Design of Irrigation water

systems-CIV224

Santhosh M B
Course Instructor In charge
 *Important
• This course is divided into three modules
Module 1- Introduction to Irrigation & Water requirement of crops
Module 2- Canal Irrigation
Module 3- Dams & Spillways
This is a 3 credit course.
Fundamentals of Irrigation systems will be covered in this course.
Please do not be dependent only on the lecture material. Refer to
textbooks, case studies, current affairs related to the topic for a better
understanding.
Introduction to Irrigation
PART 1 of Module 1
 Irrigation
• Irrigation is defined as the process of
artificial supply of water to soil for
raising crops.
• It is a science of planning and designing
an efficient, low-cost, economic
irrigation system.
• It is the engineering of controlling and
harnessing the various natural sources
of water, by constructing dams and
reservoirs, canals and headworks, and
finally distributing the water to the
agricultural fields.
Necessity of Irrigation
• Uncertainty of monsoon rainfall:
80% of rainfall in India is received
during monsoon period. Monsoon
rainfall is very uncertain. So
irrigation is very important to
supply water to plants also and
when needed.
• Uneven distribution of rainfall:
To compensate the uneven
distribution in an area,
supplemental irrigation is needed.
Necessity of Irrigation
• Difference in water holding capacity of the soil:
Sandy soil - low WHC – frequent irrigation.
Clay soil - high WHC - frequency is less
• Cultivation of high yielding crops:
High yielding crops produce heavy biomass and economic yield.
Higher biomass need more water for its production. Hence
supplementation of water as irrigation is essential.
Objectives of Irrigation

• to supply the water for the nutrition and growth of plant

• to remove the stress condition of plants.

• to leach or wash out injurious salt form the soil.

• to maintain the temperature and humidity of the soil.

• to reclaim fallow land.

Merits of Irrigation
• Increases agricultural productivity and allows for multiple cropping
during an year
• Employment opportunities.
• 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
Demerits of irrigation
• Water logging
• Intense irrigation results in cold and damp environment which may
cause disease like dengue and malaria
• Ground water pollution due to percolation of fertilizers
Irrigation: Sources
• Surface- Rivers, lakes,
tanks etc
• Sub-surface source-
Groundwater- Wells &
Tubewells
Surface sources in Karnataka
 Irrigation Projects
• In India, irrigation projects are classified as-
Major (having culturable command area or CCA more than 10,000 ha)
Medium (CCA between 2,000 ha to 10,000 ha)
Minor (CCA below 2,000 ha).
The source of water in major and medium schemes is surface water while the
dominant source in minor schemes is ground water.
• The ultimate total irrigation potential from major, medium, and minor irrigation
schemes has been estimated as 140 M-ha.
• Out of this, 76 M-ha would come from surface water and 64 M-ha from ground
water sources.
• The ultimate potential from major and medium projects is about 59 M-ha and it is
81 M-ha from minor projects.
Irrigation Projects :Karnataka
• http://waterresources.kar.nic.in/ongoing.htm
Methods of Irrigation
Methods of Irrigation
1- Surface Irrigation- In this technique water flows and spreads over the surface
of the land. Varied quantities of water are allowed on the fields at different
times.

2- Sub Surface Irrigation-

• In this type of irrigation, water does not actually wet the surface of soil rather
it flows underground and nourishes the plant roots by capillarity.
Types of sub surface irrigation
• 1.Natural sub surface irrigation- leakage from channels
• 2.Artificial sub surface irrigation- network of perforated pipes laid below soil
to supply water by capillarity.
Methods of Irrigation
1. Flow Irrigation- Flow irrigation is that type of irrigation in which the
supply of irrigation water available is at such a level that it is
conveyed on to the land by the gravity flow.
Perennial Irrigation - In perennial irrigation system, the water
required for irrigation is supplied in accordance with the crop
requirements throughout the crop period.
Weirs or barrages are required to store the excess water during floods
and release it to the crops as and when it is required.
Methods of Irrigation
Inundation irrigation is carried out by deep flooding and thorough saturation of
the land to be cultivated which is then drained off prior to the planting of the crop.

Direct irrigation
Storage irrigation

2. Lift Irrigation- Lift irrigation is practiced when the water- supply is at too low a
level to run by gravitation on to the land.
In such a circumstances water is lifted by mechanical means. Irrigation from
wells is an example of lift irrigation, in which sub- soil water is lifted up to the
surface and is then conveyed to the agricultural fields.
Methods of Irrigation

Direct Irrigation Storage Irrigation

Irrigation Projects
• Famous Lift Irrigation projects-
Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project-
https://www.kaleshwaramproject.com/

Ramthal Lift irrigation-

http://pmksy-mowr.nic.in/aibp-mis/Manual/Ramthal%20Micro%20Irrig
ation,%
20karnataka.pdf

