IRRIGATION ENINEERING

Submitted TO:
Engr. Afzal Ahmed sb.
Submitted by:
Asad Masood
14-CE-142
Section B

Civil Engineering Department

University of Engineering & Technology Taxila
Irrigation is the controlled application of water to croplands. Its primary objective is to create
an optimal soil moisture regime for maximizing crop production and quality while at the same
time minimizing the environmental degradation inherent in irrigation of agricultural lands.
Irrigation is thus critical for food security in semi-arid and arid areas.

Irrigation has two primary objectives:

1. To supply the essential moisture for plant growth

2. To leach or dilute salts from the soil.

Irrigation water management deals with the frequency of irrigation, depth of water to be applied,
and measures to increase the uniformity of applications. Irrigation management should be a set of
practices designed to maximize efficiencies and minimize the labor and capital requirements of a
particular irrigation system.

History of the Irrigation Engineering:

Irrigation may be the single most strategically important intentional environmental modification
humans have learned to perform. While irrigation's impact has not always been as critical to the
global agricultural economy and food supply as it is today, it has always had major local impacts
and profound historical and social consequences. In the Bible's book of Genesis, we are told that
God's creation of humans was accompanied shortly thereafter by His assignation to Adam of the
stewardship of the irrigated orchard that was Paradise. The four lifegiving water heads of Judeo-
Christian Paradise are also mentioned in the 47th Surah of the Quran(I). Some anthropologists and
historians point to the development of irrigation as the catalyst for the interaction of engineering,
organizational, political and related creative or entrepreneurial skills and activities which produced
the outcome referred to as "civilization" (2-5). In the ancient Persian language, the word abadan,
civilized, is derived from the root word ab, water. Fundamental differences in social, cultural,
religious, political, esthetic, economic, technological and environmental outlook have been
attributed to modern groupings of humankind related to their use of irrigation. The earliest
archeological evidence of irrigation in farming dates to about 6000 B.C. in the Middle East's Jordan
Valley. It is widely believed that irrigation was being practiced in Egypt at about the same time,
and the earliest pictorial representation of irrigation is from Egypt around 3100 B.C. In the
following millennia,
irrigation spread throughout Persia, the Middle East and westward along the Mediterranean. In the
same broad time frame, irrigation technology sprang up more or less independently across the
Asian continent in India, Pakistan, China, and elsewhere. In the New World the Inca, Maya, and
Aztec made wide use of irrigation.
 The technology migrated as far North as the current southwestern U.S., where the Hohokam built
some 700 miles of irrigation canals in what central Arizona to feed their emerging civilization,
only to mysteriously abandon it in the 14th century A.D. In the ancient world, the level of irrigation
sophistication varied from one setting to the next. The differences, however, stemmed mostly from
variations in understanding of both large- and small-scale hydraulic principles, as well as the
capabilities to construct feats of hydraulic engineering. The Assyrians, for example, built an
inverted siphon into the Nineveh Aqueduct 700 years before the birth of Christ, an engineering
feat unrivaled until the 1860 construction of the pressurized siphons of the New York Aqueduct.
Some ancient irrigation schemes have survived to the present day where geologic, soil, and
climatic conditions were favorable and where then-known management principles were adequate
for the prevailing conditions. However, some ancient schemes failed. In the Mesopotamian Valley,
Syria, Egypt, and other areas throughout the Middle East, there were many cases where the
principles of salt management and drainage were insufficiently understood, resulting in eventual
permanent impairment of the land. Siltation of ancient dams and reservoirs is a testament to
inadequate soil conservation measures that eventually reduced the productivity of the land as well
as destroyed the capacity of reservoirs to provide an adequate supply of water. Erosion of irrigation
channels, in geologically unstable areas like the Chilean deserts, and catastrophic failure of
irrigation channels after earthquakes often defeated the best efforts of ancient engineers to maintain
water supplies. Modern irrigation technology probably began with the Mormon settlement of the
Utah Great Salt Lake Basin in 1847, and their eventual cultivation of nearly 2.5 million ha irrigated
across the inter-mountain western U.S. by the turn of the century. Whereas relationships of mass,
energy, and turbulence of flow were mastered at remarkably high levels of proficiency in ancient
cultures, understanding of chemistry and physico-chemical interactions of soil and salt-bearing
water was relatively meager even into the 19th century.
MODERN IRRIGATION TECHNIQUES:
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to plants. It had started as long as human beings
started growing the plants. Earlier, people have buckets to apply the water to plants. This method
of watering the plants is still in action, but also other methods have been invented. Out of these,
some methods are traditional which are used mostly at common level and some are modern
irrigation method.
1. Traditional irrigation methods:
 Check Basin Method
 Furrow Irrigation Method
 Strip Irrigation Method
 Basin Irrigation Method
2. Modern irrigation methods:
 Sprinkler Irrigation Method
 Drip Irrigation Method
 Pot Irrigation Method.

