becomes necessary to check, replace
or reclaim the clogged emitters. As the water is not applied
uniformly and as per the requirement due to partial and full
clogging of the emitters. As the water is not applied
uniformly and as per the requirement due to partial and full
clogging of the emitters, crop damage & decreased yield
may occur, if not detected early & corrected timely. Other
maintenance problems may include pipeline leaks and
puncturing of the tubes. Rodents, rabbits, dogs, etc. can chew
& damage drip line; and ants & other insects have
occasionally enlarged opening in drip tubing. Drip lines can
be cut or dug-up accidentally when weeding, replacing or
repairing other pipelines or utilities in nearby areas. Filters,
chemical injectors, pressure regulators, water meters and
pumps are also subjected to malfunctioning and liable for
maintenance.
• Salinity Hazards: Although drip system can be used under
saline conditions, it must be managed properly. Otherwise
reverse pressure gradients in the soil will cause flow of salts
towards plant root with the resulting detrimental effects. It
has also been found that the salts in irrigation water or soil
are pushed to the fringes of the wetted area formed due to
emitters, causing the accumulation of salts. This
accumulation of salt could be harmful for the next seasons if
not leached in rainy season or by applying water in excess of
the irrigation requirement for leaching of the salts that are
accumulated.
• Economic and/or Technical Limitations: Besides the initial
heavy investment on the components of the drip irrigation
system, the annual maintenance of these components, if not
used properly, could be expensive. There are some specific
 requirements to operate and maintain the fertigation units,
valves, pumps and filters. Often the technical limitations on
the operation of these components may prohibit the proper
use of the components, increasing the cost on the
maintenance.
• High Skill Requirements: High skill is required for
designing, installation and subsequent operation. The
technical knowledge in the design of emitters, fittings,
filters, etc. has been necessary. The procedures for
preventing or correcting emitter clogging & rectifying
equipment failure have been difficult. The use of proper
methods for injection of fertilizers & other chemicals has
sometimes been a problem. A higher level of design,
management & maintenance is required with drip than other
irrigation methods.

41.3 Critical Appraisal of the Adaptability of Drip Irrigation

The drip irrigation system is very popular in areas of acute water
scarcity due to its advantages in terms of high water use
efficiency. This method adoptable to almost all types of soil and
topography of land. Drip irrigation has been found to irrigate
marginal soils and terrain that otherwise not possible
continently irrigate by other methods, Soils with high
permeability and low water holding capacity, such as sands,
desert pavement and least topical soils adopt poorly to surface or
sprinkler irrigation but can be irrigated successfully with drip
systems. Drip irrigation has been proven to be an efficient and
effective technique for establishing vegetation on steep slopes of
abandoned mines, road embankments etc. It is also suitable for
irrigating slowly permeable soils and irregular plots.
Small irregularly shaped and narrow long and landscaped area are
difficult to irrigate by sprinkler irrigation system resulting in over
spray of paved surfaces and lack of uniformity. Drip irrigation
enables water to be applied with high uniformity and may
eliminate runoff and overspray. Sub surface drip on turf grass and
sports fields does not interfere with the continuous use of area.
Drip irrigation is adaptable for protected cultivation in green
house, shade net and low tunnels. It provides control application
of water and nutrients for each individual plant without foliage
wetting, which is an important feature for high values crops such
as flowers, potted plants and green house vegetables. Drip
irrigation is also suitable for vegetables grown on plastic
mulching under tunnels, such as strawberries and early seasons
melons and other vegetable crops. Saline and poor quality water
can be more safely used through drip irrigation than through any
other method of irrigation. It is well adapted to variety of row
crops from widely spaced fruit crops to closely spaced vegetable
crops and places where commercial cultivation is in vogue of cash
or horticultural crops. Numerous studies have been conducted in
different parts of the country on various crops to quantify the
benefits of the use of drip irrigation in terms of increased
production and productivity as well as saving of water
(Padmakumari and Sivanappan, 1989; Raman, 1999; Sivanappan,
1999). Kumar and Singh 2002 compiled multi locational research
trial data on drip irrigation and these are reported in Table 41.1.
The crops that gave relatively higher yield under drip irrigation
are gherkins, mosambi, carrot, beans, mango, turmeric, popcorn,
baby corn, papaya and capsicum (Table 41.1). On the other hand,
chilli, coconut, radish, ridge gourd, tomato, guava, cabbage,
banana, potato and beet root gave higher water use efficiency.
High water saving was observed among beet root, bitter gourd,
sweet potato, papaya, radish, sweet lime, mosambi, pomegranate,
turmeric and cotton crops.

41.4 Scope and Status of Drip Irrigation in India

The drip method is an acceptable system of irrigation to many
crops, yet drip irrigation should not be expected to replace other
irrigation methods or in some cases to even compete with
conventional irrigation methods. The potential for using less
water per unit of production may provide the motivation for
changing irrigation methods whenever and wherever water costs
have very significant effects on profit margins. The rapid
expansion of drip irrigation in southern India such as Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and western part of country such
as Maharashtra and Gujarat where water is scarce commodity and
the costs are high illustrates this point. Since drip irrigation is not
economical for some crops that are surface irrigated such as wheat
and paddy in particular. Vast areas under these crops
underestimate the acceptance of drip irrigation over the past
decade.

Table 41.1. Average crop yield, percentage increase in yield,

water use efficiency and water saving in drip over the
conventional irrigation system for various crops.
 Yield WUE Water
Sl. No. of Yield
Crop increases (tha-1cm- saving
No. references (tha-1)
(%) 1
) (%)
1 Acid lime 1 78.00 56.00 1.30 50.00
2 Baby corn 1 9.88 72.40 0.48 43.80
3 Banana 7 71.52 29.27 2.95 42.50
4 Bean 1 10.25 81.80 0.37 36.90
5 Beet root 1 48.87 7.00 2.76 79.00
6 Ber 3 71.03 27.67 0.66 34.33
7 Bitter Ground 4 2.68 44.38 1.43 69.50
8 Bottole gourd 1 55.80 46.80 1.03 35.70
9 Brinjal 7 16.01 44.63 1.47 42.55
10 Cabbage 5 50.49 37.48 3.17 37.35
11 Capsicum 1 22.50 66.60 0.78 43.10
12 Carrot 1 26.26 92.30 0.81 33.60
13 Castor 2 7027 30.24 1.73 32.99
14 Cauliflower 3 19.50 39.73 0.68 37.10
15 Chickpea 1 3.80 66.60 1.60 42.60
16 Chilli 5 67.98 28.74 7.47 47.28
Coconut,
17 2 181.00 7.10 6.89 50.50
No/plant
18 Cotton 3 36.00 40.00 0.86 51.10
19 Cucumber 1 22.50 45.10 0.94 37.80
20 Gherkins 1 4.88 100.60 2.30 36.10
21 Grain corn 1 6.50 52.90 2.20 45.00
Contd…
 WUE Water
S. No. of Yield Yield
Crop -
saving
No. references (tha
(tha-1) Increases (%) 1 -1
cm ) (%)
22 Grape 5 29.93 20.94 0.95 43.00
23 Groundnut 2 3.50 62.50 1.00 32.40
24 Guava 2 25.50 63.00 3.53 9.00
25 Mango 3 19.50 80.67 2.40 28.93
Mosambi,
26 1 15.00 98.00 0.23 61.00
1000 pcs
27 Oil palm 1 - - - 21.00
28 Okra 12 20.05 20.69 1.94 44.72
29 Onion 3 17.01 42.60 1.20 36.70
30 Papaya 5 56.64 71.97 0.91 67.97
Pomegranate,
31 3 44.67 55.67 0.53 57.33
100 pcs
32 Popcorn 1 5.50 75.40 2.10 42.00
33 Potato 5 28.66 50.02 2.80 24.62
34 Radish 2 17.00 27.50 5.04 64.00
35 Ridge gourd 3 17.39 14.50 4.36 43.39
36 Round gourd 1 36.60 24.00 0.46 0.00
37 Sapota 1 - 17.20 - 21.40
38 Sweet potato 1 50.00 39.00 1.98 68.00
39 Sugarcane 6 145.87 43.59 1.19 46.67
40 Sweet lime 1 15.00 50.00 2.30 61.40
41 Tapioca 2 54.60 12.60 0.55 23.40
42 Tomato 11 36.57 46.00 3.82 37.35
43 Turmeric 2 18.44 76.30 0.56 53.10
44 Watermelon 3 46.80 64.83 2.13 46.10

WUE = Water use efficiency

(Source: Kumar and Singh, 2002)
If the gross value per unit land area of the various crops that are
drip irrigated are compared with those irrigated with conventional
systems, the importance of drip irrigation may be seen. Most of
the crops irrigated by the drip method yield higher cash returns
per unit area compared to some of the crops under conventional
irrigation. Developments in the future will probably continue to
be concentrated on high value crops. Extending limited water
supplies and on the utilization of relatively low quality water.

Adoption of Drip Irrigation in India

In India, drip irrigation was introduced in the early seventies at
the Agricultural Universities and research institutions. Significant
development of drip irrigation has taken place in since 1980s. The
growth of micro-irrigation has gained momentum in recent years.
From a mere 1500 ha in 1985, the area under drip irrigation has
grown to 462,300 ha in 2003 (ICAR, 2003). These developments
have taken place mainly in areas of acute water scarcity. As on in
year 2003 the area-wise distributions of drip irrigation in different
states of India are Maharashtra (1,94,000 ha), Andhra Pradesh
(59,500 ha); Karnataka (58,500 ha); Tamil Nadu (46,500 ha);
Rajasthan (41,500 ha); Gujarat (20,500 ha); Madhya Pradesh
(8800 ha); Kerala (8500 ha); Uttar Pradesh (4500 ha); Orissa
(3900, ha) Haryana (3400 ha); Punjab (2200 ha); West Bengal
(800 ha); Assam (800 ha) and other (8900 ha). (Kumar and Singh,
2002)
During the year 2004, the area under drip irrigation in India
increased to 5,40,000 ha covering majority of horticultural crops,
coconut 19%, banana 11% ,grapes 10%, mango 9.4%,citrus 7.9%
and pomegranate 6.2% (Rajput and Patel, 2004).
Efforts have been made at research level by Indian Council of
Agricultural Research, Agricultural Universities, National
Committee on Use of Plastics in Agriculture, Ministry of Water
Resources of the Government of India to promote the use of drip
irrigation method, Various State governments have sponsored
promotional activities for adoption of drip irrigation.
Promotional Efforts by the Government
Many State governments facing water shortage for irrigation.
Have been taking efforts to motivate farmers in adopting drip
irrigation. In India, Ministry of Agriculture Govt. of India
provides subsidies to the farmers of different social communities
under the National Mission Micro Irrigation. The Government of
India acknowledged the importance of micro-irrigation and
announced subsidy schemes in a few selected states in year 1991.
Encouraging results and positive response from farmers, the
Govt. of India announced a subsidy scheme of Rs.250 cores
during VIII plan (1992-1997). In the IXth plan, plasticulture got a
major thrust with an outlay of Rs. 375 crores. Recognizing the
importance of plasticulture in horticulture in particular, the
Government of India reconstituted the National Committee on
Plastics in Agriculture (NCPA) to National Committee on
Plasticulture Application in Horticulture (NCPH) in May
2001.Till early 2005,the assistance of the Government of India
under the “Centrally Sponsored Scheme” on development of
horticulture through “Plasticulture interventions” was available
for all types of micro-irrigation system. The assistance covers all
farmers growing horticulture through “plasticulture
interventions” and is available for all types of micro-irrigation
systems. The assistance covers all farmers growing horticultural
crops like fruits, vegetables including potato, onion and other root
and tuber crops, spices and medical and aromatic plants- (Rajput
and Patel, 2005). Fig. 41.1. shows the crop coverage under drip
irrigation in India.
 Fig. 41.1 Area of different crops under drip irrigation in India.
(Source: Rajput and Patel, 2005)
LESSON 42 Components of Drip Irrigation System-I

42.1 Introduction
Drip irrigation system applies water in low volumes uniformly
along with the fertilizers onto or into the soil near the plant root
zone. This involves several components. These are the network
of pipes (main line, sub mains, laterals), emitting device called as
drippers or emitters, control head consisting of pumps, filters and
fertigation units; and other accessories such as valves, gages etc.
The main line delivers water from water source with the help of
pumping device or elevated water tank to the sub main and the
sub mains to the laterals. The emitters which are attached to the
laterals deliver water onto or into the soil for irrigation. Emitters
are the end device of the drip irrigation system. The typical layout
of the drip irrigation system with its components is shown in Figs.
42.1 and Fig 42.2. These figures show arrangement of pipe
network (main, sub-main, lateral) and layout of drip irrigation
system in the field.
The components of the drip irrigation system are classified into
following principal categories:
a) Pump and prime mover: The pressure necessary to force water
through the components of the system including fertilizer tank,
filter unit, mainline, sub main, laterals and provide at the emitters
at the desired pressure is obtained by a pump of suitable capacity
or the overhead water tank located at suitable elevation.
b) Water source: Water sources such as river, lake, reservoir/tank,
well, canal water supply or connection to a public commercial or
cooperative water supply network can be used. Drip irrigation is
a pressurized irrigation technology in which water is delivered
from these sources by increasing its internal energy (pressure) by
pumping.

Fig. 42.1. Component and layout of drip irrigation system.

(Source:http://74.52.53.155/sites/all/themes/ncpah/images/Drip_
irrigation.jpg)
 Fig. 42.2. Typical layout of drip irrigation system.

c) Pipe network: Mainline, submains and manifolds (feeder

pipes) and laterals.
d) Emitting devices: Emitters or drippers or the laterals integrated
with drippers/emitters and line source with drippers.
e) Control devices: Valves, flow meters, pressure and flow
regulators, automation equipment, backflow preventers, vacuum
and air release valves, etc.
f) Filtration devices: Removal of suspended materials in the
water. Media, screen and disc filters.
g) Chemical injectors: For application of plant nutrients and water
treatment agents along with the irrigation water. Pressurized tank,
venture injector, injection pump.
42.2 The Source
There are two alternative sources of water supply:
a) Direct withdrawal from surface source (such as a river, stream,
pond or dam reservoir) or from an underground sources (such as
a well). The pumping devices need to be installed for the
withdrawal.
b) Connection to a commercial, public or co-operative supply
network. If pumping is needed, the pump will be chosen
according to the required flow rate and pressure in the irrigation
system. When connected to a water supply network, the diameter
of the connection, main valve and the delivering line should
correspond with the planned flow rate and working pressure in
the irrigated area.

42.3 The Pumping Devices

The pumping devices are required to provide the pressure to pass
water through the control head, different accessories and pipe
network and then to the emitting devices at desired pressure. The
pressure can be developed by using the elevated tanks or pumps.
The elevated tanks can provide the pressure to the small system
with micro tubes as the emitting devices. Other systems need the
pumps. The pumps to be used may be centrifugal pump,
submersible pump, turbine pumps. They may be powered by the
electric motor or the diesel pump.
42.4 The Pipe Network
42.4.1 Main
Pipes of mainlines are usually made of poly vinyl chloride (PVC)
or high density polyethylene (HDPE). Ordinary PVC pipes have
not UV protection and should be installed underground. Recently,
unplasticized PVC (uPVC) pipes are manufactured with reduced
sensitivity to ultra-violate (UV) rays and better endurance than
ordinary PVC pipes. HDPE pipes can be installed inside or above
ground, as they are impregnated with carbon black that provides
protection against UV. The nominal working pressure of pipes
has to be higher than that of the submain/drip laterals. The pipes
of diameter 50 mm or above and the pressure rating of more than
4 kg/cm2 are used for mainline. The exact diameter and pressure
ratings are decided in the process of design and depend on the size
of the area irrigated, emitter operating pressure, topography, static
and delivery heads etc.

42.4.2 Submains
Submains are installed underground (PVC or HDPE) or above
ground (HDPE only.) The pipes of diameter 32 mm or above and
the pressure rating of more than 2.5 kg/cm2 are used for sub
mainline

42.4.3 Manifolds
In certain circumstances, when rows are very long or in rolling
topography, sub-division of the plot by submains is insufficient.
In these cases secondary partition is carried out by manifolds.
Manifolds are used also to simplify operation and to lower
accessories costs.

