By the end of the lecture you

should be able to:

• Distinguish a consumptive use from a non
consumptive use
• Identify different water uses and factors
affecting the different water uses.
• Identify negative effects of waste water
resuse
• Outline how each water use leads to water
pollution
WATER USES
 Consumptive and Non comsumptive
Uses
• A use of water is consumptive if that
water is not immediately available for
another use or not returned to the
original source after being withdrawn
eg water that is incorporated into
products or crops.
• Use is considered non-consumptive if
that water can be put to additional use
 Environmental water uses

• Environmental water usage

includes artificial wetlands,
artificial lakes intended to create
wildlife habitat etc
• Environmental usage is non-
consumptive but may reduce the
availability of water for other users
at specific times and places.
• Eg?????????
 The environment requires water
for the following purposes:
To live-for maintenance of the
physical habitat
To function eg transpiration in
trees
To move eg migration of seeds,
dispersal
To feed eg through water solutes in
natural fertilisers
To breed eg water based fauna and
flora
 Domestic water uses

• About 8% of worldwide water use is

for household purposes.
• Drinking water is water that is of
sufficiently high quality so that it can
be consumed or used without risk of
immediate or long term harm.
• Such water is commonly called potable
water. In most developed countries, the
water supplied to households,
commerce and industry is all of
drinking water standard even though
only a very small proportion is actually
consumed or used in food preparation.
 Domestic water uses can be
divided into:
Consumptive uses eg cooking,
drinking
Hygienic uses eg bathing, cleaning,
washing
Productive uses eg agriculture,
domestic animals
Non consumptive????????
Water collection is a major issue in
rural areas.
 The girl child is most
affected??????
 Industrial water uses
• It is estimated that 22% of
worldwide water use is industrial.
• Consumptive- where water is
utilised and not available for
further uses e.g. when used as a
solvent in chemical reactions.
• Non consumptive is when it is used
for such purposes as cooling of
machines and hydroelectric power
generation.
• Industrial water used in power
plants, which use water for cooling
or as a power source
• ore and oil refineries, which use
water in chemical processes,
• and manufacturing plants, which
use water as a solvent.
• The portion of industrial water
usage that is consumptive varies
widely, but as a whole is lower than
agricultural use.
 Agricultural water uses

• It is estimated that 69 to 70% of

worldwide water use is for
irrigation.
• Irrigation defined as the
provisions, measures and activities,
of a temporary as well as a
permanent nature, aiming at the
supply of water, in some case
together with other matters, to the
soil, respectively to the plant, in
order to maintain or promote the
growth of crops”
• Also,
• The artificial supply and distribution
of water for agricultural purposes

• The total measures taken to enable a

farmer to optimally provide water to
his / her crops
 Objectives / reasons to irrigate:
• Raise productivity of land
• Guarantee a yield (erratic rainfall)
• Crop diversification
• Improve quality of produce
• Reduce wind erosion
• Germinating seeds
• Making chemical application
possible
• Crop and soil cooling
• Application of liquid manure
• Modification of soil & climatic
environment
• For leaching of salts
• For reclamation of sodic soils
• For frost protection
 EFFECTS OF POOR IRRIGATION

• Wastage of large amounts of water

• Leach mineral nutrients from the
root zone into the deeper layers
contaminating groundwater
• Impairs the productivity of soil, or
yield losses may occur if
insufficient water applied.
• Excessive application of water
causes water logging
• Increases high water tables or
seepage spots to develop which
may be corrected only by the
construction of expensive drainage
systems.
• Salts accumulate and an alkali soil
may develop.
• What are the factors that affect the
choice of an irrigation system?
 IRRIGATION METHODS
Surface Irrigation Method
• refers to the manner or plan of
water application by gravity flow
to the cultivated land wetting
either the entire field (uncontrolled
flooding) or part of the field
(furrows, basins, border strips).
 1. Wild flooding

