Inception report on the Technical Assistance study (T.A. No. 1481-PAK): Crop based irrigation operations in the NWFP

Irrigation systems / Irrigation practices / Cropping systems / Water requirements / Pakistan

Development and Evaluation of a Cost Effective Plant Growth Media Moisture Sensor and Development of an Aqueous Data Transmission System for Irrigation Purposes

The ability to accurately monitor and transit the moisture content of soilless growing media in the rooting zone is critical for plant-based research, production of high value crops, and other agricultural production. The focus of this study is the development and evaluation of a cost effective moisture sensor designed to measure the plant-available moisture content of growing media and the development of a aqueous data transmission method for relaying this information back to a central location. While there are currently many commercially available soil moisture sensors on the market, the aim of this research is not to develop a more accurate sensor but to design a comparably capable sensor that is more cost effective for the end user to achieve a higher spatial resolution of their moisture measurement by incorporating more sensors over a given area. Traditional wired and wireless communication methods currently used in industry would require additional infrastructure to transmit this moisture data back to central local that adds to the cost of the system. The proposed aqueous data transmission system was designed to relay moisture sensor output utilizing the existing irrigation infrastructure for communication. This system, if commercialized, could improve currently employed automated irrigation for production systems by optimizing water management based on zone requirements, thereby increasing production efficiency while minimizing the potential for off-site movement of contaminates. Likewise, this low cost approach will allow a network of soil moisture sensors to address the spatial variation of moisture content within an area; thus permitting site-specific irrigation within a production area (field, greenhouse etc)

Evaluation parameters for computer aided design of irrigation systems

The research has entailed the formulation and coding of computer models for the design of pressurized irrigation systems. Particular emphasis has been given to the provision of routines for the evaluation of the expected performance from a designed system. Two separate sets of models have been developed, one for the block or in-field system and one for file mainline netWork. The thesis is presented in three seelions asfollows : * Basic theory, in which the general background to the research is covered. * The models, which includes detailed descriptions of both the design models and the computer programs. * Applications, in which several test casesof both sets of models are reported

Proceedings from the 1992 national conference

Presented at Irrigation and water resources in the 1990's: proceedings from the 1992 national conference held on October 5-7, 1992 in Phoenix, Arizona.Includes bibliographical references.Sponsored by U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage.Interdisciplinary teams for assessing the performance of irrigated agriculture systems -- Putah South Canal remote acoustic water level monitoring and flow measurement -- Decentralized constant-volume control of irrigation canals -- Field manufacture and application of reinforced plastic canal and pipe linings -- Improving channel maintenance methods for Egypt's irrigation systems -- Routing flood water through an irrigation delivery system -- Experience with flexible schedules and automation on pilot projects -- Canal linings used by the Bureau of Reclamation with emphasis on rehabilitation -- The California Farm Water Coalition: telling thirsty Californians why agriculture needs water -- Institutional framework and challenges in management of agricultural water use in South Florida -- Technology transfer lessons from a U.S. water district -- Management of water conservation through irrigation system modernization and rehabilitation -- Artificial recharge of groundwater -- Long-term storage through indirect recharge -- Mitigating agricultural impacts on groundwater through desalination -- Agriculture's impact on water resources in Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania -- How probiotic fertilizers improve irrigation efficiency, buffer salts, and reduce nitrate infiltration into groundwater -- Drought, supply shortages and E.S.A.: can the farmer survive? -- Avoiding pitfalls in canal automation -- AZSCHED computer software for irrigation scheduling -- Determination of irrigated crops consumptive water use by remote sensing and GIS techniques for river basins -- GIS and conjunctive use for irrigated agriculture -- Mapping technology in the '90's for GIS applications to irrigation and drainage

An Investigation of Engineering Decision-making in a California Clean Water Grant Project