42.4.4 Laterals
Laterals are the tubes on which the emitters are mounted or within
which they are integrated. They are usually made of low density
polythene (LDPE) or linear low density polythene (LLDPE) (Fig.
42.3) with features such as flexibility, non corrosivety, resistance
to solar radiation and temperature fluctuation and generally black
in color. Laterals usually have inner diameters in the range of 12
to 20 mm with wall thickness varying from 1 to 3 mm. The wall
thickness is made to withstand pressure more than 2 kg/cm2
depending on the requirement. The laterals may be laid on the soil
surface or underground. Laterals buried at 5-10 cm below soil
surface is suitable to vegetables grown on hillocks or under plastic
mulch. Laterals need to distribute the water uniformly along their
length by means of drippers or emitters.
 Fig. 42.3. Laterals pipe.
(Source:http://74.52.53.155/sites/all/themes/ncpah/images/Drip_
irrigation.jpg)

42.5 Control and Monitoring Devices

42.5.1 Valves
Flow and pressure control valves are required for controlling
water distribution and regulating pressure in the pipeline. The
valves used in drip irrigation systems include air release and
vacuum relief valve, pressure regulating valves, flow regulation
valves, non return valves and on hyphen and hyphen off valves.
• Manual or Automatic Flow Regulating Valves: Manual or
automatic valves are used for the opening and shutdown of
water and for splitting the irrigated area into subunits.
• Pressure Regulators or Pressure Relief Valves: These are
used to prevent excessive pressure beyond the working
pressure of the system. These are installed at any point
where there is a possibility of existing excessively high
pressure. Such kind of high pressure may be generated in
the system from sudden opening and closing of the valves,
starting and stopping of a pump.
Closing and opening of the flow regulating valves gradually and
using the air vents/relief valves at the proper location may prevent
to generate the excessive pressure in the system. By pass
assembly to bypass the excess water and pressure right at the
source and pump could be adequate instead of pressure regulators
or pressure relief valves.
• Check Valves and Backflow Preventers: Check valves and
backflow preventers are required when fertilizers or other
chemicals are injected into the irrigation system, if the
irrigation system is connected to potable water supply
network.
• Air-Release/Relief Valves: Air-release/relief valves are
installed at the higher elevation points of the system to
prevent air flow in the pipes. These valves allow air to
escape when filling pipelines with water and remove air
pockets at high points in the system. High air content in the
pipes may interfere with water flow, increase friction with
pipe walls, distort water measurement and may cause
water hammer and pipe burst.
• Vacuum Breakers: Vacuum breakers prevent the collapse of
pipes in steep slopes and drip laterals in sub-surface drip
irrigation (SDI) systems. In SDI they also eliminate the
suction of soil particles into the drippers after shutdown of
the water supply. Vacuum relief valves, which have orifices
of size 25 to 200 mm in diameter, are designed to exhaust
large volume of air during pipe filling and to close when the
filling stops.

42.5.2 Gages
Pressure gauges monitor water pressure in the system and ensure
operating pressure remains close to the recommended or desired
values. Based on where the pressure gauge is installed, it will
measure water pressure in a various ranges, from 0 to 10 kg/cm2
near the pump to 0-2 kg/cm2 at the end of drip lateral. Pressure
gauges may be installed at set points (near the pump, before and
after the filter, near the field). They can also be mounted as
portable devices and installed temporarily at the end of a drip
lateral.
42.5.3 Water Meters
Water meters monitor and record the amount of water moving
through a pipe where the water meter is installed. When a
stopwatch is used together with a water meter, it is possible to
determine the discharge in the system.

42.6 Control Head

The main components of the control head are the filtration and
chemigation units.

44.6.1 Filtration Systems

Filtration is the key to the success or failure of a drip irrigation
system. The narrow water passage or pathways in the emitters of
the drip irrigation system are susceptible to clogging by
suspended matter and chemicals that precipitate from the
irrigation water. The clogging of the emitters can be partial or full
causing the reduction in the emission uniformity and rated
discharge of the emitters. Clogging can be prevented or reduced
by:
a) Preliminary separation of suspended solid particles by settling
ponds, settling tanks and sand separators.
b) Complimentary chemical treatments for decomposition of
suspended organic matter; to hinder the development of slime by
microorganisms; to prevent chemical precipitates deposition and
to dissolve previous deposited precipitates.
c) Filtration of the irrigation water: The media filters usually
called as sand filters, screen filters or disc filters are used.
Filtration devices are usually installed at the control head. If the
irrigation water is heavily contaminated, secondary control filters
are installed at the subunit valves. Filters should be flushed and
cleaned routinely. Flushing can be done manually or
automatically. The filters can be installed in arrays of two or more
units. The installation of the filters causes the additional head loss
in the system and need to be considered while designing the
system. The details of the filters are explained in the next lesson.

42.6.2 Chemical Injectors

Three categories of chemicals viz. fertilizers, pesticides and anti-
clogging agents need to be injected into irrigation systems
depending on the need.
i) Fertilizers are the most commonly injected chemicals. In drip
irrigation system, it is possible to time the application of the
fertilizers as per the requirement of crop growth stages. The
fertilizers need to be water soluble.
ii) Systemic pesticides are injected into drip irrigation systems to
control insects and protect plants from a variety of diseases.
iii) Chemicals that clean drippers or prevent dripper clogging:
Chlorine is used to kill algae and different microorganisms and to
decompose organic matter, while acids are used to reduce water
pH and dissolve precipitates.

42.7 Emitters
Emitters, the core of micro irrigation system or made of plastic
material. The design of production of high quality drippers is
comprised of delicate and complicated process. Water passes
through the emitters and need to be delivered at constant and low
with the desired uniformity. The emitters are designed to dissipate
pressure and yield low discharge which does not vary
significantly because of minor differences in pressure head.

42.7.1 Requirements of Good Emitters

Emitters, being the heart of the drip system and the success of the
system being dependent on the operation of the emitters, need to
satisfy the following requirements (Karmeli and Keller, 1974).
• Give a relatively low but uniform and constant discharge,
which does not vary significantly because of minor
differences in pressure.
 • Have a relatively large section in order to reduce clogging
problem.
• Be in expensive and compact as emitters constitute more
than 1/3rd cost of the system.

42.7.2 Classification of the Emitters

Emitters can be classified on the basis of various characteristics
(Karmeli and Keller, 1974). These are:
• Flow regime
• Pressure dissipation
• Operating pressure
• Discharge
• Lateral connection
• Water distribution
• Flow cross section
• Cleaning characteristics
• Pressure compensation
• Material used for production
Different types of emitters are shown in Figs. 42.4 and 42.5.
 Fig. 42.4. Online pressure compensating drippers. (Source:
Report of the Task Force on Micro-Irrigation, Ministry of
Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of
India, New Delhi, Jan, 2004).

Fig. 42.5. Online non-pressure compensating drippers. (Source:

Report of the Task Force on Micro-Irrigation, Ministry of
Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of
India, New Delhi, Jan, 2004).

• Flow Regime: The three main regimes into which the

emitters are classified are: laminar flow, partially turbulent
flow and fully turbulent flow. Laminar flow regimes exist in
the emitters having long flow path and low discharges,
where as partially turbulent and turbulent flow exist in long
 path and multi exit emitters with relatively high discharges
and in nozzle or vortex type emitters.
• Pressure Dissipation: Pressure dissipation is one of the
important charectarsitc of the good emitters. Different
forms of dissipation are used and accordingly the emitters
are classified as: long path emitters, nozzle or orifice type
emitters and leaking lateral type. In long path emitters, the
pressure is dissipated during flow through a long and
narrow path. In nozzle or orifice type of emitters, the
pressure is dissipated as water discharges through a small
opening. In leaking lateral type, pressure is dissipated as the
water is delivered through a large number of very small
pores and perforations in the lateral pipe wall instead of
discharging through emitting devices.
• Operating Pressure: Based on the operating pressure,
emitters may grouped into (i) low pressure (5 to 8 m), (ii)
medium pressure (8 to 12 m), and (iii) high pressure (12 to
15 m). The micro tubes are the examples of low pressure
while the pressure compensating emitters need high
operating pressure.
• Flow Cross-Section: Based on the relative sensitivity to
clogging, emitters may be grouped in to (i) low (below 0.7
mm), (ii) medium (0.7 to 1.5 mm), and (iii) wide (above 1.5
mm). Low flow cross section is very sensitive to clogging,
medium is sensitive and wide are relatively insensitive to
clogging.
• Discharge: Based on the discharge the emitters are
classified as (i) low (0.5 to 2 L h-1), (ii) medium (2 to 6 L h-1),
(iii) high (6 to 12 L h-1 or more). Considering the soil types,
 crops, average holding, the emitters having flow rate of 4
lph are suitable.
• Lateral Connection: Based on the connection of the
emitters to lateral, the emitters can be classified as on line
and integrated. The online emitters are mounted on the
laterals whereas the integrated emitters are inserted in the
laterals.
• Water Distribution: Based on the water distribution the
emitters could be orifice and long path emitters which have
a single exit point; orifice and long path emitters that have
several water exit points with small spaghetti like tubing
attached to distribute water to several points surrounding
the emitter; and perforated pipes having continuous
distribution along the lateral.
• Cleaning Characteristics: Some emitters are self-flushing
types and some emitters need to be opened for cleaning.
• Pressure Compensation: On the basis of pressure
compensation, the emitters are classifies as the non-
pressure compensating (NPC) and pressure compensating
(PC). In case of NPC emitters, the discharge of the emitters
increases with the operating pressure whereas in case of PC
emitters, discharge is constant over a wide range of lateral
operating pressure.
• Material used for the Production: Emitters are made from
poly vinyl chloride (PVC), low density polyethylene (LDPE)
and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
42.7.3 Types of Drippers
• Point Sources Dripper: In this system drippers are mounted
are inserted along the laterals at length intervals that create
a discrete wetted soil volume by each emitter without
overlapping.
• Line Sources: Drippers are densely poisoned along the
lateral, insuring overlapping of wetted soil volumes by
execute and drippers. This layout is typical end tape
designed and is the fevered choice of densely grown annual
crops.
• Compensating Emitter: Several methods of pressure
dissipation are employed in emitter or dripper
manufacturing in order to overcome the opposing
constraints imposed by energy dissipation and clogging.
Pressure compensating emitters are designed to discharge
water at a constant rate over a wide range of operating
pressures (Fig. 42.4).
• Continuous Flushing Emitter: These are designed to
continuously permit passage of large solid particles while
operating at a drip flow thus reducing filter finesse
requirements.
• Flushing Emitter: Water is discharged from closely spaced
perforations, emitters, or porous wall along the tubing.
• Long Path Emitters: The water flows through a narrow, long
micro tube. The micro tube may be long (spaghetti) or built
in- spiral capsulation. Water flow is laminar in the spaghetti
and the semi turbulent in the built in spiral. The flow
laminar flow dripper is sensitive to change in pressure. The
employ a long capillary-sized tube or channel to dissipate
pressure.
 • Multi-Outlet Emitters: Each emitter has to hyphen 12
outlets on to which small diameter micro tubes are
connected. The drippers are used mostly in landscaping
and irrigation of potted plants. Supplies water to two or
more points through small diameter auxiliary tubing.
• Orifice Emitter: Employs a series of orifices to dissipate
pressure. Pressure description occurs at a tinny inlet in the
bottom of the dripper, rendering it proven to plugging.
• Vortex Emitter: In vortex drippers, water enters tangentially
in to a circular chamber, creating a spiral whirlpool that
generates high head losses along a relatively short path.
This allows for a wide hyphen orated orifice that decreases
clogging hazards. The desirable features of an emitter are
low in cost, easy to manufacture and install, resistant to
clogging, uniformity in discharge and reliable performance.
Emitters are located at predetermined spacing on the
lateral and are connected by various means. On the basis of
their design, drippers are classified into three types,
namely, point source, line source and disc source.

LESSON 43 Description of Drip System Components and their Selection-II

This lesson presents the important components of the control head

of the drip irrigation system viz. Fertigation units and filtration
system. Fertigation unit is required for the application of nutrients
along with water to the crop root zone which is the main concept
of drip irrigation system and responsible for achieving the
maximum productivity along with the minimum losses of
chemicals and fertilisers. Filtration unit is required to provide
filtered water in to the system to prevent the small openings or
narrow pathways of the emitting devices for improving the
performance of the system.
43.1 Fertigation
Application of fertilizers and chemicals along with water through
drip or sprinkler system is known as fertigation or chemigation.
Fertilisers that are water soluble can be effectively and efficiently
applied through drip irrigation system. Compared to the
conventional methods of fertilizer and water application,
fertigation offers several benefits such as reduced labour,
equipment and energy costs and higher fertilizer use efficiency.
The success of drip irrigation, to a good degree, is due to the
improved supply of nutrients along with water at the desired
location. Hence the use of appropriate fertigation equipment is
necessary. Plant protection chemicals can also be applied
effectively using the same equipments.

Fig. 43.1. The arrangement of different components of drip

irrigation system with fertigation and filtration units. (Source:
Michael, 2010, pp.641)
Fig. 43.1 illustrates the control head assembly in overall layout of
different components of drip irrigation system. The control head
assembly of a drip irrigation system consists of fertigation
equipment, filters, control valves and other accessories.
43.1.1 Selection and Types of Fertigation Unit
The requirement of fertilizer application in terms of quantity and
type of fertilisers to be injected, concentration and time schedule
should be considered in deciding the types of fertigation
equipment in drip irrigation system. Some of the fertilizers are not
suitable for application through drip systems, because of
volatalization of gaseous ammonia, low water solubility and
problems with the chemical quality of irrigation water. Therefore,
fertilizers that need to be used and the type of fertigation
equipment should be decided with an understanding of the
chemical composition of the fertilizers to be used. Nitrogen is
relatively problem free. The type of fertigation equipments that is
chosen also depends on the crop grown and the farm management
system.
43.1.2 Equipment and Methods for Fertilizer Injection
Fertilizers and other agrochemicals such as herbicides and
pesticides into the drip irrigation system can be injected by:
i) By pass pressure tank
ii) Venturi system and
iii) Direct injection system
i) By Pass Pressure Tank
This method consists of a tank into which the water soluble dry
or liquid fertilizers are stored. The tank is connected to the main
irrigation line by means of a bypass so that some of the irrigation
water flows through the tank and dilutes the fertilizer solution.
This by pass flow is brought about by a pressure gradient between
the entrance and exit of the tank. This pressure difference between
the entrance pipe to the fertiliser tank and the exit pipe is created
by a gate valve, pressure regulator or permanent constriction in
the line or by a control valve. Fig. 43.2 shows by- pass pressure
tank.

Fig. 43.2. By- pass pressure tank. (Source: Tiwari, 2009, pp.
591)
ii) Venturi Injector
In case of the venturi injector, there is a constriction in the main
water flow pipe that increases the water flow velocity thereby
causing a pressure differential (vacuum) sufficient to suck
fertilizer solution from an open reservoir/tank into the main water
flow. The rate of injection can be regulated by means of valves.
This is a simple and relatively inexpensive method of fertilizer
application. Fig. 43.2 shows venturi injector.

Fig. 43.3. Venturi Injector. (Source: Tiwari, 2009, pp.591)

iii) Direct Injection System

Direct injection system employs a pump to inject fertilizer
solution into the irrigation line. The type of pump used depends
on the power source. The pump may be driven by an internal
combustion engine, an electric motor or hydraulic pressure. The
electric pump can be automatically controlled and is thus the most
convenient to use. However its use is constrained by the limited
availability of electrical power. The use of a hydraulic pump,
driven by the water pressure of the irrigation system, eliminates
this limitation. The injection rate of fertilizer solution is
proportional to the flow of water in the system. A high degree of
control over the injection rate is possible, no serious head loss
occurs and operating cost is low.
43.2 Filtration System
Irrigation water quality is defined by its physical, chemical and
biological characteristics. The narrow water passageways in
drippers and micro-emitters are particularly sensitive to irrigation
water quality. Poor water quality if allowed to enter the system
clogs the emitters. Narrow pathways in the emitters coupled with
low velocity of water aggravate the clogging. The clogging of the
emitters is the most difficult problem that can encounter in the
operation of the drip irrigation system, if not dealt properly. The
clogging that blocks the water pathways in the emitters fully or
partially reduces the discharge in varying degrees affecting the
performance of the system in terms of precise application of water
to the soil root zone and uniformity in application. Thus the
clogging tends to loss of precious water and fertilisers and
reduction in crop yield. Keeping contaminants entering from the
system or forming within the system is the best preventive
measure against the clogging. Hence the appropriate filtration
system is the important component of the drip irrigation system.
The relative clogging of drip emitters depends on the size of
particulars suspended in irrigation water. Table 43.1 provides the
relative clogging potential of drip irrigation systems by water
contaminants.