• applies water to the field without any

bunds (embankments) to guide the
flow of water wetting the soil surface
completely.
• practiced only when irrigation water
is abundant and where land levelling is
not followed.
• commonly used in rice, low value
pastures, lawns and millets etc.
Advantages
1. No land levelling & land shaping
2. Low labour and land preparation costs
3. Less skill required by irrigator
Disadvantages
1. Applied water is lost by deep
percolation & surface runoff
2. Low irrigation application efficiency
 2. Controlled flooding
(a) Check basin method
• the field is divided into square or
rectangular plots guided by bunds on
all the sides.
• usually practiced in nearly levelled
lands, thus no run-off of soil or water
takes place and wetting depth is more
uniform.
• useful on fine textured soils with
low permeability rate where it is
necessary to hold the water on the
surface to secure adequate
infiltration.
• The field channels supply water to
each basin, during which the basins
are filled to desired depth and
water is retained until it infiltrates
into the soil.
• commonly used for irrigating crops
like groundnut, finger millet,
sorghum, vegetable crops etc.
Advantages
1. Water can be applied uniformly.
2. Even small streams can be used for
irrigation of crops efficiently.
3. Simple and cheap when equipment
is used for constructing bunds
Disadvantages
1. Unless the land is levelled,
distribution of water in plot is
uneven.
2. Considerable area is lost under
field channels and bunds i.e. nearly
30% of area.
3. Bunds interfere in working of
inter-cultivation equipment
4. More labour is required for field
layout and irrigation
 Ring basin method

• modification of check basin

method and is suitable for sparsely
grown orchard crops.
• a circular bund is constructed
around each tree/plant or group of
plants/trees to create a basin for
irrigation.
• These basins are suitably
connected to irrigation conveyance
channels is such a way that either
each basin is irrigated separately
or group of basins by flowing
water from one basin to another
through inter- connections.
Advantages
1. High irrigation application
efficiency can be achieved with
properly designed system
2. Unskilled labour can be used, as
there is no danger of erosion
Disadvantages
1. High labour requirement
2. Bunds restrict use of modern
machinery in the field
3. Limited to relatively uniform
lands
 Border strip method

• The cultivated field to be irrigated

is divided into a number of long
parallel strips, generally 5 to 15 m
in width and 75 to 300 m in length
separated by small border ridges
of about 15 cm high, laid out in the
direction of the slope.
• Irrigation water is released into
each strip connected directly to
irrigation channel situated at the
upstream end of the border strip.
• After sufficient water has been
applied to one strip, the irrigation
stream is turned into another strip.
• suitable for irrigating a wide
variety of close growing crops such
as wheat, barley, groundnut
Advantages
1. Large water streams can be used
safely
2. Provides uniform wetting of soil
profile
3. Low labour requirement
Disadvantages
1.Requires relatively large water
streams for quick advance of water
to minimize deep percolation losses
at the upper end of the border
strip.
2. Wastage of water by deep
percolation in coarse textured soils.
 Furrow method

• flat bed surface is converted into a

series of ridges and furrows
running down the slope.
• spacing of the furrow is ordinarily
determined by the spacing of row
crop.
• In sandy soils water infiltrates
rapidly.
• Therefore furrows should be short,
so that water will reach the
downstream end without excessive
percolation losses.
• In clay soils, the infiltration rate is
much lower than in sandy soils.
Furrows can be much longer on
clayey soils than on sandy soils.
• In sandy soils, water moves faster
vertically than sideways (lateral).
• Therefore narrow, deep V-shaped
furrows are
• desirable to reduce the soil area
through which water percolates
• In clay soils, there is much more
lateral movement of water and the
infiltration rate is much less.
• Thus a wide, shallow furrow is
desirable to obtain a large wetted
area to encourage infiltration.
• Furrow irrigation is adapted for
row crops like maize,tobacco, and
cabbage.
Advantages
1. Fairly high irrigation application
efficiency among surface irrigation
methods
Disadvantages
1.Not suitable in coarse textured
soils with high infiltration rates
2. Possibility of intra-furrow soil
erosion
3. Labour intensive
• What is the difference between
furrow and border strip irrigation
methods
 SPRINKLER IRRIGATION

