IRRIGATION SYSTEM DESIGN

PHILOSOPHY

Project: LIWA Date Farm

Contractor/Client: Gulf Industrial Services Company – GISCO

- LLC
Irrigation Consultant: Evergreen Adcon Consult

January 27, 2018

 1. Introduction

2. Project location

3. Irrigation Design Concept & Parameters

4. Irrigation System Operational Philosophy

5. Irrigation Water Quality Parameters

January 27, 2018

Introduction:
Properly designed, installed, maintained and managed irrigation systems greatly reduce
the volume of irrigation water that is wasted every year. In some water short areas, we
have seen the beginnings of planned water conservation efforts. In time, these could
become the basis for a coordinated national policy toward water conservation. It is our
goal to present the material as simply as possible while explaining some theory behind
the process. Understanding the basic hydraulics material in the first section of the
manual is very important, especially to new students of irrigation design. Even
intermediate level design students may find it helpful to “brush up” on hydraulics before
going on to further studies. In this write up, we will try to establish the factor for an
efficient irrigation design. This report delineates the standard methods of irrigation
based on multiple factors i.e. climate, water source availability, soil type, crop type etc.

Every year we undertake several projects ranging from Landscape Irrigation to Golf
Irrigation & Farm Irrigation. It is our primary concern to design an efficient irrigation
system. We recommend the best practices to be carried out to control water uses &
additional men power for running the system.

Thanks,

Bhupendra Sharma
Manager & Partner
+971552835476(UAE),+919571601491(India)
For EvergreenAdcon
URL: http://consultancy.evergreenadcon.com
Mail: consultancy@evergreenadcon.com

January 27, 2018

 2. Project location

The project is located in Liwa, Abu Dhabi (UAE). The main plantation in the farm is
Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera).

The sea is nearly 100 kms away from the project location. There is one side is Sea &
the other side is Desert. This creates a forced hot air blow and causes more losses
from the ground surface in the atmosphere.

January 27, 2018

 3. Irrigation Design Concept & Parameters

There are several factors which decide the irrigation water requirement in particular
specific regions.
First the irrigation water requirements are to be determined. These are the factors
Evapotranspiration:
The plant water requirement includes the water lost by evaporation into the
atmosphere from the soil and soil surface, and by transpiration, which is the amount
of water used by the plant. The combination of these is evapotranspiration (ET)

The project is in HOT DRY geographical location.

Soil type
Soil absorbs and holds water in much the same way as a sponge. A given texture and
volume of soil will hold a given amount of moisture. The intake rate of the soil will
influence the precipitation rate and type of water emitting device that can be utilized.
The ability of soil to hold moisture, and the amount of moisture it can hold, will greatly
affect the irrigation operational schedule.

January 27, 2018

 The above mentioned factors determine the water requirement/ day- tree.
In the UAE where average temperature remains at 40 degree, the daily watering is a
must activity.
The per day water requirement is considered as 120 Lit/ day for date palm.
The climate is arid with very high summer temperatures. The coastal area, where the
bulk of the population lives, has a hot and humid climate in the summer with
temperatures and relative humidity reaching 46° C and 100 percent respectively.
Winters are generally mild with temperatures between 14 °C and 23 °C. The interior
desert region has hot summers with temperatures rising to about 50 °C and cool
winters during which the lowest temperature can fall to around 4 °C. Mean annual
rainfall is about 78 mm, ranging from less than 40 mm around Liwa in the southern
desert to 160 mm in the northeastern mountains. Precipitations cover a period of
between 9 and 19 days over the whole year. Over 80 percent of the annual rainfall
occurs during the winter (December to March). In spring (April–May) rainfall is
infrequent and is usually associated with isolated thunderstorms. In summer (June–
September), rain is rare and occurs as a result of the afternoon thunderstorm over the
eastern highlands or isolated thunderstorms accompanying the rarely occurring sea
breeze fronts.

January 27, 2018

 4. Irrigation System Operational Philosophy

For each and every Irrigation system, the performance parameters need to be
established and the customized design should achieve the established parameters to
achieve the result.
So here the parameters will be as followings-
1. Irrigation watering per Date Palm
2. Water application method- Trickle Irrigation
3. Design of irrigation network (Loop or Dead End)
4. Flow control at various stage to control watering (Manual or Semi-Automatic or Fully
Automatic)
5. Water quality control through filtration (to prevent the damage)
6. Fertigation (Manual/ Automatic)
7. Quick Coupling Valve

January 27, 2018

PROJECT SPECIFIC LAYOUT FOR MAIN LINE & SUB-MAIN LINE
NETWORK

January 27, 2018

 5. Irrigation Water Quality Parameters

The quality of water is an important factor in the growth of any vegetation. In this specific
project, if there is availability of TSE water then it doesn’t require further hardness tests only the
required test is microbial test of water and Nitrogen level in water.
The given range of parameters must be read as a guideline for water quality.

SNo Parameters Recommendation Recommended Range

1500 / 1000 (drip/ spray)

1. Total dissolved solids
mg/lit

2. Sulphate as S03 200 mg/lit

3. Chloride 350 mg/lit

4. PH 6 to 8

January 27, 2018