Table 43.1. Relative clogging potential of drip irrigation systems

by water contaminants

Water characteristic Minor Moderate Severe

Suspended solids >100
<50 50-100
(ppm)
pH <7.0 7.0-8.0 >8.0
 Total dissolved solids >2000
<500 500-2000
(ppm)
Manganese (ppm) <0.1 0.1-1.5 >1.5
Iron (ppm) <0.2 0.2-1.5 >1.5
Hydrogen sulphide >2.0
<0.2 0.2-2.0
(ppm)
Bacteria population 10,000- >50,000
<10,000
(per ml) 50,000

(Source: Bucks and Nakayama, 1900)

Filtration system should be able to filter or process all the water

entering in to the system and should be able to remove
i) Suspended solid mineral particles
ii) Organic matter
iii) Live zooplankton
The particles many times smaller than the size of the water
pathways in the emitter should be removed by the filtration
system as in the process of time many particles can group together
to block the water pathways. In general following five types of
the filters are used in combination or standalone depending on the
need.
1. Screen filter
2. Disc filter
3. Media filter
4. Hydrocyclone filter
5. Settling ponds
43.2.1 Screen (Strainer) Filters
Screen filter and disc filters (described in the subsequent section)
are considered as the primary filter. One of these two filters is
essential even water is free of all kinds of impurities. Screen filter
has five main parts. These are: Casing or basket, filter element or
cylindrical screen, rubber seal or gasket, inlet and outlet. Screens
are usually made from stainless steel or nylon. Screen filters are
designated by filtration degree, filtration surface area and
filtration ratio. Filtration degree is designated in microns or mesh
number. The filtration degree in microns indicates the diameter of
the biggest ball-shaped particle that can pass between the screen
wires. The mesh number indicates the number of openings per
inch with a standard wire size. The two concepts i.e. hole size and
the mesh number are not fully inter-convertible. Perforation width
may differ in two screens with the same mesh number due to
different wire thickness. Conversion from one system to another
is done by rule of thumb: mesh number microns15,000. The
screen mesh number and corresponding hole size for typical wire
size is given in Table 43.2.

Table 43.2. The screen mesh number and corresponding hole

size for typical wire size

Screen mesh Hole size

number mm inch
4 4.76 0.1874
10 2.00 0.0787
20 0.84 0.0331
 40 0.42 0.0165
80 0.172 0.0068
140 0.105 0.0041
200 0.074 0.0029

(Karmelli and Keller, 1974)

The screen mesh should be such so that the screen retains all
particles larger than one sixth the size of smallest passage
(openings) in the drip system (British Columbia, Ministry of
Agriculture, 1982). The required filter screen area can be
estimated by an empirical ratio between the open area in the filter
basket (the sum of the holes) and the cross sectional area of the
exit pipe of the filter. This ratio should be at least 2.0. When using
fine screens, the wire mesh occupies approximately one half of
the area. Figure 43.4 shows (a) Screen filter (b) Elements of a
screen filter.
 (a) (b)
Fig. 43.4. (a) Screen filter, (b) Elements of a screen filter.
(Image source: Report of the task force on Micro-Irrigation,
Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation, Govt. of India, New Delhi,Jan, 2004)
In screen filters any impurities or dirt materials accumulated on
the surface of the screen for long time causes increase in, the head
loss across the filter. This, if not monitored properly, reduces the
operating head available at the emitter and discharge affecting the
performance of the emitters adversely. The pressure difference
between the filter inlet and outlet is, therefore, monitored to know
excessive dirt accumulation on the screen. The pressure
difference between inlet and outlet should not exceed 0.5 bar
(5m). Filters then need to be flushed manually i.e. by pulling out
the filter element and cleaning it by washing or automatically
which takes place during the filter operation either continuously,
on a time schedule or whenever the pressure loss across the filter
reaches a certain level. Extreme care needs to be taken to prevent
the dirt from bypassing the filter in to the system during the
cleaning.

43.2.2 Disc Filters

Disc filters are suitable for filtration of water containing mixed,
inorganic and organic impurities such as algae. The casing is
made of metal or plastic materials (Fig. 43.6). The filtering
element is stack of grooved rings, tightened firmly by a screw on
cap or by a spring that is compressed by a water-piston. The sizes
of the grooves determine the of filtration grade. Water is filtered
as it flows from the perimeter into the stack inner space through
the grooves. The intersections of the grooves provide in-depth
filtering. Coarse particles are trapped on the external surface of
the stack whereas finer particles and organic debris stick to the
inner grooves. Disc filters have a higher dirt-retention capacity
than screen filters. Disk filters are available in different flow rates
varying from 4 to 30 m3h-1. Figure 43.5 shows (a) Disc filter (b)
Elements of disc filter. The disc filters can also be manually or
automatically washed. In case of manual washing, the stack of
discs is loosened and water at high pressure is sprayed on the
grooves of the disc to remove dirt accumlated in the grooves.
 (a) (b)
Fig. 43.5. (a) Disc filter, (b) Elements of a disc filter.
43.2.3 Media Filter
Sand or media filters consist of layered beds of graduated sand
and/or fine gravel placed inside the cylindrical pressurized tank.
As the water passes through the tank, the gravel and sand carry
out the filtration process. Media filters are used to remove high
organic load from open water bodies or reclaimed water and
heavy loads of very fine sand. Normally tanks or media containers
(0.5 m – 1.25 m in diameter) are made of epoxy-coated carbon
steel, stainless steel or fiberglass. The filtering media is 1.5 mm –
4 mm size basalt, gravel, crushed granite particles or fine silica
sand.The filter material be as coarse textured as possible but fine
enough to retain all particles larger than one sixth the size of the
smallest passage way in the drip system. Filter materials should
be large enough, Such that it should not be removed by filter
cleaning or backwashing process. The organic impurities adhere
to the surface of the media particles. The accumulated dirt should
be back-flushed routinely in order to eliminate excessive head
losses. American Societies of Agricultural Engineers recommend
pressure drop across the media filter not to exceed 70 kPa. Fig.
43.6 shows (a) Media filter (b) Elements of media filter. Screen
filter/disc filter needs to be used invariably downstream of the
media filter to pick up any particles which might escape the media
filter in filtering or backwashing process.

(a) (b)
Fig. 43.6. (a) Media filter (b) Elements of a media filter.

43.2.4 Hydro cyclone Filter or Centrifugal Sand Separators

High loads of sand or other solid particles if present in irrigation
water needs to be removed before getting to the main filtration
system. The media screen and disc filters cannot perform the
filtering operations effectively in this case. The traditional
practice of separation of heavy sand load is based on
sedimentation of solid sand particles by slowing –down water
flow in to the settling tanks or basins and then re-pump the treated
water into the irrigation system. In centrifugal (vortex) sand
separators, the water is introduced tangentially at the top of a cone
creating a circular motion resulting in to centrifugal force which
throws heavy suspended particles against the wall. The sand
particles thrown against the container wall by the centrifugal
force settle down and accumulate in a collecting chamber at the
bottom (Fig.43.7). The collector is washed out manually or
automatically. Clean water exits through an outlet at the top of the
separator. A suitable sand separator can be designed for any flow
rate ranging from 3m3h-1-300 m3h-1 without excessive head-
losses. Such filters are effective for primary filtration of river or
canal waters. These filters are capable of removing to up 98% of
the sand particles which would be contained by a 200 mesh
screen.
 (a) (b)
Fig. 43.7. (a) Centrifugal sand separator, (b) Working pattern.

43.2.5 Settling Basins

Settling basins, ponds or reservoirs are used to remove large
volumes of sand and silts from the irrigation water. However the
water stored in open water bodies may develop algae growth and
wind blown contaminants in the ponds may cause more filtration
problems than before. In addition to this, water needs to be re-
pumped in to the system.

43.3 Selection of Emitters

Emitter is a device used to dissipate water pressure and to
discharge water at a constant flow rate at many points on a lateral
as uniformly as possible. The objective of the water passageways
of emitters is to maximize pressure dissipation to approach
atmospheric pressure in the emitter outlet. The commonly used
drippers are online pressure compensating or online non-pressure
compensating, in-line dripper, adjustable discharge type drippers,
vortex type drippers and micro tubing of 1 to 4 mm diameter.
These are manufactured from poly- propylene or LLDPE.
43.3.1 Online Pressure Compensating Drippers: A pressure
compensating type dripper supplies water uniformly on long rows
and on uneven slopes within prescribed variation in pressure.
These emitters consist of high quality flexible rubber diaphragm
or disc inside the emitter that changes shape according to
operating pressure and delivers uniform discharge (Fig. 43.8).
These are most suitable on sloping lands and difficult topographic
terrains.

Fig. 43.8. Online Pressure Compensating Drippers.

(Source: Report of the task force on Micro-Irrigation, Ministry
of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt.
of India, New Delhi, Jan, 2004)
43.3.2 Online Non-Pressure Compensating Drippers: In such
type of drippers discharge tends to vary with operating pressure.
They have simple thread type, labyrinth type, zigzag path, vortex
type flow path or have float type arrangement to dissipate energy.
However they are less expensive and available in affordable
prices compared to pressure compensating emitters. Different
types of on line non-pressure compensating types of drippers are
shown in Fig. 43.9.
 Fig.43.9. Online non-pressure compensating drippers. (Image
source: Report of the task force on Micro-Irrigation, Ministry of
Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of
India, New Delhi,Jan, 2004)

43.3.3 Point Source Emitters

Point source emitters dissipate water pressure through a long
narrow path and a vortex chamber or a small orifice before
discharging into the air (Fig.42 .10). The emitters can take a
predetermined water pressure at its inlet and reduce it to almost
zero as the water exits. The typical flow rates range from 2 to 8
lph. The point source emitters can be on line or inline or integrated
(Fig. 42.11), pressure compensating or non pressure
compensating; surface or subsurface.
 Fig. 43.10. Point source emitter.
(Source: Report of the task force on Micro-Irrigation, Ministry
of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt.
of India, New Delhi, Jan,2004).

43.3.4 Line Source Emitter

Line source emitters consist of the drip tubing having perforations
continuously along its length. The pressure is dissipated as the
water discharges through a large number of very small pores or
perforations in the lateral pipe wall, instead of discharging
through emitting devices. Twin wall type is more commonly
used. In this case there is inner tubing which is known as main
tubing. The outer tubing is known as auxiliary tubing. Both the
tubings are concentric twin wall type. The main tubing of the pipe
serves as the lateral. Inside this tubing major portion of water
flows under relatively high pressure. A small number of widely
spaced holes connect the main tubing to the auxiliary tubing. The
auxiliary tubing is provided with five to ten types as many holes
per unit of length as the main tubing. The water discharges
through the numerous holes of the auxiliary tubing to the outside.
The inner and outer holes are of the same size. The inner holes act
as pressure dissipaters and outer holes distribute the water. The
flow rate is typically expressed in Lh-1meter length. Drip lines are
either buried below the ground or laid on the surface. Burial of
the drip line is preferred to avoid degradation from heat and
ultraviolet rays and displacement from strong winds. However,
some specialized equipment to install and extract the thin drip
distribution line is required.

Fig. 42.11. Drip line with integrated emitters.

(Source: http://fvtchort.wikispaces.com/Soils+Group+1)

43.4 The Flow Characteristics of the Emitters

The flow characteristics of the emitters is presented by the
following equation
q = kHx
where
q = emitter discharge (Lh-1)
k = a constant of proportionality that characterise each emitter
H = working pressure head at the emitter (m)
x = the emitter discharge exponent that is characterised by the
flow regime.

The lower the value of x, the less discharge will be affected by

pressure variations. In fully turbulent flow x=0.5 and in laminar
flow x=1.0. Non compensating orifice and nozzle emitters are
always fully turbulent with x = 0.5 and x =0.0 for fully
compensating emitters. However the exponents of long path
emitters may range anywhere between 0.5 and 1.0.
LESSON 44 Planning and Design of Drip Irrigation System

The planning and design of drip irrigation system is essential to

supply the required quantity of irrigation water to the crop at a
desired uniformity. The main purpose of the design of drip
irrigation system is to decide the dimensions of various
components of the system such that the system provides the
require quantity of water at the desired uniformity in application
while keeping the cost of the system to minimum. To apply the
desired amount of water at nearly uniform rate to all the plants in
the field, it is essential to design the irrigation system that
maintains a desired hydraulic pressure in the pipe network and
provide the desired operating pressure at the emitter. The design
of drip irrigation system consists of selection of emission devices,
size of laterals, manifolds, sub main, main pipeline, filter and
pump. The system design depends on many factors, but the design
will be constrained by several economics factors such as
feasibility, initial investment, labour, return on investment and
performance parameters such as the rated flow rate and desired
emission unifmrity. The steps to be followed for designing the
drip irrigation system are given below:
1. Inventory of the resources and data collection.
2. Computation of peak crop water requirement
3. Deciding the appropriate layout of the drip irrigation
system
4. Selection of emitters
5. Hydraulic design of the system in terms of lateral, sub
main and main
6. Horse power requirement of pump
44.1 Inventory of the Resources and Data Collection
This step involves preparation of inventory of all the available
resources and operating conditions. The resources involved
include:
Water resources: Quantity (stream size, volume and duration for
which the supply is available) and quality of water, the type of
water resources i.e. bore/tube well; open dug well,
reservoir/pond/tank or river and location of the water resource:
Land resources: The size and shape of the area to be irrigated,
soil type for its texture and irrigation properties (field capacity,
wilting point, bulk density, allowable depletion level) including
infiltration rate, and topography of the land
Climate: The climatic data required for the computation of crop
water requirement.
Crop: Crop type, sowing/planting and harvesting period, crop
coefficient, fertilser requirements, crop geometry.In general
following guidelines can be used to ensure adequate quantity of
available water for supply of irrigation water to the wide spaced
(orchard) and close spaced (vegetable etc.) crops. However the
area to be irrigated can be decided on the basis of the water
availability and the crop water demand.

Essential Orchard crops Vegetables and other

parameters
closely spaced crops
Stream size 1L s-1/ha-1 for 3Lp-1 ha-1 for 4 h
4hday-1 day-1
Storage capacity 15m3ha-1 45m3 ha-1
Power requirement 1hp ha-1 3hp ha-1

44.2. Peak Crop Water Requirement

The design of drip irrigation system needs the information on the
peak water requirement, however while the system is in
operation, the water requirement during the specified irrigation
interval is required. This section describes the method to estimate
the crop water requirement.Water requirement of crops is a
function of plants, surface area covered by plant,
evapotranspiration rate. Crop water requirement is calculated for
each plant and the water requirement of the whole area is
estimated based on the water requirement per plant and total
number of plants. The crop water requirement which is maximum
during any one of the three seasons is adopted for system design.
The daily water requirement for fully grown plants can be
calculated as under:

(44.1)
Net volume of water to be applied

(44.2)
Number of daily operating hours of the system

(44.3)

where,
V =Volume of water required, L
ETr= Reference crop evapotranspiration, mm day-1

Kc = Crop coefficient
A = Area occupied by a plant (row to row spacing x plant to plant
spacing), m2
Re = Effective rainfall, mm
Wp = Wetting fraction (varies from 0.2 for wide spaced crops and
1.0 for close spaced crops)
Ne = Number of emitters per plant
Np = Number of plants
q = Emitter discharge, L h-1

The crop coefficient (Kc) varies with crop growth stage and
season. The crop coefficient (Kc) should be considered for the
maturity stage of crop while designing micro irrigation system
and for the specified growth while operation of the system.
Water requirement of few crops are given in Table 44.1, which
can be used as guideline for design of irrigation system. However
it should be noted that this is only guideline and actual water
requirement needs to be computed on the basis of crop, climate
etc.
Table 44.1. Water requirements of few horticultural crops

Name of the Spacing (m) Water requirement

Crop (l/plant/day)
Minimum Maximum
Banana 2.0 × 2.0 4 18
Papaya 2.0 × 2.0 2 10
Guava 5.0 × 5.0 14 39
Mango 5.0 × 5.0 20 50
 Pineapple 0.45 × 0.25 0.1 0.6
Cashew 7.5 × 7.5 25 60
Jujube 6.0 × 6.0 20 50
Sapheda 5.0 × 5.0 20 65
Pomegranate 5.0 × 5.0 15 40
Tomato 0.6 × 0.6 0.45 1.15
Cauliflower 0.6 × 0.45 0.7 1.4
Okra 0.3 × 0.3 0.6 1.8
Cabbage 0.6 × 0.7 1.6
0.45
Brinjal 0.9 × 0.6 0.8 3.3
Rose 0.75 × 0.5 2
0.75
Jasmine 1.5 × 1.5 1.5 5

44.3 Layout of the Drip Irrigation System

It is possible to apply water to the whole field by drip irrigation
method at the same time. However this may result in the
requirement of high discharge which may not be available, further
large diameter of mains and sub main which could make the
system more expensive and the high capacities of the fertigation
and filtration units. Hence the whole field needs to be divided in
to the convenient number of subunits. Each subunit is then
designed separately and operated separately by having valve at
the head of the subunit. The number of subunits is calculated as:
Number of subunits = Total time available for irrigation/ (time of
operation for drip) system (Equation 44.3).
Total time available for irrigation depends on the hours of
electricity available in the region, capacity of the farmers to
supplement the electricity by other means such as diesel
engine/generator etc.
The system requirement or discharge for the individual sub unit
is then computed. If it is more than the available discharge from
the water resources, the area under each subunit is then
proportionally reduced to match the discharge requirement with
the available discharge,
The layout of the micro irrigation system i.e. arrangement of
main, sub mains and laterals is done considering the shape, size
and slope of the field. As for as possible, the sub main should run
along the slope of the field and lateral should be laid across the
slope or along the contour lines of the field. Different layouts
design of drip irrigation system are shown in Fig. 44.1.
 Fig. 44.1. Layout Design of Drip Irrigation System.
(Source: Tiwari, 2009)

Once the layout is finalized, the diameter and the length of sub
main and laterals for each subunit are decided on the basis of
hydraulic design of the pipe which is explained in subsequent
sections. The spacing between lateral depends on the crop
geometry for the row crops. For the plantation or orchard crops,
the spacing between laterals is equal to the row spacing. However
depending on the age of tree, tree spacing and soil type, the two
laterals per row of tree may be needed. The spacing between the
emitters on laterals for row crops is governed by the soil type
whereas in case of plantation or tree crops, the number of emitters
per tree is governed by the spacing, age and soil type.
44.4 Selection of Emitters
The emitters are to be selected for its discharge, operating
pressure, online/inline, pressure compensating/non pressure
compensating, point source/line source, single exit/multi exit and
surface/subsurface. The selection of particular type of emitter
depends on the soil, crop, topography, desired emission
uniformity, available discharge and electricity/other sources for
operation of the system, water quality, water use efficiency and
the cost.
Soil: The discharge of the emitters should be less than the
infiltration rate of the soil. Soil type also governs the spacing
between emitters. Heavier the soils, more could be the spacing.
Crop: In case of row crops, emitters need to be spaced so as to
wet the entire strip of the row. In case of close growing and row
crops, inline/integrated emitters are preferred whereas for the
plantation/orchards, online emitters are preferable. Single exit
emitters are used for row crops while multi exit emitters are
suitable for plantation crops.
 Fig. 44.2. Different arrangement of emitters along the laterals.