• Sprinkler irrigation is a method of

applying irrigation water which is
similar to natural rainfall.
• water is sprayed in to the air
through sprinkler nozzles or
perforations so that it breaks up in to
small water drops (0.5 to 4mm in size)
Advantages
1. Elimination of field channels and
their maintenance, which increase
the production area
2. No water losses in conveyance,
which amounts to 35% in surface
irrigation methods
4. Close control over water
application i.e., no runoff losses
because water is applied below or
equal to infiltration rate.
5. Convenient for giving light and
frequent irrigations.
6. Higher application efficiency over
surface methods of irrigation.
7. Sprinklers give a gentle rain that
does not clog or compact the soil
ensuring better and quicker
germination of seeds resulting in
more plants per unit area
8. Feasibility of frequent, short
water applications for germination,
cooling & frost protection to
plants, etc.
Disadvantages
1.Uneven distribution of water due to
high wind velocities particularly
during summer season.
2. Higher evaporation losses when
operating under high temperatures.
3. Mechanical difficulties such as
sprinklers fail to rotate, nozzles may
clog, couplers may leak or engine
may require repair.
4. Initial investment and recurrent
operating costs are much higher
than in surface irrigation methods.
5. Moving the portable lines, when
the soil is wet results in the
destruction of soil structure
6. Higher water pressure required
hence extra energy cost
 Localized irrigation systems
Drip or trickle irrigation
• Is the precise, slow and frequent
application of small quantities of water
to the soil in the form of discrete drops,
continuous drops, and tiny streams
through emitters located at selected
points along a water delivery lateral
line.
• It differs from sprinkler irrigation
by the fact that only part of the soil
surface is wetted.
• What are the advantages and
disadvantages of drip irrigation
Definitions in irrigation water use
• Effective rainfall- effective
precipitation is that quantity which
is available for plant growth and
amounts to total precipitation
minus runoff and evaporation
Hayes and Buell 1955
Or
• That part of total rainfall during
the growing season which is
available to meet the consumptive
water requirements of a crop
(Hershfield 1964)
• Crop water requirement- total water
needed for evapotranspiration from
planting to harvest for a given crop
in a specific climate regime, when
adequate soil water is maintained by
rainfall and or irrigation so that it
does not limit plant growth and crop
yield
Or
The depth of water (mm) needed to meet the
water consumed through evapotranspiration
by a disease free crop, growing in large fields
under non restricting soil conditions including
soil and water fertility and achieving full
production potential under the given growing
environments (2013)
• Although the values for crop
evapotranspiration and crop water
requirement are identical crop
water requirement refers to the
water that needs to supplied and
evapotranspiration refers to the
water that is lost
 Drought
• Weather related natural disaster
• Related to deficiency of
precipitation over an extended
period of time, usually a season or
more
 Types of Drought
• Common to all droughts is that
they originate from a deficiency of
precipitation that results in water
shortage
 Meteorological Drought

–Measured in
terms of the
degree of dryness
(intensity) and the
duration of the
dry period
–Region Specific
 Agricultural Drought

– Occurs when there is not

enough moisture to
support average crop
production ie shortage of
water needs for a specific
growth stage
– Usually the first
economic sector to be hit
 Hydrological Drought
Occurs when water reserves in
acquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall
below an established statistical average
–Often linked to meteorological
drought
–Communities vary in degree of
vulnerability depending on their water
source
 Socio economic drought
• Occurs when the demand for water
exceeds the supply
 Aquaculture
• commercial freshwater fisheries
• is a small but growing agricultural
use of water.
 Recreational water uses

• mostly tied to reservoirs.

• If a reservoir is kept fuller than it
would otherwise be for recreation,
then the water retained could be
categorized as recreational usage.
• eg anglers, water skiers, nature
enthusiasts and swimmers.
• Recreational usage is usually non-
consumptive.
 Water use efficiency

• Defined as the smart use of water

resources through water saving
technologies which will help ensure
reliable water supplies today and
for future generations
• Water use efficiency includes any
measure that reduces the amount
of water used per unit of any given
activity, consistent with the
maintenance or enhancement of
water quality.
• Gloss (1991) indicated that efficient
water use should be considered from
different points of view:
• absolute efficiency ie to use the least
amount of water possible,
• economic efficiency, which seeks to
derive maximum economic benefits,
• social efficiency which strives to fulfill
the needs of the user community,
• ecological efficiency which
guarantees natural resource
conservation, and
• institutional efficiency which
qualifies the function of an
institution regarding its water
related tasks.
• Explain the effects of the various
water uses to the environment