PHILIPP AGRIC SCIENTIST ISSN 0031-7454

Vol. 95 No. 1, 64-78

March 2012

Design Shortcomings of the Headwork and Water Distribution and

Control Facilities of the Canal Irrigation Systems of Ilocos Norte,
Philippines
Wilfredo P. David1, Mona Liza F. Delos Reyes1, Manolo G. Villano1 and Arthur L. Fajardo2*
1
Land and Water Resources Division, 2Agricultural Machinery Division, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, College
of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baos, College 4031, Philippines
*
Author for correspondence; e-mail: alfajardo@uplb.edu.ph, arthurfajardo@yahoo.com; Tel.: + 63 49 536 8746, + 63
49 536 2792

The performances of 2 National Irrigation Systems (NIS), 6 Communal Irrigation Systems (CIS) and 2
Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIP) in Ilocos Norte were evaluated from the standpoint of their
dry season irrigation intensity, which is defined as the ratio of the actual area irrigated during the dry
season to the irrigation service area. Some important design criteria and features of these sample
irrigation systems were investigated to help explain their performances. Field observations of the
existing physical structures of these systems were carried out to assess their overall capacity to
convey and distribute the required water efficiently. Frequency analysis of the maximum rainfall totals
measured at the nearest weather station during the period 19762005 was carried out to gain insights
on the return periods of the 1-d, 2-d, 3-d and 4-d rainfall totals brought about by a typhoon that heavily
damaged the headworks of two of the sample irrigation systems. The study showed an average dry
season cropping intensity in crop year 20052006 of only 27%. This very low irrigation intensity can be
partly attributed to the extensive damage of the dam of the Madongan River Irrigation System (RIS),
the largest irrigation system within the province. The results of frequency analysis indicated that the
1-d, 2-d, 3-d and 4-d rainfall totals had associated return periods ranging only from 2.4 to 4.3 yr. The
poor performance of the irrigation systems studied can be traced to their design shortcomings and
undesirable design features. The potentials for improvements in hydraulic structures were evident.

Key Words: canal irrigation, design criteria, design shortcomings, Ilocos Norte, systems rehabilitation

Abbreviations: AFMA Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, CIS communal irrigation system, NIS
national irrigation system, PIS pump irrigation system, RIS river irrigation system, ROTR run-of-the-river,
SWIP small water impounding project

INTRODUCTION assumptions that have compromised their physical

From the mid-1960s to the 1980s, the Philippine
government invested heavily in the construction of canal
irrigation systems. Since the late 1980s, however,
irrigation expansion in the country has lost momentum
due to a host of interrelated technical, hydrologic, socio-
economic, institutional, environmental and political
issues and constraints (David 2003). A number of studies
revealed that many canal irrigation systems have been
performing below expectations (Ferguson 1987; World
Bank 1992; David 1986, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009). The
actual areas they irrigate were much less than their design
service areas especially during the dry season. The yields
and cropping intensities in their service areas are below
expectations. Furthermore, the canal irrigation facilities
are rapidly deteriorating due to cumulative operation and
maintenance (O&M) neglect and unrealistic design
integrity (David 2003, 2008). Newer canal irrigation
systems only served around 56% of their design service
areas (David 2009) in contrast with up to 94% prior to
1965 (Ferguson 1987).
In an effort to improve the performance of irrigated
agriculture, the Philippines embarked on a program of
rehabilitating around 372,000 ha of canal irrigation
systems service area and building new irrigation facilities
to serve about 51,000 ha during the period 19921996.
However, this massive rehabilitation and new area
generation effort covering more than 423,000 ha or about
84,600 ha yr-1 resulted in a total increase of only 61,700
ha in irrigated area during dry season or an average
annual increase of 12,300 ha. Although nearly 40% of the
1996 total irrigation service area had either been newly
generated or rehabilitated, the dry season area actually

