Draft Design Criteria Report (Tono & Vea)

Draft Design Criteria
Report
Consultancy Service for the Design and

Construction Supervision of the
Rehabilitation of the Tono and Vea
Irrigation Schemes Phase 1
August 2016
Consultancy Service for the Design and Construction Supervision of the Rehabilitation of the Tono
and Vea Irrigation Schemes: Design Criteria Report, August 2016|
1
www.smec.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................III
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS......................................................................IV
LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................V
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS........................................................VI
1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................8
1.1.
1.2.
Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) 8

Scope of this Report 9
2. IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE DESIGN..............................................11

2.1.
2.2.
Brief Overview of Infrastructure

Scheme Infrastructure
12
2.2.1.
2.2.2.
2.2.3.
2.2.4.
2.2.5.
2.2.6.
2.3.
Scheme Drains 21
Field Drainage Design 21
Cross Drainage Channel Design
River Training by Groynes
23
Motorized Pumping
2.4.1.
2.4.2.
2.5.
20
20
Drains 21
2.3.1.
2.3.2.
2.3.3.
2.3.4.
2.4.
General features 12
Canals
13
Canal Structures 18
Night Storage Reservoirs
Cross Drainage Structures
Scheme Roads 21
11
25
Design of Pump 25
Pump Selection 25
Structural Parameters
2.5.1.
2.5.2.
2.5.3.
2.5.4.
2.5.5.
22
26
Densities 26
Youngs Modulus 27
Reinforcement Steel
27
Masonry 28
Allowable Bearing Pressure
29
3. AUTOMATION AND INSTRUMENTATION...........................................30

3.1.
3.2.
Introduction 30
Available Technologies
3.2.1.
3.2.2.
3.2.3.
3.2.4.
3.3.
Recent Developments 31
Terminology
31
Communication Technologies 32
Instruments
33
Constraints
3.3.1.
3.3.2.
3.3.3.
31
34
Basic Requirements for Model to Work

Risks
35
Backup Measures and Adaptations 36
34
1
4. SOLAR ENERGY AND PUMP DESIGN................................................38

4.1.
4.2.
Introduction 38
Smallholder Irrigation
4.2.1.
4.2.2.
4.2.3.
4.3.
Solar Modules in Fixed Position

Movable Solar Modules 40
Drip and Sprinkler Systems
40
Larger Systems
4.3.1.
4.3.2.
4.3.3.
4.3.4.
38
38
41
Schematic Arrangement
41
Matching Available Energy with Water Demand
Design of Electric Motor
45
Solar Power Generation 46
42
5. HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES............................................47

5.1.
5.2.
Introduction 47
Rainfall and Effective Rainfall
5.2.1.
5.2.2.
5.2.3.
5.2.4.
5.3.
5.4.
Introduction
49
Runoff Coefficient
Runoff Routing 50
49
49
Reservoir Modelling 50
5.4.1.
5.4.2.
5.4.3.
5.4.4.
5.5.
Thiessen Polygons
47
Gridded Rainfall and Climate Data 47
Intensity-Duration Frequency Curves 47
Seasonality Index of Rainfall 48
Rainfall-Runoff Modelling
5.3.1.
5.3.2.
5.3.3.
47
Water Balance 50
Water Supply Demand 50
Irrigation Demand
51
Reliability of the Supply from Dam Reservoirs
WEAP Software
51
51
6. WATER QUALITY FOR IRRIGATION..................................................54

6.1.
6.2.
6.3.
Introduction
Sampling
Evaluation
54
54
55
DOCUMENTS CONSULTED...................................................................57
2
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Proposed Lining in Canals of the Lateral Units......................................14
Figure 2: Section through Lateral Canal Headgate..............................................20
Figure 3: Type of Groynes in Relation to Flow Direction.......................................23
Figure 4: Example of a Groyne (source: KP-02, Indonesian Irrigation Design
Standards, 1986).................................................................................................. 25
Figure 5: Selection of pump type (Source: Irrigation Pumping Plant, Irrigation
Manual-Module 5, FAO Sub-Regional Office, Harare 2001)..................................26
Figure 6: Solar Water Pumping Components.......................................................41
Figure 7: Global Horizontal Irrigation Map of Ghana............................................42
Figure 8: Potential Evapotranspiration at the Site...............................................43
Figure 9: Guidelines for Irrigation Water Quality Assessment..............................56
3
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo
Photo
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Automated gate and solar powered local control pedestal...................34

MoneyMaker Solar Pump of Kickstart.................................................39
Sunflower Solar Pump of Futurepump..................................................39
PV Modules on Movable Tray.................................................................40
Array of PV Panels and Driplines in Front..............................................41
Array of 38 PV Modules of 250Wp each on a Steel Mounting Post........46
4
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Canals and Structures in Tono Irrigation Scheme...................................12
Table 2: Canals and Structures in Vea Irrigation Scheme.....................................13
Table 3: Irrigation Efficiencies (%) and Electronic Automation.............................15
Table 4: Practical Values of Maximum Furrow Lengths (m)..................................16
Table 5: Minimum Freeboard................................................................................17
Table 6: 3-day Rainfall Probabilities and Drainage Modulus for Rice Land (l/s per
ha) 21
Table 7: Growth Factors....................................................................................... 22
Table 8: Recommended Return Periods...............................................................22
Table 9: Coefficient a in Laceys Minimum Stable Width of Waterway.................24
Table 10: Unit Weight of Common Engineering Materials....................................26
Table 11: Values of Youngs Modulus...................................................................27
Table 12: Minimum Cover to Reinforcement for Different Concrete Grades.........28
Table 13: Insolation (kWh/(m2.day)).....................................................................43
Table 14: Irradiance (kW/m2) at the Site with Different Tilt Angles of the PV
Modules................................................................................................................ 44
Table 15: IDF Parameters for (T).......................................................................48
Table 16: Seasonal Rainfall Regimes indicated by Seasonality Index..................49
Table 17: Monthly Runoff Coefficients (%)...........................................................49
Table 18: Degree of Salinity and Sodicity in Irrigation Water...............................54
Table 19: Parameters Tested for Irrigation Water Quality.....................................54
5
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

Abbreviation/
Acronym
C
%
AGRHYMET
AWCM
AWLR
AWS
CGIR
CR
CSIR
Cumec
DCP
EDA
FAO
FSL
GCAP
GIS
GMA
GMSD
HOMER
ICOUR
ICT
IDSS
IWMI
IT
LBC
M
MAR
Masl
MC
MCC
MCM
MoFA
RBC
RTK
RTU
SCADA
SEI
SMEC
RMU
SOC
ToR
TRMM
Description
Degrees Centigrade
Percentage
Agriculture, Hydrology, Meteorology
African Water Cycle Monitor
Automatic water level recorder
Automatic weather station
Consultative Group for International Agricultural
Research
Cross-regulator
Council of (for) Scientific and Industrial Research
Cubic meter per second
Data collection platform
Exploratory Data Analysis
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Full Supply Level
Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project
Geographical Information System
Ghana Meteorological Agency
Ghana Meteorological Services Department
Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables
Irrigation Company of the Upper Regions
Information and communication technology
Irrigation decision support system
International Water Management Institute
Information technology
Left bank canal
Metre
Mean annual runoff
Meters above sea level
Main canal
Master Control Center
Million Cubic Meters
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Right bank canal
Real Time Kinematic
Remote telemetry unit
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
Stockholm Environmental Institute
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation
Remote management unit
Scheme operation center
Terms of Reference
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
6
UPS
USBR
USD
UAV
WEAP
WRRI
Uninterruptible Power Supply

United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Dollar
Unmanned aerial vehicle (or drone)
Water Evaluation And Planning
Water Resources Research Institute
7
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP)
1. Agriculture has driven Ghanas economic growth in the past and remains
the primary livelihood for the majority of its population of over 24 million
inhabitants, especially for the rural poor. Agricultural Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) grew by around 6% per annum over 2007 2010, driven
largely by the liberalization of the sector and by domestic and regional
market demand. Agriculture accounts for 30% of GDP and 60% of
employment, indicating a significant labour productivity gap with other
economic sectors and a need to increase labour productivity and attract
capital investment.
2. Under the first Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I), 2003-2005
agriculture was to be modernised to catalyse rural development. The
second Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) recognized that
no significant progress could be made in raising the average real incomes
of Ghanaians as a whole without significant improvements in the
productivity of the agriculture sector and agro-based/processing industry.
Its sequel, the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA),
2010-2013, sought to improve the wellbeing of Ghanas poor, most of
which reside in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture for their
primary livelihoods.
Ghanas agriculture sector strategy, known as FASDEP II1 (2010
2015) is organized around six priority themes: (a) Food Security and
Emergency Preparedness; (b) Increased Growth in Incomes; (c)
Increased Competitiveness and Enhanced Integration into Domestic
and International Markets; (d) Sustainable Management of Land and
Environment; (e) Science and Technology Applied in Food and
Agriculture Development and (e) Improved Institutional Coordination.
FASDEPs policy principles include a pro-poor focus, gender inclusion
(in an effort to promote greater gender equality 2, and consideration of
environmental and social sustainability. The investment framework for
FASDEP II is articulated in the Medium Term Agriculture Sector
Investment Plan (METASIP), which constitutes the national agriculture
investment plan under the Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Programme (CAADP). Broadly speaking, Ghanas
agriculture agenda is defined by elements of programmes seeking to
increase incomes (priority area (b)) and increased competitiveness
and market integration (priority area (c)).
3. Against this background, the Government of Ghana has signed agreements
for a credit of US$100 million from the International Development Agency
(IDA) and a grant of US$45 million from USAID for the Ghana Commercial
Agriculture Project (GCAP) which became effective in April 2013. The
development objective of the project, which is being executed by the
1 The revised Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy.
2 The Gender and Agricultural Development Strategy is given due attention in FASDEP II
as the basis for mainstreaming gender into the policies and programs of the agricultural
sector.
8
Ministry of Food and Agriculture, is (has) increased access to land, private

sector finance, input and output markets by smallholder farmer 3 from
public-private partnerships in commercial agriculture in Accra Plains and
SADA4 zone
4. The project comprises seven components:
Component 1: Strengthening investment promotion infrastructure,

facilitating secure access to land. This will promote a secure investment
climate that clarifies and strengthens the rights and obligations of
investors, government and affected communities, and support an
improved mechanism for facilitating access to land by reducing the
search costs to potential investors through an expansion of a database
of land suitable and available for investors and by building on nascent
mechanisms for actively matching potential investors with suitable land
owners.
Component 2: Securing PPPs and smallholder linkages in the Accra

Plains. This will involve the identification and realization of private
investments in the agricultural value chain through irrigation-based
PPPs in the Accra Plains. It will support all necessary tasks of taking the
PPP to market including the provision of any viability gap financing. It
will also strengthen community benefit sharing mechanisms by directly
supporting smallholder linkages through out-grower schemes and
contract farming arrangements as well as other improved
arrangements for benefit sharing through corporate social responsibility
and revenue management at the local level.
Component 3: Securing PPPs and smallholder linkages in the SADA

region. This will involve the identification and realization of private
investments in the agricultural value chain through PPPs. Investors
could be local or international and would cover both production and
processing activities as well as ancillary businesses. It will also
strengthen community benefit sharing mechanisms by directly
supporting smallholder linkages through out-grower schemes and
contract farming arrangements as well as other improved
arrangements for benefit sharing through corporate social responsibility
and revenue management at the local level.
Component 4: Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation. This

will finance the operational costs of project management including
monitoring and evaluation activities. It would also include necessary
training and capacity building for the staff.
Component 5: Investments in Physical Rehabilitation and Modernization

of Selected Existing Public Irrigation and Drainage Infrastructure.
Component 6: Support for the Restructuring and Strengthening of GIDA

and ICOUR.
Component 7: Support for the Development of

Associations and Private Scheme Management Entities.
Water
Users
3 The actual wording was smallholder farms but this can be taken to be a typographical
error, since farms per se cannot in themselves access land, finance or markets.
4 SADA refers to the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority which the project
proposes to establish in the Northern Region of the country.
9
1.2.
Scope of this Report
The Design Criteria Report presents methodologies of the detailed design of the
two irrigation schemes of Tono and Vea in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The
report refers in several instances to the GIDA Design Criteria for Irrigation and
Drainage System Design that provide in most design approaches and
methodologies that will be applied in this project.
The Design Criteria for Irrigation and Drainage System Design comprise the
following volumes:
Volume I Irrigation System Design
Volume II Headworks/Dams, Dugouts and Dykes
Volume III Canals
Volume IV Structures
Volume V Tertiary Units
The main system canals in the Tono and Vea Irrigation Scheme documents refer
to right bank and left bank canals.
The Tono scheme has only one dam outlet structure to supply irrigation water.
The main canal from the dam divides at some distance (i.e. 2.87 km) into a left
and right bank canal.
Lateral canals referred to as tertiary canals in the Ghana design standards draw
water from the main system. A number of lateral canals have to be upgraded to
main system canals as the lateral units they serve are too large. Conforming to
the schemes hierarchy system, these will not be referred to as secondary canals
but by branch canals.
Regarding tertiary units, the criteria refer also to lateral units that should entirely
be managed by the water users.
The ToR of the project is clear on the rehabilitation and modernization of the
irrigation schemes. To achieve these requirements, it will be prudent to introduce
new modern and efficient technologies practiced elsewhere on advanced
irrigation schemes. Unfortunately, the Ghanaian design standards do not cover
these technologies.
For this reason, the Design Criteria Report serves to introduce the reader with
new technologies that the Consultant proposes to use in the designs and to
present theories, equations, parameters and the general technical background.
Other conventional technologies that have briefly or not been presented in the
national design standards will also be covered to complement the information.
The thematic areas covered in this report are:
1
Scheme infrastructure
Canal lining
Automation and instrumentation
Solar energy and pump design
Hydrology
Land drainage
10
River training (groynes)
Water quality for irrigation
The Design Criteria Report presents briefly general cases encountered in the Tono
and Vea Irrigation Schemes. Detailed findings on the technical condition of the
schemes shall be presented in the Technical Assessment Report of each scheme
that comprises also the Preliminary Design Report.
11
2. IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE DESIGN

