Gravity –Basic considerations; design of supply canal, design of intake works,

Furrow, Basin Irrigation; Boarder

Basic considerations-Irrigation requirements

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the water use of grass (in mm/d) under standard conditions.
Local estimates may be available from meteorological offices. With a computer, the reference
evapotranspiration and net irrigation requirements can be estimated using the FAO CROPWAT
program and the CLIMWAT database. Additional water has to be supplied to take account of field
application losses which, with surface irrigation, are typically about 40% giving an application
efficiency of 60%.

The field irrigation requirement represents the rate (in mm/d) at which water must be delivered to
the field to prevent the crop suffering a shortage of water. Use data from the feasibility study.

Design command area

The required canal discharge depends on the field area to be irrigated (known as the 'command
area'), and the water losses from the canal. For a design command area “A” (m2), the design
discharge required “Q” (l/s) for irrigation hours “H” every day, is given by the field-irrigation
requirement multiplied by the area, divided by the time (in seconds).
Supply Canal design
Water may be conveyed from the source to the field by unlined or lined canal; pipeline; or a
combination of the two. The unlined canal is the most common method in use. A typical cross-
section of an unlined earthen canal for small-scale irrigation is shown below.

fb

1
D
d

Figure 1: Cross-section of unlined earth canal

Use data from feasibility study and topographic survey in designing the surface irrigation
system; water supply is by gravity flow.

14
To minimize losses, the canal banks should be built from clayey soil and constructed in
layers, with each layer compacted using heavy rammers.
The required size of the canal can be decided using Manning’s formula:
0.5
A x R 0.67 x S o
Q
n
Where: Q = discharge (m3/s). Note: 1 m3/s = 1000 l/s
A = wetted area (m2)
R = hydraulic radius (m) (= wetted area/wetted perimeter)
So = slope (fraction) for example 0.001 (or 1 m/km)
n = Manning’s roughness coefficient (commonly taken as 0.03 for small irrigation
canals)
Refer to a design chart for other assumptions.

Design computations Analysis

Scheme design example

Determination of Crop Water Requirements
Reference evaporation, ETO = 5.0mm/day [Available from secondary data sources]
Soil type = Clay Loam
Crops: =Cabbage, Tomatoes, maize, sorghum, onions, pepper, beans

Crop factor, Kc = 0.9 (Tomatoes)

Crop evapotranspiration,
15
 ETC K C ETO  0.9  5.0  4.5mm / day (1)
Net depth of water application (dnet)
d net  FC  PWP  RZD  P (2)
Where
dnet = Net depth of water application per irrigation of selected crop (mm)
F C-PWP = Available soil moisture (mm/m)
FC = Soil moisture at field capacity (mm/m)
PWP = Soil moisture at the permanent wilting point (mm/m)
RZD = Rooting Zone Depth (m)
P = allowable portion of available moisture permitted for depletion by
the crop before the next irrigation
For example, IF
Available soil moisture = (FC – PWP) = 130mm/m (for clay loam soil type)
Rooting zone depth (RZD) = 1.1m
Easily available moisture in the rooting zone, P = 50%
Substituting for FC – PWP, RZD and P in equation 1
mm 50
d net  130  1.1M   71.5mm (3)
M 100
Gross depth of water application (dgross)
d
d gross  net (4)
E
Where
dgross = Gross depth of water application; dnet is Net depth of water application
E = Overall irrigation efficiency
E  Ec  Ed  Ea (5)
Where
E = overall irrigation efficiency
Ec = conveyance efficiency
Ed = distribution efficiency
Ea = application efficiency
Substituting for
Ec =92% (Lined Canals),
Ed =95% and
Ea =70% in equation 5
E  0.92  0.95  0.70  0.61or 61% (6)
From equations 3 & 6
71.5
d gross   117 .2mm
0.61

Example 2
During a baseline study for a 10ha farm in Loitoktok, the following information was gathered from a
farmer. Average crop factor (Kc) = 1.2 and reference crop evapo-transpiration (ETO) = 7.6 mm/day.
Table 1 presents details of crops grown

16
Table 1: Commonly grown crops
Crop Rooting depth Depletion factor (MAD)
D(m) n
Sorghum 0.6-1.5 0.6
Maize 0.6-1.0 0.5

Table 2: Suitable side slopes for channels built in various types of materials (chow, 1959)

