Comparison of practices

Use of water resources

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

District: Maktaaral District

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: Almaty region

District: Karasay District

The hydro-posts are located in foothill and/or flat areas with the water stream speeds in canals fluctuating between 0.1 and 1.5 m/s

Foothill zone in southeastern Kazakhstan, dark-chestnut and middle loamy soils

Start date: 01.01.2015

End date: 31.12.2017

Start date: 01.01.2014

End date: 31.12.2016

• Inefficient management of water resources;
• Inefficient planning of water distribution

Irrigation-associated soil erosion, low efficiency of applied watering techniques, poor phytosanitary condition of land used for vegetable growing

DUV 2/0.005-10 Water Level Sensor

Technique and technology of mist sprinkling irrigation

The DUV 2/0,005-10 Sensor was deployed and demonstrated its efficiency in Jambyl and Southern Kazakhstan Regions.  It allowed to visually and in real-time observe the dynamics of water level fluctuations and completely exclude manual operations and subjectivity in the process of taking readings – a relevant task in the environment of transition to market economy.

Water level sensors were installed in 17 hydro-posts in Southern Kazakhstan Region (Maktaaral District).  In Jambyl Region, the same sensors were installed in 3 hydro-posts in Merke District.

Results:

Technical:

a) immediate data exchange on water volume passing through every water lead to the fields of agricultural producers (farms) as well as automatic transfer of this information to stakeholder organizations (branch of “Kazvodkhoz” Republican State Enterprise (RSE), etc.);

b) archiving the data coming from hydro-posts with its subsequent processing in the form of reports.

Technical and economic:

1) “all in one” – all components of DUV 2/0.005-10 are assembled into one unit/casing, do not require any additional modules and adjustments, i.e. it is an out-of-the-box universal tool to execute monitoring of water reserves irrespective of the availability of power supply and other technical and weather conditions.  The simple Sensor’s design facilitates installation and start-up and commissioning, as well as allows minimizing labor costs;

2) DUV 2/0.005-10 is flexible in terms of installation, data transfer methods, measurement subject (water level or hydro-lock position, etc.);

3) the cost of the measuring unit is 3-4 times less compared to currently available alternatives;

4) DUV 2/0.005-10 designed architecture allows increasing the number of controlled points and performing an integrated monitoring of the whole network.

Actions:

A sprinkler (artificial rain irrigation) system installed consisting of 50 mm diameter polyethylene pipes assembled from 10-12 meter segments (5022 SD sprinkler; 3.5 bar pressure; 3.5 mm nozzles; water consumption of 0.87 m3/hour; water distribution area per 1 sprinkler – 12 m).

Results:

Financial and economic:
Compared to ridge-and-furrow watering method, sprinkler irrigation led to a yield increase for the following crops:
• carrots – 15.64%,
• cabbage – 12.78%,
• sweet pepper – 14.19%.

Technical:
• up to 20% reduced irrigation water consumption,
• prevention of irrigation-induced soil erosion,
• improved phytosanitary condition of vegetable fields.

Lessons learnt:

Deployment of the DUV 2/0.005-10 Water Level Sensor led to increased precision of water level and consumption measurements and higher promptness of information collection compared to any known methods.

Using the device in the conditions of water resources deficiency, on the one hand, will ensure objective accounting of water use and, on the other hand, will promote water conservation among water users which will lead to more efficient technological development of agro-industrial complex and higher labor productivity.

Recommendations:

The success of deploying water level sensors in project hydro-posts facilitated execution of measures to disseminate the positive experience of using the device in the water sector.  Their effect will be even more significant as enhanced quantity and quality indicators will ensure effective management of water resources and water conservation with simultaneous development of irrigated agriculture.

Lessons learnt:
The practice demonstrated the possibility of effec-tive water use, reducing labor costs, and increasing yields of several horticultural crops simultaneously.

Recommendations:
Widespread introduction of sprinkler-based mist irrigation systems along with drip irrigation and other advanced water-efficient technologies is necessary. In order to ensure that, water users should have strong financial incentives to facilitate water saving.

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

• Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations),
• Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

1. Project title: Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Jambyl Region.

Project goal: implement the innovation in the agro-industrial complex of Jambyl Region by way of installing water level sensors (DUV 0.005-10 Model, designed by KazSRIWE LLP) in hydro-posts along the Merkenka River and its diversion canals: Chon, Tesken, MPT of Merke District of Jambyl Region.

2. Project title: Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Southern Kazakhstan Region.

Project goal: implement the innovation in the agro-industrial complex of Southern Kazakhstan Region by way of installing water level sensors (DUV 0.005-10 Model, designed by KazSRIWE LLP) in hydro-posts along the diversion canals of Dostyk Main Canal in Maktaaral District of Southern Kazakhstan Region.

1. Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Jambyl Region: R&D Report (final)/ Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy, supervised by Karlykhanov, O. K., executed by Li, M.A., Bakbergenov, N.N., Zhakashov, A.M., Imanaliyev, T. K., Ponkratiev, D.M., Taraz 2017, p. 108;
2. Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Southern Kazakhstan Region: R&D Report (final)/ Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy, supervised by Karlykhanov, O. K., executed by Li, M.A., Bakbergenov, N.N., Zhakashov, A.M., Imanaliyev, T. K., and Ponkratiev, D.M., Taraz 2017, p. 80.

The PhD thesis “Efficiency of mist (sprinkler) irriga-tion technology for vegetable crops in southeastern Kazakhstan” describing a vegetable (cabbage, carrots, sweet pepper) cultivation technology based on fine sprinkling irrigation developed for the first time for soil and climatic conditions of foothill zone in southeastern Kazakhstan, including an optimal mode of vegetables irrigation via fine overhead sprinkler-based irrigation was developed, as well as analyzing the effects of sprinkler irrigation on biomass formation and crops capacity.

Li Marina 

Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy

+7(705)5774464

E-mail: limarina76@mail.ru

SIC ICWC