CHAPTER 6

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE ENGINEERING

 Introduction
• Agricultural production requires three basic elements soil, sunshine
and water.
Water is essential for plant growth and it serves the following
functions.
➢ It supplies moisture to the soil essential for the germination of
seeds, and chemical and bacterial processes during plant growth.
➢ It cools the soil and the surroundings, thus making the environment
more favorable for plant growth
➢ It washes out or dilutes salts in the soil.
➢ It softens clods and thus helps in tillage operations.
➢ It enables application of fertilizer
➢ It ensures crop success against short-duration droughts.
Introduction

▪ The moisture available in the root-zone soil is either

✓ From rain
✓ From underground waters
▪ This may not be sufficient for the requirements of the plant life.
▪ This deficiency of water is resolved by adding water to the root
zoon soil.
• Irrigation is the application of water to the soil to supply the
necessary moisture for plant growth, which cannot be provided
by natural precipitation.
• Irrigation is required in arid region
• Also profitable for productive agriculture in humid region
• The physical condition of the soil are improved and excessive
salt in the soil is leached.
Suitability of Land for Irrigation

• Arable land is composed of good quality soil suitable for

cultivation.
• Irrigable land is arable land for which sufficient moisture is
available by irrigation.
• Irrigation soil
• sufficient depth to allow root development
• ability to store water
• Suitable soil for irrigation must include certain portions of sand, silt
and clay.
• Sand: very permeable creates water-retaining problems
• Silt and Clay: too dense create permeability problems
• Sandy loam is ideal irrigation soil.
Suitability of Land for Irrigation
Soil-Water Relations
• Soil Texture: The sizes of particles in soil.
• Soil Structure: The arrangement of soil particles.
• Soil Tilth: The physical condition of the surface soil
• Real Specific Gravity, Rs: The ratio of density of a single soil
particle to the density of a volume of water equal to the volume of
the particle of soil.
• Apparent Specific Gravity, As: The ratio of the weight of a given
volume of dry soil, air space included, to the weight of an equal
volume of water.
• Porosity, n: The ratio of volume of voids to the total volume of soil
including water and air.
• The relation between n, Rs, and As:
Suitability of Land for Irrigation

• Soil Moisture Tension: The tensile for due to suction and capillarity.

• Soil Moisture Content, Pw: The ratio of loss of weight of soil

specimen in drying in the oven to the weight of water-free soil.

• It can also express by Volume Ratio, Pv:

Classes and Availability of Soil Water
Soil water can be classified as
▪ Gravitational Water is that part
in excess of hygroscopic and
capillary waters which can
percolate in the downward
direction by the action of gravity
• Capillary water: the moisture
contents of the soil after
gravitational water has been
removed
• Permanent wilting point:
Moisture content in the soil
when plant permanently wilt
• Hygroscopic Water: exist on the
surface of the soil grains in the
form of a thin film.
 Classes and Availability of Soil Water
1) Gravitational Water
▪ At this stage (at saturation) the soil pores are completely saturated and no more
water is absorbed by the soil
▪ The surface water then starts flowing downward due to the influence of gravity
▪ The volume of water that could easily be drained off due to the influence of gravity.
2) Field Capacity (FC or fc)
❖Defined as the amount of maximum moisture that can be held by the soil against
gravity
❖It is the moisture content that a given soil reaches and maintains after it has been
thoroughly wetted and allowed to drain freely.
❖In terms of soil water potential, it is defined as the water content corresponding to a
soil water potential of -1/10 to -1/3 bar
Classes and Availability of Soil Water

3) Permanent Wilting Point (PWP or wp)

▪ This is the lower limit of the moisture content of the soil.

▪ The forces of cohesion and adhesion holding moisture in soil far
exceed the pull that plant roots can exert to extract moisture from
the soil.
▪ The soil moisture fraction, at which the plant leaves wilt (or drop)
permanently
▪ Applying additional water after this stage will not relieve the wilted
condition and plants cannot recover from water stress
▪ Soil water content beyond which actually there is some amount of
water in the soil but it is not enough to use to plants sustainably.
Classes and Availability of Soil Water

4) Hygroscopic water
▪ Water attached to soil particles
through loose chemical bonds is
termed hygroscopic water.
▪ This water forms very thin films
around soil particles .
▪ This water can be removed by
heat only
▪ It is not available to the plant or
the water content below the
permanent wilting point.
▪ At this stage the growth of plants
are stopped and ultimately the
plants are dead.
Classes and Availability of Soil Water

• Available Moisture: the difference in moisture content of the soil

between field capacity and permanent wilting point.

