72 research outputs found
Automated Pumping Station for Reuse of Irrigation Runoff Water
Common practice in the United States has been to allow surface runoff
from irrigation systems to leave the farm and return to the canal system
or natural stream. Currently, however, because of increased water
demand, the trend is to collect and reuse this runoff water. Reuse of collected
runoff water increases overall farm irrigation efficiency and decreases
the total amount of water that needs to be pumped or delivered to
the farm. Pollution of natural streams is reduced by stopping the flow of
silt and nutrients that may be contained in surface runoff water. Other benefits
such as reducing drainage costs and improved weed control accrue
from multiple use of return systems. These systems are readily adapted
to automation, and automated or semiautomated pumping stations can be
used advantageously in many return flow systems
Erosion and Sedimentation on Irrigated Lands
Most erosion on irrigated land is caused by the irrigation itself.
Surface irrigation -- where water is applied directly to the surface as in
furrow or border irrigation -- can be very erosive. Data from southern Idaho
show that large quantities of sediment may be generated within an irrigation
system; however, less sediment may be returned to the river than is diverted
with the water supply. Technology for reducing erosion from irrigated fields
is available: irrigation systems may be modified or changed, fields may be
leveled or profiled to nonerosive slopes, tillage operations can be reduced,
vegetative filter strips and drain ditch elevation control will remove
sediment, or sediment ponds may be used after runoff leaves the field.
Erosion and sedimentation are active processes on much of the irrigated land
of the United States. Erosion may be caused by rainfall or wind, but the
bulk of the erosion on irrigated land is caused by the irrigation itself
Design of Recirculating Irrigation Systems
THE reuse of runoff water is becoming
an integral part of the farmer's
irrigation operation, especially where
water costs are relatively high. Reuse
of runoff water collected by recirculation
systems from one or more fields
decreases the amount of water that
needs to be pumped or delivered to the
farm and can improve water-application
efficiency on individual fields. It
also reduces contamination of natural
streams by stopping the surface flow
of silt and any nutrients that may be
contained in the runoff water
Turbulent Flow Self Cleaning Trash Screens
Trash and weed seeds are a major problem to irrigators, particularly those
using gated pipe or siphon tube irrigation systems. Trash in surface irrigation
systems often stops or reduces flow through gates or siphons resulting
in inadequate irrigation of the furrows served. Constant surveillance
to clean trash out of these orifices is impractical. Weed seeds passing
through an irrigation system are distributed throughout the field causing
extra tillage operations and reducing yields
Management Guidelines for Controlling Sediments, Nutrients, and Adsorbed Biocides in Surface Irrigation Return Flows
Sediments in irrigation return flows arise
mostly from furrow erosion, and nearly all
nutrients and biocides in surface irrigation
return flows, except those applied directly to the
water, are adsorbed to the sediments. Therefore,
controlling erosion and sediment loss in these
surface return flows also controls the nutrients
and biocides. There are three general management
approaches for controlling sediments in
return flows. The first is to eliminate surface
runoff by using irrigation methods that produce
no runoff. These methods include properly
designed and operated sprinkler systems; basin,
trickle, and some border and level furrow
methods. The second approach is to eliminate or
reduce erosion by controlling the slope in the
direction of irrigation, the furrow stream size,
the run length, the irrigation frequency and
duration, and tillage practices. The third is to
remove sediments from surface return flows by
controlling the tailwater and utilizing sediment
retention basins. All three approaches are
applicable and necessary for adequate control
in most irrigated areas. Available technology
needs to be integrated and applied to these
approaches. Research to develop improved
irrigation systems and methods, improved
irrigation water distribution systems, and
better field management practices, and
research on design and operational criteria for
sediment retention basins are needed
Automatic Irrigation Gate
Much labor is required to irrigate cropland with conventional
methods and equipment. The scarcity and high cost of good farm labor
generally results in inefficient irrigation with the result that the crops
either receive insufficient water or that too much water is used, resulting
in a waste of that sometimes rare commodity.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide means for
automatically opening a gate in an irrigation ditch. Another object is
to provide means for so opening the gate at a predetermined time. Still
another object is to provide means for automatically reclosing the gate
and resetting the release mechanism when the water has run out of the
ditch. These and other objects that will be obvious to those skilled in
the art are achieved by means of the invention described below
Recirculating Irrigation Water
Recirculating irrigation runoff water is a method of making more effective
use of irrigation water. Reuse of runoff water decreases the amount of
water that needs to be pumped or delivered and can be used to improve water
application efficiency. It also reduces the possibility of pollution of natural
streams from irrigated land. Other benefits are reduced surface drainage costs,
improved weed control and the saving of irrigation labor. Reuse systems are
readily adapted to automation and can be used advantageously in modern labor-saving,
automated and semi-automated irrigation systems
Cast-in-Place 2-Foot Concrete Trapezoidal Flow-Measuring Flumes
Procedures are presented for casting 50-ft^2/sec trapezoidal water measurement
flumes in 2-foot bottom width lined and unlined ditches. Drawings and
construction details for the concrete forms used are also presented. Flumes
installed in concrete-lined ditches require about 13 man-hours and cost about $230.
Flow can be determined for both free and submerged flow conditions from rating
tables with depth measured in a sitting well or with a sloping gage on the flue sidewall
The Development of Automatic Irrigation Structures and Devices
(missing...) developed during the study are discussed in this paper. Brief mention will also be
made to those structures for which development has been discontinued, since this information
may be of interest to other researchers and possibly used in designing specialized
structures. During the study, emphasis was placed on developing fully automatic
structures which would operate from the energy of water flowing in the ditch and not require
an external power source. The structures shown in Figure 1 were developed
and field tested by the authors while located at Boise, Idaho
Recirculating Farm Irrigation Systems
A survey of systems for recirculating runoff water from irrigation
in southern Idaho shows little evidence of formal system design.
Systems were constructed to handle approximately 20 percent of the
volume of irrigation water. Costs of the systems vary with the type
of installation. Sequence, reservoir, and cycling sump systems each
has certain advantages. Recirculating systems are not effective unless
the water is applied to a different area than that which is contributing
runoff. Recirculating irrigation systems can raise water application
efficiencies to 80 percent
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