2.1.
Brief Overview of Infrastructure
The headworks of the Tono and Vea Irrigation Schemes comprise earthen storage
dams and outlet gates to receive water for the irrigation network that is
composed of different canals and structures in which water is conveyed to the
farm plots.
The rehabilitation and improvement component of the channel infrastructure may
meet obstacles where new canal alignments are proposed.
Commonly
encountered obstacles include:
(a) Steeper slopes than the maximum allowable canal slope along the canal
routes
(b) Canal crossing a road
(c) Canal crossing a river or drain
Drops, culverts and aqueducts that are presented in the Ghanaian Irrigation
Design Standards will be selected and designed to fit in the irrigation and
drainage network to enable safe and adequate passage through the above
obstacles.
Where water needs to be lifted from the source to irrigate crops that grow on
higher grounds, a special pump design shall be required with accessories and
pump station/house.
With control and division structures water is respectively regulated and divided
over canals. Structures between the headgate at the start of each canal and the
farm inlet structures are required to effectively carry out these functions.
Along the main and secondary canals, turnouts abstract water from the main
canal system (they turn water out) into lateral (or tertiary) canals. Downstream
of the turnouts, water is entirely managed by the farmers, whereas upstream of
the turnouts water should be controlled by a scheme management entity (SME).
A number of lateral units are very large (over 100 ha) in area. The improvement
works will propose to sub-divide large lateral units in 2 or 3 smaller ones to
increase transparency for the famers how to better control water division and to
reduce the total number of farmers to become more manageable by the lateral
committee.
In-field drainage channels and drainage structures are considered in conjunction
with the existing natural drains that enter the schemes through cross-drainage
structures in the left and right bank canals. This approach is the most efficient
and cost-effective way of draining water from the irrigation area.
Flood protection embankments along the rivers (primary drains) and some of the
major tributaries (secondary drains) as well as interceptor drains will be designed
to mitigate the risk of flooding.
It is imperative for any irrigation scheme to have functional service roads within
its vicinity. In this respect, new earthen roads will be constructed in addition to
spot grading and re-shaping of the existing ones.
The selection of construction materials depends on the type of hydraulic
structure, geotechnical parameters and the availability of materials that are
locally available. Commonly considered materials include earth as with earthen
12
dams, stone masonry and reinforced concrete for weirs and concrete dams. Their
availability plays a major role on the choice and selection of suitable construction
materials.
In the ensuing sections, reference to certain hydraulic, geo-mechanical and
structural design equations will be made (employed). The equations and
structural parameters are universally acceptable in the fields of civil, irrigation
and hydraulic engineering.
2.2.
Scheme Infrastructure
2.2.1. General features

-
Tono Irrigation Scheme
Farmers in the schemes produce crops in furrows in the upland areas and basins
in the lowland areas. In the past 5 years, many cases farmers developed basins
in the upland areas as growing paddy rice turned out more reliable to sell to local
markets than tomatoes.
Tables 1 and 2 compile the water management infrastructure of the schemes.
Table 1: Canals and Structures in Tono Irrigation Scheme
Ite
m
Description
Unit
Quanti
ty
2.84
Remarks/Condition
Main Canal (MC)
km
Partially in good shape
Left Bank Canal (LBC)
Right Bank Canal (RBC)
Main system roads
km 18.90 In fairy good state

In fairy good state
km 14.35
Required re-shaping and filling
km 40.10
Lateral canals
km 86.44 In poor state
Lateral roads
Sub-lateral canals
Drains
km 61.50 Silted and grown by trees
Lateral canal headgates
no
95
10
Main system structures:
Most cannot be operated
10a -
Measurement structure
no
Parshall flume
10b -
Cross-regulators
no
Neyrpic modules in poor state
10c -
Inverted siphons
no
990 m length in RBC, main road

crossing in LBC; all do leak
10d -
Drops
no
In good state
10e -
Duckbill weirs
no
35
Many are worn, pierced or crest cut
Cross-drainage
structures
no
60
Most in good condition but several

leak
no
16
Some are leaking
10f
10 g
Drainage
structures
overflow
13
10
h
Motorable bridges
no
11
In reasonable condition
10i -
Footbridges
no
17
10j
10
k
Night storage reservoirs

no
(NSR)
3 are infested by weeds and

grasses, 3 have laterite soil bed
and
loose
much
water
by
percolation.
Pump Stations (PS)
Electric pumps and pipelines are in

good shape, the power line of PS 2
damaged by lightning.
no
11 Lateral system structures:

11
a
Drop-check structures
no
11
b
Pipe aqueducts
no
11
c
Road culverts
no
11
11 d
Cross-drainage
no
structures
Many are silted
11
e
Duckbill weir
no
11f -
Diagonal weir
no
55
11
g
Tail structures
no
119
10 h
Sub-lateral
headgates
no
22
canal
1,628 Many are broken

Have silted
In good condition
Most are broken

Some cannot be operated
Some lateral units are very large as their sizes exceed 100 ha. Volume V Tertiary
Units of the national irrigation design standards indicates that the optimum size
lies presently between 50 ha and 100 ha. With many smallholders in lateral units
and that their numbers will increase in future, it is proposed to reduce the size of
the large lateral units by sub-division and promoting the lateral canal to branch
canal level. It may be expected that this increases the quality of water
management by the farmers as their group is smaller.
- Vea Irrigation Scheme
Table 2: Canals and Structures in Vea Irrigation Scheme
Ite
m
Description
Unit
Quanti
ty
Remarks/Condition
Left Bank Canal (LBC)
km
12.74 To be improved and reconstructed
Right Bank Canal (RBC)
km
Main system roads
km
24.41 Needs grading and resurfacing
Lateral Canals
km
42.26 Several need reconstruction
8.51
To be improved and reconstructed
14
Lateral roads
km
35.32 Need grading and removal of trees
Sub-lateral canals
km
8.57
Drains
km
26.57
Lateral canal headgates
no
61
Main system structures:
Several need reconstruction

Needs desilting and clearing of
trees
Most cannot be operated
9a -
Cross-regulator
no
Difficult to operate
9b -
Inverted siphon
no
Silted, not leaking
9c -
Drops
no
11
Several are broken
Cross-drainage
structures
no
40
Need desilting
9e -
Motorable bridges
no
Need improvement or replacement
9f
Footbridges
no
11
Need improvement or replacement
9g -
Road culverts
no
18
To be desilted and reconstructed
9h -
Night storage reservoir
no
To be enlarged and improved by

lining
9i
Measurement structure
no
Parshall flume, silted and drowned
no
Not provided
9d
10 Lateral system structures:

10 a
Sub-lateral
headgates
10
b
Drop-check structures
no
330
Mostly broken
10
c
Flume aqueducts
no
All are leaking
10
d
Pipe aqueducts
no
To be replaced
10
e
Road culverts
no
13
To be desilted
To be desilted
10f
canal
Cross-drainage
no
structures
10
g
Division boxes
no
36
Many are broken
10
h
Tail structures
no
74
Mostly are broken
2.2.2. Canals
General
Volume III Canals of the Ghana Irrigation Design Standards consider lining in
bends, and in a number of cases where water losses, weed growth, and scour and
erosion may occur that need to be prevented. In principle all canals, from main
15
canal to sub-lateral canals may be provided with lining for one or more of the
above considerations. The decision to provide lining or to construct earthen
canals should be based on cost. If proper maintenance cannot be relied upon it is
recommended to line the canals. It will be easier to remove sediment and weeds
from lined canals.
In Tono Irrigation Scheme, most of the canals have been lined. Only the sublaterals in the lowland areas are earthen canals as soils are much finer so that
they leak less that in the coarser soils of the upland areas.
Many stretches of the upper parts of the Vea main canal system have not been
lined. As several cross-drains and field drains enter the canal through breaches in
the protection bank much silt is deposited in the canals.
Much of the lining constructed in the 1970s and 1980s has deteriorated. The
originally lined canals will be relined where broken. Other earthen canal stretches
will be designed with concrete lining.
Figure 1 shows precast concrete slab lining in the sides and in-situ concrete on
the bed over 1mm thick geomembrane. The shape of the original canal is worn
and laterite material is placed, compacted and shaped first before the lining
works start.
Figure 1:Proposed Lining in Canals of the Lateral Units

The top widths of the embankments are conforming to the national design
standards.
Vea Irrigation Scheme
The upstream parts of the left and right bank canals of the Vea Irrigation scheme
constitute mainly earthen canal sections and these will be provided with plain
concrete lining. The canal lengths that have stone masonry parts will also be
replaced by concrete lining.
The lateral canals in the downstream part of both the left and the right bank
areas have been constructed in strong plain concrete and are in a good shape.
These canals require silt and vegetation removal. The few broken panel sections
need to be replaced and cracks are filled with plastering. As main canal water
did not reach the downstream part for many years large trees grow just beside
the lining and have damaged the concrete panels. About 70% of the drop-check
16
structures are however broken and need to be replaced with stronger ones with
reinforcement steel inside.
On both banks of the upper part of the Vea Irrigation Scheme, most lining is in a
bad shape. Some was constructed with laterite concrete and plastered later,
other sections have been provided with concrete slabs that was also plastered
later. There are also lengths of plain concrete cast in-situ that broke in many
places. It is proposed to remove the concrete and replace with geomembrane
that is protected by concrete slabs in the sides and cast in-situ concrete on the
bed.
Tono Irrigation Scheme
From 2007 to 2008, the Tono irrigation Scheme witnessed some rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation works, which covered the main canal, involved the replacement
of the concrete slabs placed in the 1980s with concrete panel lining. Several
reaches of these panels are presently undermined and collapsed and need to be
replaced.
The lining in the left and right bank canals are stronger with localized cracks and
pitting. To repair these, the openings of the holes will be enlarged, filled and
compacted to receive new linings and plastering. This activity is very important
to prevent further loss of coarse base material that the current washes out
leaving the concrete panels to span over gaps that get bigger and bigger.
Particularly poorly compacted concrete and lean concrete material (low cementaggregate ratio given) will break easily if no more supported by foundation
material. Leakages in panel joints a feature that is common would be remedied
by applying silicon joint filler.
Most lateral canals have eroded and lost parts of their embankments. The
embankments have been cut through to access water directly from the laterals.
The designed trapezoidal sections have lost shape resulting from scouring and
many of the slabs eroded or are not in place. Out of the 82 laterals in the Tono
scheme, only 2 (with minimal filling and patching of lining) can be branded
technical safe for use. For this category of canals, we propose to restore their
technical state by removing the existing lining, reconstruct and provide new
lining as shown in Figure 1.
A general observation is that all laterals and sub-laterals had linings in upland
fields where the soils are predominantly light (sandy, gravelly with loams)
suggesting high permeability rates and hence justification for lining. In the
lowland fields where the soils are clayey having high water retention values,
these structures are not lined. In all instances, provision will be made for the
installation of precast hydraulic structures in the appropriate chainages. Some of
the laterals are overgrown with trees and the rooting system has caused
considerable damage to the linings, sumps and headwalls.
The absence of portable plastic siphon tubes to access water from these
structures left the farmers with no other option than to cut through the
embankments. These siphons function efficiently where there exist appreciable
heads to drive the flow. The rehabilitation will address this menace by providing
plot turnouts with locking devices.
The metal gates that slide in a groove of the frame will be used to regulate water
releases into the plots.
Discharge
17
Irrigation water losses in canals and the fields are primarily caused by canal
leakages and regulation errors at the division structures. This leads to poor field
water delivery resulting in over and under-irrigation. The consequences of overirrigation are higher percolation losses passing below the root zone or direct
runoff into the drainage system that eventually flows back to the source river in
favour of the environmental flows. Fertilizers and other plant nutrients in the soil
are washed along with these waters.
ICOUR assumes 40% overall irrigation efficiency in both irrigation schemes. The
irrigation efficiencies proposed for the rehabilitated and modernized irrigation
systems are indicated in Table 3.
Table 3: Irrigation Efficiencies (%) and Electronic Automation
Canal
No Automation
Main
System
Canal
Lateral
System
Canal
Partial
Automation
Full Automation
75
84
94
80
80
80
Field application
80
80
80
Overall
Efficiency
48
54
60
The above efficiencies for no automation are consistent with the proposed
efficiencies given in Volume III Canals of the national irrigation design standards.
Partial automation is when the lateral canal headgates are manually operated
and provided with automatic discharge meter while the main system regulation
structures are automated. With full automation, the main system regulation
structures and lateral canal headgates are all automated. Full automation in the
main canal system will not prevent water losses by leakage in the conveyance
system and the night storage reservoirs as they have laterite soil material in the
bed that is fairly permeable. Below the lateral canal headgates, the efficiencies
are similar as farmers operate the water division structures and farm inlets.
Paddy rice basins have higher field application efficiency than furrows if
surrounded by proper bunds. The crop water requirement calculation using
CROPWAT 8.0 of FAO, based on the proposed cropping pattern, is presented in the
Section on Agronomy in the Technical Assessment Reports. The gross
diversion/dam abstraction requirement is determined by applying the overall
efficiency to the peak crop water requirement and scheme size.
The design discharges in the canals and the canal conveyance and distribution
structures are determined by applying the overall efficiency to the peak crop
water requirement multiplied by the respective commanded areas.
In the design of sub-lateral canals, the estimated manageable flow per farmer in
his/her irrigation parcel (the design unit irrigation flow rate) using furrows is 28 l/s
(see Fundamentals of Smallholder Irrigation: The Structured System Concept,
IWMI 2002). Basin irrigation has a slightly higher farm stream of 30 l/s. It is
considered, however, that farmer knowledge, skills and the organisational
capacity to properly manage water in the lateral units is presently low as much
water is wasted in the upper parts. ICOUR reports (e.g. Corporate Plans) refer to
overall efficiency of 40% and the present field application efficiency is
18
consequently be lower than the one given in Table 3. The design will however
utilise the application discharges presented by IWMI.
Depending on the number of parcels/farm units along a lateral canal that will be
irrigated at the same time, the design discharge is determined by multiplying the
number of farmers with the farm application modulus of 28 l/s.
Furrow lengths are generally determined by natural circumstances as land slope,
soil type, available stream size, irrigation depth, and farming practice. Table 4
provides the practical values of maximum furrow lengths and maximum stream
sizes proposed by FAO (1988) for smallholders.
A furrow discharge of 0.5 l/s will provide adequate irrigation when the furrows are
not too long. Portable siphons are not recommended to pass water over the bank
of lateral and sub-lateral canals directly into furrows as this technique was
abandoned a few years after the start of scheme operation. Instead, flash plated
gates are proposed that have been installed in the lateral canals od both pump
irrigation zones (Zone B and Zone O of the Tono Irrigation Scheme).
Table 4: Practical Values of Maximum Furrow Lengths (m)
Furrow
Slope
(%)
Maximum
Stream
Size per
Furrow
Clay
Loam
Sand
Net Irrigation Requirements (mm)

