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Operational performance improvements in irrigation canals to overcome groundwater overexploitation

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  • Hashemy Shahdany, S. Mehdy
  • Firoozfar, Alireza
  • Maestre, J.M.
  • Mallakpour, Iman
  • Taghvaeian, Saleh
  • Karimi, Poolad

Abstract

Groundwater overexploitation due to unsustainable agricultural development is a widespread problem in irrigation districts relying on conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources. Nearly 90% of global groundwater supported irrigated areas have conjunctive use of both surface and groundwater. A major driver behind the use of groundwater in these regions, in addition to surface water scarcity, is the poor operational performance of the irrigation schemes. The lack of reliability of water deliveries at farm gates forces farmers to increasingly turn to groundwater. Therefore, they intensively extract water and continuously deteriorate groundwater aquifers. This case study investigates the potential impact of improved water distribution and delivery through implementing canal automation techniques. These techniques can enhance the reliability of irrigation deliveries to the endpoint, resulting in reduction of groundwater extraction and associated benefits in decreasing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The current study focuses on six main irrigation districts located in the Zayandeh-Rud River Basin (ZRB) in central Iran, where a total area of 200,000 ha is irrigated using surface water in conjunction with groundwater. To improve the performance of the irrigation networks for each of these districts, three operational model alternatives, including fully automated systems, were considered. Each of these models was designed and run for each of the six districts separately. The results showed a reduction of operational water losses in the range of 15% –25% depending on the implemented operational model. These potential water savings are then available to be used in the agricultural sector and can result in a reduction in groundwater extraction of up to 300 Million Cubic Meters (MCM). The associated reduction in energy consumption and carbon emission was about 450 GWh and 57,500 t each year, respectively. The results of this study can be employed in designing a centralized configuration of automated systems that enable water managers to reduce pressure on groundwater resources.

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  • Hashemy Shahdany, S. Mehdy & Firoozfar, Alireza & Maestre, J.M. & Mallakpour, Iman & Taghvaeian, Saleh & Karimi, Poolad, 2018. "Operational performance improvements in irrigation canals to overcome groundwater overexploitation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 234-246.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:204:y:2018:i:c:p:234-246
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2018.04.014
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    1. Karimi, Poolad & Qureshi, Asad Sarwar & Bahramloo, Reza & Molden, David, 2012. "Reducing carbon emissions through improved irrigation and groundwater management: A case study from Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 52-60.
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    4. Nazemi, Neda & Foley, Rider W. & Louis, Garrick & Keeler, Lauren Withycombe, 2020. "Divergent agricultural water governance scenarios: The case of Zayanderud basin, Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    5. Li, Pei & Ren, Li, 2023. "Evaluating the differences in irrigation methods for winter wheat under limited irrigation quotas in the water-food-economy nexus in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    6. Barkhordari, Soroush & Hashemy Shahdany, Seied Mehdy, 2021. "Developing a smart operating system for fairly distribution of irrigation water, based on social, economic, and environmental considerations," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
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    8. Yao, Liming & Li, Yalan & Chen, Xudong, 2021. "A robust water-food-land nexus optimization model for sustainable agricultural development in the Yangtze River Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    9. Hassani, Yousef & Hashemy Shahdany, Seied Mehdy & Maestre, J.M. & Zahraie, Banafsheh & Ghorbani, Mohammad & Henneberry, Shida Rastegari & Kulshreshtha, Suren N., 2019. "An economic-operational framework for optimum agricultural water distribution in irrigation districts without water marketing," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 348-361.
    10. Avargani, Habib Karimi & Hashemy Shahdany, S. Mehdy & Kamrani, Kazem & Maestre, Jose, M. & Hashemi Garmdareh, S. Ebrahim & Liaghat, Abdolmajid, 2022. "Prioritization of surface water distribution in irrigation districts to mitigate crop yield reduction during water scarcity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    11. Weijing Ma & Lihong Meng & Feili Wei & Christian Opp & Dewei Yang, 2020. "Sensitive Factors Identification and Scenario Simulation of Water Demand in the Arid Agricultural Area Based on the Socio-Economic-Environment Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    12. Yaltaghian Khiabani, M. & Hashamy Shahadany, S.M. & Maestre, J.M. & Stepanian, R. & Mallakpour, I., 2020. "Potential assessment of non-automatic and automatic modernization alternatives for the improvement of water distribution supplied by surface-water resources: A case study in Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    13. Kaghazchi, Afsaneh & Hashemy Shahdany, S. Mehdy & Roozbahani, Abbas, 2021. "Simulation and evaluation of agricultural water distribution and delivery systems with a Hybrid Bayesian network model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    14. Jolfan, Mohsen Hosseini & Hashemy Shahdany, S. Mehdy & Javadi, Saman & Milan, Sami Ghordoyee & Neshat, Aminreza & Berndtsson, Ronny & Tork, Hamed, 2023. "Modernization in agricultural water distribution system for aquifer storage and recovery – A case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).

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