Wangana Piped Irrigation
Network Project
Dr. Srinivasa Lingireddy
Dipl.-Eng Alexander Allik
Mr. Milind Murudkar
Land Irrigated by Wangana Project
Pipe Distribution Network
From Pump Station
Steering India into 21st Century
• Piped irrigation is very common in
developed world
• Probably the only way water is supplied for
irrigation in most developed countries
• Piped irrigation is long overdue in India
• Wangana would be a role-model
Steering India into 21st Century
• Traditional canal irrigation is highly
inefficient
– At most 50% efficiency
– OK when water has little or no value
– NOT acceptable when we add value to water
by lifting it up several 10s of meters
Steering India into 21st Century
• Piped Irrigation
– Almost 100% efficiency
– Highly suitable for hilly terrains
– High residual pressures at several outlets
• Direct connection to sprinkler or drip
irrigation
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Easy to measure water usage
NO loss of precious irrigable land
Fewer cross drainage works
No water logging and consequent
reduction in agricultural yield
Will the piped irrigation be
more costlier ?
Will the piped irrigation be more
costlier ?
• Not necessarily, when we look at the overall
efficiency and benefits
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Value added water
Life of the project
Cross drainage works
Maintenance costs
Savings in irrigable land
• There may not be much difference in cost per
hectare as more efficient use of water will help
irrigate more land
Are there any problems with
piped irrigation systems ?
Are there any problems with piped
irrigation systems ?
• There are advantages and disadvantages
to any system
– Calls for more competent design engineers
and contractors
– Unsophisticated cheap designs may end up in
more maintenance problems
– Poor quality construction may lead to leakage,
pipe breaks and failure of the entire project
Cost Savings through efficient
design and use of sophisticated
pressure and flow control
equipment
Cost Savings
• Most pipeline failures are due to improper
management of air in distribution networks
– Air in pipes is a big problem
– Proper management is essential
Cost Savings
• Large quantities of air enters and get
trapped only if the pipes are allowed to
drain
Pump trip – water stops
Entrained Air
Water drains
by gravity when
there is no control
Water drains
by gravity when
there is no control
Cost Savings
• Large quantities of air CHOKES the pipes
and reduce their carrying capacity.
• This requires over sizing of pipes and
increased costs.
Entrapped Air can Choke the pipe
and reduce its capacity
Cost Savings
• PFCMD (Pressure Flow Control Metering
Device) prevents draining of pipes
No air entrainment !
PFCMD shuts
down when the
pressure goes down
Cost Savings
• Small quantities of
entrained air will be
removed through air
valves
Cost Savings
• Little or no air in the pipes allow for most
economical sizing of pipes
Pressure Flow Control Metering Device
(PFCMD)
Pressure Flow Control Metering
Device (PFCMD)
• Maintains 10 L/s irrespective of pressure
at each outlet
• Will measure consumption
• Shuts down when the pressure drops
below the set value
• Virtually maintenance free
• Operates solely based on available
pressure
• No need for external power or electricity
• No need for control systems like SCADA
Modern Design Tools
• Pipe2000 Hydraulic Modeling Software
• Allows for optimal diameter selection
based on limits on velocities and
pressures
• Computes total cost of the project based
on the unit cost of pipes
• PFCMD can be included in the model
Nodes with pressures
between 9 and 12 m
(all other nodes have pressures greater than 12m)
Pressure Heads for DM-5
Pressure Heads for DM-4
Summary
• Use of modern technology and good
engineering helped us minimize the overall
cost of the project while providing a stateof-the-art solution and maintenance free
design
Sidoma Systeme GmbH