50
75
50
75
50
75
(l/s)
0.0
3.0
100
150
60
90
30
45
0.1
3.0
120
170
90
125
45
60
0.2
2.5
130
180
110
150
60
95
0.3
2.0
150
200
130
170
75
110
0.5
1.2
150
200
130
170
75
110
Note: it is advisable not to use larger stream sizes than 3 l/s to prevent erosion
When farming is mechanised, furrows should be made as long as possible to
facilitate the work.
Hydraulics
The canal flow sectional parameters are calculated with the Chezy Manning
equation for uniform flow. The roughness coefficients n (s/m 1/3) applied are
outlined below:
-
Unlined canal:
n = 0.030
Brick masonry:
n = 0.017
Concrete:
n = 0.015
Drain:
n = 0.035
The maximum flow velocity in concrete lined canals may be between 1.0 m/s and
1.3 m/s. The earthen drainage channels shall have minimum velocity of 0.3 m/s
to avoid siltation and maximum of 0.6 m/s to avoid scouring effects.
Freeboard
19
The freeboard for canals refers to elevation difference between the designed
water level in a canal and the top bank elevation. Information of the different
heights is obtained from the scheme design drawings. The main functions of
freeboard are:
to contain abnormal water levels due to surcharge flow;
to prevent damage from wave action; and,
to provide a safety margin for operation of the canal.
Surcharge flows arise from sudden head regulator closure or cross regulator
opening. Waves are generated by both wind and sudden closure of cross
regulator gates. Table 5 lists freeboards supplementary to those given in Volume
III Canals of the national design standards.
Table 5: Minimum Freeboard
Dischar
ge
Lining
Freeboard
Embankmen
t Freeboard
(m3/s)
(m)
(m)
1.0 3.0
0.20
0.60
0.75 1.0
0.15
0.45
0.5 0.75
0.15
0.40
0.25 0.5
0.15
0.35
0.1 0.25
0.15
0.30
< 0.1
0.15
0.25
2.2.3. Canal Structures

Duckbill Weir
This is a long-crested weir of the shape of a duckbill that is designed to maintain
very constant upstream water levels, regardless of the canal flow rate. It serves
lateral canal headgates that need a constant flow rate versus time such as with
much of the surface irrigation. The fairly constant flow rate would make
volumetric measurement of the turnouts easier and with less human error in the
manual reading of the water level from staff gauges of measurement devices.
The concave or upstream-facing weirs in Tono have the added advantage of an
in-built stilling basin.
If in good shape with horizontal crest and smooth surfaces, duckbill weirs are
roughly measurable (they do not constitute measurement structures). Their
discharge capacity changes as the crest roughness increases due to wear. They
also collect floating trash that disturbs its hydraulic automation function and trap
sediment.
Weir walls in Tone have an unrounded crest. The equation of the discharge that
may be used in designing the length of the weir crest is:
Q = 1.42 B H3/2
Where:
Q is discharge in m3/s
B is length of the crest in m
20
H is upstream hydraulic head over crest in m

Diagonal Weir
In smaller canals, diagonal weirs have been constructed that have the same
function as the duckbill weir. They have a smaller crest length than duckbill weirs,
are straight and have been built at an angle of 45 0 to the longitudinal alignment
of the canal.
Drop Structures
The design guidelines of this structure type are presented in Volume IV
(Structures) of the national irrigation design standards. Drop structures in the
two irrigation schemes have vertical flow constriction walls perpendicular to the
flow.
Inverted Siphons and Pipelines
Pipelines may be proposed in the main canal system in a stretch that receives
much sediments from surface rainfall runoff and breached protection banks.
Inverted siphons will be designed to cross a river or road below the surface level.
The discharge of pipelines is calculated with the more accurate Darcy-Weissbach
equation. The absolute wall roughness height of some materials is outlined
below:
-
Commercial steel:
0.100 mm
Concrete culvert:
2.000 mm
uPVC (unplasticised):
0.006 mm
Glass fibre reinforced polyester (GRP):
0.050 mm
Ductile iron (unlined):
0.250 mm
High density poly ethylene (HDPE):
0.100 mm
Manufacturers recommend a maximum flow velocity of 1.5 m/s in thermoplastic

materials (uPVC, PE) to prevent scour hazard by suspended sand in the water
and/or damage by water hammer caused by a sudden canal closure or closure
of a non-return valve of a pump.
Elevated pipelines may be tied by steel saddles that are anchored to concrete
pillars/pedestals. The minimum distance between pedestals or pillars will be 5.0
m.
Regulation Structures
In Tono, Neyrpic modules have been installed in the headgate of the Right Bank
Canal, as outlet structure of the five NSRs, as discharge regulator of the AVIO
outlet gate of the two pump storage reservoirs and in the intake gate of the first
lateral unit of the Main Canal. Neyrpic modules been developed by Alsthom
Fluides (France) that produces modules of different widths in series that can be
closed or fully opened (on/off) by a steel plate or semi-circular shutter plate. They
are regarded automated structures, as they do not need regulation when the
discharge and water level in the parent canal changes: the discharge abstracted
remains fairly constant as is usually desired in surface irrigation schemes (not in
drip and sprinkler irrigation).
21
The Neyrpic modules in Tono are manually operated, they are presently in a poor
state. The structures will be replaced with modern ones that can be operated by
remote control.
Vea has in the head reach of the Left Bank Canal a regulation structure with
movable steel sliding gate across the canal. Other cross-control structures are in
combination with vertical or inclined drops as they are provided with stoplog
grooves in the rectangular headwall opening. Many drop structures broke and will
be replaced entirely.
Measurement Structures
Tono has one Parshall flume in the Main Canal at about 660 m from the dam
outlet structure and closely upstream of the first lateral unit headgate of Zone A.
There are no other measurement structures in the main canal system
Vea has a Parshall flume in the head reach of both the left and the right bank
canals and no other measurement structures are in the main canal system.
In both schemes, measurement structures have not been provided below the
lateral canal headgates. Measurable and self-controlling headgates will be
proposed in the rehabilitation and modernization works.
Lateral Canal Headgates
Tertiary (or lateral) canal headgates are also called turnouts, see Sub-Section
2.3.2 of Volume IV (Structures). They are constructed in the banks of the main
canal system to draw water for the lateral units (or tertiary units).
Figure 2 shows a typical cross-section of the structure in Vea Irrigation Scheme.
The ARMCO gates have cast iron round gate leafs of 0.3 m diameter. The pipe
material is asbestos cement and the inlet and outlet structures have been
constructed in plain concrete.
Sub-Lateral Canal Headgates
Sub-lateral canal inlet structures are not particularly shown in the national design
criteria. They may receive lateral canal water that is regulated by steel sliding
plates in concrete division boxes or by ARMCO gated structures similar to Figure
2. In Vea, the inlet structures have not been provided with movable gates and
have grooves for flashboards.
22
Figure 2:
Section through Lateral Canal Headgate
Farm inlet
Farm inlet facilities are in the lateral and sub-lateral canals. As these canals have
been constructed in sufficiently high fill, it was designed to draw water over the
canal banks by portable 63 mm diameter uPVC siphons to directly supply basins
and furrows. Later, 150mm diameter PVC pipes have been provided at regular
distances that go through the canal embankment and/or below the road surface.
The entry of the pipes is flush with the lined side slope of the canal.
Lateral leaders prefer to have full control of the farm inlet pipes and should
therefore be lockable in order to enforce certain issues such as ISC payment or
canal maintenance obligations. The structure will be constructed as a simple pipe
outlet (0.15m 0.20m diameter) with steel sliding gate in front similar to the
flashplate outlet structures in the two pump irrigation zones of Tono (Zones B and
O).
2.2.4. Night Storage Reservoirs
Night storage reservoirs (NSRs) store water during times when there is
abstraction from the dam reservoir but no irrigation. Water may also be stored
during the hours of irrigation if one or more lateral canal headgates are closed.
Tono has 5 NSRs that command a number of zones they are serving. The long
length of the main canal system that is expected to cause long response time
between releasing water from the source and receiving it in the field may have
been the main reason when the designs were carried out. The flow velocities
designed depend on the proximity with the duckbill weirs and range from 0.3 m/s
to 0.5 m/s in the main canal system. The first reservoir (NSR 1) along the Left
Bank Canal is at 10.5 km distance from the dam outlet structure so that a flow
change requires 6 to 7 hours to reach the reservoir.
2.2.5. Cross Drainage Structures
The design guidelines of this structure type are presented in Volume IV
(Structures) of the national irrigation design standards. They provide in the safe
passage of storm flows of natural drains under (usually as single or multiple box
culverts) or over (as super passage) the left and right bank canals.
During the 2016 dry season, some of these structures have been found admitting
leaking water from the canal. They are generally in good condition and all that is
required is to remedy the canal leakages.
In Vea, several concrete structures have some parts reinforced with steel and
adjoining parts only mass concrete particularly the wingwalls. It is quite common
to see wingwalls detached from the headwall.
The leaking and broken structures will be repaired in the proposed works.
2.2.6. Scheme Roads
In both schemes, roads have been constructed along the main system canals and
most lateral canals. They constitute a raised embankment foundation and
compacted surface gravelling where passing through lowland areas. In higher
areas, they have been formed by shaping the original ground surface and given a
gravel surface layer.
23
The roads are generally in a poor condition and need to re-shaped. Leaking
canals constructed in fill damaged the road surface in Tono. After construction in
the 1980s, access to water from the lateral canal network was accomplished
through siphoning. Over the years these plastic siphon tubes disappeared. The
absence of the siphon tubes and plot turnouts has compelled farmers to cut
through the roads creating localised water ponding, which keeps enlarging as
machinery pass through. In many stretches, new lateritic material needs to be
imported to raise the surface of the road.
2.3.
Drains
2.3.1. Scheme Drains

The secondary drains that enter the scheme areas as well as the smaller scheme
drains connected to these are silted up and grown with trees.
The banks of the main drain in Tono (Tono River) are heavily grown by trees or
even forested over long distances. The Yarigatanga River in Vea is not much
grown by trees.
The secondary and smaller drains will be de-silted. The trees will be felled about
0.30m above ground and disposed off while maintaining the rooting system to
check erosion and scouring.
2.3.2. Field Drainage Design
The theory of land drainage that will be applied is given in Section 3.3 of Volume
V Tertiary Units of the national irrigation design standards
To determine the drainage modulus Dm the 3-day rainfall with 5-year return
period is selected from Table 6. The values in the table have been calculated from
the intensity-duration-frequency curves presented in the Consultants Water
Availability Assessment studies.
Table 6: 3-day Rainfall Probabilities and Drainage Modulus for Rice
Land (l/s per ha)
T (years)
Parameter
10
20
50
100
Navrongo Station
Intensity (mm/hr)
1.35
1.67 1.88 2.08 2.34
2.54
Amount in 3 days (mm)
97
120
135
150
169
183
Drainage modulus Dm for upland crops

(l/s per ha)
3.7
4.6
5.2
5.8
6.5
7.1
Drainage modulus Dm for paddy rice (l/s

per ha)
0.8
1.7
2.3
2.9
3.6
4.2
Bolgatanga Station
Intensity (mm/hr)
1.26
1.61 1.78 1.94 2.15
2.31
Amount in 3 days (mm)
98
116
128
140
155
187
Drainage modulus Dm for upland crops

(l/s per ha)
3.8
4.5
4.9
5.4
6.0
7.2
24
T (years)
Parameter
Drainage modulus Dm for paddy rice (l/s
per ha)
10
20
50
100
0.9
1.6
2.0
2.5
3.1
4.3
The above calculations assume the rice may be inundated by 125 mm during 3
days. The initial depth of water in the rice basins is 50 mm before the rains start.
2.3.3. Cross Drainage Channel Design
The design flood estimation of the catchment areas surrounding the scheme area
of which the drains enter the scheme area is presented in the Water Availability
Assessment study of the Consultant. The application of a regional equation for
MAF (mean annual flood) is given that is generally applied in Ghana. In
combination with return period and growth factors the design storm flow is
calculated.
The regional formula is as follows:
MAF = 1.55 A0.85
Where MAF is mean annual flood in m 3/s and A is the catchment area in km 2.
Catchment areas are measured by delineating the basin divide from satellite
images of Google Earth.
The growth factors are given in the table hereunder. The growth factor is defined
by
Growth factor =
QT
MAF
Where QT is design flood (m3/s) of a given return period T years.

