Irrigation & Drainage Engineering

Irrigation & Drainage

Engineering:
Irrigation & Drainage Engineering:
Definition:

Irrigation:
 the artificial application of water to the soil to assist in the
growing of agricultural and forest crops, maintenance of
landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas
and during periods of inadequate rainfall and shall include
drip, sprinkler, shallow tube-well and other pressurized
irrigation system; surface and ground water resource
management; and irrigation structures and facilities such as
dams, weirs, pump systems, conveyance canals, and flumes.
Definition:

Drainage:
is the removal of excess water from the soil or from the
land surface. Its primary objective is to prevent the
occurrence of excessive moisture conditions in the
rootzone which have (either directly or indirectly) a
harmful effect on the growth of crops and at an
acceptable economic basis. In arid (irrigated) areas a
further objective is to prevent the accumulation of salts in
the rootzone (whenever natural conditions do not
provide for sufficient leaching).
Definition:
Engineering:
the application of mathematics and scientific, economic,

social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate,
design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures,
machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes
, solutions, and organizations. (wikipedia)
 is derived from the Latin ingenium, meaning "cleverness"
and ingeniare, meaning "to contrive, devise"
Perspective of Irrigation in the Philippines
Irrigation is essential in addressing food security

and sustainability in the country
reliable and suitable irrigation water supply can
result in vast improvements in agricultural
production and assures the economic vitality
Must be coupled with effective agronomic
practices
Incorporate proper drainage systems, soil
reclamation & erosion control
Issues and concerns:
Generally poor efficiency with which irrigation water is

being used
≥ 40% of the water diverted for irrigation is wasted at
the farm level through deep percolation and surface
runoff
These losses often represent forgone opportunities
because delay the arrival of water at the downstream
diversions
Growth of alternative demands for water such as
urban and industry needs
Role of irrigation:
1.a moisture supply for plant growth which also

transports essential nutrients; and
2. a flow of water to leach or dilute salts in the
soil.
Irrigation also benefits croplands through cooling

the soil and the atmosphere to create a more
favorable environment for plant growth.
Role of Agricultural Engineers:
Planning and directing the construction of irrigation,

power, drainage, and soil and water conservation systems
Address the artificial application of water to the soil to
assist in the growing of agricultural and forest crops,
maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed
soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall
and shall include drip, sprinkler, shallow tube-well and other
pressurized irrigation system; surface and ground water
resource management; and irrigation structures and facilities
such as dams, weirs, pump systems, conveyance canals, and
flumes.
Irrigation Development in the Philippines
According to David (1989):
Low Irrigation development in the Philippines (47%)

Problems & issues include:
1. machine performance of irrigation systems
2. High cost of construction, operation & maintenance
3. Low cost recovery
4. Lack of inter-agency cooperation
5. Inappropriate design of irrigation systems
In late 70s, there was heavy public investment in

irrigation (Cainglet, 2010):
Public expenditures in irrigation accounted

nearly 20% of the total public investments in
infrastructure
40% of the total public support to agriculture
sector
Public investments in irrigation nearly reached

3 B in 1982 compared to about 300 M by the
early 1990s (or 10 yrs later)
Along with this decrease in public investments,
conversion of irrigated farmlands to industrial
use contributed to the sluggish growth of
irrigation sector
2009 National Irrigation Administration year-

end report:
Pursued 39 irrigation projects plus 4 inter-

agency projects
Accomplished 54% of the targeted new area
for irrigation
165% rehabilitation
76% restoration
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA):
Gov’t owned & controlled corporation (GOCC) primary

responsible for irrigation dev’t in the Phils
Created under RA 3601 on June 22, 1963
Was placed under the Office of the President upon
creation & pursuant to EO 22 dated Sept 14, 1992
Attached to DA under Adm. Order # 17 dated Oct 14,
1992
Charter was later amended by PD 552 on September 11,
1974 and PD 1702 on July 17, 1980
Functions of NIA:
1. Investigate & study all available water resources in the Phils primarily
for irrigation purposes;
2. Plan, design, construct and/or improve all irrigation projects and their
appurtenant structures; and
3. Operate , maintain, and administer all national irrigation systems.
NIA is also the authority to supervise the operation, maintenance &

repair or otherwise administer temporarily all communal and pump
irrigation systems constructed, improved and/or repaired wholly or
partially with government funds; and to delegate the partial or full
management of national irrigation systems to duly organized
cooperatives and associations.
Studies show that in all the cropping seasons, actual

areas irrigated were much less than the reported
service areas.
Service areas as calculated during project design
were grossly overestimated
Disturbing reports reflected gross inefficiency in the
planning and implementation of irrigation projects
(Cainglet, 2010)
According to an ADB technical report, there are three (3) factors on failing
performance of irrigation investments and faring short of the expectations during
the project design:
1. Over-optimistic development assumptions:

