Abstract
Pakistan is endowed with one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems in the world. Considerable food production per unit area and per unit of water is inevitable to meet present-day needs. The optimal use and effective management of water resources may lead to a significant increase in food production. The present study evaluates two different operational strategies for optimal and economical use of water in a downstream control irrigation system of the Upper Swat Canal in the North West Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Firstly, the computerized weekly rotational scheduling was determined by using the Crop Based Irrigation Operation (CBIO) software developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Secondly, the application of CBIO coupled with closing the canals at night was simulated using the Canal Management Model (CanalMan).
Maps of the command area and primary data used for simulations were collected from various sources. Maps were digitized using a geographical information system to determine accurate data. It is observed that there is oversupply to the system as compared to the crop water requirements during periods of low demand. Significant savings of irrigation water were found by using CBIO and night-time closure of canals. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.