Table 7: Growth Factors
Return Period T
(year)
Item
QT
MAF
QT (m3/s per km2)
10
20
50
100
0.94
1.7
2.00
2.3
2.6
0.55
1.00
1.17
1.35
1.52
The flow capacity of drainage structures relates to the recurrence interval of

floods. Volume II Headworks mentions recommended return periods (years) for
different structures. Table 8 proposes return periods for a number of other
structures.
Table 8: Recommended Return Periods
25
Structure
Return
Period
Remarks
(year)
Cross-drainage
50
Dike/Flood protection bank
50
Bridge
100
Freeboard minimum of 0.6 m

Minimum 0.6 m to the soffit
2.3.4. River Training by Groynes

Hydraulic Design
Groynes (also called spur dike or transverse dike) keep the river flow away from
soft embankments as they form an obstruction to the flow. They are put
perpendicular to the side embankment (deflecting or straight groyne) or point
upstream the river (repelling groyne) or are pointing downstream (attracting
groyne). The term repelling or attracting refers to allowing the water passing
closely along the side of the groyne or the flow gets deflected away towards the
middle of the river. Attracting groynes usually have scour holes (potholes) directly
downstream the head whereas repelling and deflecting groynes push the scour
hole from the head towards the middle of the river.
Figure 3:
Type of Groynes in Relation to Flow Direction
Deflecting and repelling groynes (angle = 60 0 to 900) create a still water pond
upstream where siltation and coarse material deposition will take place, but there
is heavy attack on the tip requiring more apron protection compared to attracting
groynes (angle = 1000 to 1200).
It is proposed to design the repelling type. Meanders of the Yarigatanga River
where it flows in the downstream part of the Vea Irrigation Scheme show each
year active siltation and erosion processes as there is not enough vegetative
growth to stabilize the soft soil banks by root binding. Where the river threatens
to move closely to existing canals river training works may be considered.
However, for most of the length of the river vetiver grass planting should be
included in the works.
Repelling type groynes, if the top of the structure is designed horizontal over its
full length, require special foundation protection at the base of the tip by a wide
enough apron.
26
The length of the groyne (Lg) should not be more than 1/5 th of the normal channel
width or Pw where Pw is Laceys minimum stable width of waterway in case the
considered channel is wider than P w. Laceys waterway (or stable width of
waterway) is defined as:
Pw = a Q
Where:
Q is river discharge at high flood level (HFL) in m3/s

a is coefficient depending on stability of river channel
Table 9: Coefficient a in Laceys Minimum Stable Width of Waterway

Channel Type
Stable channel in scour resistant

material
3.3
Shifting channel in sandy material
4.9
Remarks
In most literature a=4.75 is adopted
Groynes should not be so long so that the river channel changes its position
(embankment is eroded from the opposite side of the channel) or that flood water
is raised too much leading to bank overtopping upstream.
The distance between groynes (L) is usually taken as 3Lg to 5Lg. In outer bends
(the concave part) the distance should be 2Lg to Lg in sharp bends, while the
convex part has 2Lg to 2.5Lg spacing between groynes.
Water depth plays also a role in the distance between groynes as a strong eddy
must be formed able to effectively dissipate the flow energy in the river
(Indonesian irrigation design standards, 1986):
L = C2 . h/(2g)
Where:
L is distance between groynes in a straight river section in m

is empirical parameter ( 0.6)
C is Chezy coefficient of channel resistance
h is water depth in m
g is acceleration of gravity in m/s2 ( 9.81)
The Chezy coefficient is defined by C = R 1/6/n, where R is hydraulic radius (in m)

and n is Mannings roughness coefficient (s/m 1/3).
When allowed to be over flown more frequently, the minimum top elevation of
the groyne should be as high as the 1:2-year flood discharge. If higher groynes
are required, they should be designed at dominant flood flow level (bank-full flow
at 1 in 10 to 15 year flood flows) or the top of bank level to assure sufficient
hydraulic quietness between groynes for siltation. Higher flood levels overflow
the structure and to prevent high turbulence damaging the deposited sediment
the crown of the groyne must have a rounded shape.
Structural Design
Flow velocities around the head must be expected high and a vortex may dig a
deep scour hole nearby. The head must therefore rest on an apron that can
27
launch (fall) during high floods. The foundation of groynes must be at least at the
1 in 50 year flood discharge scour depth to assure sufficient service life.
Groynes may be constructed with gabions or PCC blocks (Concrete Class C10).
They are stapled on top of each other and the groyne is given a 1:1 side slope.
The sizes of the PCC blocks are similar to the gabion boxes: 1.0m x 1.0m x 2.0m
or 1.0m x 1.0m x 3.0m. They are given 0.1m space between the blocks. Large
broken rock may also be used in groyne construction.
Figure 4: Example of a Groyne (source: KP-02, Indonesian Irrigation

Design Standards, 1986)
Flexibility is very important to allow settling movement during high floods but the
elements must be tied well together. Individual gabion boxes are connected to
neighbouring ones by special lacing wire. The PCC blocks in each horizontal layer
must be connected by 2 concrete reinforcement bars (20mm diam.).
2.4.
Motorized Pumping
2.4.1. Design of Pump

The design of motorized pumps is based on the following:
-
Peak irrigation requirement
Maximum pump operation in daytime
Lift height or static head (level difference between delivery point and water
source)
Conveyance distance of the delivery pipe
Delivery pipe diameter and material.
It is proposed to pump only in daytime to facilitate the regulation of the water in

the canal system and for farmers to monitor the water application in their fields
as water should be guided well in the furrows and basins. The maximum pumping
time is proposed at 10 hours during daylight.
In the peak demand period, pumping is expected each day during 10 hours. In
periods of lower irrigation water requirement, pumping duration could be made
shorter each day, or still 10 hours in combination with days of no pumping
(irrigation interval).
28
2.4.2. Pump Selection

There are different pump types that may be selected:
-
Axial flow pump
Mixed flow pump
Centrifugal pump
The selection of these pumps depends on the discharge total dynamic head
configuration. The dynamic head develops during pumping: Apart from the static
head, the hydraulic head by pipe flow friction (including bends) arises.
The axial flow pump works efficiently under a low lifting head and high discharge.
The centrifugal pump works well under high lifting head and low discharge. In
between these conditions, the mixed flow pump should be designed. Figure 5
presents a clear overview of the different pump types.
Figure 5: Selection of pump type (Source: Irrigation Pumping Plant,

Irrigation Manual-Module 5, FAO Sub-Regional Office, Harare 2001)
Manufacturers provide technical specifications of different pumps and their
engines. Information is required about the pump efficiency, engine efficiency and
a few other factors about the required net positive suction head (NPSH req) to
determine the capacity of the motor (expressed in kW and hp).
For pumps to work efficiently (and therefore consume less fuel), they should be
given protection against heat by sunlight and rains. The Consultant provides in
the design and costing of pump houses with concrete floor, walls and roofing.
29
Since a pump may meet technical problems that require the stopping of pumping
in order to prevent serious damage there should always be a second pump as
standby of the same capacity.
2.5.
Structural Parameters
2.5.1. Densities
The densities of some common engineering materials used in the structures are
in Table 10:
Table 10: Unit Weight of Common Engineering Materials
Item
Material
No
Unit Weight
(kN/m3)
Water
10
Cement
14.4
Mass Concrete
22.4
Reinforced Concrete
24.0
Mild Steel
78.5
Stone Masonry
23.4
Brickwork (solid)
22.0
Wet earth (drained)
17.5
Wet sand (drained)
18.0
10
Saturated gravel-sand-clay mix
21.0
11
Silt
20.0
12
Timber class I (teak)
10.0
13
Other timber
5.3 9.0
2.5.2. Youngs Modulus

Values of Youngs modulus of elasticity for steel, concrete and timber are given in
Table 11.
Table 11: Values of Youngs Modulus
Modulus
Item
Material
No
E
(N/mm2)
Concrete
Varies
Mild Steel
210,000
Timber class I
12,500
30
2.5.3. Reinforcement Steel

The preparation of detailed bending schedules of steel reinforcement is a
prerequisite in the detailed design of reinforced concrete. For standard structures,
schedules may be included on the structure drawings of Phase II. The British
Standard Code of Practice CP 114 and British Standard BS 4449 are proposed as
reference standards for showing steel reinforcement in detailed designs.
Some of the key parameters pertaining to steel reinforcement in the design of
structures are described below.
Reinforced concrete shall have the minimum needed to control temperature
cracks or at least 0.20 % of the concrete sectional surface occupied by steel
surface area. For feasibility level, steel content is assumed usually as follows:
-
Structures without applied loads (e.g. slabs, walls): 60 - 80 kg/m3
Structures with applied loads (e.g. bridges):
100 kg/m3
Anchorage bond and lap length

For a bar to resist tensile forces there must be sufficient bar length beyond any
section to develop a strong bond between concrete and steel whose force is
equal to the total tensile force in the bar at that section. In order to satisfy this
condition, the bar must be extended by distance L beyond the section given by:
L
where:
= D . fst/4 . fba (cm)
D is diameter of bar (cm)

2
(kg/cm )
fst
is actual tensile stress in the reinforcement at that section
fba is permissible anchorage bond stress in the concrete (kg/cm 2)

L has a minimum value of 12D or 30.0 cm, whichever is the larger. This means
that the bar must extend 12 D or 30.0 cm beyond the point at which it is no
longer required to resist stress. Bending the end of the bar into a hook shape may
reduce the anchorage bond length L calculated above.
The required length L of overlap between two bars in tension is given by the
same formula but the overlap should not be less than 40 D.
Hooks
Bending the end of the bar into a hook shape reduces the anchorage bond
length. Two hook shapes are used in structural design: L and U shaped hooks.
In these designs, U shaped hooks were preferred to L shaped ones. The
equivalent bond lengths for the hooks are outlined below:
-
16 D for a U hook
8 D for a L hook
Concrete cover
31
For reinforced concrete structural design, provision of adequate cover to

reinforcement is important to ensure that the steel reinforcement is kept away
from negative effects of the external environment. This assists in ensuring
prevention of structural failure due to weakened steel reinforcement.
Minimum cover to reinforcement has been provided as shown in Table 12.
Table 12: Minimum Cover to Reinforcement for Different Concrete
Grades
Characterist
ic Strength
Concrete Grade at 28 days
Minimum
Type of Element
Cover
(mm)
(MPa)
C15
15
Reinforced concrete, general
40
C20
20
Precast slabs for lining, concrete pipes,

gate shelter
25
C30
30
Surface cover for weir, areas subject to

abrasion and precast items
25
2.5.4. Masonry
The following maximum permissible stresses have been adopted.
Compressive stress:
Static loads: 1.4 N/mm2
dynamic loads:
2.0 kg/cm2
Tensile stress and shear stress:
Static loads: 0.07 N/mm2
dynamic loads:
0.1 N/mm2
The mortar mix adopted for the masonry works in this project is cement:sand =
1:3.
2.5.5. Allowable Bearing Pressure
In addition to Table 5.1 in Volume II Headworks of the national irrigation design
standards a number of other allowable foundation bearing pressures (q a) are
given below:
100 kN/m2
Clay (solid):
Loam (rather solid):
100 kN/m2
Firm sandy clay:
100 kN/m2
Rock
1,000 kN/m2
32
33
3. AUTOMATION AND INSTRUMENTATION