Topography: Non pressure compensating emitters could be used

for relatively flat lands where as on the land with rolling or
uneven topography, pressure compensating emitters are
preferable.
Emission Uniformity: Pressure compensating emitters are
capable of providing more uniformity compared to non pressure
compensating emitters.
Discharge Available: When the discharge available is small, the
emitters with low discharge need to be used. However these
emitters may need more time of operation.
Water Use Efficiency: Subsurface drip irrigation reduces the
evaporation losses compared to surface drip; thus resulting in to
more water use efficiency
Water Quality: The emitters with more diameter or cross sectional
area need to be used for the water with heavy load of suspended
solids.

44.5 Hydraulic Design of Pipe Network

The pipe network in drip irrigation system consists of laterals, sub
main and main. Water under pressure flows through these pipes
and as a result the pressure in the pipes reduces creating the
variation in pressure or pressure difference between any two
points. The emitter discharge depends on the operating pressure
available in the pipe at emitter connection and reduces with
reducing pressure. Therefore there is variation in discharge
obtained by the emitters in system; affecting the emission
uniformity.
Ideally the emitters should give the same discharge at different
operating pressure. However only pressure compensating
emitters are capable of giving the same discharge over certain
range of pressure variation. But these emitters are expensive. The
alternative is to design the system with non-pressure
compensating emitters such that the same discharge is available
at all the points. From the practical point of view, it is almost
impossible to achieve this ideal performance. However, the flow
variation of water pressure can be minimized by the appropriate
hydraulic design.
As per the principle of hydraulics, the minimum pressure
variation along the laterals/sub main can be obtained by keeping
the diameter of the pipes as large as possible and length as
minimum as possible. But doing this is expensive. On the other
hand decreasing the diameter and increasing the length, though
less expensive, reduces the performance of the system in terms of
emission uniformity. In order to have tradeoff between the
economy and efficiency, the criterion of allowing the variation in
discharge of 10% amongst any two emitters in the subunit is
adopted. This is equivalent to 20% variation in pressure for
turbulent type of emitters and 10-15% variation for long path
emitters. Of the total allowable head loss in the subunit 55% head
loss is allowed in laterals and remaining 45% in the sub main.

The procedure of hydraulic design consists of:

1. Know the operating pressure of emitters
2. Find out the allowable head loss in lateral and sub main
3. Find out the lateral and sub main discharge
4. Find out the diameter and length of the lateral such that the
head loss in the lateral is within allowable limits for the
given layout. For this purpose find out the head loss by
Hazen William or Darcy-Wesibach formula for different
combinations of diameter and length and select the suitable
combination by trial and error method
5. Repeat the procedure for the sub main
 6. Find out the diameter of main so that the velocity is within
the allowable limit or find out the head loss in main for the
specified diameter of the main. The length of the main is the
distance of the field from the water source.

Computation of Discharge of Lateral, Sub Main and Main

Flow carried by each lateral line
Q1 = Discharge of one emitter ´ No. of emitters per lateral
Flow carried by each sub main line Q = Q1 X No. of lateral lines
per sub main
Flow carried by main Q = Q1 X No. of sub main line
The diameter of the main, sub main and laterals are chosen based
on the hydraulics of pipe flow. The pressure drop due to friction
can be evaluated with the help of Hazen William or Dacy-
Weishbach equation as stated before.

i) Head Loss in Laterals

The pipes used in micro irrigation system are made of plastics
(PVC, HDPE, LDPE or LLDPE) and considered as smooth pipe.
The pressure drop due to friction or frictional head loss can be
evaluated with the help of Hazen -William empirical equation as
given below.
 (44.4)
As the length of the pipe increases, the discharge in the pipe
decreases due to emission outlets and hence the total energy drop
is less than as estimated by the above equation. For this reason, a
reduction factor F which is less than 1.0 is introduced in the
equation.
Head loss for the specified length of pipe is
Hfl = Hf*(L+Le|)/100

where
Hf (100) = head loss due to friction per 100 meter of pipe
length, m/100m
Hfl = head loss in the specified length of lateral
Q = Flow of water in pipe, Ls-1
D = Internal diameter of pipe, cm
L = Length of the pipe, m
C = Hazen-William constant (140 for PVC pipe)
K = 1.22×1012
Le = equivalent length of the pipe
= Ne*fe
Ne = number of emitters on a lateral
fe = equivalent length due to one emitter connection
fe = 1 to 3 m for in line emitter with barbed connection
fe = 0.1 to 0.6 for online emitters
F = Reduction factor due to multiple opening in pipe, which can
be computed by following equation.

N = Number of outlets on the lateral

As stated before, the design criteria for lateral pipe is to keep
pressure and discharge variations within the prescribed limit.

ii) Head Loss in Sub mains

The sub main line hydraulics of submains pipe is similar to that
of the lateral hydraulics. The sub main hydraulics characteristics
can be computed by assuming the laterals are analogous to
emitters on lateral line, except for the fact that fe is considered as
zero in this case due to relatively smooth connection of laterals
to submain. Hydraulics characteristics of sub main and mainline
pipe for drip system are usually taken hydraulically smooth pipe
due to PVC and HDPE pipe material. The Hazen Williams
roughness coefficient (C) varies between 140 and 150. The
energy loss in the sub main is computed in the same way as used
for lateral.
iii) Head Loss in Main Line
Usually the pressure controls or adjustments are provided at the
sub main inlet. Therefore energy loss in the mainline should not
affect the system uniformity. In case of main line the value of
reduction factor (F) is the unity (1). The frictional head loss in
main pipeline is calculated by the same equation Darcy-Weisbach
formula or Hazen-Williams.
44.6 Horsepower Requirement of Pump
The horsepower requirement of pump is computed by following
equation

Horsepower required (hp) = (44.5)

where,
H = total pumping head (Hf + He + HS), m
Hf = Total head loss due to friction (Friction head loss in mains +
Friction head loss in sub mains + Friction loss in laterals + Head
loss in accessories, filters and fertigation unit), m
He = Operating pressure head required at the emitter, m
HS = Total static head, m
Qm = Discharge of main
hp = Efficiency of pump
hm = Efficiency of motor
LESSON 45 Evaluation of Drip Emitters and Design of Drip Irrigation System

This lesson presents procedure for evaluation and testing of drip

emitters. Numerical problems related to testing and evaluation of
drip emitters as well as design of drip irrigation system is also
dealt in this chapter.
45.1 Performance Evaluation Drip Emitters
The different characteristics used for performance evaluation of
emitters are as follows:
a) Manufacturing Characteristics
b) Hydraulic Characteristics
c) Operational Characteristics

a) Manufacturing Characteristics
The variations in passage size, shape, surface and finish that occur
are small in absolute magnitude but represent a relatively large
percent variation. Although pressure compensating emitters use
an elastomeric material to achieve consistent dimensions and
characteristics. The amount of difference to be expected varies
with the design of the emitter materials used in its construction
and the care with which it is manufactured. The emitter
coefficient of manufacturing variation (v) is used as a measure of
the anticipated variations in discharge in a simple of new emitters.
The value of Cv should be available from the manufacturer or it
can be estimated from the measured discharges of a sample set of
at least 50 emitters operated at a reference pressure head. It is
estimated as
Cv = Standard Deviation (s) / Average Flow rate (q)

The system coefficient of manufacturing variation (vs) is a useful

concept because more than one emitter or emission points may be
used per plant. In such a situation the variations in flow rate for
each emitter around the plant partly compensate for one another.
The value of vs can be computed by following equation (US Soil
Cons. Service, 1984):

(45.1)
In which
V= emitter coefficient of manufacturing variation.
e' minimum number of emitters per plant or 1 if one emitter is
shared by more than one plant.

Table 45.1 provides interpretation of drip emitters based on

manufacturing coefficient of variation.
Table 45.1. ASAE Interpretation on Manufacturing Coefficient
of Variation

Emitter type Cv Interpretation

< 0.05 Excellent
0.05 - 0.07 Average
Point Source 0.07 - 0.11 Marginal
0.11- 0.15 Poor
> 0.15 Unacceptable
< 0.10 Good
Line Source 0.10 - 0.20 Average
> 0.20 Marginal to
Unacceptable

b) Hydraulic Characteristics
The relationship between changes in pressure head and discharge
is an important characteristic of emitters. The pressure
compensating emitters have a low value of the exponent.
However since they have some physical part that responds to
pressure their long range performance requires careful
consideration. The compensating emitters usually have a high
coefficient of manufacturing variation (v), and their performance
may be affected by temperature, material fatigue or both. On
undulating terrain the design of a highly uniform system is usually
constrained by the pressure sensitivity of the average emitter.
Compensating emitters provide the solution. Emitters of various
sizes may be placed along the lateral to meet pressure variations
resulting from changes in elevation. In laminar flow emitters
which include the long path, low discharge devices the relation
between the discharge and the operating pressure is linear, i.e.,
doubling the pressure doubles the discharge. Therefore the
variations in operating pressure head within the system are often
kept to within ± 5 percent of the desired average. In a turbulent
flow emitter the change in discharge varies with the square root
of the pressure head, i.e., x = 0.5, and the pressure is to be
increased four times to double the flow. Therefore the pressure
head in drip irrigation system with turbulent flow emitter is often
allowed to vary by ± 10% of the desired average (US Soil Cons.
Service, 1984).
Depending upon the experimental values of x, flow regimes can
be obtained. Based on the flow regime and exponent x the
emitters can be classified (Table 45.2).

Table 45.2. Emission device classification

Flow Regime x - Value Emitter Type

0.0 Pressure
Variable flow 0.1 compensating
path
0.2
 0.3
Vortex flow 0.4 Vortex
Fully turbulent 0.5 Orifice
flow tortuous
0.6 Long or
Mostly 0.7 spiral path
turbulent flow
0.8
Mostly laminar 0.9 Micro tube
flow
Fully laminar 1.0 Capillary
flow

c) Operational Characteristics
The coefficient of uniformity proposed by Christiansen (1948) is
widely accepted for estimating uniformity of water application
through sprinkler irrigation systems. However this measure
determines the uniformity of sprinkling pattern of one nozzles of
sprinkler irrigation system. This is not required for the emitter of
drip irrigation system. Hence the Christiansen formula is not used
in drip systems are significantly different from those of sprinkler
nozzles. The uniformity in water application of emitters (expect
of pressure compensating type emitters) is influenced by the
operating pressure, emitter spacing, land slope, size of the pipe
line, emitter discharge, and emitter discharge variability of
specified emitters. The emitter discharge variability is due to the
variation in operating pressure and temperature, manufacturing
variability (coefficient of variation, Cv), clogging, and aging of
the emitters.
Karmeli and Keller (1975) proposed the ‘emission uniformiy’ as
the measure for the performance evaluation of the drip irrigation
system. They proposed two measures viz. emission uniformity
and absolute emission uniformity. These measures are now
widely accepted to measure the performance of irrigation system
when laid in the field.
Emission Uniformity (EU): The Primary objective of the good
drip irrigation system is to provide sufficient water or discharge
to adequately irrigate the least watered plant or area. Therefore
the relation between the minimum and average emitter discharge
within the subunit of the system is most important factor and is
designated by the emission uniformity.
The emitter discharge from minimum four emitters (in case of
more than one emitters per plant, the discharges are taken from
all the emitters at minimum four locations or plants and the
discharges from each location are averaged) per lateral along four
randomly selected laterals are measured. The minimum 16
measurement points so selected should include the extremes and
uniformly spaced in the subunit. This can be achieved by
selecting the first, one third point, two third point and the last
emitter on a selected lateral.
The emission uniformity, EU, which is expressed as percentage
is the ratio of the average emitter discharge from the lowest one
fourth of the field data (obtained from arranging the emitter
discharges in descending order) to the average discharge of all the
data.EU is computed by:
EU = × 100
Where,
qn = average of the lowest one fourth of the field data emitter
discharges (Lh-1),
qa = average of all the field data emitted discharges (Lh-1),
Absolute emission Uniformity: Corp quality and productivity
may be affected by both excess watering and under watering.
Therefore the uniformity measure needs to include the maximum
and minimum emitter discharges and the uniformity. The
measurements that need to undertake in the field is same as for
the computation of the computation of the emission uniformity.
The absolute emission uniformity is computed by the following
formula.

EUa =

where,
qx = average of the highest one – eighth of the field data emitter
discharges, (Lh-1)
The emission uniformity measures proposed above are used to
measure the field performance of the already installed drip
irrigation system and therefore these are also called as field
emission uniformity and absolute field emission uniformity,
respectively,
 However the emission uniformity measures are also required at
the time of design and need to be estimated before installing the
system in the field. These are called as design emission
uniformity and absolute design emission uniformity, respectively.
In this case, the measurements for qa, qn and qx are not available,
These are estimated form the pressure – discharge relationship of
the emitter. For example, qn is the minimum emitter discharge
computed with the minimum pressure using the pressure using the
pressure discharge relationship. In this way qa and qx are
estimated. The corresponding formulas are:
Emission Uniformity (EUd)

(45.2)
In which,
EU = design emission uniformity, %
n = (i) for point source emitter on a perennial tree crop, number
of emitters per plant, (ii) for a line source emitters on a perennial
tree crop, either the rooting diameter of the plants divided by the
same unit length of lateral used to compute CV or 1, whichever is
greater.
Cv = the manufacture’s coefficient of variation for point source or
line source emitters,
qn = the minimum emitter discharge at a minimum pressure in the
section (sub unit), computed from pressure discharge
relationship,Lh-1.
qa = the average or design emitter discharge for the section (sub-
unit), Lh-1.

The commonly recommended ranges for the design emission

uniformity are as follows:
i) Point source emitters for tree crops with spacing larger than 4
m:
a) Land slope less than 2% - (Eu 90 to
95%)
b) Land slope greater than 2% -( Eu 85 to 90%)

ii) Point source emitters for tree crops with spacing larger than 4
m:
a) Land slope less than 2% - (Eu 85 to 90% )
b) Land slope greater than 2% - (Eu 80 to 90%)

iii) Line source emitters on annual or perennial crops:

a) Land slope less than 2% - (Eu 80% to 90%)
b) Land slope greater than 2% - (Eu 75 to 85%)

45.2 Evaluation of Emission Uniformity

Example 45.1: Determine the emission uniformity of a drip
system section that uses drip emitter with coefficient of discharge
(kd) = 0.3, exponent (x) = 0.57 and coefficient of variation (Cv) =
0.06. Two emitters are used for each plant. The average pressure
is 120 kPa and minimum pressure is 90 kPa.
Solution:

= 0.3 × (90)0.57
= 0.3 × 12.99
= 3.89 Lh-1

= 0.3 × 15.31
= 4.59 Lh-1

= 100
= 80.1 %
The value of EU in Example 45.1 is lower than the recommended
value stated above. The EU could be improved by reducing the
difference between qmin and qa (by using the emitters with lower
values of the discharge exponent) or by using an emitter with a
lower Cv.

