CIVL 404 IRRIGATION AND

DRAINAGE ENGINEERING
INTRODUCTION
(2021/22)
IRRIGATION - DEFINITION

 Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the

soil for crop production.

 Naturally, the soil medium is used for plant

production but soil-less media and other media
can also be used.
IRRIGATION

 Irrigation is not a substitute for rainfall but it is

intended to supplement rainfall.

 But in areas where rainfall is too small or virtually

non-existent, irrigation can be used to provide all
the crop water requirements
IRRIGATION – HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVES
 Ancient civilizations rose over irrigated areas

 Egypt claims having the world's oldest dam, 108m

long, 12m high, built 5,000 years ago

 6,000 years ago, Mesopotamia supported as many

as 25 million people.

 The same land today with similar population

depends on imported wheat for food
IRRIGATION – IMPORTANCE /
PURPOSE

 About twenty percent (20 %) of the world’s arable

land is said to be under irrigation, yet provides 40 –
50 % of the world’s food and fiber requirements.

 Irrigation therefore can produce more crop yield

per unit area of land.
IRRIGATION – IMPORTANCE /
PURPOSE (cont.)

 Irrigation ensures crop and food security and

improves farm income and the economy of a
nation.

 It allows for a more efficient use of water for crop

production. Crop water productivity is improved,
implying more crops per amount of water used.
IRRIGATION – IMPORTANCE /
PURPOSE (cont.)

 Providing insurance against short duration

droughts
 In temperate regions, reduces the hazard of frost
(increase the temperature of the plant)
 Reduces temperature during hot spells
 Washes or dilutes salts in the soil
 Softens tillage pans and clods
 Delays bud formation by evaporative cooling
 Promotes the function of some micro organisms
CHALLENGES FOR IRRIGATION
AND DRAINAGE ENGINEERS

 Depletion of natural resources (soil and water)

 Salinization of soil

 Lower productivity of soil

 Desertification
ROLE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

 The supply of water at farm turnout

 Water storage
 Water conveyance
 Supplying water WHEN needed and by the
QUANTITY needed - irrigation scheduling
 Drainage - surface and sub-surface
SOURCES OF MOISTURE FOR
PLANT GROWTH
 Precipitation (includes rain, hail, snow)
 Frequency, Intensity, Depth/Amount

 Atmospheric water

 Flood water

 Ground water
 SUPPLEMENTARY AND TOTAL
IRRIGATION

Irrigation can be classified into two depending on

rainwater availability: 1) supplementary irrigation;
and 2) total irrigation
 Supplementary irrigation is practiced in the humid
and semi-humid areas of the world and suggests
that crop water requirements are met through
precipitation and irrigation.
 It can be expressed mathematically as:
Crop water requirements = Rainfall + Irrigation
SUPPLEMENTARY AND TOTAL
IRRIGATION

 Total irrigation requires providing full crop water

requirements from irrigation.
 It is practiced in the arid and semi-arid areas
where rainfall amount is too small or virtually non-
existent.
 It can be expressed mathematically as:
Crop water requirements = Irrigation
GRAVITY AND PUMPED
IRRIGATION

 Irrigation schemes can be classified depending on

the mode of water delivery into 1) gravity schemes
and 2) pumped schemes.

 Gravity schemes: water delivery is entirely by

gravity from the source to the farm and should
happen only if the farm level is lower than the level
of water source.
GRAVITY AND PUMPED
IRRIGATION

 Pumped schemes: water delivery is by pumping

under pressure from the source to the farm. If farm
level is higher than the level of water source, the
water is delivered by pumping.

 Gravity and pumped schemes: On the same

irrigation scheme, it is possible that water delivery
can be done by both gravity and pumping
depending on the landform.
IRRIGATION IN GHANA
IRRIGATION IN GHANA

 The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority

(GIDA) is responsible for the development and
management of irrigation in Ghana

 Established in early nineteen sixties as Land

Planning and Soil Conservation Unit (LPSCU) of the
Ministry of Agriculture.
IRRIGATION IN GHANA
(cont.)