Table 7.2 Physical properties of soil

Questions in irrigation

1. How much to irrigate (irrigation depth)

2. How often to irrigate (frequency)
3. How long to apply the irrigation water (time)
4. How to apply irrigation water (methods of irrigation)
How much to irrigate (Irrigation depth )

Total Available Water (TAW) = (Fc - Pwp )*Y

Where: Y root depth

• Readily Available Moisture: The portion of the available moisture

that is most easily extracted by plants is 75% of the total available
moisture.
• In practice, for most of the crops, removing not more than 25% of
the available water from each sub-root zone will produce maximum
yield.
 How much to irrigate (Irrigation depth )

• Readily Available Moisture, RAM: for any sub-root zone.

RAM=TAW*MAD
Where: MAD is manageable allowed depth

RAM

RAM ( mm)
Ta =
ic ( mm / hr )
Example 6.1

The field capacity and permanent wilting point for a given soil are 35%
and 18% (in a volume basis), respectively. The allowable moisture
depletion is 63% for the Tomato crop to be grown. The effective root
depth is 1.0m. Given the bulk density of soil as 1.3g/cm3 and porosity
as 45%, compute
A) TAW
B) Readily available water
C) None readily available water
D) Gravitational water
E) Hygroscopic water
 Solution

Solution
A. TAW=(Fc-Pwp).y
=(0.35-0.18) *1
= 170mm
B. Readily available water =63% of TAW
= 0.63*170mm=107.1mm

C. NRAM= TAW-RAM=170mm-107.1mm=62.9mm
D. Gravitational water=(n-Fc)y=(0.45-0.35)1m=100mm
E. Hygroscopic water=(pwp-0)y=(0.18-0)1m=180mm
 Determination of Irrigation Water Demand

• To find irrigation water demand:

• The consumptive use or the evapotranspiration from the planted
area is required for irrigation water demand.
• Evapotranspiration = Transpiration + Evaporation
• There is a number of the method for evapotranspiration.
✓Blaney-Criddle method
✓Thornthwaite method
✓Penman combination method
 1. Blaney-Criddle Method

• Estimation of potential evapotranspiration (consumptive use or

CWR) is carried out by correlating it with monthly temperature,
percent daytime hours, and length of growing season.
• PET for a crop during its growing season is given by

ETo = Σp (4.6t +81.3) ETc = Σ kcETo= K Σ ETo

100
• p = mean daily percentage of annual daytime hours
• ETo= reference Evapotranspiration(mm/month)
• Kc= crop coefficient
• t= average To =(Tmin+Tmax)/2
 Cont’d

Kc curve

Development –change in phenological stage

3
Growth-change in size;

4 Most
Water Requirement

2 critical
2
1 stages

Initial Mid season Late season

Development
Days 15-25 25-40 15-25 35-40 10-15
15-25
40-65
55-85
90-130
100-145

19
Table :the ratio of monthly daytime hours to annual day time hours
Crop Irrigation water requirement (CIR)

• It is the amount of water which is supplied by irrigation.

• It is equal or less than the crop water requirement.

• If irrigation is the only source of water, ETC(UC) = CIR

• If the crop receives some of its water from other sources (rainfall,

water stored in the soil, underground seepage, etc.) it estimated by

CIR •

where Pe: monthly effective precipitation

Example 6.2

 Wheat is to be grown at a certain place, the useful climatological

conditions are tabulated in the table below. Determine:
A) The Evapotranspiration
B) Consumptive irrigation requirement
C) Field irrigation requirement if the water application efficiency is
80%.
Use Blaney-Criddle method and take crop factor 0.8
 Solution
Month Mean Monthly Effective
monthly temp percentage rainfall ,cm
(°C) of sunshine Therefore, Seasonal
(hours) consumptive use,
November 18 7.20 2.6 Etc(Uc)= Kc Σ ETo
December 15 7.15 2.8 = 0.8 × 43.54cm
January 13.5 7.30 3.5 = 34.83 cm
Consumptive irrigation
February 14.5 7.10 2.0
requirement (CIR)=Etc-
Solution Pe= 34.83cm-10.9 cm
Month Mean Monthly Effective Monthly = 23.64cm
monthly % of rainfall (cm) consumptive use Field irrigation
temp. (°C) sunshine Pe factor(cm)
requirement = CIR/ Ea=
t (hours) ETo= p(4.6t +81.3)
p 100
23.64cm/0.8 =29.55cm