45.3 Design of Drip Irrigation System

Example 45.2: Design a drip irrigation system for a citrus orchard
of 1 ha area with length and breadth of 100 m each. Citrus has
been planted at a spacing of 5 m ´ 5.5 m. The maximum pan
evaporation during summer is 8 mm/day. The other relevant data
are given below:
Land slope = 0.40 % upward slope from S – N direction,
Water source = A well located at the S–W corner of the field
Soil texture = Sandy loam, Clay content = 18.4 %, Silt =
22.6 %,Sand =59.0%, Field capacity = 14.9 %, Wilting point =
8 %,Bulk density = 1.44 g/cc,
Effective root zone depth = 120 cm, Wetting Percentage = 40 %,
Pan coefficient = 0.7,Crop coefficient = 0.8

Solution:
Solution of this Example is taken from Tiwari (2009).

Step 1:
Estimation of Water Requirement
Evapotranspiration of the crop = Open pan evaporation X´ Pan
coefficient X´ Crop coefficient
= 8 X 0.7 X 0.8
= 4.48 mm/day

Volume of water to be applied = Area covered by each plant X

Wetting fraction X Evapotranspiration of the crop
= (5 X 5.5) X 0.40 X 4.48
= 49.28 L day-1 or 50 L day-1

Step 2:
Emitter Selection and Irrigation Time
Emitters are selected based on the soil texture and crop root zone
system. Assuming three emitters of 4 L h-1, placed on each plant
in a triangular pattern are sufficient so as to wet the effective root
zone of the crop.
Total discharge delivered in one hour = 4 ´ 3 = 12 L h-1
Irrigation time = 50 / 12 = 4 h 10 minutes

Step 3:
Discharge through Each Lateral
A well is located at one corner of the field. Sub mains will be laid
from the centre of field (Fig. 45.1). Therefore, the length of main,
sub mains, and lateral will be 50 m, 97.25 m, 47.5 m each
respectively. The laterals will extend on both sides of the sub
mains. Each lateral will supply water to 10 citrus plants.
Total number of laterals = (100/5.5) ´ 2 = 36.36 (Considering
only 36)
Discharge carried by each lateral, Qlateral = 10 ´ 3 ´ 4 = 120 L h-1
Total discharge carried by 36 laterals = 120 ´ 36 = 4320 L h-1
Each plant is provided with three emitters, therefore total number
of emitters will be 36 ´ 10 ´ 3 =1080
Step 4:
Determination of Number of Manifolds
Assuming the pump discharge = 2.5 L s-1 = 9000 L h-1
Number of laterals that can be operated by each manifold =
9000/120 = 75
So only one manifold or sub mains can supply water to all the
laterals at a time.
Step 5:
Size of Lateral
Once the discharge carried by each lateral is known, then size of
the lateral can be determined by using the Hazen- Williams
equation .(Equation 44.4)
The reduction factor (F) can be estimated as

= 0.367

For D = 16 mm, = 0.063 m

The permissible head loss due to friction is 10% of head of 10 m

(head required to operate 4 L h-1 emitters) is 1 m, therefore 12 mm
diameter. lateral size is selected.
Step 6:
Size of Sub Main
Total discharge through the sub mains = Qlateral X Number of
laterals
= 120 X 36
= 4320 L h-1 = 1.2 L s-1
Assuming the diameter of the sub mains as 50 mm. The values of
parameter of the Hazen- Williams equation are
= 150
= 1.2 L s-1
= 50 mm
= 1.22 ´ 1012
= 0.364

= 0.31 m
Hf for 97.25 m of pipe length = 0.31 ´ (97.25/100)
= 0.30 m
Therefore, frictional head loss in the sub mains = 0.30 m
Head at the inlet of the sub mains = H emitter + Hf lateral + Hf sub main
+ H slope
= 10 + 0.26 + 0.30 + 0.40
= 10.96 m

Pressure head variation =

 = 6.38 %

Estimated head loss due to friction in the sub main is much less
than the recommended 20% variation, hence reducing the pipe
size from 50 to 35 mm will probably be a good option.

= 1.75 m

Hf for 97.25 m pipe = 1.75 ´ (97.25/100)

= 1.70 m
Head at the inlet of the sub main = H emitter + Hf lateral + Hf sub main +
H slope
= 10 + 0.26 + 1.70 + 0.40
= 12.36 m

Pressure head variation =

= 17%
Pressure head variation lies within the acceptable limit, hence
accepted.
Step 7:
Size of the main line
Assuming the diameter of main as 50 mm
Discharge of main, Q main = Discharge of sub main, Qsub main

The values of parameter of the Hazen- Williams equation are

C = 150
Q = 1.2 L s-1
D = 50 mm
K = 1.22 ´ 1012

= 0.84 m

for 50 m main pipe = 0.84 ´ (50/100) = 0.42 m

Step 8.
Determining the Horse Power of Pump
Assume head variation due to uneven field variations and the
losses due to pump fittings, etc. as 10 % of all other losses.

Hlocal = 10 % of all other loss

Total dynamic head = ( H emitter + Hf lateral + Hf sub main + Hf main+ H
slope )+Hstatic+H local

= 12.36 + 0.42 +10 +1.28

= 29.06 m

Pump Horse power

where,
H = Total dynamic head, m
Q = Total discharge through main line, L s-1
ηp= Efficiency of pump

= 0.64 @ 1.0
Hence 1 hp pump or the pump giving 1.2L s-1 discharge at head
of 30.0 m is adequate for operating the drip irrigation system to
irrigate for 1 ha area of citrus crop.

The design details of components micro irrigation system are

estimated as
Length of laterals = 47.5 m, Number of laterals = 36,
Diameter of lateral = 12 mm, Length of sub main = 97.25 m,
Number of sub main = 1, Diameter of sub main = 35 mm,
Length of main = 50 m, Number of main = 1,
Diameter of main = 50 mm, Total power required = 1 hp,

Fig. 45.1. Layout of designed drip irrigation system.

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LESSON 46 Installation Operation and Maintenance of Drip Irrigation Systems

Drip irrigation system consists of various components. All these

components are to be designed properly as per their
specifications. After designing the components these are to be
installed properly. Many of the problems in drip irrigation system
result in due to poor installation of the drip irrigation system. The
system needs to be maintained and operated properly for
obtaining the longer or expected life of different components of
the system and trouble free operation of the system. The points
that need to be considered while installation, operation and
maintenance of the drip irrigation system are described in this
lesson.
46.1 Installation
The main items in the installation of drip irrigation system include
installation of the head assembly (control head), comprising the
pumping set, non-return valve, water meter, filters, fertilization
equipment, flow control, air release and pressure release valves.
The other items of installation include connecting mains, sub-
mains, and lying of drip tape or lateral with drippers. While
installing the control head or the pipe network, the minimum
number of accessories such as elbows, reducers etc should be
used. This is required for proper maintenance of the system and
to reduce unnecessary head loss in the system due to these
connections.
46.1.1 Installation of Filters and Fertigation Equipment
1. A strong support in the form of hard base or concrete base
along with the GI fittings should be used for the installation
of the sand and hydro cyclone filters to avoid any vibrations
due to load.
2. The filter size should be in accordance with the capacity of
the system. This should match with the pump discharge
under size will lead to loss and over size will add cost.
3. The delivery pipe of the pump should be connected directly
to the hydro cyclone or the media or sand filter followed by
the fertilizer equipment and the screen filter. All of these
components should be installed in the main pipe.
4. Once the sand/screen filter is essential requirement. Suitable
arrangement to collect and dispose of the bypass material
should be made.
5. In pressurized irrigation system the fertilizer injection unit is
located, between the sand filter (if required) and the screen
filter. The general recommendation is that the fertilizer
solution pass through at least two 90-degree turns to ensure
adequate time for thorough mixing and for any precipitate to
come out in front of the screen filter. It is must that
fertigation unit is installed at the upstream end of the screen
filter so as to filter the under solved matter present in the
fertilizer solution.

46.1.2 Installation of Mains and Sub-mains

1. Except for fully portable system, both mains and sub mains if
made out from PVC must be installed underground at a minimum
depth of about 0.5m such that they are unaffected by cultivation
or by heavy harvesting machinery. Even for systems, which have
portable laterals that are removed at the end of each season, it is
common practice to install permanent underground mains and sub
mains. Generally sub mains run across the direction of the rows.
The United States Soil Conservation Service has recommended
the following minimum cover of earth over for various pipe sizes
(Fred Hamish, 1977):

Depth of earth
Pipe size
cover
1.2 to 6 cm
45 cm
diameter
6 to 10 cm
60 cm
diameter
Over 60 cm
75 cm
diameter

2. If the mains and sub mains are made out of materials other than
PVC such as HDPE or GI, these may not be the need to install
them below the ground surface; however it is advisable to install
them underground.
3. It is important to remove mud and other impurities in the pipe
before fitting of mains and sub-mains and gate valves. A ball
valve is provided at the inlet end of the sub-main. After the ball
valve, the air release valve is provided. A flush valve facing the
slope of the sub-mains is provided at the end of each sub-main to
facilitate sub-main flushing.

46.1.3 Laying of Laterals

1. After the main and sub mains are installed, holes are drilled
on the sub-main, according to the grommet take off (GTO)
i.e., 11.9 mm dia drill for 8 mm ID GTO and 16.5 mm drill
for 13 mm ID GTO.
2. Then grommet are fixed in it and theses take off are fixed.
3. Once the grommet take offs are fixed on the sub-mains,
lateral/polytube laying is done as per the design.Lateral is
fixed to one end of the take off.
4. 4.Lateral placement is done according to row distance, with
sufficient shrinking allowance and extra lateral length is
provided at the end.
5. The drippers are punched on the laterals as per the
requirement.
6. Generally laterals are laid on the ground surface. Usually
laterals are placed along contours on sloping field. Burying
laterals underground might be necessary or at least have
some advantages for some installations. Where this is done,
the emission devices should be fixed above ground level.
except for the subsurface drip lateral.
7. The downstream end of the lateral can be closed by simply
folding back the pipe and closing it with a ring of larger
diameter pipe, known as end plug. This can be easily slipped
for flushing.
46.1.4 Punching of Laterals and Fixing of Emitters
1. Punching of laterals should start from sub-main. Water
should be allowed to flow through lateral so as to get bulging
in pipe which makes easy punching.
2. Punch the lateral sideways.
3. The dripper position is fixed as per the spacing requirement.
4. All the drippers should follow the same straight line.
5. Do not fix the drippers on lateral until complete lateral is
punched
6. Drippers are fixed on laterals as per the arrows marked (if
having arrow marks) and it should be towards the sub-mains.
7. While fixing the dripper, push it inside the lateral and pull it
slightly. The end of lateral should be closed with end cap.

Once the system is completely installed, it needs to be tested by

allowing water to flow in to the system. Before allowing the water
in to the system, ensure that all the valves are open. After main,
sub mains and laterals are flushed completely close the flushed
completely close the flush valve and end caps. After closing of
the valves and caps check the pressure at pressure gages and
ensure that the pressure at the selected points is as per the design
pressure. It is also required to check the working of filters, air
release valves and the fertigation unit. Once it is ensured that all
the components are functioning properly and the required
pressure exists in the system, the system is ready for use.
46.2 Operation of Drip Irrigation System
When the system is in use, it is required to operate properly for
long and trouble free use of the system. The following guidelines
may be considered for this purpose.
i) Keep all the design, evaluation and testing information from the
designer, installer and dealer handy.
ii) Computer the time of operation of different sub units based on
the climatological data of previous day(s) or from the average
historical data; prepare the time schedules for different valves and
operate the valves accordingly to release the desired quantity of
water, compute the volume of water to be applied for each
setting/subunit and ensure that the desire quantity of water is
applied.
iii) Check the pressure at the pressure gages regularly.
iv) For the se\system involving the operation of valves
hydraulically, ensure proper setting of the hydraulic metering
valve.
v) Operating the head valve to begin irrigation.
vi) Checking the system all components for proper operation,
beginning with pressure readings at the control header.
vii) Checking the emitters, randomly for its discharge.
viii) Measure the emission uniformity of the system at least at the
start of the irrigation season.
ix) The chemical and fertilizer injection equipments to ensure the
application of desired quantity and concentration (US Soil Cons.
Service, 1984).

46.3 Maintenance of Drip Irrigation System

Periodic preventive maintenance of all the components of the drip
irrigation system is required for successful operation of drip
irrigation system.
46.3.1 Emitters
The emitter functioning, wetting pattern and leakage of pipes,
valves, and fittings should be checked regularly. The placement
of emitters should be ascertained. If the placement is disturbed,
place them in proper position. If emitters do not give the rated
pressure, they need to be cleaned manually either by flushing or
provide manual or automatic chemical (acid or chlorine)
treatments. The chemical treatment is described later in these
lesson emitters not giving the rated discharge even after flushing
or the chemical treatments should be replaced. Leakage through
filter gaskets in the lids, flushing valves & fittings etc. are
monitored regularly.

46.3.2 Filter Cleaning

Filter is the heart of a drip irrigation system and its failure will
lead to clogging of the emitters and in turn the poor performance
of the system. Pressure difference across the filter is used as the
indicator for deciding the timing of cleaning of the filter.
i) Hydro Cyclone Filter
Hydro cyclone filter should be installed before sand and screen
filter in case there is heavy load of sand in irrigation water. Hydro
cyclone filter requires least maintenance; however the dirt or
sand, inside the under flow chamber should be removed daily.
Flush the chamber by opening flush valve/cap are or open the
main valve for thorough cleaning.
ii) Sand Filter
The sand filter should be backwashed every day for five minutes
to remove the silt other dirt or any other organic matter
accumulated during the previous day’s irrigation. Once in a week,
while back washing, the backwash water should be allowed to
pass through the lid instead of the backwash valves. The sand in
the filter bed is stirred up to the filter candles without damaging
them. Whatever dirt is accumulated deep inside the sand bed will
get free and goes out with the water through the lid. The need of
back washing can be detected by monitoring the pressure drop
across the filter. When the pressure drops increased to a pre-
determined level, the filter should be back-flushed. ASAE
recommends that this pressure drop should not exceed 70 kPa. If
there is heavy load of organic matter in irrigation water, the sand
in the filter should be washed thoroughly with clean water. The
sand filter should be filled with the sand if the level of sand in
filter decreases. The sand may be lost in the process of
backwashing or cleaning. It is advisable to procure 20%
additional sand at the time of purchase of the sand filter.
iii) Screen/Disc Filter
Flushing at scheduled daily interval is necessary to maintain
screen and disc filters. It is recommended to flush screen filter, if
pressure drops more than 0.5 kg/cm2. Before the start of drip
irrigation system, the flushing valve of the filter link should be
opened so that the dirt and silt will be flushed out. The filter
element (screen or disc) is taken out from the filter and it is
cleaned in flowing water. The rubber seals are taken out from both
the sides and precaution should be taken while replacing the
rubber seals, otherwise they may get damaged.
46.3.3 Maintenance of Fertigation Equipment
It is always advisable to allow clean water through ventury or
other injectors for 10 to 15 minutes before and after fertilizer
application for uniform application of fertilizers. It will also
prevent clogging of suction port of ventury from clogging. It is
important to note that equipment is resistant to acid. The lid of the
fertilizer tank should be fully tightened while in operation. In
order to check leaks between the body and bell housing in
fertigation pump, clean the seal seating and put back the seal or
change and keep the position of bell housing at upright.
46.3.4 Sub-main and Lateral / Flushing
It is possible that the silt or other dirt materials escapes through
the filters and settles in sub mains and laterals. Also some algae
and bacteria lead to the formation of slimes/pastes in the sub
mains and laterals. The sub mains should be flushed by opening
the flush valves to remove these formations. The lateral should be
flushed by removing the end caps allowing water to pass through.
Flushing also removes the traces of accumulated salts. The
flushing process should be terminated once the water going out is
cleaned.

