Pond Size Calculation for Farm Irrigation
Published on by balbir singh, researcher on water for agricultural irrigation in Academic
I do research in the field of water use in agricultural irrigation and I want to make a sustainable irrigation source for farmers in India.
What size of the pond would be big enough for irrigation supply of the 2.5 acres area for 4 months for crops which don't require too much water?
The idea is that the pond is lined with a polyethene sheet and filled during the rainy season by rainwater harvesting.
How can I make these calculations? Are there any such formulas?
Which factors influence the equation the most and which are negligible?
Which depth should the pond be? Is the depth of 1 m okay or should it be deeper with a smaller surface to reduce evaporation?
Taxonomy
- Agriculture
- Irrigation
- Crop Farming
- Irrigation Management
- Irrigation Design
- Crops
20 Answers
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this is doesn't evaporation for special vegetation, for sloping land. try a few plants to way out
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You first have to determine the Crop water Requirement of the Crops you are Designing for, and determine the irrigation method you are going to use. then calculate the irrigation Frequency.After that you can determine the volume of water needed for Irrigating in one cycle, and then you can calculate the total volume needed.
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You first have to determine the Crop water Requirement of the Crops you are Designing for, and determine the irrigation method you are going to use. then calculate the irrigation Frequency.After that you can determine the volume of water needed for Irrigating in one cycle, and then you can calculate the total volume needed.
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You first have to determine the Crop water Requirement of the Crops you are Designing for, and determine the irrigation method you are going to use. then calculate the irrigation Frequency.After that you can determine the volume of water needed for Irrigating in one cycle, and then you can calculate the total volume needed.
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hi
1. to irrigate 2.5 acres the pond size needed is 100x50x5 ft deep & lined with 5 micron laminated polythene lining. the excavated soil is to be made into bunds of 1.5 ft high around the pond & mariegold flower plants planted on the bunds to prevent evaporation by winds.
2. 50 discarded tires can be floated on the pond water to further reduce the waters surface area to reduce evaporation from the sun. watering of crops requiring less water should be sown & to be irrigated in the evening when the suns heat is less to reduce evaporation.
3. the purpose of planting marigold plants as this destroys the rice pests & in addition attracts bees which increases polenation of crops to give a higher yeild.
4. this water from the pond will last 3-4 months & is also required for drinking of the farm animals in the hot months
5. for any further clarification please mail me at om.pune@yahoo.in
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Formulation of the problem needs further input such as :
- Describing inflow such as rain fall intensity and distribution,
- Quantifying out flow such :
- crop planning,
- evaporation and transpiration needs which in turn depends on temperature and sunshine hours.
- type and frequency of irrigation,
- storage evaporation and conveyance losses etc
- topography of the land
Storage is a function of the inflow and out flow to satisfy the irrigation requirement which has to be worked out based on cropping plan for the area for individual cases.
CROPWAT is a program by FAO site for the purpose
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Friends, we want to Know the level of Land, how the water is stored,what is the type of soil,Mud or Laterite ,etc is important in the construction of POND.Necessary SLOPE should be given to sides otherwise it will collapse. How you are taking the water from the pond etc. How much Litters of water needed for the Cultivation,Source of water,Rain water etc. all should be Known. If you can give the details we can work out.
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size of pond will be different for different locations as surface runoff, evaporation, depth of pond, soil type, ET crop are likely to vary with site conditions. Crimgold formula, which considers different water budgeting components can be used.
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1 what is the source of water? if from a small stream the elevation of the water in the pond cannot be higher than the surface of the water in the stream.
2 the bottom of the pond the outlet must be higher .than the fields to be irrigated.
3 a topographic map showing the irrigated area, the pond site and the source of water is necessary
4 you should know how much water is needed per day for each crop, how often to irrigate and how much evaporation there will be from the pond
5Example: storage per hectare of pond
a) what is the evaporation average per day? 6m"m which is 60 cubic meter per hectare
for a growing season of 100 days you need 100 x 60 =6000 cubic meters of water. to reduce evaporation the smaller the surface area the less evaporation. The temperature and moisture of the air affect evaporation.
The sides of the pond should have a slope of 2.5 meters for each meter of depth. A 4 meter depth will need 10 meter width . The pond must have anextra 0.5 -1.0 meter depth to prevent overtopping caused by winds.
The earth excavated for the pond storage should be used as embankment around the pond.
