Evaluation of the Water Allocation and Delivery Performance of Jiamakou Irrigation Scheme, Shanxi, China

Yumiao Fan,Haorui Chen,Jing Liu,Zhanyi Gao,Shaoli Wang

doi:10.3390/w10050654

Abstract

Irrigation performance assessment is an important step in ensuring sustainable agricultural development and improving the capacity of irrigation water management. In this paper, we examined irrigation water management in the Jiamakou Irrigation Scheme in the province of Shanxi (China) using four typical indicators, namely adequacy, efficiency, dependability, and equity. These indicators were calculated both globally and by grouping the data according to different irrigation processes (water allocation and water delivery). Results show that water was poorly allocated, and crop water requirements calculated through the FAO56 Penman-Monteith method was not met timely by scheduled water. They indicate that the overall performance of the scheme was relatively poor, owing to dismal water allocation. Nevertheless, water delivery performance was good, indicating that the scheme was able to deliver adequate and dependable water in an equitable and efficient manner. Our findings suggest that farmers should be trained in allocating irrigation water. The study provides insights into the current behavior of the irrigation scheme and may be used as a base for improvement of irrigation performance.

Highlights

Water resources in China are becoming increasingly scarce because of the growing demands of agriculture, industry, society, and the environment
The calculated crop water requirement based on the FAO56 Penman–Monteith method cannot be met by the scheduled water in a timely manner
Indicators of the overall performance show that the water supply of this irrigation scheme was inadequate and inefficient, and the required water was not supplied at the right time in an equitable manner

Summary

Introduction

Water resources in China are becoming increasingly scarce because of the growing demands of agriculture, industry, society, and the environment. Water shortage has led to high competition among users and has hindered sustainable development. Irrigation schemes, which are highly productive in agricultural areas, have the largest water demand in the country. Improving water management in irrigation schemes is vital to national food and water security. The success of irrigation water management can be measured by how well water delivery meets crops’ demand in both time and space [1,2]. Analyzing the current condition of irrigation schemes and assessing the level of the objective that can be achieved are necessary, and measures can be taken to reduce the gap between the potential and actual performance of the irrigation scheme

Methods

Results

Conclusion