EVALUATION OF AN IRRIGATION PROJECT; A CASE STUDY THE MAIN CANAL PART OF Al KHACHIYA IRRIGATION PROECT

Abstract

Due to the fact that Iraq is one of the most affected countries, the increase in population growth and the detrimental effects of global warming, along with the neighboring countries' exploitation of transboundary rivers, have resulted in severe water resource shortages and detrimental effects on the environment, society, and economy. One of the most significant projects is the Al Khachiya Irrigation Project, which is extended 55 kilometers to the left of the Tigris River in the Iraqi province of Wasit. It serves an area of roughly 55.8 km². We chose three fields A1, A2, and A3 to assess the Al Khachiya Irrigation Project. The C10 Canal, which is 18.9 km in length and designed to pass an estimated 19.5m³/s, is a component of the Al Khachiya Irrigation Project. A few specifically selected performance measures, such as the effectiveness of water application, storage, and distribution, water conveyance, and overall canal efficiency, were used to evaluate the C10 Canal. The C10 Canal is being evaluated using the A2, A3 fields.The average water application efficiency for the A2 and A3 fields, according to the results is 37.09 % and 46.45 % respectively. In other words, farmers utilize more water than is actually needed. Water storage efficiency is 67.94% and 53.13% for fields A2 and A3 respectively, on average. Moreover, the water distribution efficiency is approximately 92.29% for A2 field and 91.05% for A3 field. According to field measurements, the water conveyance efficiency of C10 Canal is 93.62 %, cracks are observed in some lining boards of C10 canal, which affected the convenience efficiency. The overall efficiency of C10 Canal is 35.85%. The results of evaluation showed that more losses of water were caused by inefficient use, longer operating hours, and a lack of knowledge and expertise among farmers regarding water management.