46.3.5 Chemical Treatments

Clogging or plugging of emitters/orifices is due to precipitation
and accumulation of certain dissolved salts like carbonates, bi-
carbonates, iron, calcium and manganese salts. The clogging is
also due to the presence of microorganisms and the related iron
and sulphur slimes due to algae and bacteria. The clogging or
plugging is usually removed by chemical treatment. Chemical
treatments commonly used in drip irrigation systems include
application of chloride and/or acid with water. The frequency of
chemical treatment is decided on the degree of clogging and
quality of water. Chlorine treatment is required to remove organic
and any physical materials and acid treatment is required to
remove the salt and any chemical precipitates from the system.
As a general rule, acid treatment is performed once in ten days
and chlorine treatment once in fifteen days.
i) Acid Treatment
Hydrochloric acid is injected into the drip irrigation system at the
rate suggested in the water analysis report. The acid treatment is
performed till a pH of 4 is observed at the end of pipe. After
achieving a pH of 4 the system is shut off for 24 hours. The system
is then flushed by opening the flush valve and lateral end caps.
ii) Chlorine Treatment
Chlorine treatment in the form of bleaching powder is performed
to inhibit the growth of microorganisms like algae and bacteria.
The bleaching powder is dissolved in water and this solution is
injected into the system for about 30 minutes. Then the system is
shut off for 24 hours. The lateral end caps and flush valves are
opened to flush out the water with impurities. The recommended
chlorine dosages are 0.5 to 1.0 ppm continuously or 20 ppm for
20 minutes at the end of each irrigation cycle for algae while for
slimes, 1.0 ppm free residual chlorine is maintained at the end of
each laterals. For iron precipitation, 0.64 times the Fe++ content
are used to maintain 1.0 ppm free residual chlorine at the end of
each lateral. Efficiency of chlorine injection is related to pH of
the water to be treated. More chlorine is required at a high pH.
The rate of injection of liquid chlorine or acid depends on the
system flow rate and can be determined by using the following
expressions.

(46.1)

where
qc = Rate of injection of the chemical into the system,
K = Conversion constant, 6 ´ 10-3
u = Desired concentration of chemical in irrigation water, ppm
Qs= Supply flow rate, Lmin-1
C = Concentration of chemical in the solution to be injected,
per cent
References
Hamish, F. (1977). Main line installation, in Drip/Trickle
Irrigation No. 5, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1977, Pub. International Drip
Irrigation Asso., P.O. Box 288, Bloomington, California-92316
(714) 877-4405: 12.
United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation
Service (1984). Trickle Irrigation. US Dept. of Agriculture, Soil
Conservation Service, National Engineering Handbook Chapter
15, Section 15. U.S.D.A., S.C.S., Washington, D.C: 129.
Suggested Reading
Michael, A. M. (2010). Irrigation Theory and Practice, Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, India: 643-645.
Tiwari. K. N. (2009). Pressurized Irrigation, Precision Farming
Development Center IIT Kharagpur Publication No. PFDC/ IIT
KGP/2/2009: 27-32.

46.1 Installation

The main items in the installation of drip irrigation system include

installation of the head assembly (control head), comprising the
pumping set, non-return valve, water meter, filters, fertilization
equipment, flow control, air release and pressure release valves.
The other items of installation include connecting mains, sub-
mains, and lying of drip tape or lateral with drippers. While
installing the control head or the pipe network, the minimum
number of accessories such as elbows, reducers etc should be
used. This is required for proper maintenance of the system and
to reduce unnecessary head loss in the system due to these
connections.

46.1.1 Installation of Filters and Fertigation Equipment

1. A strong support in the form of hard base or concrete base

along with the GI fittings should be used for the installation of
 the sand and hydro cyclone filters to avoid any vibrations due
to load.

2. The filter size should be in accordance with the capacity of

the system. This should match with the pump discharge under
size will lead to loss and over size will add cost.

3. The delivery pipe of the pump should be connected directly

to the hydro cyclone or the media or sand filter followed by
the fertilizer equipment and the screen filter. All of these
components should be installed in the main pipe.

4. Once the sand/screen filter is essential requirement. Suitable

arrangement to collect and dispose of the bypass material
should be made.

5. In pressurized irrigation system the fertilizer injection unit is

located, between the sand filter (if required) and the screen
filter. The general recommendation is that the fertilizer
solution pass through at least two 90-degree turns to ensure
adequate time for thorough mixing and for any precipitate to
come out in front of the screen filter. It is must that fertigation
unit is installed at the upstream end of the screen filter so as to
filter the under solved matter present in the fertilizer solution.
46.1.2 Installation of Mains and Sub-mains

1. Except for fully portable system, both mains and sub mains if
made out from PVC must be installed underground at a
minimum depth of about 0.5m such that they are unaffected by
cultivation or by heavy harvesting machinery. Even for systems,
which have portable laterals that are removed at the end of each
season, it is common practice to install permanent underground
mains and sub mains. Generally sub mains run across the
direction of the rows.

The United States Soil Conservation Service has recommended

the following minimum cover of earth over for various pipe sizes
(Fred Hamish, 1977):

Depth of earth
Pipe size
cover
 1.2 to 6 cm
45 cm
diameter

6 to 10 cm
60 cm
diameter

Over 60 cm
75 cm
diameter

2. If the mains and sub mains are made out of materials other than
PVC such as HDPE or GI, these may not be the need to install
them below the ground surface; however it is advisable to install
them underground.

3. It is important to remove mud and other impurities in the pipe

before fitting of mains and sub-mains and gate valves. A ball
valve is provided at the inlet end of the sub-main. After the ball
valve, the air release valve is provided. A flush valve facing the
slope of the sub-mains is provided at the end of each sub-main to
facilitate sub-main flushing.
46.1.3 Laying of Laterals

1. After the main and sub mains are installed, holes are drilled
on the sub-main, according to the grommet take off (GTO)
i.e., 11.9 mm dia drill for 8 mm ID GTO and 16.5 mm drill
for 13 mm ID GTO.

2. Then grommet are fixed in it and theses take off are fixed.

3. Once the grommet take offs are fixed on the sub-mains,

lateral/polytube laying is done as per the design.Lateral is
fixed to one end of the take off.

4. 4.Lateral placement is done according to row distance, with

sufficient shrinking allowance and extra lateral length is
provided at the end.

5. The drippers are punched on the laterals as per the

requirement.

6. Generally laterals are laid on the ground surface. Usually

laterals are placed along contours on sloping field. Burying
laterals underground might be necessary or at least have some
advantages for some installations. Where this is done, the
 emission devices should be fixed above ground level. except
for the subsurface drip lateral.

7. The downstream end of the lateral can be closed by simply

folding back the pipe and closing it with a ring of larger
diameter pipe, known as end plug. This can be easily slipped
for flushing.

46.1.4 Punching of Laterals and Fixing of Emitters

1. Punching of laterals should start from sub-main. Water

should be allowed to flow through lateral so as to get bulging
in pipe which makes easy punching.

2. Punch the lateral sideways.

3. The dripper position is fixed as per the spacing requirement.

4. All the drippers should follow the same straight line.

5. Do not fix the drippers on lateral until complete lateral is

punched

6. Drippers are fixed on laterals as per the arrows marked (if

having arrow marks) and it should be towards the sub-mains.
7. While fixing the dripper, push it inside the lateral and pull it
slightly. The end of lateral should be closed with end cap.

Once the system is completely installed, it needs to be tested by

allowing water to flow in to the system. Before allowing the water
in to the system, ensure that all the valves are open. After main,
sub mains and laterals are flushed completely close the flushed
completely close the flush valve and end caps. After closing of
the valves and caps check the pressure at pressure gages and
ensure that the pressure at the selected points is as per the design
pressure. It is also required to check the working of filters, air
release valves and the fertigation unit. Once it is ensured that all
the components are functioning properly and the required
pressure exists in the system, the system is ready for use.

46.2 Operation of Drip Irrigation System

When the system is in use, it is required to operate properly for

long and trouble free use of the system. The following guidelines
may be considered for this purpose.
i) Keep all the design, evaluation and testing information from the
designer, installer and dealer handy.

ii) Computer the time of operation of different sub units based on

the climatological data of previous day(s) or from the average
historical data; prepare the time schedules for different valves and
operate the valves accordingly to release the desired quantity of
water, compute the volume of water to be applied for each
setting/subunit and ensure that the desire quantity of water is
applied.

iii) Check the pressure at the pressure gages regularly.

iv) For the se\system involving the operation of valves

hydraulically, ensure proper setting of the hydraulic metering
valve.

v) Operating the head valve to begin irrigation.

vi) Checking the system all components for proper operation,

beginning with pressure readings at the control header.

vii) Checking the emitters, randomly for its discharge.

viii) Measure the emission uniformity of the system at least at the

start of the irrigation season.
ix) The chemical and fertilizer injection equipments to ensure the
application of desired quantity and concentration (US Soil Cons.
Service, 1984).

46.3 Maintenance of Drip Irrigation System

Periodic preventive maintenance of all the components of the drip

irrigation system is required for successful operation of drip
irrigation system.

46.3.1 Emitters

The emitter functioning, wetting pattern and leakage of pipes,

valves, and fittings should be checked regularly. The placement
of emitters should be ascertained. If the placement is disturbed,
place them in proper position. If emitters do not give the rated
pressure, they need to be cleaned manually either by flushing or
provide manual or automatic chemical (acid or chlorine)
treatments. The chemical treatment is described later in these
lesson emitters not giving the rated discharge even after flushing
or the chemical treatments should be replaced. Leakage through
filter gaskets in the lids, flushing valves & fittings etc. are
monitored regularly.

46.3.1 Filter Cleaning

Filter is the heart of a drip irrigation system and its failure will
lead to clogging of the emitters and in turn the poor performance
of the system. Pressure difference across the filter is used as the
indicator for deciding the timing of cleaning of the filter.

i) Hydro Cyclone Filter

Hydro cyclone filter should be installed before sand and screen

filter in case there is heavy load of sand in irrigation water. Hydro
cyclone filter requires least maintenance; however the dirt or
sand, inside the under flow chamber should be removed daily.
Flush the chamber by opening flush valve/cap are or open the
main valve for thorough cleaning.

ii) Sand Filter

The sand filter should be backwashed every day for five minutes
to remove the silt other dirt or any other organic matter
accumulated during the previous day’s irrigation. Once in a week,
while back washing, the backwash water should be allowed to
pass through the lid instead of the backwash valves. The sand in
the filter bed is stirred up to the filter candles without damaging
them. Whatever dirt is accumulated deep inside the sand bed will
get free and goes out with the water through the lid. The need of
back washing can be detected by monitoring the pressure drop
across the filter. When the pressure drops increased to a pre-
determined level, the filter should be back-flushed. ASAE
recommends that this pressure drop should not exceed 70 kPa. If
there is heavy load of organic matter in irrigation water, the sand
in the filter should be washed thoroughly with clean water. The
sand filter should be filled with the sand if the level of sand in
filter decreases. The sand may be lost in the process of
backwashing or cleaning. It is advisable to procure 20%
additional sand at the time of purchase of the sand filter.

iii) Screen/Disc Filter

Flushing at scheduled daily interval is necessary to maintain
screen and disc filters. It is recommended to flush screen filter, if
pressure drops more than 0.5 kg/cm2. Before the start of drip
irrigation system, the flushing valve of the filter link should be
opened so that the dirt and silt will be flushed out. The filter
element (screen or disc) is taken out from the filter and it is
cleaned in flowing water. The rubber seals are taken out from
both the sides and precaution should be taken while replacing the
rubber seals, otherwise they may get damaged.

46.3.2 Maintenance of Fertigation Equipment

It is always advisable to allow clean water through ventury or

other injectors for 10 to 15 minutes before and after fertilizer
application for uniform application of fertilizers. It will also
prevent clogging of suction port of ventury from clogging. It is
important to note that equipment is resistant to acid. The lid of
the fertilizer tank should be fully tightened while in operation. In
order to check leaks between the body and bell housing in
fertigation pump, clean the seal seating and put back the seal or
change and keep the position of bell housing at upright.
46.3.4 Sub-main and Lateral / Flushing

It is possible that the silt or other dirt materials escapes through

the filters and settles in sub mains and laterals. Also some algae
and bacteria lead to the formation of slimes/pastes in the sub
mains and laterals. The sub mains should be flushed by opening
the flush valves to remove these formations. The lateral should
be flushed by removing the end caps allowing water to pass
through. Flushing also removes the traces of accumulated salts.
The flushing process should be terminated once the water going
out is cleaned.

46.3.4 Chemical Treatments

Clogging or plugging of emitters/orifices is due to precipitation

and accumulation of certain dissolved salts like carbonates, bi-
carbonates, iron, calcium and manganese salts. The clogging is
also due to the presence of microorganisms and the related iron
and sulphur slimes due to algae and bacteria. The clogging or
plugging is usually removed by chemical treatment. Chemical
treatments commonly used in drip irrigation systems include
application of chloride and/or acid with water. The frequency of
chemical treatment is decided on the degree of clogging and
quality of water. Chlorine treatment is required to remove organic
and any physical materials and acid treatment is required to
remove the salt and any chemical precipitates from the system.
As a general rule, acid treatment is performed once in ten days
and chlorine treatment once in fifteen days.

i) Acid Treatment

Hydrochloric acid is injected into the drip irrigation system at the

rate suggested in the water analysis report. The acid treatment is
performed till a pH of 4 is observed at the end of pipe. After
achieving a pH of 4 the system is shut off for 24 hours. The
system is then flushed by opening the flush valve and lateral end
caps.

ii) Chlorine Treatment

Chlorine treatment in the form of bleaching powder is performed

to inhibit the growth of microorganisms like algae and bacteria.
The bleaching powder is dissolved in water and this solution is
injected into the system for about 30 minutes. Then the system is
shut off for 24 hours. The lateral end caps and flush valves are
opened to flush out the water with impurities. The recommended
chlorine dosages are 0.5 to 1.0 ppm continuously or 20 ppm for
20 minutes at the end of each irrigation cycle for algae while for
slimes, 1.0 ppm free residual chlorine is maintained at the end of
each laterals. For iron precipitation, 0.64 times the Fe++ content
are used to maintain 1.0 ppm free residual chlorine at the end of
each lateral. Efficiency of chlorine injection is related to pH of
the water to be treated. More chlorine is required at a high pH.
The rate of injection of liquid chlorine or acid depends on the
system flow rate and can be determined by using the following
expressions

Module 8: Economic Evaluation of Irrigation Project and Participatory

Irrigation Management

LESSON 47 Project Planning and Financial Analysis of Irrigation Project

A project is a specific activity in which resources are used over a

specified period of time with the expectation of a greater flow of
benefits to an individual or a community. A common feature of
all projects is that they can be planned, financed and
implemented. During planning the costs and returns of a project
are estimated.
Agricultural development is a process that involves changes in
production techniques and methods on the different farming units
including both which are large-scale and small-scale. Changes do
not always bring positive benefits to the farmer. They have to be
analyzed and measured against the prevailing situation. Choices
should be made between alternative plans and ideas. Farmers,
investors and society all need an objective way of making these
analyses and choices. Resources are limited and all organizations
and institutions have to make choices regarding the allocation and
investment of human and financial resources in development of
projects. Project appraisal helps to determine if the investment is
viable, usually according to quantitative financial and economic
criteria. Projects may be financed by the government, donor
agencies, farmers, or a combination of these three.

47.1 Project Planning

This is a continuous process that involves sequential steps that
form a kind of cycle, usually called the “project cycle”. The
sequence is as follows
47.1.1 Identification
A project may be designed to address an identified constraint in
the community or to exploit an opportunity. Ideas of pursuing an
irrigation project may be prompted by the following
1. Low yields due to poor rainfall patterns
2. Low incomes from rain fed crop production
3. Presence of water resources and irrigable land
 4. Market opportunities due to proximity to a large market
(consumer and/or industrial, for example a processing
factory).
Project identification aims at undertaking a preliminary
assessment of a project idea before important planning resources,
like money and skills, are utilized in detailed project design and
appraisal. It involves the development of the concept and initial
ideas. Project identification is initiated when farmers, extension
workers, or NGO or donor agency staff recommend for a
prospective project.

47.1.2 Project Preparation and Analysis

Once a project has been identified, the process of progressively
more detailed preparation and analysis of project plan starts. This
process includes all the work necessary to bring the project to the
point at which a careful review or appraisal can be undertaken.
Then, if it is determined to be a good project, implementation can
begin. Typically, the first step in project preparation and analysis
is to undertake a feasibility study that will provide enough
information for deciding whether to begin more advanced
planning. The feasibility study should clearly define the
objectives of the project. It should explicitly address the question
of whether alternative ways to achieve the same objectives may
be preferable. This stage is concerned with the study of a limited
number of project alternatives and will enable project planners to
exclude poor alternatives.
47.1.3 Project Appraisal
After the project preparation phase, a critical review of the project
is conducted to re-examine every aspect of the project plan in
order to assess whether proposal is appropriate and sound before
financial commitment. Time frame is also checked for
implementation feasibility. Appraisal process builds on the plan
by gathering new information as required by the specialists.
47.1.4 Project Implementation
Implementation commences when appraisal and financial
commitments have been approved. It involves
1. Preparation of an action plan and budget for the project
2. Mobilization of resources (human, material and financial)
and assigning responsibilities
3. Mobilization of farmers to participate fully in the project
right from the start
4. Initiation of fieldwork, for example laying out of
engineering works, crop production, etc.
47.1.5 Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring takes place throughout project implementation and
helps management keep track of the project progress. Monitoring
can also be used to improve the management of the irrigated plot
in terms of which agronomic technologies to use, the allocation
of resources and decisions on what to produce. Evaluations
consist of
1. Project objective deadlines.
2. Implementation of activities as planned.
 3. Achievement of anticipated benefits.

