See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259872677 Water distribution management of Aflaj irrigation systems of Oman THESIS · MARCH 2004 CITATIONS READS 3 114 1 AUTHOR: Abdullah Al-Ghafri University of Nizwa 38 PUBLICATIONS 132 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Abdullah Al-Ghafri Retrieved on: 24 March 2016 STUDY ON WATER DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT OF AFLAJ IRRIGATION SYSTEMS OF OMAN オマーン国アフラジ灌漑システムにおける 水配分管理に関する研究 BY ABDULLAH AL-GHAFRI A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF AGRICULTURE in ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES Graduate School of Agriculture HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY Sapporo, Japan March 2004 Table of Content 1 Introduction 1.1 Arid land Agriculture ...........................................................................................1 1.2 The Sultanate of Oman ........................................................................................1 1.3 Falaj water allocation ..........................................................................................4 1.4 Aflaj of Oman.........................................................................................................6 1.5 Objective ..............................................................................................................8 2 Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................10 2.2 Falaj water utilization ........................................................................................11 2.3 Falaj administration.............................................................................................14 2.4 Types of aflaj .......................................................................................................17 I. Aini aflaj .............................................................................................................17 II. Ghaili aflaj.........................................................................................................17 III. Daudi aflaj .......................................................................................................17 2.5 Origin and history ..............................................................................................25 2.6 Water quality ......................................................................................................29 2.7 Problems facing aflaj...........................................................................................29 2.8 Summary..............................................................................................................34 3 Traditional Water Allocation of Aflaj 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................41 3.2 Methods .............................................................................................................41 I. Site selection.......................................................................................................17 I. Data collection ....................................................................................................41 3.3 Falaj water allocation ........................................................................................47 I. Falaj-water distribution by athar .......................................................................47 II. Other methods for falaj-water distribution........................................................54 3.4 Irrigation scheduling ..........................................................................................59 I. Traditional time measurements in daytime.........................................................62 II. Traditional time measurements in nighttime .....................................................67 III. Compression between meridian (Zawali) timing and sunset (Ghoroobi) timing .....................................................................................................................74 i 3.5 Summary ............................................................................................................78 4 Equitability of Aflaj Traditional Water Distribution 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................82 4.2 Solution for the change of athars’ length ...........................................................82 4.3 Reaction of farmers on flow rate fluctuations ...................................................85 I. Control the flow arte and the duration of dawran ..............................................85 II. Reverse the order of irrigation...........................................................................88 III. Storing irrigation water ....................................................................................92 4.4 Case study of falaj al-Hageer .............................................................................94 I. Irrigation schedule ..............................................................................................97 II. Daytime irrigation timing..................................................................................99 III. Nighttime irrigation timing ............................................................................104 IV. Solutions for the change of athars length.......................................................106 V. Solution for the flow rate fluctuations .............................................................107 4.5 Summary............................................................................................................114 5 Irrigation Performance of Aflaj 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................116 5.2 Materials and methods .....................................................................................122 I. Date palm..........................................................................................................122 II. Irrigation Demand/Supply ratio (D/S).............................................................125 III. Calculations....................................................................................................125 IV. Data collection................................................................................................126 5.3 Results and discussion .....................................................................................130 I. Water utilization................................................................................................130 II. Water allocation...............................................................................................133 III. Area and crop water requirements (Etc) for date palm..................................140 IV. Rainfall...........................................................................................................142 V. Flow rate calibration ........................................................................................144 VI. Soil analysis ...................................................................................................149 VII. Irrigation demand/Supply ratio (D/S) for falaj ad-Dariz..............................151 VIII. Irrigation demand/Supply ratio (D/S) for falaj an-Nujaid ..........................151 5.4 Summary ..........................................................................................................157 ii 6 Prospects for the Future of Aflaj 6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................160 6.2 Modernization of irrigation schedule and timing in aflaj ................................160 6.3 Suggestions on water management ..................................................................163 6.4 Pollution control ..............................................................................................167 6.5 Summary ..........................................................................................................167 7 Conclusions 169 Acknowledgements 174 Bibliography 176 Appendix 188 Japanese summary 190 Glossary of Local Terms 192 iii List of Figures Figure 1.2.1 The location of the Sultanate of Oman ..............................................................3 Figure 1.4.1 Area where aflaj of Oman are concentrated ......................................................7 Figure 2.2.1 Water utilization of aflaj of Oman ...................................................................12 Figure 2.2.2 The location of the awabi lands.......................................................................13 Figure 2.3.1 Large falaj administration................................................................................16 Figure 2.4.1 Percentage of each type of aflaj from the total number (dead and live aflaj) .19 Figure 2.4.2 State of aflaj and the percentage of each type from the total number of dead aflaj……………………………………………………………………………………..….19 Figure 2.4.3 Sketch of aini falaj...........................................................................................20 Figure 2.4.4 Sketch of ghaili falaj........................................................................................20 Figure 2.4.5 Source of ghaili falaj in a village in Wadi Bani Omar.....................................21 Figure 2.4.6 Cross section of daudi falaj (qanat).................................................................22