Small Farm Reservoirs Research Articles

EFEKTIFITAS EMBUNG UNTUK IRIGASI TANAMAN HORTIKULTURA DI CIKAKAK SUKABUMI

Dryland farming provides a promising opportunity in increasing agricultural production in rural areas. But, the lack of available water during dry season poses a problem in developing dryland farming. An effective water conservation technique should be developed to alleviate this problem. The use of a small farm reservoir (embung) can be considered as one viable option for such conservation techniques. The purpose of this research was to study the effectivity of small farm reservoirs to supply irrigation water for horticulture commodities. Two different types of small farm reservoir (SFR) were constructed in the micro catchment for the research, i.e. a) SFR built with concrete, b) SFR built without concrete. SFR built with concrete had higher water available for irrigation, which is 34% higher compared to SFR without concrete. In addition, the empirical equation that was used in this research was quite reliable in predicting colected water in the SFRs. Using 80% monthly rain probability, on average one small farm reservoir with dimension 8 m x 2m x 2 m was able to supply irrigation water for 100 m2 horticulture plants for the whole growing period.
 Keywords: Small farm reservoir, dry season, irrigation, dryland farming.

Issues and guidelines for treated wastewater reservoirs design and operation

The potential wastewater stabilisation during the storage phase might improve significantly water quality therefore making appropriate to use this hydraulic component also as part of the treatment line of a reuse system. An experimental research was carried out in a small farm reservoir, receiving treated wastewater, aimed at investigating design and management parameters (depth, surface/volume ratio, incoming/outcoming flows), and role of operational indexes, like MRT (mean retention time) and PFEn (percentage of fresh effluents). Guidelines for proper design and operation were developed aiming at achieving higher removal efficiency and a more homogeneous quality of the reservoir effluent during the irrigation season. A mass balance model was developed and a simulation was carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed management criteria by calculating corresponding MRTs and PFEn.

The impact of small farm reservoirs on urban water supplies in Botswana

In eastern Botswana there are many small farm reservoirs within the catchments of the major water supply reservoirs, and there is increasing demand for more small reservoirs. The increasing development of farm reservoirs has an impact on the availability of water from the major reservoirs, which supply urban and industrial users, and this creates a conflict between the needs of the rural water users and the urban and industrial users. This paper describes a model which has been developed to allow the effects of the existing small reservoirs and the possible impacts of future proposed ones on the water resources of the major reservoirs to be quantified. The model provides a planning tool, enabling guidelines for future small reservoir development to be determined. The model is a general one which could also be calibrated and applied in other areas with a broadly similar climate. The results of a series of model runs indicate the rate of decline of runoff and yield from the major reservoirs as the total capacity of small reservoirs within the catchment increases. It also shows how this decline is affected by secondary factors such as the relative location of the small reservoirs within the catchment, the typical size of small reservoirs and the type of use to which they are put. The results clearly indicate the adverse effect which uncontrolled development of farm reservoirs would have on the water supplies from the major reservoirs. By quantifying these effects, planners have some of the necessary information to determine the optimum balance between development of small‐scale rural water supplies and large‐scale urban supplies.