 designed service areas tended to be larger than available water resources
 Limited hydrological records hampered accurate hydrological analysis on
water availability
2. Inadequate O&M and limited farmer participation
 Deteriorating canals & structures
 Silted and defective diversion works
O & M costs were expected to be covered by irrigation service fees but collection
efficiency was very low
3. System deterioration:
 Many developed systems have aged and have accumulated damage through
natural calamities
POLICY OPTIONS: (for the general improvement of irrigation in the country,
Cainglet, 2010)
1. Substantial increase in private sector investment regardless of nature & level

of investment;
2. Development of the national and incentive structure that would lead to
correct decisions;
3. Adoption of institutional reforms & efforts to minimize the biases in the
system that lead to misallocation or misdirected priorities;
4. Generate estimates of the potential economic benefits of irrigated areas;
5. Produce updated benchmark information to improve planning and
forecasting;
6. Improvement of O & M of NIS & CIS by focusing on short & medium term
concerns;
7. Address the poor performance of large & medium gravity systems;
8. Focus on the dev’t of STWs, low-lift pumps, & village irrigation systems & SFRs
Recommended criteria for the selection of appropriate
irrigation systems in the allocation of funds & resources
(David, 2000)
1. Cost-effectiveness;
2. Affordability or low unit area investment cost;
3. Sustainability through full repair, O&M cost recovery;
4. Efficiency in water-use
5. O&M efficiency of farmer-irrigators including on-farm
water distribution management practices;
6. Length of gestation period; and
7. Potential for increasing unit area productivity.
Free Irrigation Act: RA 10969
 An act providing free irrigation service amending for the purpose
RA 3601 (creation of NIA) as amended appropriating funds
therefore and for other purposes.
 Signed into law on February 2, 2018
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy
It is the policy of the State to promote comprehensive rural development,

food self-sufficiency, equitable access to opportunity and sustained
productivity as key strategies to raise the quality of life in rural areas and
attain overall national development.
The state shall also ensure that the vital support services are made
available particularly irrigation service, through the continued construction,
repair & maintenance of necessary irrigation facilities, to increase
production of agricultural crops, encourage productivity and increase the
incomes of farmers.
Section 3. Scope of free irrigation service. Upon
the effectivity of this act, all farmers with
landholdings of eight (8) hectares and below are
hereby exempted from paying irrigation service
fees (ISF) for water derived from national irrigation
systems and communal irrigation systems that
were or are to be funded, constructed, maintained
and administered by the National Irrigation
Administration (NIA) and other government
agencies, including those that have been turned
over to irrigation associations.
Farmers with more than eight (8) hectares of land,
corporate farms, and plantations drawing water for
agricultural production and fishponds and other
persons, natural or juridical, drawing water for non-
agricultural purposes from NIS and CIS, or using the
irrigation systems as drainage facilities, shall
continue to be subject to the payment of ISF
Section 4. Condonation and writing off of loans,
past due accounts and penalties of farmers and
irrigators associations. To achieve the objectives of
this act, all unpaid ISF and the corresponding
penalties of farmers with eight (8) hectares and
below to NIA and all loans, past due accounts and
corresponding interests and penalties of IAs to NIA,
are hereby condoned and written off from the
books of NIA.
Section 5. Operation and maintenance (O & M) of national
irrigation Systems. The NIA shall continue to develop,
operate and maintain NIS. However, it may delegate the O
& M of secondary and tertiary canals and farm ditches to
capable IAs. The IA shall provide the equivalent funds for
the O & M of these facilities.
The NIA shall issue the necessary policies, qualification

requirements and selection process in determining the
capability and capacity of IAs to operate and maintain
these portions of NIS.
Section 5. Operation and maintenance (O & M) of national
irrigation Systems. The NIA shall continue to develop,
operate and maintain NIS. However, it may delegate the O
& M of secondary and tertiary canals and farm ditches to
capable IAs. The IA shall provide the equivalent funds for
the O & M of these facilities.
The NIA shall issue the necessary policies, qualification

requirements and selection process in determining the
capability and capacity of IAs to operate and maintain
these portions of NIS.

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Irrigation & Drainage

the application of mathematics and scientific, economic,

Irrigation is essential in addressing food security

Generally poor efficiency with which irrigation water is

1.a moisture supply for plant growth which also

Irrigation also benefits croplands through cooling

Planning and directing the construction of irrigation,

According to David (1989):

Low Irrigation development in the Philippines (47%)

In late 70s, there was heavy public investment in

Public expenditures in irrigation accounted

Public investments in irrigation nearly reached

2009 National Irrigation Administration year-

Pursued 39 irrigation projects plus 4 inter-

Gov’t owned & controlled corporation (GOCC) primary

NIA is also the authority to supervise the operation, maintenance &

Studies show that in all the cropping seasons, actual

1. Over-optimistic development assumptions:

1. Substantial increase in private sector investment regardless of nature & level

It is the policy of the State to promote comprehensive rural development,

The NIA shall issue the necessary policies, qualification

The NIA shall issue the necessary policies, qualification

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