The most prevalent soil type is sandy loam, with moisture storage capacity of 150mm/m.
A gravity fed surface irrigation scheme is to be established. The irrigation system will be
composed of the following design parameters: conveyance, field canal and application
efficiencies as 90%, 85% and 55% respectively.
(a) Crop water demand, ETC, is obtained using Equation 1
ETC = K c  ETO , Reference evapo-transpiration ETo = 7.6 mm/day
ETC = 1.2  7.6 mm/day = 9.12 mm/day
(b) Taking conveyance along the earth canal, distribution and application efficiencies as
90%, 85% and 50% respectively. The overall efficiency is determined by:
Ea = Ec  Ed  E f ,
Where, Ea is overall efficiency, Ec is conveyance efficiency, Ed is field canal efficiency and Ef is
application efficiency all in decimals.
Ea = 0.90  0.85  0.55  0.421 or 42.1%
(c)Take overall efficiency of 42 %, the unit gross water demand (UGWD), which is total
amount needed including losses is obtained by:

NWR ET C
UGWD = 
Ea Efficiency E a 
9.12
UGWD = = 21.71 mm/day
0.42
But, 1 mm/day is equivalent to 0.116 l/s/ha which is also equivalent to 10m3/ha/day,
Since 1 mm/day ≡ 0.116 l/s/ha, Then,

UGWD =0.116 * 21.71

= 2.52 l/s/ha

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 UGWD  A
(d) SWR = (l/s)
h d
*
24 7
Where, ”SWR” is scheme water requirement, “h” is number of irrigation hours per day, “d” is
number of irrigation days per week; “A” is area to be irrigated in ha.
Therefore,
2.94  100
SWR =
15 6
*
24 7
2.52  60
SWR = = 235.2 l/s Therefore, take Q design = 0.235 m3/s
18 * 6
24 7

Conveyance system design

Longitudinal slope: The longitudinal slope of the channel is influenced by topography, the
head required to carry the design flow, and the purpose of the channel. For example, in a
hydroelectric power canal, a high head at the point of delivery is desirable, and a minimum
longitudinal channel slope should be used. The slopes adopted in the irrigation channel
should be as minimum as possible in order to achieve the highest command. Generally, the
slopes vary from 1: 4000 to 1: 20000 in canal. However, the longitudinal slopes in the
natural river may be very steep (1/10).
Table 3: Examples of various categories of slopes

Longitudinal slope of the main canal was determined using the following Equation
E  E H *100
S O = WL
L
Where “So” is longitudinal slope as a percentage (%), “EWL” is river water level in “m”, “EH” is
elevation at the head of scheme and “L” is the length of canal in “m”. For example,

SO =
97.589  97.21*100  0.026%
1456
The main and sub-mains will be earth canals and thus not lined. Therefore, the canals will be
trapezoidal in shaped and the section is presented in the following figure

18
 B

fb

1
D
d

Z=2

Figure 2: Cross sectional area of trapezoidal canal section

Canal design
The design is based on characteristics of sediment load i.e silt in canal water.
The irrigation canals are of a particular shape say trapezoidal in shape with side slopes of 2:1,
for sandy loam soils, select minimum allowed canal slope of say 0.05% based on guidelines.
Q=AV; V = (1/ n) R 2/3 so½
Permissible Velocities: Minimum and Maximum
canals carrying water with higher velocities may scour the bed and the sides of the channel
leading to the collapse of the canal. On the other hand the weeds and plants grow in the
channel when the nutrients are available in the water and the flow velocity is low.

Therefore, the minimum permissible velocity should not allow the growth of vegetation
such as weed, hycinth as well you should not be permitting the settlement of suspended
material (non-silting velocity).

"Minimum permissible velocity" refers to the smallest velocity which will prevent both
sedimentation and vegetative growth in general.

Maximum permissible velocities entirely depend on the material that is used and the bed
slope of the channel.

For example: in case of chutes, spillways the velocity may reach as high as 25 m/s. As the
dam heights are increasing the expected velocities of the flows are also increasing and it
can reach as high as 70 m/s in exceptional cases. Thus, when one refers to maximum
permissible velocity, it is for the normal canals built for irrigation purposes and Power
canals in which the energy loss must be minimised. Hence, following table gives the
maximum permissible velocity for some selected materials.

