Distribution System Of Irrigation Water In Bangladesh: A Case Study Of Bangladesh Agricultural University Farm

Abstract

A study was conducted at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) farm in 2010 to evaluate the irrigation water distribution system and determine the conveyance losses of both the lined and unlined irrigation canals. There were 3 Deep Tubewells (DTWs) in 3 blocks at BAU farm mainly used for irrigation purposes. The capacity of DTWs and conveyance losses were measured using cutthroat flume and verified using float method. The discharge of the DTWs were measured at the delivery points and found to be 1.5, 1.3 and 1.2 cusec in DTW1, DTW2 and DTW3 respectively. Efficiency of the DTWs was 75, 65 and 80% respectively. The total length of lined canals in the farm was 1256 m, 1913 m and 640 m and total length of unlined canals was 870 m, 3100 m and 850 m under block no. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The conveyance losses of lined canal considering a length of 50 m were 1.06%, 3.85% and 8.3% and the same for unlined canals was 12.5%, 33.33% and 37.9% under block no. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. In terms of volume the conveyance losses for unlined canals considering a length of 50 m were 3.49, 6.45 and 8.51 m3/m2/day under block no. 1, 2 and 3 respectively.