Title page- Type of article: review paper- Title: Regulation of irrigation canals: characterisation and classification

This article suggests and defines a characterisation of irrigation canal regulation methods, based on four criteria: considered variables (controlled, measured, and control action variables), logic of control, design method (structure and technique) and field implementation (configuration and device). Depending on the chosen criterion and partition rule, different classifications can be built from this characterisation. In conclusion, a structured characterisation table of the main published canal regulation methods is presented. Retard (PI Delay controller), Q-Discharge in the canal, Q dn-Downstream discharge in the canal, Q in-Intermediate discharge in the canal, Q up-Upstream discharge in the canal, y dn-Downstream water elevation of the pool (therefore upstream of a regulator), y in-Intermediate water elevation in the pool, y up-Upstream water elevation of the pool (therefore downstream of a regulator), Z-Measured variable.