Operation of an irrigation canal by means of the passive canal control

Modern irrigation techniques involve large spatial and temporal demand variations in distribution networks. This makes the flow unsteady and generates perturbations that travel upstream along the network. Perturbations can also be generated by variable water inflows. This is the case when water is pumped into the network under variable energy rates, generating perturbations that travel downstream on the network. The passive canal control is a design criteria and a flow distribution method that make most of the storage capacity needed in any irrigation project, in order to mitigate the perturbations coming from both directions. In this paper, the passive canal control is applied to the design and operation of the Xerta-Sénia Canal Irrigation Project considering an unsteady free-surface flow model. The key aspect of the project is the location of irrigation reservoirs in-line with the canals at the same level, allowing water flow from canals to reservoir and vice versa. Three performance scenarios are evaluated, and the results of a simulation model are presented.