64 The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 95 No.1 (March 2012)

Canal Irrigation Systems of Ilocos Norte, Philippines
irrigated was only about 56% of the irrigation service
area (David 2003).
Since the late 1990s the modernization of the
agriculture sector was accorded top priority by the
government in an effort to provide enduring solutions to
the twin problems of food insecurity and rural poverty.
The primary instrument for this initiative was at least to
maintain the canal irrigation base and sustain growth in
the private sector-led minor irrigation systems. In 1997,
the Philippine Congress passed the Agriculture and
Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), which was an
expanded version of the Irrigation Crises Act
(Department of Agriculture 1998). Despite these efforts
the engineering performance of canal irrigation systems
did not improve significantly. In fact, the gap between
projected or expected and actual performance of canal
irrigation systems has been increasing with time (David
2008, 2009).
The above considerations would imply that faulty
design was the root cause of the poor performance of
many of the existing canal irrigation systems. This paper
aimed to identify some of these design shortcomings. It
reports the observed design shortcomings on the
headwork and the water distribution and control facilities
of the sample irrigation projects in Ilocos Norte.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Canal irrigation systems with lower economic rates of
return, cropping intensities and actual area irrigated than
the expected values during the project planning stage are
not unique to the Philippines, but a common experience
in many Asian countries (Horst 1998; Skutsch and
Rydzewski 2001; Plusquellec 2002; Clemmens 2006;
Malano and Hofwegen 2006). There is now a growing
consensus among irrigation researchers that the primary
reasons behind the poor performances of canal irrigation
systems include: (1) inadequate data base for planning,
(2) inadequate institutional capacity and mechanisms for
project planning and development, (3) design errors, (4)
poor quality of construction, (5) inadequate and
fragmented irrigated agriculture support services, (6)
overoptimistic assumptions of water use efficiency and
irrigation service area during the project planning stage,
and (7) failure to manage and distribute irrigation water
efficiently and effectively. Because of inadequate
baseline information and institutional capacity for project
planning, designers and builders of the irrigation facilities
fail to establish appropriate design criteria (Horst 1998;
Plusquellec 2002; David 2003, 2008, 2009). Quite often,
the design criteria used pay insufficient attention to
operational procedures. As a result, many design
assumptions or stipulations for efficient operation or
management of the system are difficult to realize or
The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 95 No.1 (March 2012)
Wilfredo P. David et al.
implement under real field condition (Plusquellec et al.
1994; Horst 1998; Plusquellec 2002).
Over the years, the poor performance of many canal
irrigation systems has been attributed to shortcomings in
either the design and technology, management and
institutional setup, policy or a combination of these
factors. Horst (1998), Plusquellec (2002) and Ersten
(2009) summarized from a historical perspective the bulk
of available information on the problems of irrigation and
irrigated agriculture and the usual solutions that had been
taken to address these problems.
In the 1970s, wastage of water below the farm outlet
was viewed as the primary reason for the poor
performance of canal irrigation systems. The common
response then included promotion of on-farm
development including introduction of modern water
application methods and precise land leveling, creation of
water users groups at the level of tertiary canals, and
refining of flow measuring techniques. However, these
solutions failed to push the performance of irrigation to
the expected level. The focus then of the efforts to
improve the performances of irrigation systems shifted to
the management and institutional aspects. To date, the
results left much to be desired.
Several authors (David 1986, 2003; Horst 1998;
Plusquellec 2002) argued that overoptimistic assumptions
during the planning stage and faulty and unrealistic
design were the main causes of the poor performance of
gravity irrigation systems. Results of the 1997 study of
the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the
World Bank on 6 gravity irrigation systems in Thailand,
Myanmar and Vietnam corroborated this claim (Rice
1997). Findings from this study contradicted the
dominant paradigm attributing low economic returns of
government-operated, gravity-fed irrigation schemes to
poor O&M and inadequate farmer organizations. The
study concluded that the primary reasons for the
performance gaps were falling paddy prices,
overoptimism about the crop area to be served and
project design faults including the choice of unsuitable
technology.
The recognition of poor design as the main reason for
the poor performance of irrigation systems has been
slow. Plusquellec (2002) summarized the studies,
publications and events that acknowledged directly or
indirectly the importance of design and technology in the
performance of irrigation systems. He noted that although
such studies, publications and events were sponsored by
international organizations [World Bank, International
Water Management Institute (IWMI), International
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), and Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations], they remained the initiatives of individual
experts rather than the result of a policy shared at the
highest decision level of their organizations.
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