 1964: Upgraded to the Irrigation Reclamation and

Drainage Division (IRDD)

 1974: Transformed into a complete Department

called the Irrigation department

 1977: became an autonomous entity through

Irrigation Development Authority Decree (SMCD
85)
FUNCTIONS OF GIDA

 To formulate plans for the development of

irrigation in the country;

 b) To develop the water resources of the country

for irrigated farming, livestock improvement and
aqua culture;

 c) To execute comprehensive programmes for the

effective use of irrigated lands in cooperation with
other agencies involved in providing extension
services to farmers;
FUNCTIONS OF GIDA (cont.)

 d) To carry out land use planning in areas

earmarked for development in order to conserve
the soil and water resources in those areas;

 e) To lay out the environs of each project area for

housing purposes and for the provision of other
social amenities;
 FUNCTIONS OF GIDA (cont.)

 f) To cooperate with other agencies for

safeguarding the health and safety of all people
living within and around irrigation project areas;
and

 g) To undertake such other activities as are

incidental or conducive to the discharge of its
functions as defined by the decree
 Major Irrigation Schemes Developed
by GIDA
Region Name of Potential Actual Area Status of Scheme
Scheme Area (ha) developed(ha) Existing Scheme
Belebor 120 120 On-going Project
Upper West
Tono 2,490 2,490 Existing Scheme
Upper East
Vea 852 852 Existing Scheme
Bontanga 570 570 Existing Scheme
Northern Yapei 194 50 Existing Scheme

Subinja 121 121 Existing Scheme

Brong Ahafo Tanoso 115 100 Existing Scheme

Ashanti Akumadan 125 125 Existing Scheme

Central Okyereko 111 111 Existing Scheme
Weta(Afife) 950 880 Existing Scheme
Volta Aveyime 150 150 Existing Scheme
Torgorme 2000 450
Weija 1,500 200 Existing Scheme
Greater Accra Kpong 3,028 3,028 Existing Scheme
Dawhenya 450 450 Existing Scheme
Tono Main Canal – aerial view Kpong Irrigation - Rice Fields

Tono Irrigation scheme– aerial

view Kpong Left Bank - Main Canal
SCOPE OF IRRIGATION SCIENCE

 AGRICULTURAL ASPECT

 ENGINEERING ASPECT
 Agricultural Aspect

 Water depth necessary in single application for

various crops

 Uniform and periodic distribution of water

 Capacities of different soils for irrigation water and

flow of water in soils

 Reclamation of waste and alkaline lands

 Engineering Aspect

 Storage, Diversion or Lifting water

 Conveyance of water to the fields

 Application of water to Agricultural fields

 Drainage and relieving water logging

 Development of power
THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM
 The Irrigation System

The typical irrigation system comprises:

 a) Intake structure or pump house connected to a
water source

 b) Conveyance and distribution system

 c) Field water application system

 d) Drainage system
Intake structure or pump house
connected to a water source

 Built at the entry to the irrigation system.

 Purpose is to direct water from the original source of

supply into the irrigation system

 Where the irrigation water source is at a higher level

than the level of the farm, the irrigation system is fed
by gravity from the source.

 Where the irrigation water source lies below the level

of the irrigated fields, a pump must be used to
supply water to the irrigation system.
Intake structure or pump house
connected to a water source (cont.)

 The water source can be surface water or

groundwater.
 Surface water can be a river, natural or artificial lake
(dam). Groundwater can be accessed by wells,
boreholes and wash bores.
 There can be direct abstraction of water from rivers
and lakes.
 In several cases, artificial reservoirs or lakes are
created by damming streams or rivers to even-out
the floods and the droughts by storing water when
there is more than enough and using it when there is
less than enough
Conveyance and distribution system
- Canals

 The conveyance and distribution systems consist of

canals or pipes transporting the water through the
whole irrigation system
 Canals are open channels dug in the ground, lined
or unlined and carry water from one place to
another.
 The lining involves placing hard and/or
impermeable materials on the canal surfaces to
stabilize the structure and to prevent it from caving
in due to erosion.
Conveyance and distribution system
- Canals (cont.)

 The lining material can be concrete mixtures,

geotextiles or even stable, cohesive soil materials.

 Unlined canals are preferred in stable, cohesive soils

with high resistance to erosion by raindrop impact
and water transport.

 According to the shape of their cross-section, canals

are called rectangular, trapezoidal, circular,
parabolic and irregular/natural.
Conveyance and distribution system
- Canals (cont.)

 The most commonly used canal cross-section in

irrigation and drainage is the trapezoidal cross-
section.

 This is considered to be the most stable due to the

sloping sides.

