Ways to Improve Efficiency in Flood Irrigation Systems

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Ways to Improve Efficiency in Flood Irrigation Systems

Surface irrigation sometimes gets a bad rap, and a representative of a pioneering Australian-based company out to automate gravity fed systems pointed this out at a rare presentation on improving efficiency of various forms of flood irrigation.

Pot_irrigation_by_On-line_drippers.JPGThe irrigation industry in general, with the exception of the people in this room, if you tell them you want to maximize efficiency with drip irrigation, they’ll put you on their shoulders and throw money at you,” said Alan Jackson, area manager for Rubicon Water.

“If you tell them you want to maximize efficiency with flood irrigation, they pat you on the head and tell you ‘Enjoy your delusions.’”

Jackson and other speakers at the workshop held at the Kearney Agricultural Center in Parlier, Calif.  did their best to point out that improving efficiency of surface irrigation is not a delusion.

He was preceded at the podium by Eduardo Bautisto, research hydraulic engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service based in Maricopa, Ariz. Jackson pointed out that Bautisto had cited “significant improvements you can make.”

Alternative irrigation designs

Bautista, who spoke on improving the hydraulic performance of surface irrigation systems, said irrigation models are tools that allow growers to examine the potential performance of alternative irrigation designs or operational scenarios while taking into account criteria including the length and width of a field, sloping land, and inflow rate.

Bautista cited the use of surface water and efforts at achieving greater efficiency in Australia, where Rubicon Water is headquartered. With more than a decade and a half of drought in that country, it’s no stranger to the challenges of coping with less water.

Most land in Australia is surface irrigated and there are typically long runs, Bautista said. Growers there must wrestle with high energy and labor costs, and unpredictable surface supplies, which is a disincentive to investing in pressurized irrigation.

Established in 1995, Rubicon has sold more than 20,000 control and measurement devices to irrigation districts and farms in 10 countries.

Its FarmConnect systems allow farmers to remotely manage their gravity irrigation. The company has automated flume gates that optimize delivery of water through canals and eliminate spillage at the end of ditches.

FarmConnect provides alarms, soil moisture monitoring, graphing, mapping, automation, and a help menu. Jackson emphasized that all systems – whether drip or flood – “have their applications and all require management.”

Shrinking California snowpack?

Bali said the importance of irrigation efficiency is underscored by warnings that California’s statewide snowpack is projected to shrink drastically, by about 25 percent by 2050. He added that improving efficiency means reducing losses of nutrients, pesticides, and water; and increasing distribution uniformity.

Surface irrigation is just that. It means that water moves on the surface and is not pressurized. It can take forms that include furrow irrigation, use of contour basins, surge irrigation, and border strip irrigation.

Bali said the use of furrow irrigation is rapidly declining in vegetable crops.

He said the runoff rate for border irrigation is between 5 and 20 percent. For furrow irrigation, it’s 15 to 30 percent. The surface runoff means nutrient and pesticide losses and deep percolation.

Basin irrigation

Bali said there is usually no runoff with basin irrigation. He said deep percolation is sometimes needed for salinity control, and it can be helpful to recycle runoff water, but that may require the use of energy.

Bali recommends regular inspection of the irrigation system, including looking at pressure levels, the flow rate, the filtration system, and leaks.

Daniele Zaccaria, UCCE agricultural water management specialist, discussed irrigation systems and energy efficiency. He touched on groundwater pumping and the need to make sure the equipment is operating efficiently.

It’s expected that his presentation, which was brimming with formulas for determining efficiency, will be posted, along with those of other speakers, at http://ucanr.org/irrigationsoils.

Zaccaria said common causes of poor pumping performance include wear, clogged impellers, and poor suction conditions.

Source: Western Farm Press

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  1. In the Jordan Valley in Israel we used surface irrigation in level basins with concrete ditches and subsurface drainage to control salinity until 1980. We began drip irrigation in order to improve several factors, save water by controlling depth of wetting below the root zone, efficiency of supplying smaller quantities of water at certain times, such as after light rainfalls or after planting.

    ir also allows application of fertilizers several times as needed by the plants. Drip irrigation has reduced man hours for irrigation.

    We now irrigate larger areas more efficiently and at lower costs over time.

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