Irrigation Schedule Models For The Management Of Surface And Groundwater Resources In Erode District Tamilnadu

ABSTRACT The irrigated agriculture in the Erode region of Tamilnadu is characterized by huge water withdrawals from the Cauvery River. The vast infrastructure built for extensive irrigation, together with inappropriate drainage infrastructure, leads to a build-up of very shallow groundwater (GW) levels, followed by waterlogging and salt accumulation in the soil profile. Previous studies revealed deficits in the management and maintenance institutions, inappropriate and inflexible irrigation strategies, poor linkages between field level demands, and in the operation of the network. No flexible water management tool is currently in use that, by pre-conceiving mitigation strategies, would aim at reducing the current yield reductions. This study aimed to develop and introduce such a tool at the irrigation scheme level, illustrated at the example of the Water Users Association (WUA) in Erode (about 2,000 ha of farmland). The tool can support managerial decisions on optimization of water use, particularly under the deficiatary water supply predicted under climate change. Remote Sensing (RS) techniques were used in combination with real-time hydrological measurements (e.g., ponding experiments to estimate losses in canals) to assess the operational performance of the WUA. Delivery performance ratio (DPR), relative evapotranspiration (RET), depleted fraction (DF), drainage ratio (DR), overall consumed ratio (OCR), field application ratio (FAR) and conveyance ratio (CR) were used as performance indicators. Using the current and target values for FAR and CR, three improved irrigation efficiency scenarios were .Recharge to the aquifer was determined for these scenarios by the water balance approach. Spatial dynamics of GW levels and soil characteristics (factors that affect recharge) were represented by dividing the WUA into ‘hydrological response units’.