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Assessment of performance and water demand and supply deficit of Hakwatuna Oya irrigation system, Sri Lanka

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Sri Lanka
  • 2Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  • 3Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Res. J. Engineering Sci., Volume 6, Issue (9), Pages 23-28, October,26 (2017)

Abstract

The Hakwatuna Oya is one of the major irrigation systems in Kurunagela district. Frequent crop failure, abandoning of cultivation and reduced crop yields are the common issues in this system, mainly due to climate variability and inappropriate irrigation water management decisions. Therefore, appropriate management interventions are necessary for effective, efficient and sustainable use of scarce water resource. Reliable and adequate data collection and analysis are necessary to find out the current water resource status of a system, required to make sound decisions in advance to ensure the sustainable management of an irrigation system. Further, estimation of water demand and supply deficit is a prerequisite for project planning, designing and management of an irrigation system. Performance assessment of irrigation systems using suitable indicators plays a vital role in identifying the shortcomings and in finding out solutions for increasing the productivity of the systems. In this study, performance of Hakwatuna Oya irrigation system was assessed and compared with other two major irrigation systems based on estimated values of selected indicators for 2014/15 Maha and 2015 Yala seasons. Water demand and supply deficit for the period from 2004-2014 were estimated using collected data. The results revealed that the average cultivation extent of Hakwatuna Oya system is nearly 46% in Yala and 87% in Maha seasons. Average cropping intensity of Hakwatuna Oya is 1.47 whilst it is 1.81 for Bathalagoda and 1.86 for Kimbulwana Oya. Although the Hakwatuna Oya irrigation system recorded the lowest seasonal irrigation water supply of 0.22 m3/m2and 0.44 m3/m2, the highest water productivity of 2.36 kg/m3and 1.04 kg/m3were recorded in 2014/15 Maha and 2015 Yala seasons, respectively. When compared to other two major irrigation systems, the Hakwatuna Oya is a water scarce system with relative water supply of 1.32 in 2014/15 Maha and 0.87 in 2015 Yala seasons. Demand and supply analysis showed that there is high fluctuation in annual demand and unmet demand from year to year due to variations in extent of cultivation, type of crop and water supply from reservoir and rainfall. Under long term average flow condition, cultivation of paddy in the entire command area in both Maha and Yala seasons demands nearly 30 MCM additional water supply.

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