Irrigation system

Definition:
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.

Sources of irrigation water:There are three main resources of irrigation water named as Ground water Rainfall Surface water

IRRIGATION WATER MANAGEMENT

Definition:
Irrigation water management is the process of determining and controlling the volume, frequency, and application rate of irrigation water in a planned, efficient manner. OR Water management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources.

Conjunctive Water Management: - The integrated management and

use of two or more water resources, such as an aquifer (groundwater) and a surface water body. OR The combined use of surface and groundwater systems and sources to optimize resource use and prevent or minimize adverse effects of using a single source; the joining together of two sources of water, such as groundwater and surface water, to serve a particular use.

COMPONENTS OF CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT: Conjunctive water management has two principal components, irrespective of whether it is practiced by individuals or implemented by a group of individuals as a coordinated program. These components are commonly referred to as:

Recharge Recovery

Recharge Methods
Aquifer recharge is dependent on many factors such as the required recharge rate and recharge volume which is related to water demand, the area available for recharge, the surface and subsurface geologic conditions in the groundwater basin, the availability of surface water for recharge, and the ability to distribute a surface water supply over the groundwater basin to accomplish recharge.

Recharge method is further divided as

Natural recharge Direct percolation recharge In-lieu recharge Fallowing Aquifer injection

Recovery method
The recovery component of conjunctive water management removes water from aquifer storage during times when it is needed. Recovery is primarily accomplished by extracting groundwater from wells. However, in less common situations natural recovery of shallow groundwater occurs when it discharges into surface water sources such as streams, rivers, and lakes. Depending upon the historical source of surface and groundwater used in a basin, groundwater extraction from wells can be categorized into two types: Direct extraction recovery Groundwater substitution recovery

Techniques of water management:IRRIGATION process or water management may be carried out by different ways depending upon the different conditions such as discussed below Surface irrigation system Sub-surface irrigation system Ground water irrigation system Drip irrigation system Sprinkle irrigation system

Suitability of irrigation method or technique:The suitability of the various irrigation methods, i.e. surface, sprinkler or drip irrigation depends mainly on the following factors: natural conditions type of crop type of technology Previous experience with irrigation Required labour inputs costs and benefits

LAYOUT OF IRRIGATION METHODS Or Water management Irrigation methods or Water management techniques

Surface irrigation

Sub-surface irrigation

Sprinkler irrigation

Drip irrigation

Border strip Furrow

Basin

Hand move laterals End pull laterals

Central pivot boom type

Ground water irrigation

Solid set

Natural

Artificial

Primary objective of water management:The primary objective of any irrigation method is to supply water to soil so that moisture will be readily available at all times for crop growth but without indiscriminately adding to the water table, as well as avoiding influence of soil salinity. An efficient irrigation method is that which best suits local conditions such as 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. soil characteristics kind of crop and its age crop rotation topographic condition available water flow underground water table condition (high or low) State of soil salinity.

Phases of water management : There are two phases in water management such as Canal water management or simply irrigation water management On farm water management

Surface irrigation system:In surface irrigation systems, water moves over and across the land by simple gravity flow in order to wet it and to infiltrate into the soil. Surface irrigation can be subdivided into Furrow Border strip Basin irrigation. It is often called flood irrigation when the irrigation results in flooding or near flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, this has been the most common method of irrigating agricultural land.

Sub-irrigation system:Sub irrigation also sometimes called seepage irrigation has been used for many years in field crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the water table to allow the soil to be moistened from below the plants' root zone. A system of pumping stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or decrease the water level in a network of ditches and thereby control the water table.

Sub-irrigation is also used in commercial greenhouse production, usually for potted plants. Water is delivered from below, absorbed upwards, and the excess collected for recycling. Typically, a solution of water and nutrients floods a container or flows through a trough for a short period of time, 1020 minutes, and is then pumped back into a holding tank for reuse. Sub-irrigation in greenhouses requires fairly sophisticated, expensive equipment and management. Advantages are water and nutrient conservation, and labor-saving through lowered system maintenance and automation. It is similar in principle and action to subsurface drip irrigation.

Sprinkler irrigation system:Sprinkler Irrigation is a method of applying irrigation water which is similar to rainfall. Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping. It is then sprayed into the air and irrigated entire soil surface through spray heads so that it breaks up into small water drops which fall to the ground. Sprinklers provide efficient coverage for small to large areas and are suitable for use on all types of properties. It is also adaptable to nearly all irrigable soils since sprinklers are available in a wide range of discharge capacity.

Jain Sprinkler system is an unique irrigation system. It is designed to ensure

maximum water saving, combining high quality, affordability and ease of installation. All the products are made out of high strength & chemical resistance engineering plastics to achieve functional satisfaction and to maintain cost economics. All sprinklers undergo extensive quality testing in our well equipped state of the art lab.

