Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage Systems Case Studies from Egypt and Pakistan Henk Ritzema Alterra-ILRI Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen The Netherlands March 2007 ii Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage Systems Case Studies from Egypt and Pakistan Henk Ritzema Alterra-ILRI Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen The Netherlands Alterra, Wageningen, 2007 Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems iii Abstract A case study set-up for the performance assessment of subsurface drainage systems for agricultural land drainage has been developed and 76 case studies from Egypt and Pakistan have been prepared. Based on these case studies, performance indicators for subsurface drainage systems have been derived and the main lessons learned to assess the performance of these systems have been summarized. Ritzema, H.P. 2007. “ Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage Systems - Case Studies from Egypt and Pakistan ”. Wageningen, Alterra, The Netherlands, 137pp. Keywords : Subsurface drainage, performance assessment indicators, planning, design, installation, operation and maintenance, Egypt, Pakistan To order this report and for more information contact: Ir. H.P. Ritzema Senior Researcher Alterra-ILRI Wageningen University and Research Centre P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands Telephone: + 31 (0)317 486 607 Fax: +31 (0)317 419 000 Email: [email protected] © 2007 Alterra P.O. Box 47; 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands Phone: + 31 317 474700; fax: +31 317 419000; e-mail: [email protected] No part of this publication may be reproduced or published in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the written permission of Alterra. Alterra assumes no liability for any losses resulting from the use of the research results or recommendations in this report. iv Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 11 1.1 Background 11 1.2 Rationale 11 1.3 Purpose of this study 14 1.4 Structure of this report 14 2 Performance assessment of subsurface drainage systems...................................... 17 3 Egypt.......................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 History of irrigation and drainage in Egypt 21 3.2 Subsurface drainage practices in Egypt 23 3.2.1 Organisation 23 3.2.2 Description of the subsurface drainage system 24 3.2.3 Disposal of the drainage effluent 26 3.3 Case Studies 27 4 Pakistan..................................................................................................................... 29 4.1 History of irrigation and drainage in Pakistan 29 4.2 Subsurface drainage practices in Pakistan 31 4.2.1 Organisation 31 4.2.2 Description of the subsurface drainage system 31 4.2.2 Disposal of the drainage effluent 32 4.3 Case Studies 33 5 Preliminary asessment of the indicators.................................................................... 35 5.1 Indicators for planning and organisation 36 5.2 Indicators for design 37 5.3 Indicators for installation 38 5.4 Indicators for operation and maintenance 38 Appendix A - Case Studies from Egypt............................................................................. 39 Appendix B - Case Studies from Pakistan ........................................................................ 93 Appendix C - Glossary ....................................................................................................121 Appendix D - References ................................................................................................127 Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems v vi Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems Preface Assessment of the performance of drainage systems is a component of the FAO-AGLW Regular Program. Outputs of this program are, among others, case studies in Mexico and Spain. These case studies will be used to prepare a FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper on “ Performance assessment of land drainage systems ”. To assist the FAO with this forthcoming publication, Alterra-ILRI has undertaken a study with the aims (i) to prepare a case study set-up with table of contents and method of reporting, and; (ii) to prepare case studies for respectively Egypt and Pakistan. These case studies are based on Allterra-ILRI’s assess to a vast source of grey literature on drainage projects in Pakistan and Egypt. In Egypt, the long-term cooperation with the Drainage Research Institute was in the framework of the Drainage Research Project (1994 – 2001) and preceding Pilot Areas and Drainage Technology Project (1981-1993). In Pakistan, the long-term cooperation with the International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute was in the framework of the Netherlands Research Assistance Project (1988-2000). This study could not have been conducted without the data and support provided by these organisations and projects. Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems vii viii Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems Summary Performance assessment of a land drainage system can be defined as the systematic observation, documentation and interpretation of the management of the system with the objective of ensuring that the input of resources, intended outputs and required actions proceeded as planned. This report presents the outcome of the study for the set-up of a framework for the evaluation of the performance of land drainage systems based on a review of case studies for respectively Egypt and Pakistan. Chapter 1 present the rationale and purpose of the study and the structure of the report. In Chapter 2, a general framework for the planning and implementation of performance assessments of subsurface drainage systems is presented. In this framework, the aims of performance assessment for the four main steps in subsurface drainage practices, i.e. identification, design, installation and operation & maintenance, are discussed. The framework was used to prepare an overview of the available indicators to assess the performance of subsurface drainage systems, differentiating between technical, socio-economic and environmental factors. In Chapter 3 and 4, this framework was used to prepare case studies for respectively Egypt and Pakistan. The format of the case studies is standardized, presenting the following information: subject, location/region, the used indicators, the stage in the subsurface drainage process, the background, the problem, the action/intervention undertaken to solve the problem, the main lessons learned and the references. Totally 76 case studies have been prepared, 51 from Egypt and 25 from Pakistan. In Chapter 5, the main performance indicators used in the cases studies and the lessons learned are summarized. In a following phase, the outcomes of this study will used to prepare the above mentioned FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper on performance assessment of land drainage systems. In this paper, the main framework will be worked out in more detail, discussing the theory and application of performance assessment in subsurface drainage systems. Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems ix Alterra-ILRI – Performance Assessment of Subsurface Drainage systems x 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Assessment of the performance of drainage systems is a component of the FAO-AGLW Regular Program. Outputs of this program are, among others, case studies in Mexico and Spain. These case studies will be used to prepare a FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper on “ Performance assessment of land drainage systems ”. To assist the FAO with this forthcoming publication, Alterra-ILRI has undertaken a study with the aims: (i) To prepare a case study set-up with table of content and method of reporting, and; (ii) To prepare case studies for respectively Egypt and Pakistan. The study is based on Allterra-ILRI’s assess to a vast source of grey literature on drainage projects in Pakistan and Egypt. In particular the long-term cooperation with the Drainage Research Institute, Egypt, in the framework of the Drainage Research Project (1994 – 2001) and preceding Pilot Areas and Drainage Technology Project (1981-1993) and with the International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute, Pakistan, in the framework of the Netherlands Research Assistance Project (1988-2000). 1.2 Rationale Drainage is the removal of excess surface and subsurface water from the land to enhance crop growth, including the removal of soluble salts from the soil. Drainage of agricultural lands is an instrument for production growth, a safeguard for sustainable investment in irrigation, and a tool for conservation of land resources. Projections to meet the food and fibre need of the world show that food production has to be doubled in the next 25 years. The majority of this increase will have to come from investments in improved irrigation and drainage practices in existing agricultural lands. Presently, about 190 Mha, i.e. 13 % of the world’s arable land, is provided with some sort of drainage (Table 1). About 130 Mha are in rainfed agriculture in humid regions and about 60 Mha in irrigated areas in semi-arid and arid regions (Schultz et al., 2005). Of these