3.1.
Introduction
Technologies to computerize irrigation design and management have been

developed over the past 20 years. Compared to pipelines, water conveyed in
open canals over long distances reacts slowly on gate adjustments and demand
changes. Time delays in water supply can be considerable and, in particular,
downstream irrigation units suffer from the response time before the discharge
has changed according to their demand. The desire to provide water on demand
soon after the request has been made, and to the desired flow rate, is high for
farmers to reliably produce crops.
Management Information Systems (MIS) to monitor and control floods and
droughts at a national level have worked below expectation as actual information
is not submitted on a timely basis, and is not of the required quality. Additionally,
the response from managers and decision makers to operate certain gates has
also been inadequate. The control of water in larger irrigation schemes was
improved by the introduction of the telephone and later by mobile phone
communications. However, the human factor (errors, preferred personal
approaches, informal relationships, politics) does not provide the quality of
services ideally required in irrigation water supply to farmers.
Recent electronic and communication technology developments would enable
farmer organisations to manage and operate the irrigation and drainage network
themselves. The complex hydraulic behaviour in the irrigation and drainage
network has been modelled and calibrated in computers making farmers much
less dependent on engineers from the government to operate the main system
gates, and with less requirement to consult an O&M manual, if available.
Automation and information technology (IT) enables a modern irrigation
management system (IMS) that would support and integrate the following
applications:
-
Data management system for canal operation
Farm/lateral unit database
Cropping pattern and crop schedule database
Water demand, scheduling and delivery database
Irrigation assets database
Decision support system (DDS) for irrigation planning
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
Irrigation service charges (ISC) invoicing and collection administration
Project management system to draw and revise drawings, manage

construction materials.
Office automation system for online document reading and data storage
Automation and IT constitute just one domain to modernize existing irrigation

schemes. Other aspects could be to adapt the system to the actual or optimal
cropping pattern, revised land tenure system, irrigation policy, motorization of
existing gates/retro-fitting, new construction materials (thermoplastics pipelines,
geo-synthetics, and fibreglass gates), user participation, and environmental
34
concerns (e.g. population pressure,

degradation, climate change).
3.2.
loss
of
vegetative
protection,
soil
Available Technologies
3.2.1. Recent Developments

To support efficient irrigation planning regular information updates are required of
the weather, actual flows through the irrigation canal network, hydrometric
stations in the catchment area of rivers and reservoirs, and actual agricultural
production (crop type, crop stage, coverage areas). Advanced technologies are
also available to monitor the soil moisture level to determine the moment a new
water application can be applied. Until recently, it has been difficult to process
the different information inputs coherently and to translate this to hydraulic
structure operation modes.
The pace of general technological development by research and innovation has
increased and several applications have been developed that support the
objectives of economizing water use, and introducing more user-friendly water
management equipment systems.
The electronic monitoring of irrigation flows to determine accurately the volume
of water delivered to the farmers during a certain period is another important
objective to be able to provide more accurate Irrigation Service Charges (ISCs).
Information is regularly stored and the performance of individual irrigation units,
as well as the entire scheme, may be analysed with the historical data.
Since the 1990s, different mathematical algorithms have been developed on
computers to describe the flow in canal sections. Centralised process control for
canal regulation has been found very effective in managing the volumetric
delivery (flexible delivery) under Service-Oriented Management (SOM).
Software and equipment can change rapidly in the course of a few years. This
design criteria report is developed with the technology that is currently available.
Immediately before the automation and instrumentation works are going to be
tendered the designs should be updated with the equipment, software and
facilities that may have become available and in general use to ensure that the
most up to date equipment and software is specified. This especially applies to
the availability of reliable broadband facilities in the Tono and Vea areas.
In recent years, with the new technology innovations, the cost of sensors, solar
panels, computers and communication equipment have gone down drastically
making automation more affordable. Combined with the tools of geographic
information systems and other information technologies, water resources may be
managed better and at reduced cost.
3.2.2. Terminology
The specialised nature of automation, information and communication
technologies uses new names and acronyms for the equipment and applies
specific terms to describe systems and processes. Below are just a few used in
irrigation systems:
- Automation
Automation concerns the service provision of control systems without the
operation by man. Gates based on hydraulic automation have been developed in
the past such as movable AVIO and AVIS gates that provide downstream control
and long-crested weirs able to keep fairly constant water levels under different
35
discharges at the entry point of offtake structures closely upstream of the weir
(passive upstream control). Electronic automation utilises a sensor linked to an
electronic controller that activates a gate.
- Controller
Contains software to operate a specific device or may be linked in with other
controllers.
- Portal
A portable electronic device displaying information uploaded from suitable
wireless communication. Irrigation system information is transmitted to the
device allowing the system to be managed while away from the control room.
User participation with farmers for lateral canal headgate discharge changes,
local rainfall, and main canal flow adjustments, emergency cases (e.g. truck
enters a main system canal), etc can be easily implemented using this method.
Portals such as tablets or pads, smart phones, or laptop computers should be
made available to the lateral unit committees. A wider application of portals for
farmers comprises information on produce marketing and storage, crop diseases
and protection, fertilizer and pesticide application, weather forecasts.
- Remote Management Unit (RMU)
The RMU enables an authenticated/authorised user (usually an operation centre
operator/engineer) to configure or monitor (manage), including alarm logging and
intrusion detection of a specific device in a remote place of the irrigation scheme
area. The RMU is a very smart and powerful instrument linked by wireless
communications with the server of the operation center. RMUs can connect to
any of the hydraulic structures, PCs and SCADA system. The RMU can also be
known as a remote terminal/telemetry unit (RTU).
- Scalability
A system may be designed scalable in both ways e.g. up-scalable to full
automation as well as down-scalable to allow manual control during emergencies.
-
Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA)
Supervisory data acquisition consists of bringing system-wide information from

remote sites to a single or multiple master stations through wireless
communications. Supervisory monitoring can give an irrigation manager the
power to view, plan, and optimise the whole project without leaving the office as
all information is available through PC, laptop, tablet or pad. Accessibility of
information and the ability to alter parameters is strictly controlled by multilayered security passwords. Supervisory control enables remote changes to the
target set points of local controllers in the RMU and empowers an irrigation
manager to make rapid coordinated changes at key structures. Adoption of
SCADA has considerably improved the performance of irrigation districts in the
United States and other countries and is picking-up in developing countries
rapidly.
The most critical phase in an automation project is implementation: Selection of
the equipment, the integration of hardware and software components,
installation and testing. Under the recent developments the SCADA application
has been successfully integrated with web enabled irrigation management
system application.
36
3.2.3. Communication Technologies

Two-way communication between the central operation unit of an irrigation
scheme and the farmer organisations such as the water users federation, the
WUAs and lateral unit committees, is conducted for information interchange.
Connections with third parties such as the GIDA website or database, Ghana
Meteorological Agency (GMA) to receive real-time data from their nearby synoptic
station or with other institutions are possible as well. Compatibility of the
instrumentation of the concerned organisations and interoperability with various
interfaces are issues to consider in the design.
One or more of the communication media given below may be applied in
electronic irrigation automation.
a) Mobile network
Cellular network with smartphone apps, mobile phones. Operators of the
GSM/GPRS data communication services in the country are MTN, Vodaphone, Tigo
and AirTel Ghana. A certain bandwidth needs to be leased. The technology has
much development potential if local systems are upgraded (e.g. 2.5 G to 3.0 G)
or an additional base terminal system (BTS) structure is installed to provide more
coverage.
b) Radio network
Telemetry system by wireless radio channel network for the transfer of data.
Voice communication function may be added. The National Communications
Authority (NCA) controls the use of different frequencies in UHF, VHF or ISM
(Industrial, Scientific and Medical) Band. Licensing of an allocated frequency is
required and using the band space is charged for by the NCA.
c) Internet
Internet uses a broadband connection. SCADA instrumentation in central
monitoring units link to the internet only. From portals and RMUs authenticated
persons can log into the SCADA application server by security password. Instead
of large computers in the operation centres, SCADA may also be implemented by
using Cloud Computing which requires less computers as data management,
history storage, and control functions, can be off site (in the cloud).
3.2.4. Instruments
Modern instruments will give at least plus/minus 0.25% accuracy over the rated
range of flows and volume. The accuracy of standard devices as propeller meter,
weir, flume, metergate can provide volumetric measurement within 6% if
installed correctly and maintained properly.
Below is a brief overview
instrumentation design.
of
the
tools
and
equipment
available
for
- Sensor
Different sensors are available that monitor the water level (float-operated,
radar), hydrostatic pressure, gate opening, discharge (ultrasonic/Doppler, pulse
Doppler, magnetic flowmeter, Coriolis mass flowmeter ), and can react on
vibration (alerts against pilferage). Sensors or probes are linked to an internally
programmed transducer that transmits data to an EDL or Data Collection Platform
(DCP) by way of a serial digital interface.
-
Cameras
37
Closed circuit television (CCTV) and internet cameras are available. Limitations
are only how much bandwidth is available from the chosen communication
system. Internet cameras need access to broadband.
- Solar energy
Electrical energy generated in solar modules is supplied to electric-motor driven
equipment via a regulator controller. Discharge monitoring requires a few watts
to record and transmit the information. A small deep-cycle battery is required for
the system to work 24 hours daily.
- Fibre-optic cables
Underground cable connection between the hydraulic structures and the central
operations unit would be an alternative to wireless communication. The cables
are fibre-optic for optimal digital use.
- Automated Gate
A self-regulating gate programmed to pass a target discharge flow rate via a local
LCD display or communicated from remote control centre. Photo 1 shows the
case of a new installation. The gate can also be fitted in existing inlet structures
of offtake gates and division structures.
Photo 1:
Automated gate and solar powered local control pedestal
The automated gate performs the monitoring, metering and flow controlling
functions at the same time. The smart gate automatically adjusts itself to pass
the desired discharge and may be operated manually if required. The structure is
robust and seems pilferage proof.
- Rainfall gauge
Gauges that automatically measure total rainfall and calculate different
intensities. Data is regularly transmitted to the central operations unit to become
immediately available in irrigation planning, which can swiftly adjust canal flows
to prevent water losses in the lateral units. One gauge per 250ha installed in
contiguous irrigated areas would be adequate. Placing the gauges at lower
intensity areas (up to 1 per 500 ha) would be suitable where irrigable areas are
intersected by undeveloped areas.
38
- Agro-Meteorological Station
Modern digital and full automatic station with sensors for temperature, global
radiation, wind speed, relative humidity. Energy supply from 20 30 Watt solar
module with battery. Most equipment fixed to a single pole/pedestal. With the
recorded and transmitted data, the actual water requirement of crops may be
calculated several times each day.
3.3.
Constraints
3.3.1. Basic Requirements for Model to Work

Software models are made to simulate the hydraulic functioning of the
infrastructure including irrigation scheduling, dam outlet structure operation, and
reservoir operation and of other required components. For these models to
function properly a number of conditions need to be met:
1
Uniformity of canal geometry as hydraulic modelling would be more

complex in varying canal shapes and irregular night storage reservoirs.
The irrigation and drainage systems should be strictly separated.

Substantial drainage inflow would require instant specialist operation in
the control room as the computer model has not been configured to
process this information. The effect of sediment deposition on the canal
bed changes the hydraulic flow condition (bed roughness increased,
flow capacity reduced) that would require re-calibration of the computer
model if de-silting and cleaning will not be done under regular
maintenance.
The maintenance service must be excellent. This applies to the

electronic and electro-mechanical equipment of the automated
structures
as well as removal of floating trash and sediment. Road
access to sites should be present and reliable to enable checking and
repairs.
People should not throw objects in the water or provide embankments

to cross the canal. These activities disturb the computerized operation.
Particularly small canals (< 5.0 m3/s) are sensitive and susceptible.
Actual cropping pattern information of each lateral unit (crop type and
covered area).
Real-time rainfall information by remote monitoring of rain gauges

installed in the irrigation scheme area.
The installed communication network (radio, mobile phone, local web

