Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

GROUP NAME

ID NUMBER

1.Haftay Abrha CE/UE/192/02 2.Halefom G/yohanns 3.Meareg Girmay CE/UE208/02 4.Mehammednur Abderazik 5.Samson T/ medhin CE/UE230/02 6.Senait Mebrahtu 7.Tsgabu H/silasse FST/ED233/99 CE/UE232/02 CE/UE212/02 FST/ED131/00

EIT-MU

Page 2

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

Tables Contents
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Project Back Ground............................................................................................. 5 2. Location site................................................................................................................6 3. Operation of Irrigation System................................................................................... 7 3.1. Operation.............................................................................................................. 7 4. Irrigation duration and Irrigation frequency............................................................... 8 4.1. Irrigation duration.................................................................................................8 4.2. Irrigation frequency.............................................................................................. 8 5. Crop Water Requirement............................................................................................ 9 5.1. Reference evapotranspiration.............................................................................. 9 5.2 Effective rainfall..................................................................................................... 9 6. Irrigation scheduling................................................................................................. 10 7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................12

EIT-MU

Page 3

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

1. INTRODUCTION
In the entire Tigray region rainfall is a marginal for agriculture production. In addition to the constraints of this rainfall, lack of modern agriculture practice suffered the region for a long period of time. The main goal of this strategy is to utilize the land and water resource efficiently using appropriate technologies. Mai koko micro dam irrigation scheme is then one of the sites studied to fulfill the above goal. By constructing a dam and storing water on the upstream reach, irrigation is to be practiced by gravity through a network of canals on a command area of 152ha. Irrigation had practiced in this project area by constructing temporary small structures across the river for supplementary and dry season irrigation purposes. However now due to formation deep and wide gullies it is difficult for the farmers to construct diversion structures in the area. Irrigation practice by using shallow hand dug wells is still going on although it is not sufficiently done.

EIT-MU

Page 4

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

1.1. Project Back Ground

The Kileat (Mai- Koko) dam site has been selected for study by a team of experts due to its fairly good dam site, very good command area, which can be developed to improve the living standard of the farmers. Under present conditions the farmers left the majority of the command area for unproductive grazing land mainly because of soil moisture stress and mismanagement. The size of farmland holding varied from only 0.25 to 0.5 ha while more than 60 ha of land is left for grazing land. Once the problem of soil moisture stress is removed, the grazing land can be developed to very productive cut and carry system to support the livestock on one hand and allow the production of high value crops on the other hand. There are 206 households and a population of about 4200 within the Tabia of this scheme. This scheme will be very influential in improving the overall living standards of the people besides rehabilitating the environment.

EIT-MU

Page 5

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

2. Location site
Administrative Location Region Zone Woreda Tabia Kushet = Tigray = Eastern = Gulomekeda = Kileat = Laelay Kileat (Right side) & Tahtay Kileat

Dam Site = Mai-Koko Command area = Left side (Tahtay Kileat) = Right side (Laelay Kileat) Geographical Location (Center of Command) Latitude = 548500 N Longitude = 1596000E Altitude = 2161.42m.a.s.l

EIT-MU

Page 6

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

3. Operation of Irrigation System

Water or soil moisture is consumed by plants through their roots. The optimum level up to which the soil moisture may be allowed to be depleted in the root zone without fall in crop yield, has to be worked for every crop and soil by experimentation. The irrigation watered should be supplied as soon as the moisture falls up this optimum level(fixing irrigation frequency) and its quantity should be just sufficient to bring the moisture content up to its filed capacity, making allowance for application losses(this fixing water depth).

The operation systems may vary in size, scope and design, but since the very aim of irrigation is to supply crops with the water they need for their growth at the right time, distribution implies the ability to control the discharge from each canal at any instant so that the canal or its branches can satisfy the net demand of the area they serve. As well as the discharges the water level must be controlled for two main purposes, depending on the circumstances: to rise the water level as high as economically possible with a view to increasing the area under irrigation, and to control variations in water level.

3.1. Operation
Water application should be done based on irrigation schedule so that dispute among users will be avoided. Care have to be taken to minimize wastage of excess water (over irrigation) Water distribution should be done on rotational bases The farmers in the project area are new to irrigation. As a result, they should be well trained and guided how to irrigate and use water effectively and rationally so that there will be no excess loss of water.
EIT-MU Page 7

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

Water committee shall be organized among the elders in every kushet. This committee can set matters like disputes due to shortage of water from reach to reach and serve a lot as water management body. When canals are running more than their capacity, the excess water should flow through escapes located at suitable locations.

4. Irrigation duration and Irrigation frequency

4.1. Irrigation duration

It is the actual time where a known flow or discharge is released in to a farm that will satisfy the irrigation demand or commonest the crop consumptive use. In order to fix the irrigation duration it is necessary to determine the stream size and the irrigation application depth.