Sprinkler Irrigation Systems

Application of sprinkler irrigation system: Suitable for almost all field crops like Wheat, Gram, Pulses as well as Vegetables, Cotton, Soya bean, Tea, Coffee, and other fodder crops. Suitable for Residential, Industrial, Hotel, Resorts, Public & Government Enterprises, Golf Links, Race courses.

Drip irrigation system:Drip irrigation system is also known as micro irrigation system.

Definition:Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or microirrigation or localized irrigation , is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. It is done with the help of narrow tubes which delivers water directly to the base of the plant.

Drip Irrigation System Layout and its parts

Drip Irrigation for Garden

Drip irrigation for garden available in drip kits are increasingly popular for the homeowner and consist of a timer, hose and emitter. Hoses that are 4 mm in diameter are used to irrigate flower pots.

Ground water irrigation system: -From ground water source water

may be collected by different techniques namely Karazes Infiltration galleries Wells

Karazes and infiltration galleries extract groundwater horizontally while wells extract water vertically. This is only possible by proper water management scheme.

Some more water management techniques

Manual using buckets or watering cans

These systems have low requirements for infrastructure and technical equipment but need high labor inputs. Irrigation using watering cans is to be found for example in peri-urban agriculture around large cities in some African countries.

Automatic, non-electric using buckets and ropes

Besides the common manual watering by bucket, an automated, natural version of this also exist. Using plain polyester ropes combined with a prepared ground mixture can be used to water plants from a vessel filled with water. The ground mixture would need to be made depending on the plant itself, yet would mostly consist of black potting soil, vermiculite and perlite. This system would (with certain crops) allow to save expenses as it does not consume any electricity and only little water (unlike sprinklers, water timers, ...)

Using water condensed from humid air

In countries where at night, humid air sweeps the countryside, water can be obtained from the humid air by condensation onto cold surfaces. This is for example practiced in the vineyards at Lanzarote using stones to condense water or with various fog collectors based on canvas or foil sheets.

Indus Waters Treaty

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between the Republic of India and Islamic Republic Of Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Mohammad Ayub Khan. The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that since the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war. However, India did not revoke the treaty during any of three later Indo-Pakistani Wars.

Water Distribution System Before Independence:-

Before going to pre partition distribution it will be appropriate to have a close look at Indus Basin. Indus Bain is part of Indus River system where plains are stretched over a distance of 1528 km to the tidal delta near the Arabian Sea. The total catchment area of Indus River system spreads over 944473 Sq Km, out of which 553416 km exists in Pakistan. Agriculture is mainly concentrated around plains where it has been developed by harnessing principal surface water resources available. At the time of independence Pakistan had 29 canals to supply regulated supplies to an area of 11 million hectares besides an area of about 3.2 million hectares irrigated through inundation canals leading from Indus and its tributaries. These main canals included Uper Sutlej, Lower Sutlej, Shahpur and Chenab in Punjab, whereas, Rohri, Fuleli, Pinyari and Kalri in Sind. However, after construction of barrages these canals are no more inundation canals but get regular water supply.

Provisions Regarding Eastern Rivers (Sutlej, Ravi, Beas)

All the waters of the Eastern Rivers shall be available for the unrestricted use of India. Except for domestic and non-consumptive uses, Pakistan shall be under an obligation to let flow, and shall not permit any interference with, the waters of the Sutlej Main and the Ravi Main In the reaches where these rivers flow in Pakistan and have not yet finally crossed into Pakistan. All the waters, while flowing in Pakistan, of any Tributary which, in its natural course, joins the Sutlej Main or the Ravi Main after these rivers have finally crossed into Pakistan shall be available for the unrestricted use of Pakistan.

Provisions Regarding Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab)

Pakistan: Pakistan shall receive unrestricted use of all those waters of the Western Rivers.

India: - India shall be under an obligation to let flow all the waters of the
Western Rivers, and shall not permit any interference with these waters. a)

Violation with respect to Kishanganga Project

India is allowed to construct storage works up to 0.75 Million Acre Feet (MAF) on the tributaries of river Jhelum. India accordingly supplied information about Kishenganga Storage-cum-Hydroelectric Project to Pakistan in June, 1994. The Kishenganga Project envisages construction of concrete gravity dam on river Neelum near Kanzalwan with gated spillway and low-level outlets. Flow of Kishenganga River is to be diverted into the Wullar Lake through 21.6 KM tunnel after generating 330 MW of power. The Power House is located near Bunkot. The power storage in the dam is about 0.14 MAF.

