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NRCS
Microirrigation
design Tool
16 %
11%
73%
NRCS provided
assistance for
391,980 acres
of irrigation
systems in 2011
Microirrigation
Surface and
Subsurface
Sprinkler
Location of
microirrigation
assistance in FY
2011:
63,713 acres
California
Texas
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Kansas
All Others
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Anywhere from 50,000 ac
plantation to a hoop house and
between
How to design or check 63,000
acres of microirrigation systems
each year
A
comprehensive and quick tool is
needed.
Many of the systems NRCS designs are too
small to attract private industry interest.
Many of the private industry designs dont
have the information NRCS needs to
quickly approve the design.
Microirrigation Systems
Need for Design Verification
Criteria Examples
Uniformity of Application: Discharge in subunits or zones and along laterals
shall not exceed a total variation of 20 percent of the design discharge rate.
Water Quality: The irrigation water supply shall be tested and assessed for
physical, chemical and biological constituents to determine suitability and
treatment requirements for use in a microirrigation system.
Filters. A filtration system (filter element, screen, strainer, or filtration) shall be
provided at the system inlet.
Water Quantity: The water source must be capable of meeting the peak crop
demand for the area to be irrigated.
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Third Party Design Documents
For purposes of both technical and financial assistance, NRCS must
ensure designs meet standard 441
In some instances, third party design are excellent, but fail to provide
adequate documentation to enable NRCS compliance
In some instances, third party designs are good starts, needing
additional work to meet NRCS compliance
In many instances, third party designs hardly ever provide block
variability, a key NRCS criteria
In many instances, third party designers shy away from providing
adequate design documentation for small-scale micro designs (as they
put it not worth their efforts
Overall, third party designs remind us of The
Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Ugly (Back of the envelope type
layout plans
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The Bad (Decent, but not detailed enough and not professional)
The Good (Could be better, but at least identifies zone
valves/flows/pressures, still lacks location of appurtenances and more)
The Good is
usually
supported by a
detail
hydrauulics
summary
Report that
provides
flow/pressure
variation.
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NRCS Microirrigation Design Tool
History & Utility
Work started in Idaho about a decade ago
Integrated previous NRCS design components (i.e., lateral
design, mainline design, pump design) into a complete
design package
The tool expanded and improved over time as new
knowledge from researchers and manufacturers became
available
The tool is independent of manufacturers components
and can use any emitter type with known hydraulic
characteristics
Basic Microirrigation System Components
Control Head/ Filters/Injectors
Mainline
Manifolds
Laterals/Emitters
Flush lines
Valves & etc.
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Features of the tool
Check
Design
Water Quality Soil-Plantwater
Hydraulics
Auxiliaries
Water
Soils
Requirements
Emitter
Filter
Set
time/system
capacity
Lateral
Hydraulics
Pumps
Block
Hydraulics
Manifold
Appurtenances
Flushing
Flushing
Manifold
Other
Net Irrigation
Requirement
Mainline
Soil
Water
holding capacity
patterns
Limiting features (e.g. water table)
Wetting
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Iron Bacteria
Water quality
Water quality is usually the
most important consideration
when determining whether a
microirrigation system is
physically feasible.
Calcium
carbonates
Water Quality Factors
PHYSICAL FACTORS
(Suspended solids)
CHEMICAL FACTORS
(Precipitates & others)
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
(Bacterial growth)
Inorganic particles
Sand
Silt
Clay
Plastic
Metal
Calcium &/or magnesium
carbonates
Calcium sulfate
Heavy metals
Hydroxides
Carbonates
Silicates
Sulfates
Filaments
Organic Particles
(Aquatic organisms)
Zooplankton
Snail
Fish
Oil and other lubricants
Slimes
Organic Particles
(Non-aquatic organisms)
Insect larva
Ant
Fish
Spider
Fertilizers
Phosphate
Aqueous Ammonia
Iron, copper, zinc
Manganese
Microbial ochre's
Iron
Sulfur
Manganese
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Water quantity
How
How
much water do I need
Crop ET
MAD/stress Root zone
Salt Tolerance leaching requirement
often is it applied
Frequency
Crop Water Requirements
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Emitter spacing
Emitter selection, Set Times, and
Zones
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Typical single lateral design
10
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Paired lateral
Paired Lateral
Paired lateral output
11
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Manifold/Block Design
shall
be designed to provide discharge to any
applicator in an irrigation subunit or zone operated
simultaneously such that they will not exceed a total
variation of 20 percent of the design discharge rate.
Block/manifold
Defined as section downstream of
the pressure regulation
12
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Flush option
Screens and filters
13
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Other sections
Mainline
Pumps
Appurtenances
14
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To an Engineer if it
works it does not
have enough
features YET!
Dilbert
15