4.2. Irrigation frequency

It is the interval at which a given depth of irrigation will be applied before the soil moisture level fails up to the optimum level and depend on crop type and the overall evapotranspiration. Evapo-transpiration (ET) = Loss of moisture from the soil through the combined effects of evaporation and plant transpiration. Usually measured in millimeters per day (mm/day).

EIT-MU

Page 8

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

5. Crop Water Requirement

Estimation of the crop water demand is of great importance in assessing the potential area that could be irrigated with the available discharge and in reducing soil moisture stress by appropriate irrigation scheduling based on the crop water demand in a given environment. The size of the total command area to be irrigated by the Kileat Micro-dam was determined by the variety of crops proposed and the available storage capacity and by the availability of command area for the relatively convenient canal route (for both supplementary and the dry season irrigation).

5.1. Reference evapotranspiration

Crop water needs have been worked out based on Hargreavs method. This method was used because there is no sufficient meteorological data to use the PenmanMonteith method. Hargreav's method is given by:
ETo= 0.0023* Ra* TD(TA+17.8)

Where ETo = Reference evapotranspiration (mm/day) Ra = Extra Terrestrial radiation expressed in equivalent evaporation in mm/day TD = Temperature difference (T max - T Min) in 0c T max+T min TA= TA = Average temp. 2 (0c)

5.2 Effective rainfall

Effective rainfall is calculated based on the procedures given in FAO irrigation training manuals #3 and # 4. That is: P effective = 0.6P-10 if monthly P<=70 mm
EIT-MU Page 9

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

P effective = 0.8P-25 if monthly P>70 mm Where P is monthly precipitation Detail crop water requirements for the proposed crops are worked out by spreadsheet are found to be 17236m3/ha. Based on the crop water requirement calculated in the irrigation Agronomy study, the maximum duty, for the irrigation hours per day of 24 hrs, is 2.44l/s/ha (supplementary case).

6. Irrigation scheduling
Irrigation scheduling is the activity of making the programmer for the coming week (or 10 days, 2 weeks, one month) of the water distribution in the scheme during that period. There are two main reasons for preparing such a programmers: 1. The farmers wants to know when they will receive irrigation water (= timing),

how much (= flow rate) and for how long (= duration). 2. The scheme operators need to know when and how to adjust gate settings.

The irrigation applications are intended to meet the water requirements of the crops Cultivated in the scheme. If just one farm is considered, the irrigation requirement for the next week depends on: the crops grown, and the area and growth stage of each crop; the moisture conditions in each field; the weather conditions expected for the coming week. The first and second of these items are easy to determine; the area of each crop grown and crop stage. Establishing the moisture conditions in each field with some precision requires specialized equipment, while no one knows for sure what the next week's weather will be. This means that a decision on the next week's irrigation needs cannot be made on the basis of precise knowledge alone; it also requires experience. Farmers are making these types of decisions all the time, because many decisions at the farm must be made without precise knowledge of the future: decisions on what crops to grow, when to plant, how much and when to apply fertilizers and other agro-chemicals are all made on the basis of the farmers expectations and previous experience with rainfall, sunshine, pests and diseases, crop yields and market-prices.

EIT-MU

Page 10

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

It is therefore believed that the farmers should first indicate what their irrigation needs are, and that the scheme managers should provide for these needs as best as they can. The procedure for irrigation scheduling depends on the design of the scheme: if the scheme is designed to make water deliveries to individual farmers, each of these deliveries needs to be specified in the irrigation schedule; if farms in the scheme are grouped into tertiary units which share a common outlet, the scheme operators will only prepare a schedule for water deliveries to the tertiary off takes. This section describes irrigation scheduling in the four designs described in the section methods for water distribution to tertiary units.

6.1 Working principle:

The discharge at each tertiary off take is regulated with a vertical slide gate, according to the irrigation water requirement of that tertiary unit. A gate at the head of the canal allows adjustment of the flow size entering the scheme to the sum of the flow rates delivered through the tertiary off takes. Check structures along the main canal maintain sufficient water depth at the off takes when the canal is operated at lower than design capacity

EIT-MU

Page 11

Operation system of mai-koko micro dam irrigation project.

7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Conclusions

The aim of this report is to improve the existing traditional way of applying irrigation practices and irrigation operation systems by providing store dam. The Maikoko irrigation system is designed to irrigate 152ha of land (which is the minimum command area) during the dry season and wet seasons for supplementary irrigation. Each turn out is controlled by gate so that water distribution will be done on the basis of proportional distribution & on rotational basis during low flow season.

7.2 Recommendations
Appropriate location during construction according to the topography. The recommended cropping pattern on the agronomy report should be adopted in order to attain the expected economic benefit and development. Concerned bodies should take the responsibility so that the farmers adopt the respective cropping pattern to avoid water deficit and sufficiently irrigate the command area. Recommendations given in the study reports of the various professionals shall be strictly considered and implemented.

EIT-MU

Page 12