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Table 4: Maximum permissible velocities for selected materials

Resistance to the flow

In a given channel the rate of flow is inversely proportional to the surface roughness.
Area of the wetted cross-section
Rectangular canal Trapezoidal canal

Freeboard
The term freeboard refers to the vertical distance between either the top of the channel or
the top of the channel is carrying the design flow at normal depth. The purpose of
freeboard is to prevent the overtopping of either the lining or the top of the channel
fluctuations in the water surface caused by:
(1) Wind - driven waves,
(2) Tidal action,
(3) Hydraulic jumps,
(4) Super elevation of the water surface as the flow goes round curves at high velocities,
(5) The interception of storm runoff by the channel,
(6) The occurrence of greater than design depths of flow caused by canal sedimentation or
an increased coefficient of friction, or
(7) Temporary mis-operation of the canal system.

There is no universally accepted rule for the determination of free board since, waves,
unsteady flow condition, curves etc., and influence the free board.
Q= (A/ n) R2/3 so½, Where, Q is water flow rates in m3/s, n is roughness factor, A is cross
sectional area of canal in m2, R is the hydraulic radius of canal in m and So is the canal slope
in m/m.

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A= bd + zd ; R=A/P ; P= b + 2 d √(1 + z 2) , Z for sandy loam should be above 2, to
prevent canal banks from collapsing

Select n, b and slope So and compute A= bd + zd2

P = b + 2d√(1 + z 2) = b + 2d√ 5 = b + 4.4721d.

Also, Q= (A/n) R2/3 S½o,

Therefore, AR 2/3 = Qn / S½.

Where, AR2/3 is referred to as canal section factor.

Take the normal water level in the river as 0.5m, slope is say 0.06%. Using trial and error
method, the main canal characteristics can be computed and presented in Tabular form as
shown below.

Table 3: Main canal specification design

b d z A (1+Z2) P R R2/3 AR2/3 Remarks

2.0000 2 5.0000 Known
2.0000 2 5.0000 Best
2.0000 2 5.0000
2.0000 2 5.0000
The effective depth of canal is …... The canal free board is the highest value of either 0.3d
or 0.2m.

f b = 0.3 x d or 0.2m; and D = b + fb.

In summary canal characteristics are: Z=2, d=…m, fb =….m, D=…m, b=……, B=……m and Q=
………m3/s, V=…..m/s
Q(m3/s) z(m-1) S (%) B(m) D(m) Fb(m) H(m) V(m/s) Fr T(m)

Worked example from a projected implemented in North Rift 2010

Scheme Water Requirement (SWR)

Crop water demand, ETC, is obtained using Equation 1
ETC = K c  ETO [1]
Where, ETc is crop evapo-transpiration in mm/day, Kc is average crop factor and ETO is
reference crop evapo-transpiration in mm/day for the irrigation development site.
The Kc-values were obtained from FAO (2002) and also from other standard documents and
project reports.
Reference evapo-transpiration ETo = 7.6 mm/day (FAO CropWat Database) was adopted
because of the relatively high temperatures in Turkana area where the Irrigation Scheme is
located.
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Maximum crop factor sorghum Kc = 1.2 (FAO, 2002)
ETC = 1.2  7.6 mm/day = 9.12 mm/day
Taking conveyance along the earth canal, distribution and application efficiencies as 85%,
85% and 50% respectively. The overall efficiency is determined by Equation 2.
Ea = Ec  Ed  E f [2]
Where, Ea is overall efficiency, Ec is conveyance efficiency, Ed is field canal efficiency and Ef is
application efficiency all in decimals.
Ea = 0.85  0.85  0.50  0.36 or 36%
The adopted overall irrigation efficiency is 36% for surface irrigation which is within
acceptable range for gravity surface irrigation schemes. Though the overall efficiency is very
low, higher efficiencies may be achieved once the farmers are introduced to more efficient
water application methods and better skills in irrigation water management. Additionally, the
overall efficiency could be improved if additional funds are secured for lining the main canal.

Take overall efficiency of 36 %, the unit gross water demand (UGWD), which is total amount
needed including losses is obtained using Equation 3

NWR ET C
UGWD =  [3]
Ea Efficiency E a 
9.12
UGWD = = 25.33 mm/day
0.36
But, 1 mm/day is equivalent to 0.116 l/s/ha which is also equivalent to 10m 3/ha/day,
therefore
UGWD =0.116 * 25.33 = 2.94 l/s/ha
Scheme water requirement (SWR) is water needed to irrigate all the farms in the scheme.
Given that the proposed Irrigation scheme has 100ha to be irrigate 6 days a week and for 15
hours a day, SWR needed is obtained from Equation 4.