 Canals are constructed with a bed slope to enable

water to flow by gravity and the velocity of flow in
the channel depends on the bed slope.
 Types, functions and examples of
canal structures
Type of canal Function Examples
structure
Distribution control Controls flow distribution and directs Division boxes,
structure water to different places on the field checks, turn-out

Erosion control Controls erosion in the channel Drop structures,

structure carrying the water by reducing flow chutes
velocity or improving channel lining

Crossing structure Carries water across important land Culvert, inverted

marks without interfering in the use siphon, flumes
of such land marks

Water Measures flow in the canal as a Parshall flume, cut-

measurement means of monitoring water delivery throat flume, weirs
structure efficiency
Conveyance and distribution system
- Pipes

 Pipes are closed channels which are manufactured

in short sections and can be joined together to any
length using couplings.
 Pipes are available in different sizes and are made
of different materials but the commonest are the
PVC pipes.
 They are manufactured to withstand different
pressures and where such pressures are exceeded
without any mechanism for pressure release, the
pipe may burst.
Conveyance and distribution system
- Pipes (cont.)

 Flow in pipes result in friction head losses that occur

at the boundary between the moving liquid and the
pipe material.
 There are pipe accessories or fittings that enable the
installation of a network of pipes.
 These include hydrants, couplings, Ts, Ys, elbows,
expanders and reducers, pressure gauges, water
meters, pressure relief valves and other valves for
flow control.
Field Water Application System

 There are many methods of applying water to the

field.
 The simplest is fetching water with a bucket or
watering can from a source and applying it
manually to the field.
 Time-consuming, less efficient and can be applied to
only small fields.
 More sophisticated methods of water application
are used in larger irrigation fields.
 3 basic methods: surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation
Field Water Application System –
Surface Irrigation

 Involves flooding the field from a head ditch through

furrows, borders and basins.
 Requires reconstruction of the irrigation field
 A slight slope in the field allows for water applied at
one end of the field to advance to the other end.
 While the water advances on the surface, it
infiltrates into the soil as well such that the upper end
of the field receives more water than the lower end
of the field.
Field Water Application System –
Surface Irrigation (cont.)

 This non-uniform application of water suggests that

for all parts of the field to receive adequate
amounts of water into the soil, more water must be
applied, thus resulting in excessive runoff and deep
percolation losses.
 To minimize these losses, irrigation stream flow is
applied intermittently and not continuously.
 Irrigation efficiencies are usually low for this type of
field application method with typical values
between 40 to 55 %.
Field Water Application System –
Sprinkler Irrigation

 In this case, artificial rainfall is created.

 No need to reconstruct the field as in the case of
surface irrigation.
 Water is carried through a pipe system in which the
water is under pressure.
 The spraying of water in the form of rain is
accomplished by using several rotating sprinkler
heads or spray nozzles or a single gun type sprinkler.
 Typical efficiencies achieved are between 70 and
80 %.
Field Water Application System – Drip
Irrigation

 Also known as trickle irrigation

 Water is carried to the field through a pipe system
under pressure but requires an extensive network of
pipes called laterals that lead to every plant in the
field.
 These lateral pipes are fitted with drippers or emitters
to enable water application to be done slowly, drop
by drop near the plants.
 This system lends itself to chemigation which is the
combined application of irrigation and
agrochemicals in one process.
Field Water Application System – Drip
Irrigation (cont.)
 The drippers have the tendency to be blocked so
the system has primary and secondary filters that
remove most suspended solids in the water.
 It is the most capital extensive but the most efficient
of all the irrigation methods.
 Used mainly for high value crops such as fruits, nuts
and vegetables
 Irrigation efficiencies can be 90 % and above.
 Limitations: does not have sufficient soil moisture
buffer as in the case of surface and sprinkler
methods
Drainage System

 An irrigation system must be complemented by a

field drainage system
 Function: to manage excess water that may arise
from over-irrigation and excessive rainfall.
 Also, due to the intensive nature of cultivation,
continuous application of agrochemicals may result
in salt accumulation in the soil, and ultimately loss of
the productive potential of the land.
 Dealing with this issue will require leaching the root
zone with large amounts of irrigation water and
getting rid of the resultant poor drainage water
through field drains.
Drainage System

 Sometimes, the natural drain channels are used as

the storm drains in case of excessive rainfall.
 Drainage systems can be surface or subsurface.
 The surface drains remove excess water from the
surface of the field and these are achieved through
open surface channels.
 Subsurface drains remove excess water and salts
from the soil. These are achieved by deep open
drains and pipe drains installed underneath the
surface