Sediment Transport in Irrigation Canals ― A New Approach

Sediment transport in irrigation canals influences to a great extent the sustainability of an irrigation system. Unwanted erosion or deposition will not only increase maintenance costs, but may also lead to unfair, unreliable and unequitable distribution of irrigation water to the end users. Proper knowledge of the characteristics, including behaviour and transport of sediment will help to design irrigation systems, plan efficient and reliable water delivery schedules, to have a controlled deposition of sediments, to estimate and arrange maintenance activities, etc. The main aim of these lecture notes is to present a detailed analysis and physical and mathematical descriptions of sediment transport in irrigation canals and to describe the mathematical model SETRIC that predicts the sediment transport, deposition and entrainment rate as function of time and place for various flow conditions and sediment inputs.
The model is typically suited for the simulation of sediment transport under the particular conditions of non-wide irrigation canals where the flow and sediment transport are strongly determined by the operation of the flow control structures. The lecture notes will contribute to an improved understanding of the behaviour of sediments in irrigation canals. They will also help to decide on the appropriate design of the system, the water delivery plans to evaluate design alternatives and to achieve an adequate and reliable water supply to the farmers.

After graduating in irrigation and hydropower at the Technical University of Delft, Herman Depeweg was involved in hydraulic research at Delft Hydraulics, his main research topics were related to hydraulic structures, sediment transport, local scour and erosion. He has deepened his knowledge in irrigation by various assignments with Dutch consulting firms, especially as project manager for long-term irrigation projects in the Far East (Indonesia) and the Middle East (Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) for more than two decades. Herman Depeweg joined IHE in 1986 to lecture in hydraulics, computer applications and irrigation, the latter has been focussed on all aspects related to irrigation at main, tertiary and field level. During these years he has been mentor of several MSc and PhD students and has given guidance and assistance in their research in the specific field of irrigation and sediment transport. He has been guest lecturer for UNESCO-IHE around the world, namely in Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela.
After graduating at the University in Roorkee in 1989, Krishna Paudel was involved in the design and construction of irrigation projects in Nepal. In 2010 he obtained his PhD degree at UNESCO-IHE, Delft. His research topic has been the role of sediment in the design and management of irrigation canals. His research and fieldwork was done in the large-scale Sunsari Morang Irrigation Scheme, Nepal. Krishna Paudel holds about 24 years of overall experience in the planning, design, construction, monitoring and management of irrigation and river engineering projects. During this period, Mr. Paudel has obtained thorough competence to resolve diversified challenges related to irrigation development projects in Nepal. Currently, he is associated with Consolidate Management Services, Nepal as Senior Water Resource Engineer and provides professional contributions in water resource development projects, particularly to hydraulic design and sediment control and management issues.
Nestor Mendez has been associate professor of Hydraulics and Sediment Transport at the Universidad Centro Occidental "Lisandro Alvarado" at Barquisimeto, Venezuela. After his graduation in 1977 and before joining the University in 1981, he has worked for the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Resources (MARNR) in the operation and maintenance of hydraulic works and in the design and construction of large drainage systems in the Western Plains of Venezuela. In 1998 he obtained his PhD degree at IHE, Delft. His research topic has been the behaviour of sediment transport in irrigation canals. Since 1999, he is guest lecturer at UNESCO-IHE and at several universities in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Bolivia. At present, he is active as consultant in the field of Land and Water Development in Venezuela.