Aftereffects of the Project

The diversion of flow from one Tributary to another Tributary (river Neelum to Madmati Nallah of river Jhelum) as proposed by India is likely to harm Pakistans power potential and Agricultural uses in the Neelum Valley and would have a direct bearing on the socioeconomic life and ecological aspects in the area downstream of Indian proposed project. Pakistan has already started Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project in AJK to generate 969 MW power. The Indian project, if constructed as per their proposed design, will result into 13.4% reduction in the average annual inflows of river at Neelum-Jhelum Dam site and 10.2% reduction in the power generation.

Current Status

In the meeting of the Commission held on 10-13 November 2005, the Indian Commissioner informed that revision in the design of their project is underway by reducing the dam height by 40 meters. However, the diversion of water and other features of the project are unchanged. It appears that India might revise the design of the project by changing the proposed project from Storage Work to Run-of-River project. In Run-of-River projects, India is allowed to divert water of a tributary of river Jhelum to another tributary, subject to taking care of Pakistans existing Agricultural and hydroelectric uses.

Pakistan raised objections on the diversion of flow and design of the dam/spillway. The matter was taken up with India through correspondence and meetings of the Commission. PakistanCommissioner recorded inability of the Commission in resolving the issue on 11 November 2005.Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters declared that a dispute has arisen between the Parties and initiated action for appointment of a Court of Arbitration as per the Treaty. Indian Commissioner has intimated on 20 April 2006 that India has reconfigured its project from Storage Work to Run-of-River Plant. PakistanCommissioner has asked India to unequivocally declare to abandon the Storage Work Project and stop construction on the project. The proposed new Run-of-River Plant will be examined in the light of Treaty provisions as and when India supplies information. b)

Violation with respect to Other Projects:The Salal Hydro Electric Project. The first important issue that

arose between India and Pakistan and was successfully resolved by the treaty is the Indian project of Salal Hydroelectric plant on the Chenab River. After protracted negotiations and discussions between the commissioners of the two countries and also at the level of foreign secretaries for about four years (December 1974 April 1978), the matter was amicably resolved. Pakistan agreed to the terms and an agreement known as Salal Agreement was signed at New Delhi on 14 April 1978. c) Wullar Barrage. Also known as the Talbul Navigation Project, the Wuller Barrage is the most controversial water project of India on river Jhelum. According to Indian Government the purpose of Barrage was to construct a control structure to improve navigation in Jehlum River during winters for transportation of fruit and timber between Srinagar and Baramula. Pakistan argues that this Project is a major breach to article I(11) of IWT and India may undertake its construction only after design has been approved by Pakistan and its storage capacity not to exceed 10,000 acre feet. Whereas the capacity of Wullar Barrage is 300,000 acre feet. India has not abandoned the Project but the work on the barrage is presently suspended. d) Baglihar Hydroelectric Project. India started construction of Baglihar Hydroelectric Project in 1999. The 450 MW hydropower Project is being constructed on the Chenab River near Ramban in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan has primarily opposed the construction of Baghlihar dam on the grounds that it violates IWT, which allows Pakistan to monitor the use of the water of the Chenab. A team of neutral experts appointed by the World Bank has inspected the Baghlihar dam site to resolve the issue. There are two other hydropower projects that India plans to build on the shared western rivers waters in the state of Jammu and Kashmir namely as

e)

Dul-Hasti Hydroelectric Project

And

f) Swalkot Dam Project, both on river Chenab. Pakistan has been opposed to these projects as these are in serious violation of Indus Water Treaty.

Future of the Treaty

Indias Perspective.

During the recent couple of years, a persistent campaign has been launched from the Indian side for the scrapping of the Indus water treaty. Throughout the print and electronic media of India, technical assessments and statements from high government officials to revise or terminate the treaty are widely published. The main concern in India is that the Indus water treaty does not address the irrigation and power generation needs in IHK region. Moreover, from the Indian perspective, the treaty imposes sever limitations on Indian utilization of western river waters, rendering the disputed territory of JK unable to sustain the growing power needs of this region.

Pakistans Viewpoint.

Technically, unilateral abrogation/modification or suspension of the treaty by India would amount to a breach of the treaty provisions. The Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties 1969 provides for specific grounds for questioning the validity of the treaty and these include: an error relating to a fact or situation, fraudulent conduct of the other state party, procurement of consent through corruption of states representative or coercing him etc. Pakistan also ruled out complete withdrawal from the treaty, calling to resolve the dispute amicably by making suitable changes in the design of hydro power projects in J and K without seriously disadvantaging Pakistan. This stance is also supported by Frontline Indian newspaper in which, A G Noorani argues. The fact that the State (J&K) was not consulted when the treaty was signed does not affect its validity.