and internet) should be reliable (minimum interference effects such as
time of the day with mobile phone network, good power supply, surge
protection, low sensitivity to weather disturbances such as rainstorms
and lightning).
The capital cost of the instruments required for automation are high and a
number of specialist operators should be employed by the scheme management
entity who need to be on daily duty during the growing season. The operation
and maintenance of the modernized system needs to be sustainable as water
users bear the cost through the ISCs. Water is supplied to about 20 to 100
farmers in the lateral units who are not fully defined. While the main system
operation is modernized by automation and automatic flow measurement
facilities in the division and turnout structures, the delivery to individual farmers
39
is not metered as they will be charged for the volumetric amount received as a
group below the lateral canal headgate. In countries where irrigation automation
has been developed during the past two decades and eventually prove to work
successfully, farmers receive each an amount of water that is measured
automatically and charged by the service provider individually.
The farming community, organised in water users associations (WUAs) will have
to be made aware of the proposed technology and the merits and demerits
should be discussed. If the concept is understood and accepted, the WUAs should
ideally sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MoFA) about the proposed rehabilitation and modernization works.
3.3.2. Risks
- Power supply
Remote Management Units (RMUs) and instruments all require a power supply to
function. Most instruments use 12 to 24VDC as their power supply, which is
normally supplied from the RMU. This requires that the RMU has a reliable power
supply (solar panel) with sufficient battery back up to ensure that there is no loss
of data during disturbances. Prolonged insufficient solar charging must be taken
into account during the rainy season. Small mobile portable generators can be
used if necessary to boost charge batteries.
- Automation and IT breakdown
Any breakdown must be acted upon as soon as possible to reduce loss of data
and control functions. This means that alarms and alerts at the central operation
centre must be meaningful and must be acted upon immediately.
Most repairs of modern electronic equipment is by replacement with a new spare
or repaired module. Operators of the control center should have facilities and
skills for electronic troubleshooting and repairs.
For a SCADA system there are three areas to be considered:
1) the control centre computer/software,
2) the communication system, and
3) the RMU / instruments.
Training courses must be provided on all three areas.
Standardisation of equipment for RMU and instruments is a necessity to reduce
spare part holding requirements, and to reduce technical skills required.
- Vandalism
Alarms and alerts at the central operation centre must be meaningful and must
be acted upon immediately. Vandalism is always a problem in remote
unsupervised areas. Overcoming vandalism is problematic, and usually depends
on how local farmers, chiefs and senior people view the benefits of the new
system so that they become the de facto security guards. Equipment alarms
and alerts at the control centre are necessary to be provided so that operators
can alert bailiffs and guards to address problems.
3.3.3. Backup Measures and Adaptations
- Repair Service
It is necessary to ensure that all equipment is available and is repairable in
country. Out of country repair usually takes considerable waiting time, and should
40
be avoided if possible. If outside country is used for repair a large spares holding
in country is required.
For the initial start up and learning period a Service Agreement with the
equipment supplier may provide a reliable and safe alternative to having a large
spares holding.
- Security systems
Alarms and alerts at the central operation centre must be meaningful, and must
be acted upon immediately by dispatching Bailiffs or Gate House Keepers as
necessary.
Vandalism proofing can be achieved by having local security (guards) making
walk arounds at regular and non regular periods: by having cameras installed at
strategic location; by having localised movement sensors to activate lights/
alarms at RMU/instruments; and by placement of equipment near safe areas.
- Alternative instruments
In case the communication network becomes less reliable, the design of the
instrumentation and equipment should allow manual control of the hydraulic
structures. The volumetric monitoring of discharges into the lateral units and
division structures of the main canal system may be disturbed unless provided
with memory and readout port to recover the stored data on site or data
transmission after reconnection.
- Communications Systems
It is possible to have more than one communication system in operation between
RMU and control centre, and between area control centres. This is especially
useful if one system develops a problem the operations can continue unimpeded
with no loss of control or data.
With the development of the cellular networks and internet capable portals web
based communications is becoming more available and secure, which allows inter
control centre back up communications to be easily implemented.
- Cloud Computing The Internet of Things
The infrastructure and cost of the SCADA systems could be reduced by adopting
the modern internet of things technology with commercially available cloud
computing. This method of implementing SCADA is gaining popularity as it
scalable to meet the changing needs of the areas under control.
The SCADA system is able to report the status of remote equipment in real time
( to anyone with necessary security clearance) by using the horizontal scale from
the cloud computing facility. More importantly, complex control algorithms can be
implemented which are practically difficult to implement on RMUs.
Although cloud computing is becoming more common, it is relatively new for
SCADA applications. Cloud computing provides convenient, on-demand network
access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources including networks,
servers, storage, applications, and services. These resources can be rapidly
provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction.
By using a cloud-based environment costs can be significantly reduced by only
paying for what is used, greater reliability achieved, and functionality enhanced.
In addition to eliminating the expenses and problems related to the hardware
layer of IT infrastructure, cloud-based SCADA enables users to view data on
41
devices like smart phones and tablet computers, and also through SMS text
messages and e-mail.
A cloud can be public or private. A public cloud infrastructure is owned by an
organization and sold as services to the public. A private cloud infrastructure is
operated solely for a specific customer. It may be managed by the customer or
by a third party; it may exist on premise or off premise.
Cloud computing can support SCADA applications in two fashions:
The SCADA application is running on-site( control centre server) , directly
connected to the control network by cellular communications, and
delivering information to the cloud where it can be stored, processed and
disseminated, or
The SCADA application is running entirely in the cloud and remotely

connected
to
the
control
network.
42
4. SOLAR ENERGY AND PUMP DESIGN

4.1.
Introduction
For many years, pumping with solar energy was mainly applied to draw water
from (deep)wells for drinking water as the produced discharges are relatively
small (5 l/min to 35 l/min). Pumps were usually of submersible type safely sunk in
the well and solar panel array of up to 1.5 kW. After pumping into an overhead
tank or elevated reservoir, water is distributed in a piped system to supply homes
and/or communities.
Irrigation requires much higher discharges. As research advanced to make
photovoltaic (PV) cells more efficient in the transformation of solar energy in the
semiconductors of silica crystals to electric energy and at the same time the
production cost of PV panels reduced due to market competition, more
applications of solar energy-based systems have emerged in lifting water for crop
production. High voltage panels have better performance in energy delivery
under adverse local conditions such as cloudiness and dust settling on the
panels.
The configuration of solar panels and electric pump motors is determined by first
consulting solar insolation maps or associated tables (Homer software on the
internet) that present the daily duration of the nominal terrestrial irradiation (1
kW/m2) during the critical growing season and for the particular location in the
world. In this effective sunlight duration all required water for the day should be
pumped and constitutes therefore one of the criteria to design the capacity of the
pump.
Cloudy weather, however, will markedly reduce electric energy generation. As
water demand on cloudy days will be less than on sunny days, the production of
pumped water would be automatically relate to the actual crop requirement.
Water storage to bridge overcast periods for a few days must be considered in
the design. The design discharge of the solar-powered pumps is increased to be
able to fill the reservoir during sunny days while at the same time water is used
for irrigation. In case more water is occasionally required, standby fuel-driven
pumps or treadle pumps may be operated.
Apart from dust and cloudiness, other adverse environmental conditions
constitute high temperatures (the electric resistance increases) and significant
wind.
The new developments are illustrated along with photos of the models and some
of their applications, first for interested smallholders in the Tono and Vea
Irrigation Schemes. The design methodology to provide solar energy to the Tono
pump stations is presented in Section 4.3.
4.2.
Smallholder Irrigation
4.2.1. Solar Modules in Fixed Position

KickStart (Nairobi, Kenya) promoted treadle pumps in Africa for over 15 years. In
many countries the MoneyMaker models have become very popular for
smallholders in vegetable production with water from shallow wells and open
water resources. Soon the demand for the treadle pumps increased such that the
production of the pump had to be moved from Kenya to China to produce
sufficiently and at affordable prices for small farmers.
43
Of late, KickStart developed the MoneyMaker Solar Pump of which the off-shelf
2015 price is US$ 441. The pump may replace the pedestal pump.
Photo 2 shows the brochure of this new type. The solar panel is mounted on a
small stand near the water source. The submersible centrifugal pump develops
sufficient pressure to supply water to 1 to 3 low-pressure sprinklers but usually
the farmer walks with the delivery hose around to water the crops that grow in
furrows or to fill check basins.
Photo 2:
MoneyMaker Solar Pump of Kickstart
The brochure mentions that the flow rate is up to 3,000 litres in 4 hours of bright
sunshine and that the suction head may be 3.0m. The irrigation capacity is 0.1 ha
to 0.2 ha.
Similarly, the organisation Futurepump developed the Sunflower model that is
composed of an 80W PV module mounted on a steel pole with the electric pump.
It is suitable to irrigate 0.2 ha.
44
Photo 3:
Sunflower Solar Pump of Futurepump
The specifics can be read on internet at www.futurepump.com . Futurepump is

active in Kenya and Ethiopia and will soon establish retail points in Mozambique.
The discharges are 0.25 l/s at 6.0 m head to 0.56 l/s at 1.0 m head and the pump
sells at US$ 400. The solar panel can be detached easily and this may be
important to prevent theft.
4.2.2. Movable Solar Modules
Probably safer against theft and more efficient to catch sunlight through the day
is to have the PV panels on a tray or cart with two small wheels. This device could
be made locally and the technical parts as the PV modules and the pump are
virtually assembled on site.
The cart should be a light structure of welded steel pipes. With the sun travelling
in the sky from east to west, the cart is regularly repositioned to direct the panels
optimally to the sun. Depending on the required pump energy during midday
hours, the PV panel capacity is determined. A submersible axial flow pump should
be selected if the lift head is small (refer also to Sub-Section 2.4) and water is
provided by walking with the delivery hose to the crops.
PV modules are manufactured from 40W to 400W. Currently the international
price of a solar panel is 1 US$/W.
Photo 4:
PV Modules on Movable Tray
45
One design example is presented for a larger plot of 0.5 ha for which the solar
energy equipment including the pump may cost around US$ 1,500: The plot is
2.0 m to 7.0 m higher than the water level of the open water source. To irrigate
0.5 ha a 200W pump with a capacity of 2.0l/s at 4.0 m head is adequate. It is
safe, in case of cloudy or dusty weather, to procure PV panels with total capacity
of twice pump capacity: five 80W panels are therefore sufficient and these panels
will easily fit on a cart.
4.2.3. Drip and Sprinkler Systems
If water is not distributed manually by delivery hose, a system with a high
irrigation distribution efficiency and storage capacity should be designed. The
reservoir will store water that may be used to irrigate during cloudy days. The
much less efficient surface irrigation system is usually not combined with solar
energy-driven pumps as the procurement cost of the pumps would be about
twice the cost of the pumps needed for drip or sprinkler irrigation and a much
larger water reservoir would be needed as well for the surface irrigation system.
Depending on the design of the capacity of the PV system the capital cost of the
PV modules, pump, cabling, control panel & inverter to transform direct current
(DC) to alternating current (AC), and installation cost ranges from US$ 3,900/kW
(PV panel capacity = 1.5 * pump capacity) to US$ 5,400/kW (PC panel capacity =
2.0 * pump capacity).
Photo 5:
Array of PV Panels and Driplines in Front
Low-pressure drip systems work with a water tank about 2.0 m above the ground.
Several standard sizes are available from manufacturers in South-Africa, Israel
and India up to 1 acre (0.4 ha) and water tank capacity of 5m 3 to 10m3. For the
0.4 ha plot, the pump should be able to produce 13 m 3/day at maximum head of
7 m. Small drip systems of 0.1 ha, however, may be supplied by treadle pump or
the solar pump systems promoted by KickStart and Futurepump.
4.3.
Larger Systems
4.3.1. Schematic Arrangement

In larger systems, the location of where solar energy is generated will be at some
distance from the pump station. The length of the power cable from the
photovoltaic (PV) modules to the power controller should preferably be less than
15 m as loss of power will have to be accounted for.
Figure 6 shows schematically the basic components and connections. Water
storage in a tank or reservoir is often required as storing electrical energy in
batteries is more costly. Water supply from the reservoir may take place over
more daytime hours than the duration of the effective sunshine.
46
Figure 6:
Solar Water Pumping Components
Irrigation schemes require relatively heavy pumps and solar motors that are not
able to run efficiently on the direct current (DC) generated by the PV modules.
Alternative current (AC) motors are well capacitated to deliver at higher voltage
the power needed by the pumps. The electricity from the PV modules is
transformed to AC by an inverter that is fitted in the housing of the pump
controller. The pump controller boosts power to the pump motor during low-light
conditions and reduced voltage from the photocells.
4.3.2. Matching Available Energy with Water Demand
The global horizontal irradiation map (available at the website http://solargis.info,
data measured from 1994 to 2010) shows for the sites a yearly total of around
2,050 kWh/m2, which at standard irradiance of 1,000 W/m2 (peak radiation
intensity) is equivalent to 5.62 peak sun hours per day.
47
Figure 7:
Global Horizontal Irrigation Map of Ghana
The global horizontal irradiation map (available at the website http://solargis.info,

data measured from 1994 to 2010) shows for the sites a yearly total of around
2,050 kWh/m2, which at standard irradiance of 1,000 W/m2 (peak radiation
intensity) is equivalent to 5.62 peak sun hours per day.
This is higher than at Kotoka Airport in Accra, where the solar energy is monitored
by a PV array heading south with fixed tilt of 20 0. Table 13 presents data of
Kotoka Airport from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Denver
(USA) and of the site from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) in Washington (USA) by filling the site coordinates 10.87N, 1.14W on the
tab Resource Data of the website.
Table 13: Insolation (kWh/(m2.day))
Sit
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
e
Jul
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Annua
l
Accra 5.74 5.88 5.87 5.24 4.68 4.25 4.14 4.38 4.86 5.32 5.59 5.47
5.12
Tono 5.48 6.04 6.11 6.11 5.94 5.39 4.88 4.60 4.97 5.63 5.65 5.71
Sources: http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php and
https://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/sse/interann.cgi
5.64
48
The above table shows that the clearest and most productive month in the year
to generate solar energy in Accra is February. Despite the sky at the site is dustier
than in Accra due to the effect of the harmattan, the highest insolation at Tono
occurs in March and April. The insolation gradually deceases after February and in
the rainy season (May to October) the values are lowest due to clouds with a dip
in August.
The daily evapotranspiration of crops is determined online at the FAO/Aquastat
website http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/quickWMS/climcropwebx.htm by
filling the geo-coordinates of the site. Figure 8 presents the results that apply to
the Tono scheme near Pump Station 1 (Zone B). The peak demand period of
water likely occurs in the first half of April at a daily evapotranspiration rate ETo =
5.5 mm/day.
Figure 8:
Potential Evapotranspiration at the Site
The peak crop water requirement occurs earlier than in April as rice would have
the highest requirement during land preparation in February. The design of the
electric pump, quantity of PV modules and the orientation of the modules in the
array (tilt angle) should be based on this critical period.
49
Figure 9:
Irradiance During the Day
The intensity of the sun energy changes during daylight hours as Figure 9 shows.
The capacity of the pump motor is designed to perform optimally during the peak
irradiance at noontime.
On 15th February, the elevation of the sun at 12:00 hrs is 76.3 0 and shines from
the Southern Hemisphere. For this case, the following tilt angle options of the PV
array heading south are considered:
a) Perpendicularly facing the sun at noon, tilt angle 90 o 76.30 = 13.70;
b) Slightly larger tilt assuming more energy during 1 hour before noon and 1
hour after mid-day time is captured than in case a, tilt angle 90 o (76.30
150/2) = 21.20
The above two cases are compared with the neutral orientation at 0 0 tilt (the PV
arrays are installed horizontally).
Table 14: Irradiance (kW/m2) at the Site with Different Tilt Angles of the
PV Modules
15th February
Date
Tilt Angle
00
13.70
21.20
6:00
6:30
0.0284
0.0375
0.0425
7:00
0.1212
0.1374
0.1448
7:30
0.2347
0.2535
0.26
8:00
0.3532
0.3729
0.3771
8:30
0.4695
0.4888
0.4903
Remarks/Explanations
Local Solar
Time
Dawn starts
Power controller switches the