UGWD  A
SWR = (L/s) [4]
h d
*
24 7
Where, h is number of irrigation hours per day, d is number of irrigation days per week; A is
area to be irrigated in ha.
Therefore,
2.94  100
SWR = = 548.8 l/s
15 6
*
24 7
Therefore, take Q design = 0.549 m3/s

22
Conveyance system design
Longitudinal slope of the main canal was determined using Equation 5
E  E H *100
S O = WL [5]
L
Where So is longitudinal slope as a percentage (%), EWL is river water level in m, EH is
elevation at the head of scheme and L is the length of canal in m.

SO =
97.589  97.21*100  0.026%
1456
The main and sub-mains will be earth canals and thus not lined. Therefore, the canals will be
trapezoidal in shaped and the section is presented by Figure 5.1

fb

1
D
d

Figure 5.1: Cross sectional area of trapezoidal canal section

The flow velocity in the main canal was determined through Equation 6.
2 1
R3S 2
V [6]
n
Where V = Flow Velocity in the main canal (m/s)
R = Hydraulic radius of channel (m)
= Channel-cross sectional area/wetted perimeter
S = Canal (channel slope /channel bed longitudinal slope (m/m)
n = Manning’s roughness coefficient/Manning’s resistance coefficient for open channel
flow.
Hydraulic radius (R) was obtained through Equation 7
R= A [7]
P
Where, “A” is channel cross section area in m2 and “P” is the wetted perimeter in m.
“A” was obtained through Equation 8
A = bd  2d 2 = d (b+2d) [8]

23
Where, “b” and “d” are internal width and water depth (level) in the canal, respectively.
“P” was determined through Equation 9
P = b  2d 5 [9]
The canal sectional factor determines the size of the canal through Equation 10b, given by
Manning’s Equation(10a) derived by combining Equations 6 and 8, and then rearranging
which gives Equation 10b.
1 2

S 2 AR3
Q [10a]
n
2
Qn
Canal sec tion factor  A R 3  [10b]
S 1/ 2
Taking S= 0.05% and n= 0.023 (FAO, 2002) for an earth channels, then canal section factor
was computed as:
2
Q n 0.549 * 0.023
Canal sec tion factor  A R    0.5647
 
3
S 1 / 2 0.05 *10  2 1 / 2

Then specifications are obtained through trial and error using excel spread sheet as
indicated in Table 5.3.

TABLE 5.3: CANAL CHARACTERISTICS USING CANAL SECTION FACTOR

AND TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD
2 2/3 2/3
b d z A (1+Z ) P R R AR Q n %S Remark
2 0.4 2 1.12 5 3.79 0.3 0.4419 0.495 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.41 2 1.156 5 3.83 0.3 0.4479 0.5179 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.42 2 1.193 5 3.88 0.31 0.4539 0.5414 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.43 2 1.23 5 3.92 0.31 0.4597 0.5653 0.549 0.023 0.05 Adequate
2 0.431 2 1.234 5 3.93 0.31 0.4603 0.5678 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.432 2 1.237 5 3.93 0.31 0.4608 0.5702 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.433 2 1.241 5 3.94 0.32 0.4614 0.5726 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.434 2 1.245 5 3.94 0.32 0.462 0.5751 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.435 2 1.248 5 3.95 0.32 0.4626 0.5775 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.436 2 1.252 5 3.95 0.32 0.4632 0.58 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.437 2 1.256 5 3.95 0.32 0.4637 0.5824 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.438 2 1.26 5 3.96 0.32 0.4643 0.5849 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.439 2 1.263 5 3.96 0.32 0.4649 0.5874 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.44 2 1.267 5 3.97 0.32 0.5095 0.6456 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.45 2 1.305 5 4.01 0.33 0.4711 0.6148 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.46 2 1.343 5 4.06 0.33 0.4786 0.6429 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.47 2 1.382 5 4.1 0.34 0.4841 0.6689 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.48 2 1.421 5 4.15 0.34 0.4897 0.6958 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.484 2 1.437 5 4.16 0.34 0.4901 0.704 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.485 2 1.44 5 4.17 0.35 0.4907 0.7068 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.49 2 1.46 5 4.19 0.35 0.4934 0.7205 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.5 2 1.5 5 4.24 0.35 0.4988 0.7482 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.51 2 1.54 5 4.28 0.36 0.5042 0.7765 0.549 0.023 0.05
2 0.52 2 1.581 5 4.33 0.37 0.5095 0.8054 0.549 0.023 0.05