The planning and design of an engineering project can be viewed as a series of decisions. It follows , therefore , that a project is well engineered when good decisions are made in an efficient manner. This investigation seeks to examine engineering decision making for the general purpose of providing insights which may improve the engineering decision-making process. The study centers around a project constructed under the Clean Water Grant Program in California. There are two reasons for this 1) the Clean Water Grant Program is presently (1979) the largest public works program in the United States and is therefore, significant to the field o f civil engineering in general, and 2) the author has worked in the program for several years. Despite the choice of a Clean Water Grant project, the investigation is, in most respects, illustrative of engineering decision -making in general and applicable to other types of projects. The first part of the investigation is an overview of engineering decision-making . Utilizing the literature, as well as examples from other Clean Water Grant projects, various bases on which decisions are made are explored considering also, some psycho logical aspects and philosophical implications of engineering decision-making. Also, some special too ls and approaches current in the engineering field are discussed. The second part investigates, in detail, the planning and design of wastewater facilities for the City of Taft, California. Its purposes area 1) to survey all decisions made in ·the planning and design of the project; and 2) to identify and discuss the basis of the decisions. The Taft project was selected for study for several reasons: 1) the limited scope of its design allowed the design decisions to be identified without becoming unwieldy; 2) it is typical of Clean Water Grant projects in many respects; 3) the planning and design were exceptionally well done; and 4) there were interesting and uncommon features to the project, especially in the planning phase. In addition, the project engineer was willing to discuss candidly the basis of the decisions in this project. This is in contrast with engineers on other projects, who, when approached by the author, were very reticent to discuss the true basis of their decisions. Finally, the author\u27s direct involvement in the project, by way of his duties working for the State Water Resources Control Board, greatly facilitated the investigation

Information techniques for irrigation systems: Selected proceedings of the Second International Network Meeting on Information Techniques for Irrigation Systems held in Lahore/Bahawalnagar, Pakistan, 5-8 December 1994

Irrigation management / Irrigation systems / Decision support tools / Decision making / Information systems / Computer techniques / Models / Water management / Malaysia / Pakistan / Sri Lanka

Design of on-farm reservoir for irrigation water supply in Karkata(Jharkhand, India)

This project tries to solve the water crisis that is suffering the village of Karkata, in Jharkhand, especially during the summer season. Getting a good understanding of the problem that most of the inhabitants of the village are suffering is the first and most important point that has to be reached, and this will be achieved by doing a visit to the village and undertaking several codesign workshops, a participatory technique that allows the requirements to be obtained directly from the main users so that they can remain at the centre of the solution. Once the problem has been defined, it is intended to design the best solution to improve this situation of water for irrigation at Karkata. For this purpose, the first thing that has been done is a detailed study of the physical characteristics of the area, a very important point since it allows us to better understand all its resources and how they can be sustainably exploited. In addition, a detailed study of the different crops has been carried out, mostly those which are available in the region, in order to obtain their water irrigation needs. As a result of all these studies, a first proposal of design is given in order to solve this problem, based on a rainwater harvesting system. In order to be a totally sustainable proposal and according to the villager’s capacities and needs, the design includes all the sizing of the installation for both the tank that is going to be used for storing the rainwater and the hydraulic and electrical systems. In addition to this study of the design, this project includes a detailed budget including consumables, permanent equipment and manpower, among others. It has been considered that the investment should be made to implement 2 tanks in different regions of Karkata, to be able to prove that the design works under different conditions. Although this budget may seem initially high, it must be taken into account that the Government of India is investing in the improvement of the conditions of farmers in the rural areas of the country. Specifically, Scheme nº6 of the Agricultural Engineering Schemes under Agricultural Engineering Department "Rain Water Harvesting and Runoff Management Program", provides benefits of 100% grants on the cost of works taken in land communities. That is why it is believed that when it comes to making this project, the fact of being able to benefit from the aid that the Government of India is granting is of great importance.Outgoin

Lost in optimisation of water distribution systems? A literature review of system operation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Optimisation of the operation of water distribution systems has been an active research field for almost half a century. It has focused mainly on optimal pump operation to minimise pumping costs and optimal water quality management to ensure that standards at customer nodes are met. This paper provides a systematic review by bringing together over two hundred publications from the past three decades, which are relevant to operational optimisation of water distribution systems, particularly optimal pump operation, valve control and system operation for water quality purposes of both urban drinking and regional multiquality water distribution systems. Uniquely, it also contains substantial and thorough information for over one hundred publications in a tabular form, which lists optimisation models inclusive of objectives, constraints, decision variables, solution methodologies used and other details. Research challenges in terms of simulation models, optimisation model formulation, selection of optimisation method and postprocessing needs have also been identified