ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P.

Kahiga (DeKUT)

SOURCES AND QUALITY OF IRRIGATION WATER

The selection for suitable source for irrigation depends on the following
• Reliability of the source
• Quantity of water available
• Quality of water
✓ Surface waters: (Supplied by rainfall and ice melt) sources include 'flowing' water supplies
(river, creeks, streams, canals) and 'standing' or stored water supplies (ponds, reservoirs, lakes)
✓ Ground water: supplies may come from springs and wells, and although the quality is usually
good, the available quantity that can be pumped at any time may again limit the irrigation
method.
✓ Sea water (Desalinization/ reverse osmosis, an example are golf courses along coastal areas)
✓ Treated or non-treated wastewater from domestic and industrial sources.

The quality of agricultural or industrial process wastewaters often limits their use to surface or
sprinkler irrigation methods, and in their suitability for fruit and vegetable crop irrigation. Water
for irrigation is abstracted from rivers, reservoirs, dams, storage tanks, lakes or groundwater to the
agricultural field. This can be done in two different ways:

• Making use of gravity: These systems are used if the water level of the river or
reservoir is higher than the level of the fields in the irrigation scheme e.g Mitunguu
(sprinklers), Kiorimba Machegene Water Project-Meru Tigania East (surface and
sprinkler), Kibirigwi in Kirinyaga County.
• Using a pump to lift the water above ground level and then let it flow to the fields

IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY

The term "water quality" describes the physical, chemical, and biological components of water
and has been extensively examined and reported for drinking water. Irrigation water quality may
impact the health and productivity of plants, soils, and the surrounding ecosystems receiving
drainage water. Poor quality irrigation water reduces pesticide efficacy, destroy pumping
equipments, clog the emitters and alter the physical structures of soils. In irrigation agriculture,
the quality of water used for irrigation should receive adequate attention, because, regardless of its
ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)
 ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)

source, irrigation water always contains some soluble salts in it. Apart from the total concentration
of the dissolved salts, the concentration of some of the individual salts, and especially those which
are most harmful to crops, is important in determining the suitability of water for irrigation.

The main constituents that usually determines the suitability of irrigation water includes;
a) SALINITY: Measure of the soluble salts content in a water sample. e.g. sodium chloride,
magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and sodium bicarbonate. Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl−
• Field (Electrical Conductivity, EC expressed in dS/m or mmhos/cm)
• Laboratory (Total Dissolved Salts, TDS expressed in ppm or mg/l)
Effects of salinity:
• Saline water causes build-up of salts in soils after irrigation.
• If the concentration of salts in the soil solution exceeds the salt concentration inside the
plant roots, water tends to move out of the roots into the soil via a process called osmosis.
This creates an effect called “chemical drought”. Plants wilt because of a shortage of
water, even though the soil remains moist causing stunted growth and yield losses.
• Salinity reduces seed germination, rooting, growth, establishment, and fruiting of plants.
Management of saline water:
• Providing adequate leaching to prevent salt accumulation in the total root zone.
ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)
 ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)

• Select a salt tolerant crop that fits the conditions in your field.
• Keep the right intervals between irrigations.
• Use appropriate fertilizers types.
Sources of saline water:
• Sea water intrusion
• Fertilizers and other field chemicals
• Ground water from salt bearing formations,
• Irrigation water (Rivers flowing through salty soils),
• Municipal and industrial waste water

b) Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR)

• The relative proportion of Sodium (Na+) to Calcium (Ca+2) and Magnesium (Mg+2) ions is
expressed as Sodium-Adsorption-Ratio (SAR).

The mechanism involved is that the high sodium contents of irrigation water increases the
exchangeable sodium contents on soil exchange complex and disperses the soil (clay) more
rapidly. Dispersion is the separation of soil aggregates into the components of sand, silt and clay
particles. The dispersed soil particles seal the soil macro-pores and reduce the soil permeability.
Dispersive soil is very prone to waterlogging, which can greatly reduce the yields of crops. When
dry, dispersive soil tends to be too hard for roots and seedlings to penetrate. Under these
conditions, the water availability to plant is also reduced appreciably. Exchangeable Sodium
Percentage (ESP) more than 15% decreases soil permeability. Soils are considered sodic when
their exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) is more than 6%.
Effects of excess sodium in irrigation water:
• Specific nature of plant toxicity,
• Impaired soil drainage and
• Plant nutrition imbalance.

ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)
 ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)

Management of soils with high percentage of sodium:

Addition of calcium sulphate (gypsum - CaSO4)
c) MICROBIAL PATHOGENS
Laboratory and field studies have shown that pathogens and indicator organisms (e.g., generic E.
coli and E. coli O157:H7) transmitted from irrigation water can remain viable for variable periods
of time depending on environmental conditions.

d) TOXIC EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC IONS:

Specific ion toxicity normally results when certain ions are taken up with the soil-water and
accumulate in the leaves during water transpiration to an extent that results in damage to plants.
The magnitude of damage depends upon time, concentration, crop sensitivity and crop water use
and if damage is severe enough, crop yield is reduced. The usual toxic ions in irrigation water are
chloride, sodium and boron. The toxic symptoms appear in the form of leaf burn, scorch, dead
tissues along the side of the leaf, drying of leaves, yellowing of leaf and spotting on the leaf etc.

✓ Chloride: The most common toxicity is from chloride in the irrigation water. Chloride is not
absorbed or held back by soils, therefore, it moves readily with the soil-water, is taken up by
the crops, moves in the transpiration stream and accumulates in the leaves. A chloride toxicity
can occur by direct leaf absorption through leaves wet during overhead sprinkler irrigation. If
the chloride concentration in the leaves exceeds the tolerance of the crop, injury symptoms
develop such as leaf burn or drying of the leaf tissue.

✓ Sodium (Na): Sodium toxicity is not as easily diagnosed as chloride toxicity, but clear cases
of the former have been recorded as a result of relatively high sodium concentrations in the
water (high Na or SAR). Typical toxicity symptoms are leaf burn, scorch and dead tissue
along the outside edges of leaves in contrast to symptoms of chloride toxicity which normally
occur initially at the extreme leaf tip. Sensitive crops include deciduous fruits, nuts, citrus,
avocados and beans, but there are many others. For tree crops, sodium in the leaf tissue in
excess of 0.25-0.50 percent (dry weight basis) is often associated with sodium toxicity.

ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)
 ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)

✓ Boron: Boron, unlike sodium, is as essential element for plant growth. It is required in
relatively small amounts. However, if present in amounts appreciably greater than needed (1
mg/l), it becomes toxic. For example, for some crops, if the permissible limit is 0.2 mg L-1
boron in irrigation water, then the concentration of 1-2 mg L-1 may be toxic.

✓ Nitrogen: Nitrogen in irrigation water (N) is largely a fertility issue. The nitrate ion often
occurs at higher concentrations than ammonium in irrigation water.

Effects of nitrogen
Waters high in N can cause quality problems in crops such as barley and sugar beets and
excessive vegetative growth in some vegetables. However, these problems can usually be
overcome by good fertilizer and irrigation management. Regardless of the crop, nitrate should
be credited toward the fertilizer rate especially when the concentration exceeds 10 ppm NO3-
N (45 ppm NO3¯).

✓ PH: The acidity or basicity of irrigation water is expressed as pH (< 7.0 acidic; > 7.0 basic).
The normal pH range for irrigation water is from 6.5 to 8.4. Low Ph may cause accelerated
irrigation system corrosion. High pH’s above 8.5 are often caused by high bicarbonate (HCO3-
) and carbonate (CO32-) concentrations, known as alkalinity. High carbonates cause calcium
and magnesium ions to form insoluble minerals leaving sodium as the dominant ion in solution.

As described in the sodium hazard section, this alkaline water could intensify the impact of
high SAR water on sodic soil conditions. Excessive bicarbonate concentrates can also be
problematic for drip or micro-spray irrigation systems when calcite or scale build up causes
reduced flow rates through orifices or emitters. In these situations, correction by injecting
sulfuric acid or other acidic materials into the system may be required.

ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)
 ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)

✓ Reliable indicator of other water quality issues (summary)

• Plant and soil management problems
• Damaged irrigation equipment
• Reduced pesticide efficacy
• Soil biology (fauna and flora).
• Decomposition of organic matter
On the basis of suitability of water for irrigation, the water may be classified under three categories,
which are shown in the following table:

Monitor irrigation water quality throughout the growing season and over time (years), and adjust
management actions (e.g., fertilization, soil amendment, drainage development, and irrigation
volume) to maximize plant health while protecting natural resources.

ECE 2405: Irrigation Engineering 1-BSc Civil Engineering Lecture Notes by P. Kahiga (DeKUT)