24
From Table 5.3, the main canal bed width was determined as 2.0m, water depth of 0.43m
and Free board is determined by Equation 11
fb = 0.3D or 0.2m which ever value of the two that is higher [11]
Where fb is free board in m, 0.3 is discharge coefficient and “d” is depth of water in canal in
“m”.
Therefore, fb = 0.3*0.43 m = 0.129m.
Since 0.2m is higher, take fb = 0.2m,
The total depth of the canal was determined by Equation 12
D = d + f b , Where D is total depth in m [12]
D  0.43  0.2  0.63 m
Velocity of flow in the canal was determined by previous equation (Equation 6) and is given
as:
1
2/3 2
R S
V= [13]
n

1
2
 0.05  2
0.31  3

V=  100 
= 0.445m/s
0.023
Therefore the flow is within safe velocity since it is less than maximum allowable velocity of
0.6-0.7 m/s (For earth canal, allowable velocity should not exceed 0.7m/s and the flow
should be laminar (Fr<1). Higher velocity more than 0.7 m/s for sandy loam soils
encourages soil erosion in the canal (FAO, 2002).

Froude number, Fr determines whether the flow is lamina or tranquil. Value beyond 1 gives
supercritical energy status, hence turbulent water flow. Whereas the value less than 1 gives
sub- critic energy level and flow is lamina. The following Equation 14 adopted from Michael,
(1978) was used:
V
Fr  [14]
gy
Where (Fr), is the Froude number, V is velocity of flow in m/s, g is acceleration due to gravity
in m/s 2 and y is the depth of flow of water in m. Therefore,
0.445
Fr   0.217
9.81 * 0.43
The flow velocity is okay since Froude number is less than 1, hence sub- critical (lamina flow).
Erosion during peak flow
When canal fills during flood flows, peak flow occurs. To estimate erosion, peak values are
computed using Equation 15 as:
1 2/3
VP  RP S 1 / 2 [15]
n
25
Where: V p is peak flow velocity and R p is hydraulic radius (peak flow)
D = d + fb = (0.43 + 0.2) m = 0.63m
Given that R2/3 = 0.565, S = 0.05%, R = A/P= 0.31m
Pp = b + 2D (1 +z2)0.5 = 2.0+ 2*0.63(1+22)0.5= 4.82 m
Ap = D (b+zD) = 0.63(2+2*0.63) m2 = 2.05m2
B = b + 2zD = 2+ 2*2*0.63= 4.52m
Rp =Ap/Pp= 2.05m2/4.82 m = 0.425 m
Rp 2/3= 0.565
1 2/3
VP  RP S 1 / 2
n
Vp = (1/0.023) * 0.4252/3 * (0.05/100)1/2 = 0.550 m/s
Velocity of peak flow (Vp) will not be erosive since it is still within the safe margins (less than
0.7 m/s)
The peak discharge (Qp) was estimated from Equation 16 as:
Qp = Ap*Vp [16]
3
Qp = 2.05*0.550 m /s = 1.127 m /s 3

Specifications for canal are bottom width (b) is 2.0 m, flow depth (d) is 0.43m, D is 0.63 m, Q
is 0.549m3/s, V is 0.445 m/s, QP is 1.127m3/s, VP is 0.550 m/s and Fr is 0.217.

The velocity of water along the canal was computed as 0.445 m/s, hence the width of intake
orifice was computed as 0.8m. This width is too wide for a single gate, hence 2 gates of
dimensions 0.4m are preferred and with a height of 0.63m.

