WRM-34306 Water System Design for Water Use from Multiple Sources

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

WRM-10306 Irrigation and Water Management; HWM-21806 Hydraulics and Hydrometry; WRM-21312 Design in Land and Water Management 2 and SLM-20306 Land and Water Engineering.

Continuation courses:

WRM-30806 Water Delivery.

Contents:

Irrigation needs are changing triggered by land use changes and an increasing demand on (irrigation) water. In the past, large-scale irrigation systems were built to supply water to farmers for a limited number of crops, mainly irrigated by surface water diverted from rivers, streams or lakes. Important recent developments include diversifying cropping patterns, changing field irrigation methods, urbanization and increasing non-agricultural water uses (including ecosystem services). As a result river basins are closing, water uses and conservation become increasingly contested, and stakeholders engage in different ways to influence water policies and intervention programs. Irrigation water demands are increasing, intensifying and no longer homogeneous and surface water is often supplemented with water from other sources: groundwater, waste water and/or drainage water. Increasing awareness of these changes led to approaches that include multiple water services, which has repercussions for the hydraulic design of irrigation systems. In this course the needs and repercussions of the above mentioned changes on the design of irrigation systems will be treated. Issues to be studied include:
- a diagnostic framework that tackles the multiple use of water by assessing the dimensions of technology, management, governance and use;
- multiple water requirements for a variety of crops, domestic use, livestock, and environmental needs;
- conjunctive use of rainfall, surface water, groundwater, waste water and/or drainage water for irrigation;
- water governance and institutional reforms to enable this conjunctive use of various sources of irrigation water;
- environmental needs/impacts (groundwater recharge, waterlogging, salinity and drainage and return flows to natural streams).
In the course a diagnostic framework to assess the current and desired services status to modernize irrigation systems and operation techniques is presented. The course starts with a self-test so that students can assess their individual knowledge requirements for the five irrigation modalities that are treated in the course, i.e. irrigation modernization, the conjunctive use of groundwater, waste water and drainage water and the water governance and institutional reforms to enable this conjunctive use. The course consists of two blocks, in the 1st first block, students will be engaged in five e-learning modules to study the above mentions modalities and to specialize in at least two of these modules. In the 2nd block, students will specialize in of these modalities and work together in an interdisciplinary design team to address complex conjunctive use of water resources, including a technical design of such a multiple sources system. Students will write reports on the design and management of these systems with due attention to the hydraulic engineering aspects of the conjunctive use of water resources. Students reflect on the design of their interventions in the context of the watershed.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
1) understand the needs and repercussions of irrigation activities in the context of changing land-use and water availability and institutional conditions;
2) analyse the relationship between irrigation water requirements for multiple land use at field level and the source of the irrigation water, including the role of rainfall;
3) appraise the current irrigation design challenges in the context of multiple sources of water in large irrigation systems;
4) design hydraulic interventions for the conjunctive use of multiple irrigation modalities in large irrigation systems;
5) propose institutional reforms that support the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed hydraulic interventions;
6) assess the expected performance of the proposed interventions and analyse these for the multiple dimensions of technology, management/governance and water user perspectives;
7) present and defend the proposed interventions in a professional manner.

Activities:

Based on the results of a self- test, students will formulate their own learning objectives. In Block 1, students will individually work on five e- learning modules, covering the five irrigation modalities treated in the course and have to specialize in at least two of these modules. In the course the principles of '' flipping the classroom' are used to create an active learning environment: students will have to browse for course-related information, to make assignments and to answer questions. In plenary (supervised) and parallel (unsupervised) discussion sessions they give and receive feedback. Block 1 is concluded with an individual exam that students have to pass to earn a ' ticket' to proceed to Block 2. In Block 2, students work together in inter-disciplinary teams to develop integrated designs for multiple sources of irrigation water in a case study area in India. Each team consists of five experts, one for each irrigation modality addressed in the e- learning modules. Block 2 is concluded with a team report on the design and management of irrigation systems with due attention to the hydraulic engineering aspects of the conjunctive use of surface, groundwater, waste water and/or re- use water and an individual reflection report on the design of these interventions in the context of the watershed.

Examination:

Students will be assessed on the basis of:
- an individual exam at the end of Block 1: open book test, treating the concepts of the various irrigation modalities (weight 50%);
- group work: in Block 2 students will work individually or in groups on assignment, resulting in a design report (weight 50%).
Each of these two marks should be at least 5.5.

Literature:

E-learning modules and background information provided through an electronic learning environment that can be accessed via MyPortal.