Pattiseema lift irrigation- http://

journalcra.com/sites/default/files/issue-pdf/33520.pdf
 Surface methods
1. Free flooding
2. Basin irrigation
3. Border irrigation
4. Furrow irrigation
5. Sprinkler irrigation
6. Drip irrigation- Most efficient
Free flooding
 Free flooding
Uncontrolled Surface 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
1. No land levelling & land shaping required
2. Low labour and land preparation costs
3. Less skill required by irrigator
Furrow Irrigation
 Furrow Irrigation
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 time the
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.
 Furrow Irrigation
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
Border Irrigation
 Border Irrigation
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 .
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. 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.
Basin Irrigation
 Basin Irrigation
• In this method, water is allowed to stand in level plots surrounded by
small bunds. The plots mays be square, rectangular or irregular and
ranges from 3m X 2m to 30m X 30m.
• This method is adopted in fine textured soils to obtain the desired
penetration and is widely practiced in India.
• In basin method, small basins are made round the stem of the plant
to receive water from the supply ditch. The stem of the plant is
covered by heaping the earth to avoid direct contact with water.
• Basins can be made large as the plants grow. The method is good for
orchards and steep lands, if the soil is high.
Sprinkler Method
 Sprinkler Method
• 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.
Advantages
• Pressurised irrigation method.
• Lands having steep slopes and erodible soils and undulating terrain
that would be too costly to make smooth for use.
• Irrigation efficiency is about 80%.
• It is also suitable to coarse sandy terrain where the percolation loss is
more and where as a consequence, the frequency of irrigation
required is more.
Advantages
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.
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.
Disadvantages-

• Evaporation loss is high.

•Causes interference in farming operations due to network system.
•Winds may disturb sprinkler pattern
•High initial cost.
•Requires large electrical power and constant water supply.
•Cannot be used for crops which require frequent and large depth of
water like paddy.
Drip Irrigation
 Drip Irrigation
• 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.
Advantages- Drip Irrigation
• It is a latest advancement over other methods.
•In this method irrigation water is conveyed on the surface in 12 to 16
mm diameter tubing’s fed from large feeder pipes.
•The water is allowed to drip or trickle slowly through the nozzle or
orifices at practically zero pressure. In this way the soil in the root-zone
of crops is constantly kept wet.
•Water is applied at very low rate 2-10 litres/hour.
Advantages- Drip Irrigation

• It helps in optimum utilization of irrigation water by reducing

percolation and evaporation losses on one hand and by maintaining
appropriate water content in the root-zone of plants.
• There is no chance of land getting waterlogged and thereby becoming
saline or alkaline.
• By using this method crops can be grown successfully over the saline
lands also.
•Irrigation efficiency is 90%.
•This method has been found to be of great value in reclaiming and
developing desert and arid areas.
Advantages- Drip Irrigation

• The fields do not get infested with weeds and pest due to non-
availability of excess water.
•It helps in economical use of fertilizers since they are applied along
with irrigation water in solution with it.
•The fields do not get eroded or degraded since there is no excessive
use of water on the fields.
•The main drawback of this method is its high cost.
Comparison
Micro Irrigation
Quality of Irrigation water

• Sediment
• Total concentration of soluble salts
• Proportion of sodium ions to other cations
• Potentially toxic elements
• Bacterial concentration
• Bicarbonate concentration
 Salinity hazard

Excess salt can result in a physiological

drought condition. Thus, even though
the soil in the field appears to have
plenty of moisture, the plants will wilt.
This occurs because the plant roots are
unable to take up soil-water.

The total soluble salts (TSS) content of

irrigation water is measured either by
determining its electrical conductivity
(EC)
Sodium hazard

• The sodium hazard of irrigation

water is expressed as the
‘sodium adsorption ratio (SAR)
• Continued use of water with a
high SAR value leads to a
breakdown in the physical
structure of the soil – a situation
caused by excessive amounts of
adsorbed sodium on soil colloids.
This breakdown in the soil
physical structure, results in the
dispersion of soil clay and that
causes the soil to become hard
and compact when dry
Classification of Irrigation water based on
Electrical conductivity of water.
S.No Type of water Use in irrigation

1 Low salinity water (C1) For all crops and all soils
EC= 100-250 Micro mhos/cm at 25 degrees Celsius

2 Medium salinity water (C2) Normal salt tolerant crops can be

EC= 250-750 Micro mhos/cm at 25 degrees Celsius grown

3 High salinity water (C3) Not to be used for soils with

EC= 750-2250 Micro mhos/cm at 25 degrees Celsius restricted drainage. High salt
tolerant plants can be grown.
4 Very high salinity water (C4) Not suitable for irrigation
EC > 2250 Micro mhos/cm at 25 degrees Celsius
SAR- Sodium absorption ratio
Toxic elements
• Boron>0.3ppm – Toxic to crops
• For most tolerant crops , boron < 4ppm
Based on value of EC in micro mhos /cm , soil can be called as saline or
alkaline.
EC> 4000, Saline soil
EC< 4000, alkaline soil/Sodic Soil