Design of intake and sedimentation tank

Intake Design
Through the information gather at the intake site (Figure below) using participatory
approaches (Focus group discussions and Key informant interviews) on traditional
knowledge in water resources, the following data was obtained:
River bed level = 97.072m
Normal water level = 97.822m
Flood water level = 99.387m
These values were corresponding to river stage of:
Normal and flood flows of 0.75m and 2.315m respectively.
The river is very wide about 100m and with very loose bed materials that are sandy in nature.
Hence, the most appropriate head works is side weir, which depends on water level in the

26
river. Hence height of wing wall to be 2.4m high. During normal water flow, the orifice
functions as rectangular open channel. The sketch of the intake section is presented in the
Figure below.
99.387m

97.572m

H
0.5m
97.072m

Figure: Sketch of the intake cross-section

The average altitude is 549m asl from the topographical map. It should be noted that survey
data elevations are different from those of the national grid and have been based on
elevations of temporary bench marks established during the survey.
During such flood flows, the minimum orifice opening is computed using the orifice
Equation as:

QOrifice = CA 2 gh

Where Qorifice = intake design discharge / flow rates through orifice (m3/s);
C = coefficient of discharge =0.65

A = orifice flow area (m2);

h = head loss over the orifice/head of water measured from the center of orifice
(m);

g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s2).

Rearranging Equation “A” gives:

Q
B
Do * C (2 * g * h )
 0.549 
B    0.76m ( Approximately 0.8 m)
 0.65 * 0.5 * 2 * 9.81 * 0.25 

27
However, there is need to contain all the water in the event of flooding and wave action.
Hence, the height of the steel gates shall be (99.387-97.287) m = 2.1 m. Ideally a beam 0.5
m breadth will be constructed to reduce the gates to a height of 2.1m-0.5m = 1.6 m.
Dimensions of the gate are: Depth = 1.6 m and width = 0.40m

Velocity of flow across gate (Vg) was calculated using Equation 18 as:
Q Q 0.549
Vg     1.373 m / s
A B * D 0.8 * 0.5
To reduce silt entering the intake structure, a chamber will be constructed in front of the
intake. Wooden planks will be used to control the level of water that can freely flow into the
intake. The height of the wing walls will be of minimum of 2.1m, therefore constructing to
the height of river bank of 2.4m. The intake consists of 2 No. rectangular orifices with sluice
gates as shown in the drawing. The orifice opens an outlet into a trapezoidal earth canal
section as shown in the drawing. Orifice flow occurs when the upstream flow is sufficient to
seal the opening/gate. In other words, the bottom of the gate is lower than the upstream
water elevation.
Sedimentation tank or Settling Basin

Overflow rates are used for design: Vo

28
Settling Model

Vs = settling velocity of the particle

Vl = horizontal velocity of liquid flow
A particle that is just removed has a settling
velocity v0.
This trajectory represents a particle which
has a settling velocity v0

Where: t = V/Q
A = surface area of the basin

Furrow systems
Shape and size of furrows
• Must be sufficiently high to take discharge without overtopping
• Depth typically 15 to 20 cm
• Top width typically 25 to 30 cm for most situations but wide, flat ridges needed for
some (clay) soils or crops
Furrow slopes
 Discharge is function of S1/2
 Upper limit is about 2% slope but if there is high intensity rainfall and erodible soils,
upper limit may be as little as 0.3%
Allowable slopes for furrows:-

Duration of irrigation
Evaluation of required duration of irrigation, T is required to be calculated unless
tensiometers or neutron probes are used to indicate when sufficient water has been
applied. Phillips equation is not easy to solve for t. For this situation, the use Kostiakov’s
equation is suggested:
I = Kta
Where:
I = Cumulative Infiltrated depth (I)
t = Elapsed time t since the start
log I = log K + a log t
Plot log I against log t to obtain K (from the intercept) and a (from the slope).

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T  ( IKr ) 
1

• Where Ir is the required depth of irrigation to be applied. T should be taken as the

uptake opportunity at the end of the field.
• If the time to reach the bottom of the field is > 25% of T then field size needs to be
changed.
• ALSO referred to as: quarter time rule (Rule of thumb is that time to reach end of
field < 1/4 of time required to apply adequate water).
Revision
The quarter time rule

Ta
Tf 
4
Tf = Time to reach the opposite end of the field (hr)
Ta = Application time (hr)
Distribution problem and control of inflow
 Advance & recession wave
 Need water to infiltrate to bottom of root zone at end of field (this changes as the
crop is established)
 Apply maximum possible inflow to get wetting front to the bottom of the field then
cut back to reduce wastage - ideally water should continue to reach bottom of field
but only a small amount should drain off

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