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Sustainable would also mean that the pond is refilled naturally. The quality of water will also influence the amount of water needed to be stored as well as heat exposure and evap calculations. Water Quality can be aided by adopting the G7Water catalyst on the outbound line to the plants. Thus providing ionized minerals, better surfactant potency, SOD, increased oxygen & hydrogen. All allowing for less water use and healthy plants with great yields.
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The capacity of the pond is determined from a contour survey of the site at which the pond is to be located. From the contour plan of the site the capacity is calculated for different stages using the trapezoidal or simpson’s rule. For this purpose, the area enclosed by each contour is measured using a planimeter. According to the trapezoidal rule, the volume V between two contours at an
interval H and having areas A1 and A2 is given by,
V = H/2(A1+A2)
Using Simpson’s rule the volume between any odd number of contours is given
by,
V= H/3(Twice of area of odd contours + 4 times are of even contours +Area of the first and last contours)
This formula is also known as the prismodial rule. For using this equation, the number of contours should be odd i.e. the number of intervals considered should be even.
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Actually it can be calculated by simple water balance method. But it should be based on places, crops to be grown, water holding capacity of soil and its properties as well as agro-climatic conditions .
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If you have the evaporation and rainfall, you can use crop factors to calculate the demand. A simple water balance can be used for either an average or dry period. http://epa.tas.gov.au/documents/use_of_recycled_water_december_2002.pdf includes the basics for a water balance (although from a treated effluent disposal viewpoint).
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Dear Dr Singh. This is question we often get asked and there is a very handy method for considering the size and computing the chances that such a pond will run dry (climate variability) and how big it may need to be to reduce the risk of it running dry (with the proviso that some climate events are beyond management for some types of infrastructure i.e. you may not be able to build a small farm-based reservoir big enough for your purposes if drought runs for years (California until recently). We have a software product and impact model that considers historical daily rainfall patterns, size of catchment area, yield required (how much irrigation water you wish to extract) and how much risk you wish to carry for the pond running dry. Not only does the tool help to define the size (storage volume) of the reservoir it can be run with the consideration of climate change with a full range of GCM/RCM data (we have post processed that for all countries and regions) that is used to perturb historical rainfall data from your local area (that data is derived from a number of sources depending on your location). Get in touch with us for a demo version of the software info@climsystems.com. We have published papers and full documentation available. All the best. Peter
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Dear Dr Balbir Singh, We are in to the business of micro irrigation. With the crops such as cereals, Pulses and Oil seeds ( as mentioned in your mail low water consuming crops), the daily water requirement in case of micro irrigation can be assumed at 3-4 mm per day ( which is equivalent to 30- 40 m3/ha/day). Total water required in a season thus would be 40 x 120 = 4800 m3/ha. In this, evaporation losses can be added and you can arrive at the volume of the pond. You may have to leave some free board. I think it would be better to keep the depth more than 1 m, say 3-4 m would be ok. Do you agree with me ? Thanks and regards Somnath Jadhav, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd
1 Comment
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Interesting. Is there any documentation on Micro-irrigation?
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The construction of a Pond needs the quantity of water How many Litters water is needed per day- Then we have to calculate 20% loss and find out the quantity.After that you can construct a Tank with Polythene.If you can give 50% additional water you can develop this as a Fish farm also. That will give you income from the Pond. Any way it is a GOOD idea and if needed we are ready to support you since we have experience in constructing and Developing Ponds at NOCERGRAAM with only Rain water.
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Dear Balbir,
I have been doing some similar projects in Kenya and this may help. We built artificial catchments using MDPE (on low value land) which channel rainwater into a lined reservoir. The catchment has a very high recovery rate and is effective even in ASAL areas due to their size (we are using approx 1500m2). The reservoirs have an average capacity of 250m3 are about 3m deep (depending on soil type and depth to bedrock) and are covered with shade netting on a frame to reduce evaporation and contamination. They are also fenced (as is the catchment) to prevent access by children and animals. We use a hand powered pump (moneymaker) to remove water directly to fields or into storage tanks.
The size of the catchment and storage are dependent on the local rainfall patterns and daily irrigation requirement. We have used figures of 4-8m3/acre/day for a drip irrigation system but this is quite variable depending on plant type and stage of growth.
I would happy to run your figures through a simple program I have developed. You are welcome to contact me for more advice. You can see photos of the system on
https://www.facebook.com/pg/GreenWater-193329114107387/photos/?tab=album&album_id=734108900029403
Kind regards,
Sarah
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Bonjour Balbir Singh
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La revalorisation des eaux usées pour une agriculture biologique productive.
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English
Hello Balbir Singh
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