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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #81004

Title: IMPROVING CONVENIENCE OF IRRIGATION FLOW CONTROL AND MEASUREMENT

Author
item Replogle, John

Submitted to: International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Improving the convenience for applying practical technologies can encourage farmers to adopt practices that support sustainable irrigated agriculture. Important among these are convenient water measurement and control techniques. Many simple constructions or operating procedures are available that can bring considerable convenience to farmers and irrigation delivery system operators. Some are new technologies and some are improvements on older technologies. Many can be implemented with small expense. Some are superior replacements for current practices. The techniques and devices discussed included: (a) accurate and convenient zero setting for weirs and flumes (b) pressure-transducer field checks, (c) easy-to-use scales for orifice and Venturi meters, (d) flow-profile improvers to assist accurate meter operations in irrigation pipelines, (e) floor sills and wave suppressors for canals that usually flow at variable depths of flow, (f) water surface slope measurements--based on static- pressure tubes, and (g) field checks of flow velocity profiles to evaluate flow conditioning using rising-bubble techniques for flow-profile visualization. Many of the concepts are demonstrated in a summary illustration. This illustration shows several items in a typical stilling well and broad-crested weir (long-throated flume) that need attention, and offers suggestions for correcting the deficiencies.