Application of Watershed-Based Tank System Model for Rainwater Harvesting and Irrigation in India
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 10
Abstract
The SOFTANK model optimally designs the watershed-based tank system by simulating field, tank, and groundwater balances. We applied this model to a small watershed consisting of six tanks (small reservoirs) in the semiarid region of India. We evaluated the existing tank system in this watershed and compared it to a one-tank system. Results showed that one tank at the outlet of the watershed would have been more beneficial [with benefit-cost (BC) ratio of 1.80] than the existing six-tank system (with BC ratio of 1.71). Finally, we performed the analysis for obtaining the optimal tank system for the watershed, and we found that the tanks for irrigation purposes are not economical for the small watershed. The groundwater source was enough for irrigation, so any additional investment in the tanks would be uneconomical. The results demonstrate the importance of the watershed-based tank system approach to design.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Grewal, S. S., Mittal, S. P., Agnihotri, Y., and Dubey, L. N. (1989). “Rainwater harvesting for the management of agricultural droughts in the foothills of northern India.” Agric. Water Manage., 16, 309–322
Guerra, L. C., Watson, P. G., and Bhuiyan, S. I. (1990). “Hydrological analysis of farm reservoirs in rainfed rice areas.” Agric. Water Manage., 17, 351–366
Keller, A., Sakthivadivel, R., and Seckler, D. (2000). “Water scarcity and the role of storage in development.” Research Rep. No. 39, Int. Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka
Mugabe, F. T., Hodnett, M. G., and Senzanje, A. (2003). “Opportunities for increasing productive water use from dam water: A case study from semi-arid Zimbabwe.” Agric. Water Manage., 62(2), 149–163
Palmer, W. L., Barfield, B. J., and Haan, C. T. (1982). “Sizing farm reservoirs for supplemental irrigation of corn. Part I: Modelling reservoir size yield relationship.” Trans. ASAE, 372–376.
Panigrahi, B., and Panda, S. N. (2003). “Optimal sizing of on farm reservoir for supplemental irrigation.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 129(2), 117–128
Shinde, M. G. (2006). “Optimization of tank irrigation systems in watersheds of semiarid and subhumid tropics.” Ph.D. thesis, Loughborough Univ., Leicestershire, UK
Smout, I. K., Shinde, M. G., and Gorantiwar, S. D. (2011). “Optimum design of a watershed based tank system for the semiarid and subhumid tropics.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 137(10), 651–658
Srivastava, R. C. (1996). “Design of runoff recycling irrigation system for rice cultivation.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 122(6), 331–335
Srivastava, R. C. (2001). “Methodology for design of water harvesting system for high rainfall areas.” Agr. Water Manage., 47, 37–53
Sur, H. S., Bhardwaj, A., and Jindal, P. K. (1999). “Some hydrological parameters for the design and operation of small earthen dams in lower Shiwaliks of northern India.” Agr. Water Manage., 42(1), 111–121
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 10 • October 2011
Pages: 659 - 667
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 20, 2010
Accepted: Oct 25, 2010
Published online: Oct 28, 2010
Published in print: Oct 1, 2011
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.