Evaluation is not limited to completed projects. It is a most

important managerial tool in ongoing projects and formalized
evaluation might take place several times during the lifetime of
the project.
47.2 Financial Analysis of an Irrigation Project
Analyzing the financial benefits of an irrigation project involves
looking at the two levels: - i) farmer level and the ii) scheme level.
At farmer level, we look at production levels, labour requirements
and net income ‘with’ and ‘without’ the project. At scheme level,
we look at costs incurred in constructing, operating and managing
the whole scheme.
Financial Analysis of an irrigation project consists of the
following:-
47.2.1 Farm Income Analysis
During project analysis, the underlying assumption made is that
for farming community or for a farm, the objective will be
maximization of income that the families will earn as a result of
the participation in the project. The resources used are land,
water, electricity and labour. The tools to evaluate these resources
are: -
a. Cropping Patterns: When an irrigation project is
introduced, the area of irrigation comes from the participating
farmers’ landholdings being used for rainfed cultivation.
If the farmers become full time irrigators, this will mean that
income from cultivation is lost and income from irrigation is
gained. In order to assess the impact of this, cropping patterns are
analyzed and suitable decisions are taken.
b. Labour Requirements: Labour requirements are calculated
on crop by crop basis and added to estimate the total requirements
in any given situation. Where an exhaustive survey on the labour
schemes has been carried out, this provides the data associated
with various operations in the proposed scheme. When
calculating the requirements for each crop, not only the total
requirements but also the distribution over the cropping period
will have to be established so that labour requirements in the peak
periods can be determined.
c. Crop Budgets/Gross Margin Analysis: Crop Budgets
contain the evaluation of gross margins per hectare for the
different crops. Gross margin is the income generated from a
production activity and is equal to the difference between the
total gross income and the total variable costs.

47.2.2 Scheme Investment Analysis

The scheme investment analysis looks at the scheme income
based on the gross margins, investment costs and the operations
and maintenance costs. The analysis seeks to judge the likely
incremental benefits project participants and the incentive for
farmers to participate in the project, thus looking at the
attractiveness of the project to the indulging farmers.
Scheme investment analysis depends on the following:-
a. Investment: Investment refers to the amount put in a project
irrespective of its type. Investment can also be termed as initial
costs incurred to kick start a project.
b. Land: Land for any irrigation project must appear in the
investment analysis of the project. Similarly, rent should also
appear as a cost in the investment analysis if the land has been
rented.
c. Operating Costs: The operating expenditure is calculated for
the costs of equipment utilized in making the investment work
functional and would include
• Replacement Costs: These are the costs incurred to
replace specific items.
• Energy Costs: This depends on the elevation of the water
source relative to the elevation of the scheme, which
determines whether water should be pumped in order to
reach the scheme and the irrigation system used.
• Repair and Maintenance Costs: These costs are usually
assumed to depend on the cost of the equipment utilized.
Thus a percentage of the cost of the equipment (generally
between 1.5-5%) is taken as the repair and maintenance
costs per year.
• Water Charges: These are the charges payable to whoever
supplies the water, for example the national water
authority. Where water is purchased, the water charges
should be indicated as a cost.
d. Other Costs: Following come under the other costs
• Sunk Cost: A cost incurred in the past projects that cannot
be recovered again.
• Residual Value: This is the value of the asset remaining
unused at the end of a project. The asset can be termed as
an residual asset.

47.2.3 Setting Up the investment budget

Having assessed the costs and benefits, the budget of the
irrigation project is set up.
47.2.4 Project Period
This is defined as the time duration for which the project will the
carried out. If the project centers on only one major asset, say the
irrigation system, then the usual project period is said to be 20
years. For external funding, the projects get wrapped up by 5-7
years.
47.2.5 Time Value of Money
When costs and benefits are spread over time, then the future
income has to be reduced to its present worth. This is based on
the principle that a dollar buys more today than it will buy
tomorrow.
Determining the discount rate: The factor used to reduce
projected future income or to accumulate loans now, is the
discount rate or interest. There are two main explanations for
interest namely, time preference and opportunity cost of capital.
47.2.6 Measuring the Project Worthiness
The viability or worthiness of the project that takes the timing of
costs and benefits into account can be measured using the
following indicators
a. Net Present Value (NPV): In financial terms, the net
present value (NPV) or net present worth of a time series of cash
flows, both incoming and outgoing, is defined as the sum of
the present values (PVs) of the individual cash flows of the same
entity. In the case when all future cash flows are incoming (such
as coupons and principal of a bond) and the only outflow of cash
is the purchase price, the NPV is simply the PV of future cash
flows minus the purchase price (which is its own PV). NPV is a
central tool in discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis and is a
standard method for using the time value of money to appraise
long-term projects. Used for capital budgeting and widely used
throughout economics, finance, and accounting, it measures the
excess or shortfall of cash flows, in present value terms, above
the cost of funds.

Formula for NPV is

where,
t – time of the cash flow
i – discount rate (the rate of return that could be earned on an
investment in the financial markets with similar risk.)
Rt – the net cash flow i.e. cash inflow – cash outflow, at time t.
For educational purposes
R0 - is commonly placed to the left of the sum to emphasize its
role as (minus) the investment.
The result of this formula is multiplied with the Annual Net cash
in-flows and reduced by Initial Cash outlay the present value but
in cases where the cash flows are not equal in amount, then the
previous formula will be used to determine the present value of
each cash flow separately. Any cash flow within 12 months will
not be discounted for NPV purpose, nevertheless the usual initial
investments during the first year R0 are summed up a negative
cash flow.
b. Benefit/Cost Ratio: A benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is an
indicator, used in the formal discipline of cost-benefit analysis,
that attempts to summarize the overall value for money of a
project or proposal. A BCR is the ratio of the benefits of a
project or proposal, expressed in monetary terms, relative to its
costs, also expressed in monetary terms. All benefits and costs
should be expressed in discounted present values. Benefit cost
ratio (BCR) takes into account the amount of monetary gain
realized by performing a project versus the amount it costs to
execute the project. The higher the BCR the better the
investment. General rule of thumb is that if the benefit is higher
than the cost the project is a good investment.
c. Internal Rate of Return: The internal rate of return on an
investment or project is the "annualized effective compounded
return rate" or "rate of return" that makes the net present
value (NPV as NET*1/(1+IRR)^year) of all cash flows (both
positive and negative) from a particular investment equal to
zero. It can also be defined as the discount rate at which the
present value of all future cash flow is equal to the initial
investment or in other words the rate at which an investment
breaks even.
In more specific terms, the IRR of an investment is the discount
rate at which the net present value of costs (negative cash flows)
of the investment equals the net present value of the benefits
(positive cash flows) of the investment.
IRR calculations are commonly used to evaluate the desirability
of investments or projects. The higher a project's IRR, the more
desirable it is to undertake the project. Assuming all projects
require the same amount of up-front investment, the project with
the highest IRR would be considered the best and undertaken
first.
A firm (or individual) should, in theory, undertake all projects or
investments available with IRRs that exceed the cost of capital.
Investment may be limited by availability of funds to the firm
and/or by the firm's capacity or ability to manage numerous
projects.
Given a collection of pairs (time, cash flow) involved in a project,
the internal rate of return follows from the net present value as a
function of the rate of return. A rate of return for which this
function is zero is an internal rate of return.
 Given the (period, cash flow) pairs (η, Cn) where is a positive
integer, the total number of periods , and the net present value ,
the internal rate of return is given by in:

The period is usually given in years, but the calculation may be

made simpler if is calculated using the period in which the
majority of the problem is defined (e.g., using months if most of
the cash flows occur at monthly intervals) and converted to a
yearly period thereafter.
Any fixed time can be used in place of the present (e.g., the end
of one interval of an annuity); the value obtained is zero if and
only if the NPV is zero.
In the case that the cash flows are random variables, such as in
the case of a life annuity, the expected values are put into the
above formula.
Often, the value of cannot be found analytically. In this
case, numerical methods or graphical methods must be used.

47.3 Irrigation Project Costs

Irrigation project costs include all the expenditure made to
establish, maintain and operate a project. Costs are estimated on
an annual basis. The annual cost of a project includes both fixed
and variable costs.
47.3.1 Fixed Costs
Fixed costs, also referred as investment or initial costs, include
the following, as applicable:
(a) Costs of obtaining water right and permits.
(b) Planning and design costs.
(c) Land purchase and rehabilitation of the population in the
areas affected by the water resources project.
(d) Cost of storage reservoirs, head regulator and canal water
distribution system, including associated structures and controls.
(e) Command area development surveying, land development
operations and on-farm water conveyance and control.
(f) Drainage system main drains, link drains, and no-farm
drainage system surface and sub-surface.
(g) Cost of wells, pumps, electric motors/engines and pumping
plant accessories, and their installation.
(h) Pump house
(i) Electric Power connection, metering and recording
equipment.
(j) Automation equipment/remote control, if used.
(k) Inspection and approach roads.
(l) Equipment for water application, sprinkler/drip irrigation
equipment, if used.
The above costs are incurred at the initial stages of the project,
while others are paid annually. Annual fixed costs include the
interest on the total investment on the project.

47.3.2 Variable costs

Variable costs are recurring in nature and computed on an annual
basis. They are operation and maintenance costs as well as levies
and charges on insurance and miscellaneous operating costs of
recurring nature. The variable annual costs may be enumerated as
follows:
(a) Maintenance of structures and water distribution network.
(b) Costs of fuel, namely, diesel or other fuels and electricity.
(c) Lubricants, minor repairs, and painting.
(d) Layout of field for surface irrigation renewal of borders,
ridges and field channels.
(e) Maintenance of drainage system desilting, weed control etc.
(f) Operating manpower cost (Manpower costs include
salaries, social benefits, housing, insurance, medical treatment,
transportation and similar items).A simple procedure, commonly
used for preliminary cost estimates is to calculate the interest on
the average value of the installation at the prevailing interest rate:

47.3.3 Depreciation
It is a provision of funds over the life time of the project for its
replacement. Depreciation is excluded from the economic
appraisal of a project as it is only an accounting concept.
Depreciation is the anticipated reduction in the value of an asset
due to physical use of the equipment/structure or obsolescence. In
the conventional analysis, the annual depreciation is computed as
follows:

Depreciation refers to the process of allocating a portion of the

original cost of a fixed asset to each accounting period so that the
value is gradually written off during the course of the estimated
useful life of the asset. Allowance may be made for the asset’s
estimated resale value, if any, at the end of the useful life of the
enterprise.
In discounted cash flow analysis, depreciation is not treated as a
cost. The cost of an asset is shown in the year it is incurred and
the benefits are shown in the year they are obtained. Since this is
done over the entire life of the project, it is not necessary to show
the value of the asset apportioned in any given year as
depreciation. That would amount to double counting.
Service Period of Wells and Pumps Projects
In the case of ground water and lift irrigation projects, when the
expected service period of wells and pumps is specified in hours
of operation, same in years is calculated by dividing the total
hours of operation by the average annual hours of operation by
the average annual hours of operation.
Variable Costs of Irrigation Projects
If the electrical connection charges are paid in lump sum, the
annualized cost may be estimated, assuming an expected service
life of about 25 years. If the charges are to be paid annually, the
same are to be added to the operation and maintenance cost, to
arrive at the annual variable cost.
Variable costs of surface irrigation projects include the costs on
regulation of the conveyance system as well as maintenance and
repairs. In case of wells and pumps, they include the cost of
power/fuel (electricity/diesel), cost of lubricants, labour charges
for operating the pumping units and the expenditure on repairs
and maintenance of the equipment and accessories.
The cost of power is often the most important component of
variable costs in the case of pumping systems. The usual practice
is to operation from the known discharge rate of the pumping
plant, total operating head and its overall efficiency. The
requirement of power is expressed in kilowatt-hour per hour for
electricity and liters of diesel per hour of operation of engines.
The energy consumption of an electric motor is computed as
follows:

Efficiencies of electric motor may be obtained from the

performance data supplied by the manufacturers. Motor
efficiencies usually vary from 75 to 90 per cent.
 The demand of electrical power for hourly operation is multiplied
by the annual hours of operation to arrive at the total annual
energy consumption. The annual power cost is determined by
multiplying the annual energy demand by the prevailing cost per
unit of electrical energy.
In case of engine, the cost of fuel is computed as follows:
Fuel cost = BHP× Specific fuel consumption ×Cost of fuel per
liter
A realistic estimate of the rate of fuel consumption for a given
engine can be made if the manufacturer’s fuel consumption curve
for the engine is available. Fuel consumption of diesel commonly
used in irrigation pumping vary from 0.2 L to 0.29 L per bhp hour.
An average value of 0.23 L/bhp-h can be assumed in the absence
of better data.
The consumption of lubrication oil is usually assumed to be 4.5 L
per 1000 bhp-h. Many manufacturers provide values for the
consumption of lubricants of their products. From the cost of
lubricants per hour of operation, the annual cost of lubricants is
computed.
The repair and maintenance costs of the component parts of an
irrigation system may be assumed as per the norms given in
Table. 47.1. or an average value may be assumed on based on
field evaluation studies or local experience.
Table 47.1. Guidelines for estimation of service life and annual
maintenance and repair costs of irrigation structures and
equipment

Annual
Expected
Expected maintenance and
duration
Component economic repair charge as
(operation
life in years % of initial
hours)
investment
Dams - 50-150 -
Masonry wells - 50-170 0.2-0.5
Ponds and tanks - 20-50 -
Tubewell screen
and casing(mild - 20-50 0.5-1.5
steel)
Pump house and
- 40-50 0.5-1.5
foundation
Bowls of turbine
pumps (about 50%
16000-20000 8-10 5-7
of the cost of the
pump unit)
Columns of turbine
32000-40000 16-20 3-5
pump
Centrifugal pump 32000-50000 15-20 3-5
Gear head 30000-36000 14-20 5-7
V-belt 6000 3 5-7
Flat belt (leather) 20000 10 5-7
Electric motor 50000-70000 25-35 1.5-2.5
Diesel engine 28000 15 5-8
Petrol engine 14000-18000 8-12 5-10
Galvanized iron
- 25-50 1-2
pipes
Concrete pipes - 20-60 2-4
Portable aluminum
- 10-15 2-4
pipes
Plastic pipes
- 20-40 1.5-2.5
(underground)
Asbestos cement
- 20-40 1-1.5
pipes
Hydrants - 20-40 1-2
Water meters - 20-40 2-4
Sprinkler nozzle - 5-10 2-3
Fittings of portable
- 15 2-3
pipes

(Source: Michael, 2010)

47.4 Basic Concepts and Terminologies in Economic Analysis

i. Economic Rate of Return (ERR): The internal rate of return
is calculated using economic values. Interest rate at which the cost
and benefits of a project, discounted over its life, are equal. ERR
differs from the financial rate of return. It takes into account the
effects of factors such as price controls, subsidies, and tax breaks.
ii. Economic Analysis: A systematic approach to determining the
optimum use of scarce resources, involving comparison of two or
more alternatives in achieving a specific objective under the given
assumptions and constraints. Economic analysis takes into
account the opportunity costs of resources employed and attempts
to measure in monetary terms the private and social costs and
benefits of a project to the community or economy.
iii. Economic Value: It is the amount by which the return or
output from a project changes the national income.
iv. Financial Rate of Return: The internal rate of return
calculated using market values.
v. National Income: National Income is the money value of all
goods and services produced by an economy in a given period of
time for a country. National income measures the money value of
the flow of output of goods and services produced within an
economy over a period of time. The level and rate of growth of
national income provide various purposes regarding economy,
production, trade, consumption, policy formulation, etc.
vi. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The monetary value of all
the finished goods and services produced within a country's
borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually
calculated on an annual basis. It includes all the private and public
consumption, government outlays, investments and exports less
imports that occur within a defined territory.

