Re-engineering irrigation management and system operations

Abstract The paper examines how a re-engineering approach can benefit irrigation management and canal operations and, hence, how the current, acute challenges to water management (e.g. competition, multiple users and protection of the environment) can be addressed. By comparing the irrigation and the industrial sectors, a re-engineering process includes re-thinking all the processes involved in irrigation management. Commonly held assumptions are questioned, re-validated or rejected depending on local conditions. As an example, the implicit assumption of homogeneity (service-physical characteristics-…) should be screened and rejected unless proved to be true. It is argued here that a strengthening of the notion of service should be a key aspect of re-engineering for irrigation management. For canal operations, the approach should focus on an improved physical assessment of the infrastructure. It is proposed, to that end, to use an approach based on sensitivity indicators, which allows a better understanding of the canal behaviour under expected or unexpected perturbations. Finally, it is proposed that the service-operations interface be redesigned to include more appropriate allocation of operational effort targeting the most demanding areas.