Nov 18 7.20 2.6 11.82

Dec 15 7.15 2.8 10.74
Jan 13.5 7.30 3.5 10.48
Feb 14.5 7.10 2.0 10.50
Total ΣPe = 10.9 ΣETo= 43.54
 2. Thornthwaite Method

• This equation produces monthly estimates of Et using

assumptions similar to those of the Blaney–Criddle method:

where Et is evapotranspiration (cm), T is the mean monthly

temperature (°C), and a and I can be estimated as follows

and

24
Irrigation Efficiencies
 Example 6.3
 Calculate the conveyance and field water application efficiency of an
irrigation system when a stream of 95 l/s received at the farm gate after
being diverted from a canal delivered 72 l/s to the field. During irrigation
to wheat crop for 8 hrs, 350 m3 and 158 m3 of water respectively were lost
by runoff and deep percolation.
Solution
Given
• Wr= 95 l/s *8*60*60s=2,736m3
• Wf=72l/s*8*60*60=2,073.6m3
• Runoff=350m3 ; deep percolation loss=158m3
• WS=2073.6m3-350m3-158m3=1565.6m3
Required
𝑊𝑓 2,073.6𝑚3
A. Ec = *100= 3 *100=75.79%
𝑊𝑟 2,736𝑚
𝑊 1565.6𝑚3
B. Ef = 𝑠 *100= *100=75.5%
𝑊𝑓 2073.6𝑚3
Exercise

 Delivery of 10 m3/s to a 32 ha farm is continued for 4 hours from

the field inlet. Soil probing after irrigation indicates that 30 cm of
water has been stored in the root zone. Compute the application
efficiency.
Irrigation Efficiencies

Where; CIR is a crop irrigation requirement

The number of hectares which can be irrigated by unit discharge

(i.e Q = 1 m3/s) flowing continuously for through out the base
period.
 Example 7.4

 If 3 m3/s of water supply is required for crop sown in area of 5100

hectares, the duty of irrigation water is
5100ha/3 m3/s =1700ha/m3/s

Delta
• It is the total depth of water required by a crop during entire base
period. It is also called consumptive use.
Example
• If a rice requires about 10cm depth of water at an average interval of
about 10 days and the crop period for rice is 120 days find out the
delta for rice?
Irrigation Water Quality
Irrigation Water Quality
Irrigation water quality guidelines
Irrigation water quality guidelines

=
Irrigation methods

Uncontrolled
Flooding irrigation

Border irrigation
Surface
irrigation
Basin irrigation
Irrigation
methods Sub surface
irrigation Furrow
irrigation

Sprinkler
irrigation
Pressurized
irrigation
Drip irrigation

34
Surface irrigation methods

Basin irrigation method Furrow irrigation method

 Pressurized irrigation method

Sprinkler irrigation method Drip irrigation method

Design of Irrigation Systems
Design of Irrigation Systems
Open Channel Networks
Open Channel Networks
Canalet Networks
Irrigation Networks – Pipe Networks
Irrigation Networks – Sprinkler Networks
Irrigation System Design
Irrigation System Design
 Drainage of Irrigated Land

▪ Water is component of all landscape designs that cannot be

ignored.
▪ Water issues include
• Scarce (availability)
• Too much
• Uneven Distribution (temporal and spatial)
• Water flowing across an undesirable point(flooding)
▪ Drainage is removal of excess water which exist either on the
surface or in the root zone of crops
Drainage of Irrigated Land

Sources of Excess Water

Drainage of Irrigated Land

 Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and

sub-surface water from an area.
 Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production
or to manage water supplies.
 Drainage of Irrigated Land

 Purpose:
 to remove excess water
 Benefits:
 Reduced salinity under irrigation

 Reduced soil erosion

 Better seed germination and establishment

 Better plant growth, health, and yield

 Less wear and tear on machinery

 Early seeding date and more flexibility

 Drainage of Irrigated Land
Eight Drainage Principles
1. Water flows downhill
2. Whenever it rains you have the potential for runoff.
3. The greater the intensity of the rain, the greater the potential for
runoff.
4. Reducing the permeability of the soil increases runoff.
5. Increasing the non-permeable area will increase runoff.
6. Water or silt on walkways during, or after a rain, is an indication of
poor design.
7. A good landscape plan includes drainage in the plan.
8. Drainage plans rely upon slope, pipes, berms or other structures to
control the direction the water flows
• Drains can be either surface or sub surface based on condition of
water to be removed and or a combination
 Surface drainage method
• Used on agricultural land with a high tendency of water ponding due
to slow infiltration rate
• Surface drainage is controlling the flow of water using slope and
shaped surfaces.
• Shaped surfaces
• Swales
• Ditches
• Berms
Surface drainage method

• Before a decision is made on the type and size of the drainage

structure or storage structure that is needed, the peak runoff rate
and total volume of runoff must be determined.