pump on
50
9:00
0.5785
0.5972
0.5958
9:30
0.6768
0.6946
0.6904
10:00
0.7616
0.7784
0.7717
10:30
0.8307
0.8466
0.8378
11:00
0.8823
0.8976
0.8872
11:30
0.9154
0.93
0.9186
12:00
0.929
0.9433
0.9314
12:30
0.9229
0.9372
0.9255
13:00
0.8973
0.9116
0.9007
13:30
0.8527
0.8674
0.8578
14:00
0.7901
0.8053
0.7976
14:30
0.7111
0.7269
0.7216
15:00
0.6177
0.6342
0.6315
15:30
0.5124
0.5295
0.5297
16:00
0.3983
0.4158
0.4189
16:30
0.2799
0.297
0.3026
17:00
0.1633
0.1787
0.1858
17:30
0.0596
0.0704
0.0768
18:00
0.0006
0.0012
0.0016
Maximum irradiance
Power controller switches the

pump off
At 18:30 no irradiance occurs.
Peak sun hours 6.4936 6.6765 6.6489 Measured from dawn to dusk
Aver.
Irradiance
0.7117 0.7281 0.7226 Irradiance>300 W/m2
Multiply factor
1.31
1.30
1.29
max. irradiance/aver. irradiance
Source: http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-sunlight/solar-radiation-tiltedsurface
4.3.3. Design of Electric Motor
Power/Power controllers (see Figure 6) regulate the generated energy to provide
a stable electricity supply to the pump motor. They have a sun scanner that
switches automatically the pump on or off during respectively the morning hours
and afternoon time when light intensity is small. This facility protects the electric
motor of the pump from running below suitable operation level that may shorten
the lifetime of the electric motor. The controller is also connected to an automatic
water level sensor (AWLS) to switch off the pump when the water level at the
source is very low. Another AWLS monitors the water level in the reservoir and
when it is full the controller is signalled to switch off the pump.
It is proposed to program the switch of the sun scanner to stay automatically in
connected position when the solar irradiance is at least 300 W/m 2 (>0.3kW/m2).
The irradiance data in Table 14 show the productive irradiance period occurs
51
between 8:00 hrs and 16:30 hrs or 8.5 hours at that day. In this length of time,
the pumps should produce the amount of water needed in a day for irrigation.
The pump speed (expressed in no of rotations per minute or rpm) and
consequently discharge is highest around noontime (frequency is 50 Hz) and
lowest when switched on/off (frequency is 30 Hz).
Table 14 shows that on 15 th February the PV array receives most electrical energy
from the sun if fixed at a tilt of 13.70 with the horizon (facing south!). It should
however be checked if this configuration covers the solar energy and pump
production that is demanded to supply irrigation water in other months.
If the capacity requirement of the system proves lower in other periods of the
year, the design is continued with the 13.7 0 tilt on 15th February case (the tilt of
the array may be reset to face the sun better in another critical period of the year
to attain better utilization of solar radiation). During 8.5 hours, the average
irradiance is computed 0.7281 kW/m2. However, designing the pump capacity at
this rate would not produce the discharge it should around noontime when the
irradiance is 0.9433 kW/m 2. The required pump capacity that produces water
optimally at this point in daytime should be 0.9433/0.7281 = 1.30 x higher.
The total dynamic head (TDH) should subsequently be determined that matches
with the solar pump motor capacity. This depends in how much time the pumps
are given to fill the reservoir.
4.3.4. Solar Power Generation
The array of solar modules should have a higher capacity than the solar pump for
the following reasons:
-
System losses due to heat developed (electric cables, charge/power

controller, switchboard, connections), dust and age of the PV modules and
other equipment. The usual multiply factor is 1.25
Inverter efficiency to convert direct current (DC) produced by the PV array

into alternating current (AC) for the solar pump.
The ratio DC/AC of the inverter (indicated on the nameplate of each

device). Usually the factor is 1.1
Assuming an inverter efficiency of 96% and the inverter DC/AC ratio = 1.1 the
capacity of the array is calculated as below:
Array capacity = electric motor capacity (kW) * 1.25 * 100/96 * 1.1 (kilo
Watt-peak)
The last step is to select the capacity of the PV modules. If 250 Wp PV modules
are proposed, the number of required modules in the array is simply determined
by:
Number of PV modules = Array capacity/250
The commercially available PV modules (also popularly called solar panels) need
to be configured in parallel and series strings to match at least the calculated
array capacity and the electric requirements of the solar pump (voltage, current).
Several strings of modules put in series should be connected in parallel to add to
the required current (amperage) of the pump sets.
52
Photo 6:
Post
Array of 38 PV Modules of 250Wp each on a Steel Mounting
53
5. HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

5.1.
Introduction
The information given in this chapter is supplementary to the technologies and

methods described in the Ghanaian irrigation design standards.
5.2.
Rainfall and Effective Rainfall
5.2.1. Thiessen Polygons

Rainfall is hardly ever uniform in space, and spatially averaged rainfall (also
called mean areal rainfall) is commonly utilized in hydrologic applications. The
rainfall at any location (measured or unmeasured) may be estimated using an
interpolation scheme that employs linear weighting of point rainfall
measurements at the individual rain gauges over a desired areas as
n
( x )= w P(x )
^
P
i i
i=1
(x )
Where ^
is the rainfall estimate at location x; P( x i) is the measured
P
precipitation at rain guage I, that is, located at x i; w I is the weight associated
with the point measurement at station I; and N is the total number of
measurements (gauges) being used in the interpolation.
N
Because of unbiasedness, the following condition
wi
must be met.
i=1
There are a variety of ways to estimate the weights, w i, depending on the

underlying assumptions about the spatial distribution of the rainfall. One of the
methods is the Thiessen polygon method whereby the rainfall at any point is
estimated to equal the rainfall at the nearest station, and w i = 0 for all other
stations.
The Thiessen polygons will be generated using the ArcTool Box within ArcGIS.
5.2.2. Gridded Rainfall and Climate Data
Gridded rainfall data are provided free of charge by a number of research
institutes. These data are useful to patch missing rainfall data and could also be
used in data scarce areas.
The gridded data provided by the University of Princeton are applied by the
Consultant. The resolution of the geo grid size is 0.25 0 by 0.250. The data are
products or outputs of Global Forcing climate models.
5.2.3. Intensity-Duration Frequency Curves
Intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves, derived from the rainfall statistics of
the Navrongo and Bolgatanga meteorological stations, have been obtained from
a publication of the Ghana Meteorological Services Department (GMSD). The IDF
is given in a form of:
i=
(d +)
54
Where i (d,T) is rainfall intensity in mm/hr, d is the duration in hrs. Parameters are
(T) that varies with return period T, and .
The IDF parameters have been generated for the scheme locations: = 0.36 and
=0.8. The values for (T) are listed in Table 15.
Table 15: IDF Parameters for (T)
T (years)
Location
Navrongo
10
20
50
100
37.37
44.46
48.72
52.7
57.78
61.54
41.57
51.32
57.78
63.97
71.98
77.99
46.31
59.12
68.3
77.27
88.97
97.74
71.78
79.99
87.87
98.07
105.72
Bolgatanga
41.66
49.5
54.68
59.66
66.1
70.92
Vea Dam
38.52
47.64
53.68
59.47
66.97
72.59
5.2.4. Seasonality Index of Rainfall

Rainfall seasonality is related to the temporal distribution of rainfall on monthly
basis. Rainfall seasonality can be estimated by the Walsh and Lawler (1981)
index. The method aims to characterize the distribution of rainfall throughout the
year and to classify the climate of an area. For example the climate of an area
can be characterized as rather seasonal with a short dry season or marked
seasonal with a long dry season, depending on the distribution of rainfall during
the year.
Data required for the calculation of the index are:
1
Average monthly rainfall;
Average annual rainfall.
The seasonality index classifies the type of climate in relation to water

availability. The higher the seasonality index of a region the greater the water
resources variability and scarcity in time, the more vulnerable the area to
desertification.
The proposed method is very simple with few data required for calculation.
However, since rainfall data are point observations the seasonality index has to
be regionalized based on the Thiessen method as discussed in Sub-Section 5.2.1.
A period of at least 30 years of rainfall data are required to describe the
prevailing rainfall seasonality index of an area. Seasonality index helps in
identifying the rainfall regimes based on the monthly distribution of rainfall. In
order to define the seasonality contrasts, the Seasonality Index (SI) , which is a
function of mean monthly and annual rainfall is computed using the following
formula:
12
SI i=
n=1
Where:
Ri
12
Ri
Xin is the mean rainfall of month I of the year n,
Ri is the total annual rainfall for the year n.
55
Theoretically, the SI can vary from zero (if all the months have equal rainfall) to
1.83 (if all the rainfall occurs in one month).
Different class limits of SI and representative rainfall regimes are shown in Table
16.
Table 16: Seasonal Rainfall Regimes indicated by Seasonality Index

Seasonality
Index
Rainfall Regime
(SI)
< 0.19
Rainfall spread throughout the year
0.20 0.39
Rainfall spread throughout the year, but with a definite

wetter season
0.40 0.59
Rather seasonal with a short drier season
0.60 0.79
Seasonal
0.80 0.99
Markedly seasonal with a long dry season
1.0 1.19
>1.20
5.3.
Most rainfall in less than 3 months

Extreme seasonality, with almost all rainfall in 1 2
months
Rainfall-Runoff Modelling
5.3.1. Introduction
A model is a theoretical construction that uses mathematical equations to
describe the behaviour of a physical process. Models are used to find analytical
solutions to problems by predicting the behaviour of a process from a set of
parameters and initial conditions. In overview, a model can be an individual
component or a set of components that simulate a physical process. For example,
the simulation of stream flow resulting from rainfall on a watershed can be
modelled with a simple mathematical equation (the Rational Formula Q = c.i.A),
or with a group of models each accounting for individual elements of the physical
processes (e.g. rainfall conversion to runoff, time distribution of runoff to a
downstream confluence, and routing of multiple streams to the basin outlet).
For dam reservoir modelling, the rainfall-runoff model shall be based on runoff
coefficients and the HEC-HMS model.
5.3.2. Runoff Coefficient
In order to predict the volume of runoff generated from a specified storm,
seasonal runoff coefficients will be applied. The runoff coefficient is defined as
that proportion of the total rainfall in an event that becomes runoff. The way in
which runoff generation is predicted is generally non-linear, with a runoff
coefficient that depends on both antecedent conditions and rainfall.
Table 17: Monthly Runoff Coefficients (%)
56
Dam
Fe
Catchmen Jan
b
t Area
Tono Dam
Vea Dam
0
0
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
2.1
4.3 20.9 9.7
20
24
Jun
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
40
35
De
c
0.9
0.3
25
Seasonal runoff coefficients were obtained from irrigation design documents of

the 1970s for Tono and a research paper on the Vea Dam catchment
(Sustainable Irrigation Development in the Volta Basin).
The runoff coefficients of the catchment area of Tono Dam are much lower than of
Vea Dam as the catchment area is much more forested, less populated and
stores therefore more rainwater.
5.3.3. Runoff Routing
The U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS) unit hydrograph method shall be used
for routing runoff to catchment outlets. It is embedded in the HEC-HMS model
which is an event rainfall-runoff model available in public domain.
5.4.
Reservoir Modelling
5.4.1. Water Balance

The water balance equation of a reservoir is formulated as follows:
S=V V release V seepV netevapV spill

All components are measured in commensurate system of units. In the existing
irrigation scheme data on V release and S (in a form of stage and the
elevation-area-capacity curve) should be available from a monitoring system.
V netevap will be computed from rainfall and computed open water evaporation.
Estimates will be made of V seep and V spill .
Seepage loss V seep
is assumed to be proportional to the change in volume of
water stored in the reservoir. Hence, it is written as:
V seep =( S ) t
where is a proportionality constant and t is the duration over which
speepage takes place. ideally ranges from 0 to 1.0.
The amount of spill,
equation below.
V spill ,
is calculated by the weir formula given by the
Qspill =( C L H 1.5 ) t
where C is the discharge coefficient that depends on the shape of the weir crest,
L is the spillway crest length, H is the overflow head, and t is the duration
over which spill takes place.
Vrelease is obtained from monitored water use discharges (town/urban & rural
water supplies, irrigation demand).
Finally, Vin is obtained from:
57
V =S+V release + V seep +V netevap +V spill