Here, we will describe only modern irrigation methods.

SPRINKLER IRRIGATION METHOD:

In present times, it is the simplest and easiest method of irrigation. In this method, water is
supplied to the field from source thorough pipes. This method is used in areas where there is
more scarcity of water and in high temperature regions, to maintain the humidity. It is mostly
used in sandy soils and in uneven ground level regions. By this method irrigation efficiency may
increase from sixty to ninety percent.
This method is installed in three ways.
• Permanent.
• Semi-permanent.
• Temporary.
In permanent installation, the pipes are installed permanently in the field. After, installation,
these pipes cannot be shift from its installed place. If the pipelines are installed underground,
then they may remain safe, while in case of above ground pipes there is chance of breakage.
Permanent installation is suitable in canal irrigated areas, where water is available for short time.
In semi-permanent installation, main pipelines are fixed below the ground while branch pipelines
are above the ground so that the whole land is irrigated by changing the place of branch
pipelines. In temporary installation, the pipelines are fixed temporarily, and their position can be
changed according to the requirement. In this method less investment is required.
However, there are some disadvantages like that this system is expensive. The crops can be
damaged by changing the pipes again and again. The water in the pipes should be clean,
otherwise pipes may damage more quickly.
DRIP IRRIGATION:
A new irrigation system is developed which is known to be drip irrigation or trickle irrigation.
This method was developed in Israel and after that it became popular in water scarcity areas.
This method is mostly used for irrigation in fruits and vegetables. This method can also be used
on uneven soils. In this method water is applied in the form of drops through nozzles which are
attached to tubes to irrigate limited area around the plant. The water may be saved by up to
seventy per cent as compared to flooding. Weeds may not grow because water is applied only to
the crops. We can also apply fertilizers and pesticides by this method through fertilizer tank and
can saves the fertilizers from thirty to sixty percent.
There are two types of drip irrigation. Surface and sub-surface drip irrigation. Surface drip
irrigation use water is less efficient than the sub-surface. Surface is a short-life span system while
sub-surface is long-life span. In surface drip irrigation, mechanical harvesting is not easier while
in sub-surface mechanical harvesting is easier.
There are some disadvantages of this system such as it is more expensive. This method is not
suitable for all the crops, it requires technical knowledge and plants may get nutrients in a
limited amount.
POT IRRIGATION METHOD:
The pot irrigation method may be considered as an alternative of the drip irrigation system. It
was originated in North Africa and Iran. This method is more suitable in areas of low rainfall. In
saline soils where flow irrigation is not suitable, this method is used.
In this method first of all pitchers are fixed in the ground up to the neck. These pitchers are filled
with water. Holes are made in these pitchers and water is applied to the nearest soil through these
holes by seepage. However, many factors affect the distribution of the humidity around the
pitcher. These factors may include type of soil, size of the pitcher and seepage of water from
hole. Distance between the two pitchers also affects the humidity distribution. Normally, the
distance between the pitchers should be kept in such a way that the humid area of pitchers may
not join.
There are some advantages of this method such as by this method only area near the pitcher gets
moisture. Evaporation losses are decreased. Seepage of the water below the ground remains
minimal. This method is less technical. Once the pitchers are fixed in the soil then they may
remain in soil for six years. This method is best for horticultural crops and vegetables.
However, there are also some disadvantages such as it is not suitable for all the crops. Water in
the pitchers should be clean otherwise it may block the holes. Only a limited area comes under
humidity.