• The peak rate of runoff is required when sizing drainage channels

and pipes

• The total amount of runoff is needed to size a pond.

Estimating Peak Runoff Rates

• Several methods are available.

A. Mc Math’s Method
Estimating Peak Runoff Rates

A) Mc Math’s Method
 Estimating Peak Runoff Rates

A) Mc Math’s Method
Example
Determine the capacity of a collector for the following information by
using Mc Math’s method. The soil type is medium and the flat
topography is well covered with vegetation. The length of collector is
4km. The elevation difference between the upstream and downstream
end is 30m. The drainage area is 1000ha. The design rainfall intensity
is 16mm/hr.
 Estimating Peak Runoff Rates

• Solution
A=1000ha; i=16mm/hr; L=4km=4000m; h=30m;
C1 for Medium soil=0.16; C2 for well covered area=0.12; C3 for flat
land=0.04
So C=C1+C2+C3=0.16+0.12+0.04=0.32
Slope(S)=h/L=30/4000=0.0075
➢Then the design discharge capacity of the collector can be determine
using Mc Math’s formula
Estimating Peak Runoff Rates
B. Rational Method
Subsurface Drainage
 Subsurface Drainage
❖ Subsurface drainage systems are used when the drainage problem
is mainly that of shallow water tables.
❖ Subsurface drainage is thus used to control the level of
groundwater so that air remains in the root zone.
❖ It is accomplished by deep open drains or buried pipe drains
(Horizontal drainage) or by using tube wells (vertical drainage).
Subsurface Drainage
 Subsurface Drainage
• The principal design parameters for both open trenches and
pipe drains are spacing and depth.
 Subsurface Drainage
• The most commonly used
equation for the design of a
subsurface drainage system is the
Hooghoudt Equation
expressed in depth of water
removal (m/day)
• d = Equivalent depth of substratum
below drainage level (m)

S2 =
(4k h ) + (8k dh)
1
2
2
q
Where:
• S = Drain spacing (m)
• k1 = Hydraulic conductivity of soil
above drain level (m/day)
• k2 = Hydraulic conductivity of soil
below drain level (m/day)
• h = Hydraulic head of maximum
groundwater table elevation above
drainage level(m)
• q = Discharge requirement
 Subsurface Drainage
• The equivalent depth, d is found by the equation:

D
d= for 0  D / S  0.3
1 + (D / S )(8 /  ) ln(D / ro ) − 3.4

S
d= for D / L  0.3
(8 /  )ln(S / ro ) − 1.15

• ro is drain radius
Since d is a function of the unknown drain spacing, S, the
calculation requires several trials to come to the solution.
 Subsurface Drainage

Example
• A drain pipe of 10cm diameter should be placed at a depth
of 1.8m below the ground surface. Irrigation water is
applied once every 7 days. The irrigation water losses,
recharging the already high groundwater table, amount to
14mm per 7 days and have to be drained away. An average
water table depth, z of 1.20 m below the ground surface
has to be maintained. k1 and k2 are both 0.8 m/day
(uniform soil). The depth to the impermeable layer D is 5
m. What should be the drain spacing?
Subsurface Drainage
Solution
• q = 14/7 = 2 mm/day or 0.002 m/day and h = 1.80 – 1.20 = 0.60 m
• The calculation started by initially assuming the drain spacing.
• After determining d, the assumed S should be checked with the
calculated S from the Hooghoudt Equation.
• Let us assume S = 90 m.
• Thus, D/S = 5/90 = 0.056, substituting in the equation,
• d= D
for 0  D / S  0.3 d = 3.42m.
1 + (D / S )(8 /  ) ln(D / ro ) − 3.4

• Substitution of all known parameters in the Hooghoudt

Formula gives

S 2
=
(4k h ) + (8k dh) (4  0.8  0.6 ) + (8  0.8  3.42  0.6)
1
2
2
=
2
S = 84.5m
q 0.002
 Subsurface Drainage

Thus, S = 84.5m, which means that the assumed drain

spacing of 90 m is different from calculated. Assume now
84.5m and find d, then S until they will acceptably be
equal. Now, new d=3.35 and then new S=83.7. With further
Assumption of S=83.7, d=3.34, S=83.6m
Quiz
Write and explain the four questions in irrigation.