5.4.2. Water Supply Demand
An important additional purpose of both dam reservoirs is catering for municipal
consumption which includes residential (apartments and houses), commercial
(stores and businesses), institutional (hospitals and schools), industrial and other
water uses (fire fighting, swimming pools and parking water). The water is
partially abstracted from the reservoirs. Records of the water quantities
abstracted should available at Ghana Water Company Ltd. In the absence of such
data, the municipal consumption shall be estimated as product of per capita
consumption (e.g 40 l/capita per day) and the forecasted population for the years
under consideration.
5.4.3. Irrigation Demand
Most water released from the dams is for irrigation. The type of crops will be
determined from economic and agronomic factors. With this the cropping pattern
is designed that requires the least amount of water. The water requirement of the
proposed crops is calculated by CROPWAT 8.0 of FAO.
The net crop water requirement calculation is set out in Volume I Irrigation
System Design of the national irrigation design standards. Irrigation requirement
is the crop water requirements minus effective rainfall available for plant growth.
Farm delivery requirement is estimated as the irrigation requirement plus farm
water losses due to evaporation, deep percolation, surface waste and nonproductive consumption. Gross water requirement is estimated from farm
delivery requirements plus seepage losses in the canal system between the
headworks to the farm unit plus the waste of water due to poor operation.
Irrigation water requirement divided by the overall efficiency gives the gross
irrigation requirement.
5.4.4. Reliability of the Supply from Dam Reservoirs
The reliability of a reservoir is defined as the ratio of the number of days the
demand is fulfilled divided by the total number of days that the model simulation
is applied. In case the reservoir fails to satisfy the requirements due to drought
conditions or no inflow etc during a number of days, the reliability of the dam as
water source is less than 100%.
For the production of commercial crops, the reliability of irrigation water supply
may not become less than 80% of the water demand of the crops grown.
The irrigable potential of the Tono and Vea dam reservoirs is determined as the
amount of land grown under the major crop (currently paddy rice) that receives
only 80% supply of the water requirement and this may occur statistically once in
five years.
The reliability of the water supply for municipal consumption may not be less
than 100% at any point in time.
5.5.
WEAP Software
The data collected on the demand and supply of water are fed into WEAP, a water
resources systems software, to compute the reliability of the reservoir supply.
The software, Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system, has been developed
by the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) or Tellus Institute in Boston
Center (USA). It processes water balance input data from water management
58
planners and decision makers to evaluate water policies and to develop

sustainable water resource management plans.
WEAP operates on the basic principles of water balance accounting by linking
with water supplies from rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers with water demands in
an integrated system. It constitutes policy-oriented software from which a model
may be developed through a user-friendly, menu-driven, graphical interface in
order to simulate user-oriented scenarios.
Models made from WEAP software simulate many different issues including:
-
sectoral demand analyses
water conservation
management of water permits
allocation priorities
groundwater withdrawal and recharge
stream flow simulation
operation of reservoirs
hydropower generation
pollution tracking (fully mixed, limited decay)
climate change.
WEAP software provides also in a financial analysis module that processes data
inputs on costs, benefits, planning period, and interest rate to determine the net
present value of a cost-benefit analysis. Groundwater supplies may be modelled
by specifying storage capacity, maximum withdrawal rate, and rate of recharge.
Minimum monthly stream flows can be specified in a stream flow simulation
model.
WEAP software has however a few limitations regarding the method of defining
reservoir operational characteristics and that it does not allow easy comparison
of different sets of operational procedures (Lancaster, 2004). It is constrained to
an operational regime that determines releases based on reservoir water level.
Under normal operating conditions, above the top of buffer reservoir level,
releases must be 100% of demands. If the reservoir water level is in the buffer
zone, monthly releases are limited to a defined percentage of the total water
available for release. Once operated in the inactive zone, no releases are allowed.
Demand parties/consumers may be assigned different priority levels. WEAP
processes 100% of the highest priority demands be met first before determining
any releases for lower priority consumers. These WEAP limitations result in a
reservoir management scheme that, in many cases, does not reflect actual
procedures well and is not flexible for testing alternative reservoir management
strategies.
Another significant limitation of WEAP is that the data input routines do not
facilitate connections with electronic data formats, such as GIS, spreadsheets, or
relational databases (Lancaster, 2004). The model does not allow data from
tables exported from GIS to a spreadsheet to be copied and pasted into WEAP. To
import time series data, e.g. from a GIS database into WEAP, ASCII text files must
be created. WEAP does not link with GIS but does have a GIS-based graphical
interface that allows the user to input an ArcView shapefile as a background
picture to build a model on. After a WEAP simulation is completed, the results
59
can be displayed in a table that can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet.

Once the data is in the spreadsheet, the time series data can be uploaded to a
geo-database (Lancaster, 2004).
WEAP is relatively straightforward and user-friendly for testing the effects of
different overall water management scenarios. The results are easy to view for
comparison between different scenarios. Changing input data to model newly
proposed scenarios can be readily accomplished, as long as it is not necessary to
make any changes to the ASCII file of historical data.
WEAP runs on Windows-based PCs. License fees are $1,000 (Single Node for
government or not-for-profit organizations). The software is sold by a U.S.
subsidiary in Boston (USA).
CGIRs Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) applies WEAP in several
river basin areas including the White Volta River Basin in West-Africa. The
software is in widespread use throughout the world, including: Beijing
Environmental Master Plan Application System; Water resources study for the
Upper Chattahoochee River, Georgia, USA; Water management options in the
Olifant River basin, South Africa; and the Rio San Juan pilot study, Mexico. Many
more examples are available on the SEI website (SEI, 2001).
60
6. WATER QUALITY FOR IRRIGATION

6.1.
Introduction
The quality of irrigation water depends on the contents of solid matter such as
soil and sand transported in the river or contained in other surface water source,
as well as the chemical elements dissolved in water.
Risk of salinity hazard by irrigation water is usually the main issue to verify. This
is related to the electrical conductivity and the sodium adsorption ratio in the
four classes of irrigation water given in Table 18. The higher the soluble salt
content, the greater the risk of creating saline soils or making soil water less
available to plants.
Table 18: Degree of Salinity and Sodicity in Irrigation Water
Parameter
Low
Electrical Conductivity, ECw

(S/cm)
0 -250
Sodium Adsorption Ratio, SAR
0 - 10
Medium
High
250 - 750 750 2250

10 - 18
18 - 26
Very
High
> 2,250
> 26
Note: 1mS/cm = 1000 S/cm = 1dS/m

Water of low salinity can be used for irrigating most crops, but as the salinity
values increase, the water becomes less suitable for salt-sensitive crops, and for
use on soils of low permeability. Water with low sodium hazard can be used under
most conditions, but as the sodium hazard increases, problems arise on fine
textured poorly drained soils. Medium sodium water is only really suitaed to
coarse textured, permeable soils.
Biological suitability of irrigation water relates to the occurrence of aquatic weeds
and invasive species like water hyacinth. The issue of biological and microbiological (water-borne diseases) suitability of irrigation water should be noted in
the environmental scoping reports and further analysed and mitigation measures
provided ESIA reports.
6.2.
Sampling
In the dry season, water discharged in rivers constitutes base flow supplied by
groundwater. It does usually not contain much suspended sediments (solid
material) and there will also be no transport of bed load material that may enter
the dam reservoir. Depending on agricultural activities or the chemical condition
of the soils in the catchment area river water may contain salts, agro-chemicals
or constitute a certain acidity/alkalinity. The parameters to be tested are
presented in Table 19.
Table 19: Parameters Tested for Irrigation Water Quality
Parameter
pH @ 25 0C
Total dissolved solids (TDS)
Unit
mg/l
61
Electrical Conductivity (ECw)

Boron (B)
S/cm
mg/l
Bicarbonate (HCO3)
+
mg/l
Sodium (Na )
mg/l
Nitrates (NO3)
Chloride (Cl)
mg/l
Sulphate (SO4)
mg/l
mg/l
Sodium absorption ratio

(SAR)
Notes:1mS/cm = 1000 S/cm = 1dS/m
meq/l =milliequivalent per litre (mg/l + equivalent weight = meq/l)
Dissolved constituents and suspended solids may be favourable for the irrigation
scheme.
Boron (symbol is B) is as trace element an essential micronutrient vital to
fertilization but becomes toxic if in higher concentrations (>0.6 mg/l or >3 ppm),
especially on light soils. Particularly cereals are sensitive.
Agricultural activities which could introduce nutrients into water bodies will
eventually lead to eutrophication. Nitrates and phosphate concentrations provide
the criteria for this risk.
The risk if irrigation water may increase the salinity in the soil is expressed in the
sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). It is composed of sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca+2),
and magnesium (Mg+2) cation concentrations. The ratio is usually higher in the
dry season.
The wet season starts usually in June. It takes a number of heavy rains before the
usual wet season condition is established including surface runoff and higher
groundwater inflows. The levels of the salts and other chemical substances are
expected less than in the dry season. The total dissolved solids (TDS) will be
much higher as they enter the river as wash load eroded from the soil surface.
6.3.
Evaluation
The figure below reproduces the table from a FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper
29 Water Quality for Agriculture(1985) that contains the parameters and
evaluation criteria to determine the use and reuse of irrigation water.
62
Degree of Restriction on Use

Unit
s
Potential Irrigation Problem
Slight to
Moderate
None
Sever
e
Salinity(affects crop water availability)

ECw
dS/m < 0.7
0.7 3.0
> 3.0
mg/l
< 450
450 2000
> 2000
(or)
TDS
Infiltration (affects infiltration rate of water into the soil.
Evaluate using ECw and SAR together)
SAR = 0 3
and ECw =
> 0.7
0.7 0.2
< 0.2
=36
> 1.2
1.2 0.3
< 0.3
= 6 12
> 1.9
1.9 0.5
< 0.5
= 12 20
> 2.9
2.9 1.3
< 1.3
= 20 40
> 5.0
5.0 2.9
< 2.9
>9
Specific Ion Toxicity (affects sensitive crops)

Sodium (Na)
surface irrigation
SAR < 3
39
sprinkler irrigation
me/l
<3
>3
surface irrigation
me/l
<4
4 10
sprinkler irrigation
me/l
<3
>3
Boron (B)
mg/l
< 0.7
0.7 3.0
> 3.0
mg/l
<5
5 30
> 30
me/l
< 1.5
1.5 8.5
> 8.5
Chloride (Cl)
> 10
Miscellaneous Effects (affects susceptible crops)

Nitrogen (NO3 - N)6
Bicarbonate (HCO3)
(overhead sprinkling only)
pH
Normal Range 6.5 8.4
Figure 10: Guidelines for Irrigation Water Quality Assessment
The salt concentration in the effluent of most irrigation schemes ranges from 200
to 4,000 mg/l total dissolved solids.
63
The relationship between electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids is:
ECw (dS/m) x 640 = TDS (mg/l)
The pH of the water normally ranges from 6.5 to 8.4.
64
DOCUMENTS CONSULTED
Bos M.G., Discharge Measurement Structures, ILRI Publication 20, Wageningen
(1989)
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Volume I Irrigation System Design
Volume II Headworks/Dams, Dugouts and Dykes
Volume III Canals
Volume IV Structures
Volume V Tertiary Units
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Draft Design Criteria

Consultancy Service for the Design and

Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) 8

2. IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE DESIGN..............................................11

Brief Overview of Infrastructure

3. AUTOMATION AND INSTRUMENTATION...........................................30

Basic Requirements for Model to Work

4. SOLAR ENERGY AND PUMP DESIGN................................................38

Solar Modules in Fixed Position

5. HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES............................................47

6. WATER QUALITY FOR IRRIGATION..................................................54

Automated gate and solar powered local control pedestal...................34

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

Uninterruptible Power Supply

Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP)

Ministry of Food and Agriculture, is (has) increased access to land, private

Component 1: Strengthening investment promotion infrastructure,

Component 2: Securing PPPs and smallholder linkages in the Accra

Component 3: Securing PPPs and smallholder linkages in the SADA

Component 4: Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation. This

Component 5: Investments in Physical Rehabilitation and Modernization

Component 6: Support for the Restructuring and Strengthening of GIDA

Component 7: Support for the Development of

Scope of this Report

Volume I Irrigation System Design

Volume II Headworks/Dams, Dugouts and Dykes

Volume III Canals

Volume V Tertiary Units

Automation and instrumentation

Solar energy and pump design

River training (groynes)

Water quality for irrigation

2. IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE DESIGN

Brief Overview of Infrastructure

2.2.1. General features

Tono Irrigation Scheme

Main Canal (MC)

Partially in good shape

Left Bank Canal (LBC)

Right Bank Canal (RBC)

Main system roads

km 18.90 In fairy good state

km 86.44 In poor state

km 86.00 In poor state

km 58.38 In poor state

km 61.50 Silted and grown by trees

Lateral canal headgates

Main system structures:

Most cannot be operated

Neyrpic modules in poor state

990 m length in RBC, main road

Many are worn, pierced or crest cut

Most in good condition but several

Some are leaking

Night storage reservoirs

3 are infested by weeds and

Pump Stations (PS)

Electric pumps and pipelines are in

11 Lateral system structures:

Many are silted

1,628 Many are broken

Most are broken

Left Bank Canal (LBC)

12.74 To be improved and reconstructed

Draft Design Criteria Report (Tono & Vea)

Draft Design Criteria Report (Tono & Vea)