Soil salinity has often become a long-term problem associated with irrigated agriculture in the a... more Soil salinity has often become a long-term problem associated with irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions. But the problem can be controlled by good management of surface and groundwater resources. Management of groundwater is achieved through drainage, although drainage may not be necessary for some time after the initial construction of a scheme. This paper introduces a regional model for predicting expected soil salinity conditions and groundwater depths over an irrigation scheme. The model considers all the main hydrological systems which influence soil salinity and makes optimal use of sparse point field data from grid surveys. The model can be used to identify priority areas for reclamation measures, ie areas where conditions combine to produce high salinity levels. Thus drainage development can be phased over a period of time and targeted where it will be most effective.
Improvements to normal operational procedures are investigated for the main types of irrigation s... more Improvements to normal operational procedures are investigated for the main types of irrigation system identified in Sri Lanka. Scheduled and unscheduled changes of flow regime the systems are likely to experience and the opportunities for improved operations related to the physical characteristics of each type are analyzed. Performance of several alternative manual operational procedures are evaluated and compared using a hydraulic model (Simulation of Irrigation Canal, SIC) for three different irrigation subsystem types (Single Bank canal; Double Bank canal; Canals with intermediate Storage). Results of these simulations show that current practice, based on a fixed frequency of operation of 12 hrs and a target water depth set to the spill level of the cross-regulator, is not far from the optimal for systems without on-line storage. A slight improvement can be expected if the frequency of operation is increased to 6 hrs. For systems with on-line storage it is recommended to split operational procedures into two parts, one related to the canal and one to the storage. Among different options investigated, discharge control at the downstream regulator of the storage appears to be the most reliable as it performs well whatever operation procedures are selected for the canal. Irrigation systems in Sri Lanka are subject to frequent positive flow changes (Supply fluctuations, Runoff, Return-flow changes). As far as water management is concerned, improvements to be expected from normal operation procedures appear to be somewhat limited because management of flow changes is not an objective. For instance little effort is made to harvest runoff under the current practices. One conclusion of the study is that new strategies for the harvest, storage and release of positive flow changes should be tested and, where appropriate, implemented to improve the overall efficiency of operation in irrigation systems in Sri Lanka.
A water management study of Warabandi in northwest India in 1983 developed a methodology for asse... more A water management study of Warabandi in northwest India in 1983 developed a methodology for assessing the performance of large scale smallholder irrigation schemes by observing irrigated areas and carrying out random crop cutting. A study of Warabandi in 1988 took a shorter amount of time and concentrated on direct measurements of flow and seepage in order to assess the performance of the physical conveyance system. This paper contrasts these two approaches and gives practical guidance on how to go about carrying out a rapid assessment of the performance of the physical conveyance system of an irrigation scheme.
The introduction of computer assisted irrigation scheduling to a 20,000 ha smallholder rice and s... more The introduction of computer assisted irrigation scheduling to a 20,000 ha smallholder rice and sugarcane irrigation project in Thailand has provided an opportunity for continuous performance assessment. The provision of weekly information on performance is exerting an influence on the management of the system thus enabling timely response to operational problems. Kraseio Project has been operating with an improved water management system for two seasons, incorporating simple performance indicators, namely: actual versus targetted supply, along with equity, reliability and adequacy measures. Over these seasons the value of regular feedback of performance information has been demonstrated, in terms of increased awareness by project staff of operating constraints and their ability to quantify project performance.
Agricultural policy makers were helped to construct and use a decision support system (DSS) to id... more Agricultural policy makers were helped to construct and use a decision support system (DSS) to identify problems and assess potential solutions for a river basin in Sri Lanka. Through building the DSS themselves, policy makers should reach better decisions. The main aim of the study was to test whether this could be done using a tool called a Bayesian network (BN) which is accessible to non-specialists and able to provide a generic, flexible framework for the construction of DSS. Results from a workshop indicated that the approach showed promise, providing a common framework for discussion and allowing policy makers to structure complex systems from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The need for a multi-disciplinary perspective was clearly demonstrated. The study also suggested improvements to the ways in which BNs can be used in practice. Further workshops with farmers highlighted the importance of involving them in the planning process and suggested more effective ways of doing this while using BNs.