GDP = C + G + I + NX

where,
C is equal to all private consumption, or consumer spending, in a
nation's economy
G is the sum of government spending
I is the sum of all the country's businesses spending on capital
NX is the nation's total net exports, calculated as total exports
minus total imports. (NX = Exports - Imports)

vii. Net Benefit: The benefits from an irrigation project minus the
costs. It is often calculated as the present value of benefits minus
the present value of costs.
Gross Benefit: The incremental value of output from a project
shows the gross benefit.
viii. Incremental Net Benefit: The increase in net benefit with
the project is called its incremental net benefit. It shows the
incremental cash flow.
xi. Indirect Benefit: The secondary benefits resulting from a
project is called as indirect benefit.
xii. Opportunity cost: The opportunity cost is the benefit
foregone by investing capital in a particular project, instead of its
next best alternative use. It usually form the basis for selecting the
discount rate for calculating the benefit cost ratio and the net
present worth of the investment.
xiii. Discount rate: It is the interest rate used to determine the
present worth of a future values in discounted cash flow analysis.
xiv. Efficiency Price: It is the economic value used in economic
analysis. Efficiency prices reflect the opportunity cost or value of
a good or services used or generated by a project. The price used
may be the market price adjusted for market distortions or shadow
price. Efficiency price is used in economic analysis when the
objective is to maximize the national income. Hence the
procedure is also sometime called as efficiency analysis.
xv. Imputed Price: It is a price or economic values obtained by
some computation rather than using an observed market price. It
is better to avoid using an imputed price in project analysis, to the
extent possible.
xvi. Inflation: The rate at which the general level of prices for
goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing power
is falling. Inflation occurs when the quantity of money in
circulation rises relative to the quantity of goods and services
which are available. Reserve Bank of India attempts to stop
severe inflation, along with severe deflation, in an attempt to keep
the excessive growth of prices to a minimum. In analysis, it is
usual to consider constant prices rather than the current prices and
to consider that inflation will affect prices of all costs and benefits
equally. It is assumed that the prices will affect both the costs and
benefits to the same extent, and hence the general relationship
between costs and products and inputs and benefits will remain
same.
xvii. Shadow Price: Shadow price is the value used in economic
analysis for cost or benefits in a project when it is considered that
the market price may not provide a realistic estimate of the
economic value. Shadow price usually means the accounting
price under such a situation. Shadow price usually is derived
using the mathematical model such as linear programming.
xviii. Current ratio: The current ratio measures a company's
ability to pay short-term obligations.

It is computed by the formula:

It is also known as "liquidity ratio", "cash asset ratio" and "cash

ratio".
xix. Current Price: It is the price or the value which includes the
effect of change in the price of a commodity or service due to
inflation. It could be a past value or price, as recorded, or a value
or price which is expected to occur in normal conditions.
xx. Farm Gate Price: A cultivated product in agriculture or
aquaculture is the net value of the product when it leaves the farm,
after marketing costs have been subtracted. Since many farms do
not have significant marketing costs, it is often understood as the
price of the product at which it is sold by the farm (the farm gate
price). The farm gate value is typically lower than the retail price
consumers pay in a store as it does not include costs for shipping,
handling, storage, marketing, and profit margins of the involved
companies.
xxi. Cut-off Rate: It is the rate below which a project cannot be
accepted as economically viable. The opportunity cost of the
capital is usually taken as the cut off rate. It is the minimum
acceptable internal rate of return.
xxii. Transfer Payment: It is a payment made without receiving
any goods or services in return. In irrigation projects, the most
common transfer payments are the taxes of different types and the
subsidies received for growing specialized crops and adopting
water-saving irrigation methods like sprinkler and drip irrigation
systems.
xxiii. Economic Life: The period during which a fixed asset is
capable of yielding services to its owner.
xxiv. Grace Period: In credit transactions during the grace period
allowed, the holder need not repay principal, and sometimes the
interest.
xxv. Grants: A payment made to an individual or a co-operative
enterprise by a government or other agency without expectation
of goods or services in return.
The purpose is to encourage a specific activity. A grant is a
transfer payment in economic appraisal.
xxvi. Work Day: The time devoted to an activity by one person
during one day. In developing countries, the duration in
agricultural operations is usually taken as 8 hours per day.
xxvii. Equity: It is the ownership right in an enterprise. Equity
capital is the residual amount left after deducting the total
liabilities from the total assets.

Example 47.1: The opportunity cost of capital is 10 per cent per

annum. Determine the discount rates for first, second, third and
fourth years.
Solution:

Example 47.2: A project proposes to build a reserve fund by

depositing Rs. 1500 million at the end of each year, by investing
in suspense accounts available for 4 years. If the investment can
earn at the rate of 7% per year, compounded annually, what would
be the sum of annuities deposited at the time of fourth payment?

Solution:
The annuity at the end of n year can be given by
Where v = annuity = 15000 millions
n = no of annuity payment = 4
i = interest rate = 7%
 = Rs. 6659.915 million

Example 47.3: A 3 year annuity for Rs. 1000 has payments

received at the end of each year. Determine the present value of
annuity when discounted at 5 %.

Solution:
The present worth of annuity is given by

In which, V=Rs. 1000, n=3, i=5%

= Rs. 2723.25

Example 47.4: If the interest rate is 1 per cent for Rupee 1,

compute the compounding factor for the first, second and
subsequent years.
Solution:
The compounding factor is used to calculate the future worth of a
present amount at the end of a particular period, using the
following relationship:
Fv = P (1+i)n
in which,
Fv = future worth
P = present amount
n = period

Compounding factor for first year = (1+0.1)1

= 1.10
Second yea = (1+0.1)2
=1.21
Third year = (1+0.1)3
= 1.33
Fourth year = (1+0.1)4
=1.46
Example 47.5: If an investible amount worth Rs. 25000 has an
opportunity of earning at the rate of 10 per cent per annum,
calculate the future value at the end of the tenth period.

Solution:
Fv = P (1+i)n
= 25000 (1+0.1)10
= Rs. 64843.56

Example 47.6: A loan of Rs. 100000 carrying an annual interest

of 10% is to be amortized by equal installments over the next 10
years. Determine the value of annual installments.

Solution:

Amortization factor (D) is given by D =

in which, i=10%, n=10

The annual installment =

 = Rs. 16274.54
LESSON 48. National Water Policy and Participatory Irrigation Management

48.1 National Water Policy (NWP)

India has more than 17 percent of the world’s population, but has
only 4% of world’s renewable water resources with 2.6% of
world’s land area. There are further limits on utilizable quantities
of water owing to uneven distribution over time and space. In
addition, there are challenges of frequent floods and droughts in
one or the other part of the country.
Lack of understanding about scarcity of water, its life sustaining
and economic value results in its mismanagement, pollution,
wastage, reduction of flows below minimum ecological needs and
inefficient use. In addition, there are inequities in distribution and
lack of a unified perspective in planning, management and use of
water resources.
The objective of the NWP is to take cognizance of the existing
situation and create a system of laws and institutions, for plan of
action in national perspective.
The main emphasis in the Draft of National Water Policy 2012 is
conservation and efficient use of water. The policy also does
away with the priorities for water allocation mentioned in 1987
and 2002 versions of the policy (Table 48.1). The other major
recommendations are:
i) to ensure access to a minimum quantity of potable water for
essential health and hygiene to all citizens, available within easy
reach of the household,
ii) to curtail subsidy to agricultural electricity users,
iii) setting up of water regulatory authority,
iv) to keep aside a portion of the river flow to meet the ecological
needs and to ensure that the low and high flow releases
correspond in time closely to the natural flow regime,
v) to give statutory powers to Water Users Associations to
maintain the distribution system,
vi) project benefited families to bear part of the cost of
resettlement & rehabilitation of project affected families,
vii) to remove the large disparity between stipulations for water
supply in urban areas and in rural areas. (Source: Michael, 2010)
Planning, development and management of water resources need
to be governed by common integrated perspective considering
local, regional, State and national context, having an
environmentally sound basis, keeping in view the human, social
and economic needs. Water needs to be managed as a common
pool community resource held, by the state, under public trust
doctrine to achieve food security, support livelihood, and ensure
equitable and sustainable development for all.
Water is essential for sustenance of eco-system, and therefore,
minimum ecological needs should be given due consideration.
Water, after meeting the pre-emptive needs for safe drinking
water, sanitation and high priority allocation for other domestic
needs (including needs of animals), achieving food security,
supporting sustenance agriculture and minimum eco-system
needs may be treated as economic good so as to promote its
 conservation and efficient use. Availability of utilizable water
resources and increased variability in supplies due to climate
change, meeting the future needs will depend more on demand
management, and hence, this needs to be given priority, especially
through:
Table 48.1. National Water Policy during 1987 and 2002

National Water
Issue National Water Policy (2002)
Policy (1987)
1. Drinking water
2. Irrigation
3. Hydro-power
4. Navigation
5. Industrial and
other uses 1. Drinking water
2. Irrigation
“However these 3. Hydro-power
Allocation priorities might
4. Ecology
priority
5. Agro-industries and non-
be modified if
agricultural industries
necessary in
6. Navigation and other uses
particular regions
with reference
to area specific
considerations.”
Service Private sector participation
No mention.
provision should be encouraged in
 planning, development and
management of water
resource projects for diverse
uses, wherever feasible.
Depending upon the specific
situations, various combinations of
private sector participation, in
building, owning, operating, leasing
and transferring of water resources
facilities, may be considered.

(Source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/national-water-
policy-2012-silent-priorities).
(a) evolving an agricultural system which economizes on water
use and maximizes value from water,
(b) bringing in maximum efficiency in use of water and avoiding
wastages,
48.2 Water Distribution in Canal Irrigation Systems
Different methods of water distribution are following in canal
irrigation. These distribution systems are being practiced in India
to ensure and to meet the crop demand. The commonly used
distribution systems in irrigation canal are:
i) Warabandi or Osrabandi
ii) Shejpali
iii) Zonal irrigation
iv) Localized system
i) Warabandi or Osrabandi: It is a rotational method for
distribution of irrigation water, with fixed time allocations based
on the size of landholdings of individual water users within a
water course command area. It presupposes an overall shortage of
the water supply. The primary objective of the method is to
distribute this restricted supply in an equitable manner over a
large command area. This system has been successfully adopted
in Indo-Gangetic plains.
ii) Shejpali: In this system estimate of expected water availability
are made. Water is then sanctioned taking into account the total
demand and the water availability. This system is practiced in
Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat, and Karnataka.
iii) Zonal irrigation: In this system command area is divided into
two halves. Water is made available continuously in one half of
the area for one season for a period of four months in a year. The
other half gets irrigation water sufficient for wet land crops the
next year. This system is being practice in Tamilnadu.
iv) Localized system: This system is applicable in paddy grown
areas in which irrigation flow below the canal outlet is allowed
from one field to another through surface flooding. This practice
usually results insufficient water distribution and low fertilizer
use efficiency.
48.3 Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)
As the name (PIM) indicates it is co-operation and involvement
of farmers in operation, management, and maintenance of the
irrigation systems at secondary and tertiary levels through
forming “Water User’s Associations” (WUAs). It is a tool for
improving irrigation management along with sustainability of the
system. Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) is conceived
as panacea (remedy) for the ills of irrigated farming.
48.3.1 Objectives of PIM
Major objectives of PIM are stated below
1. To initiate participation of the farmers in water management,
irrigation scheduling, distribution and maintenance of system at
micro level.
2. To create a sense of ownership of water resources and the
irrigation system among the users, so as to promote economy in
water use and preservation of the system.
3. To achieve optimum utilization of available resources through
sophisticated deliveries, precisely as per the crop needs.
4. To achieve equity in water distribution.
5. To increase production per unit of water, under both the
circumstances of water scarce and adequate availability.
6. To make best use of natural precipitation and ground water in
conjunction with flow irrigation for increasing irrigation and
cropping intensity.
7. To facilitate a choice of better crops, cropping sequence,
timing of water supply, and period of supply and frequency of
supply depending on soil, climate and other infrastructure
facilities available in commands such as roads, transportation,
markets cold storages, etc., so as to maximize the incomes and
returns.
8. To encourage collective and community responsibility on the
farmers to collect water charges and payment to Irrigation
Agency.
9. To create healthy atmosphere between the Irrigation Agency
personnel and the users.
10. Coordinating post-harvest activities (grading, packaging,
storage, marketing etc.) so as to derive maximum benefits.
48.3.2 Necessity of PIM
a) Need of Increase in Agricultural Production
The human as well as cattle population has been increasing all
over the world and more so in India. As such the need for food,
fiber, fuel, fodder etc. has also been increasing with growing
demand. Aside from providing more food, increasing the
productivity of farms affects the region's prospects for growth and
competitiveness on the agricultural market, income distribution
and savings, and labour migration. It is, hence, imperative to
increase the agricultural production to match with the
requirement.
Irrigation being lifeline of agriculture, its development and
efficient management is the necessity of the day. Increasing the
existing reservoirs capacity and taking up of new projects is
causing serious financial and social problems. So far as ground
water development is concerned, it has its own limitations and the
most important being over exploitation of this resource at many
places particularly in many parts of India. Hence proper
management of already created water resources development
structures is extremely essential at this juncture, in order to
maintain the balance between need and the agricultural
production. Since farmers are the real stakeholders, they have to
come forward through their associations to look after their interest
so that they get water from the system according to the
predetermined time and space for planning their crops. It also
helps in cost management.
b) Problem of Fiscal Availability
There is a severe budgetary competition at the government level
under different sectors. The ratio of financial outlay for the
irrigation sector to the total outlay is coming down year after year.
Moreover there are many incomplete irrigation projects, where
work is going on and there is demand of meeting the regional
balance to provide irrigation facility almost all over. Under such
circumstances, investment of more money by the Government on
operation and maintenance of the old system appears difficult.
Thus, farmers have to take up this responsibility themselves in
order to avoid over burdening of the Government exchequer and
to become self-dependent.
c) Recovery of operation and maintenance cost and recovery
of irrigation charge
The Operation &Maintenance cost is much higher than the
recoverable irrigation charges as per the present rate. Even these
low rates are not being recovered in full. Often the cost of
recovery of water charges by the Government is more than the
amount recovered. This is causing severe budget constraints to
Government and consequently O&M could not be properly
carried out resulting in system deficiency and unreliability of
irrigation water to farmers. The Water Users’ Associations could
play this role in a better way.
Besides above aspects, there are other compulsions like non
availability of water when it is needed, taking immediate
problems like leakages, adopting flexibility in water distribution
and taking many more initiatives by farmers’ group to make their
farm economy a sustainable proposition, PIM appears extremely
necessary and worthwhile.
(Source:http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/mainlinkFile/File421.
pdf)
48.4 People’s Participation in Managing Irrigation System in
India
Public participation is needed at the planning, project concept,
design, implementation and operation stage. Although decision
making is the key part of management. However participation
also involves a major role to play. People’s participation in
irrigation systems management can enhance agricultural
production. People directly involved in irrigation fall into two
categories:
Farmers: Peoples who make use of irrigation water for
agricultural purposes on their own land.
System Managers: People who are employed to manage and
make the irrigation system function work.
The Rajasthan Farmers Participation in Management of Irrigation
Systems Act (2000) provides farmers participation in the
Management of Irrigation System and for matters connected with
or incidental to. The act provides to draw or trace the outline of
water users' area and territorial constituencies. The Project
Authority, by notification delineates every command area under
each of the irrigation systems on a hydraulic basis which may be
administratively viable and declare it to be a water user’s area for
the purpose of this Act. Every water users' area shall be divided
into territorial constituencies which shall not be vary from four to
ten, as may be prescribed.
The Andhra Pradesh Farmers Management of Irrigation Systems
(APFMIS) Act, enacted in 1997 (Government of Andhra Pradesh,
1997), provides the basis for the take-over of the management and
maintenance of irrigation systems by Water Users Associations
(WUAs). This Act aims at reforms of irrigation management at
both system and agency levels, and devolves powers to the water
users.
The Water Users' Association shall perform the following
functions, namely:
1. To prepare and implement a warabandi schedule for each
irrigation season,
2. consistent with the operational plan, based upon the
entitlement, area, soil and
3. cropping pattern;
4. To prepare a plan for the maintenance, extension,
improvements, renovation and
5. modernization of irrigation system in the area of its operation
and carry out
6. such works of both distributary system and field drains in its
area of operation
7. with the funds of the association from time to time;
8. To regulate the use of water among the various outlets under
its area of
9. operation according to the warabandi schedule of the system;
10. To promote economy in the use of water allocated;
11. To prepare demand and collect water charges;
12. To maintain a register of land owners as published by the
revenue department;
13. To prepare and maintain an inventory of the irrigation
system within the area of operation;
14. To monitor flow of water for irrigation;
16. To resolve the disputes, if any, between its Members and
water users in its area of operation;
17. To raise resources;
18. To maintain accounts;
19. To cause annual audit of its accounts;
20. To assist in the conduct of elections to the Managing
Committee;
21. To maintain such other records, as may be prescribed;
22. To abide by the decisions of the distributary and Project
Committee;
23. To conduct General Body meeting in the manner, as may be
prescribed;
24. To encourage avenue plantation on canal bunds and tank
bunds by leasing
25. such bunds, and
26. To conduct regular water budgeting and also to conduct
periodical social
27. audit in the manner, as may be prescribed.