Soil salinity has often become a long-term problem associated with irrigated agriculture in the a... more Soil salinity has often become a long-term problem associated with irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions. But the problem can be controlled by good management of surface and groundwater resources. Management of groundwater is achieved through drainage, although drainage may not be necessary for some time after the initial construction of a scheme. This paper introduces a regional model for predicting expected soil salinity conditions and groundwater depths over an irrigation scheme. The model considers all the main hydrological systems which influence soil salinity and makes optimal use of sparse point field data from grid surveys. The model can be used to identify priority areas for reclamation measures, ie areas where conditions combine to produce high salinity levels. Thus drainage development can be phased over a period of time and targeted where it will be most effective.
Improvements to normal operational procedures are investigated for the main types of irrigation s... more Improvements to normal operational procedures are investigated for the main types of irrigation system identified in Sri Lanka. Scheduled and unscheduled changes of flow regime the systems are likely to experience and the opportunities for improved operations related to the physical characteristics of each type are analyzed. Performance of several alternative manual operational procedures are evaluated and compared using a hydraulic model (Simulation of Irrigation Canal, SIC) for three different irrigation subsystem types (Single Bank canal; Double Bank canal; Canals with intermediate Storage). Results of these simulations show that current practice, based on a fixed frequency of operation of 12 hrs and a target water depth set to the spill level of the cross-regulator, is not far from the optimal for systems without on-line storage. A slight improvement can be expected if the frequency of operation is increased to 6 hrs. For systems with on-line storage it is recommended to split operational procedures into two parts, one related to the canal and one to the storage. Among different options investigated, discharge control at the downstream regulator of the storage appears to be the most reliable as it performs well whatever operation procedures are selected for the canal. Irrigation systems in Sri Lanka are subject to frequent positive flow changes (Supply fluctuations, Runoff, Return-flow changes). As far as water management is concerned, improvements to be expected from normal operation procedures appear to be somewhat limited because management of flow changes is not an objective. For instance little effort is made to harvest runoff under the current practices. One conclusion of the study is that new strategies for the harvest, storage and release of positive flow changes should be tested and, where appropriate, implemented to improve the overall efficiency of operation in irrigation systems in Sri Lanka.
A water management study of Warabandi in northwest India in 1983 developed a methodology for asse... more A water management study of Warabandi in northwest India in 1983 developed a methodology for assessing the performance of large scale smallholder irrigation schemes by observing irrigated areas and carrying out random crop cutting. A study of Warabandi in 1988 took a shorter amount of time and concentrated on direct measurements of flow and seepage in order to assess the performance of the physical conveyance system. This paper contrasts these two approaches and gives practical guidance on how to go about carrying out a rapid assessment of the performance of the physical conveyance system of an irrigation scheme.
The introduction of computer assisted irrigation scheduling to a 20,000 ha smallholder rice and s... more The introduction of computer assisted irrigation scheduling to a 20,000 ha smallholder rice and sugarcane irrigation project in Thailand has provided an opportunity for continuous performance assessment. The provision of weekly information on performance is exerting an influence on the management of the system thus enabling timely response to operational problems. Kraseio Project has been operating with an improved water management system for two seasons, incorporating simple performance indicators, namely: actual versus targetted supply, along with equity, reliability and adequacy measures. Over these seasons the value of regular feedback of performance information has been demonstrated, in terms of increased awareness by project staff of operating constraints and their ability to quantify project performance.
Agricultural policy makers were helped to construct and use a decision support system (DSS) to id... more Agricultural policy makers were helped to construct and use a decision support system (DSS) to identify problems and assess potential solutions for a river basin in Sri Lanka. Through building the DSS themselves, policy makers should reach better decisions. The main aim of the study was to test whether this could be done using a tool called a Bayesian network (BN) which is accessible to non-specialists and able to provide a generic, flexible framework for the construction of DSS. Results from a workshop indicated that the approach showed promise, providing a common framework for discussion and allowing policy makers to structure complex systems from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The need for a multi-disciplinary perspective was clearly demonstrated. The study also suggested improvements to the ways in which BNs can be used in practice. Further workshops with farmers highlighted the importance of involving them in the planning process and suggested more effective ways of doing this while using BNs.
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Papers by Ian Makin