UNESCO-IHE 2015 Field Course 24 May – 5 June 2015 Isaiah Krutak & Katherine Smith The UNESCO-IHE field course provided many different educational avenues for learning. During the two week course, 28 of us students drove 5,000 km through six European countries and a wide variety of terrains and climates. Each site we visited was carefully chosen based on its engineering achievement or notable natural feature. Each stop also exhibited a different language, culture, and foods to experience. As we took these things in, we also got to know and learn from each other. Since UNESCO-IHE focuses on capacity building amongst professionals in developing countries, the majority of the students came from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Benin, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Eritrea, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, developed countries like Australia and the United States were also represented, which prompted many conversations and exchanges of cultural viewpoints. The course started in the wet climate of Delft, Netherlands before driving through Belgium and into northern France. From there we made our way down to southern France and the Mediterranean coast. There we encountered the Mediterranean climate and the associated fauna as we drove along the coast to Italy. From there we went up into the mountainous regions of northern Italy and the Alps of Austria. Our last stop was in the relatively flat region of Germany before returning to the Netherlands. What follows in this document is a description of all the sites we visited together. Information was gathered from class and tour handouts, as well as tour notes. The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education building A group photo at the hydroelectric power station in Austria. where the students attend classes in Delft, Netherlands. From left to right: Annelieke, Suryadi, and Dick. Annelieke and Suryadi are professors from UNESCO IHE who planned and expertly guided us on our trip. The other professor missing from the picture is Abraham who joined us for the second week of the trip after Annelieke departed us. Dick was the unbelievable bus driver who was full of great information along our trip. General international field trip route with sites indicated by orange numbers and overnight stops indicated by blue letters. Site Overview (Orange): 1. Strepy-Thieu Boat Lift (Belgium) Stop Overview (Blue): 2. Villard-Les-Dombes Ponds (France) A/J. Delft, Netherlands 3. Gignac Irrigation System (France) B. Dijon, France 4. SupAgro Irrigation Lab (France) C. Beziers, France 5. Canal du Midi (France) D. Frejus, France 6. Camargue National Park (France) E. Bologna, Italy 7. LEB Irrigation System (Italy) F. Venice, Italy 8. MOSE Project (Italy) G. Bolzano, Italy 9. Vajont Dam (Italy) H. Innsbruck, Austria 10. Mori Vinery Cooperation (Italy) I. Karlsruhe, Germany 11. Silz Hydropower Plant (Austria) 12. Danube Sinkhole (Germany) 13. Iffezheim Rhine Dam (Germany) Strepy-Thieu Boat Lift (Belgium) Located on a branch of the Canal du Centre in the municipality of le Roeulx, Hainaut, Belgium, the Strepy-Thieu boat lift is currently the tallest boat lift in the world. With a height difference of 73.15 meters, the boat lift was designed and built as a part of the Canal du Centre’s modernization program. The program sought to increase vessel accommodation from 300 to 1350 metric tons. Construction of the boat lift began in 1982 and was completed in 2002. Canal traffic increased from 256 kT in 2001 to 2,295 kT in 2006. The boat lift operates similar to an elevator lift by moving two independently counterweighted caissons. The caissons remain the same weight due to Archimedes’ Principle, where the water displaced equals the weight of the boat. Each caisson has working dimensions of 112 by 12 meters and water depths between 3.35 and 4.15 meters. Eight winches are powered by four electric motors to move the lifts, which takes an average of seven minutes to travel the 73.15 meter height difference. The structure is massively reinforced, weighing 200,000 metric tons, which is four times the weight of the Empire State Building. Such structural rigidity is needed to guard against torsional forces during operation. The estimated cost of the structure is 160 million Euros. Canals are important because they are safer and more efficient for transporting goods. Since these canals are used for navigation, they are kept level and have no current. The 1,500 km of navigable canals in Belgium are kept full by pumping in water from local surface water sources. Downstream of the boat lift. The Strepy-Thieu Boat Lift. One of the two caissons, what the boat is in when lifted. Winches and electric motors that are used for one of the two caissons. Villard-Les-Dombes: Land of 1,000 ponds (France) There are roughly 1100 ponds in the Dombes region of France, which provides the unique environment for fish and crop production, otherwise known as aquaculture. The region also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary for non- migratory and migratory birds. The first ponds were created in the 12th century by local lords and monks to raise fish. Poverty and malnutrition was a problem at the time, so fish, which was a staple food in the predominantly catholic region, provided a means for nourishment. Every year the ponds are emptied and either refilled or put under crop production. A typical area spends three years under water, followed by two years under crop production. The ponds are drained to keep the areas hygienic and revitalized. As they are drained, fish are sorted by size to either be harvested or returned to another pond for further growth. The predominant commercial fish is carp, but ponds also contain pike, perch, and other noncommercial fish. Corn and oats are the major crops, but wheat and other cereals are also produced. Traditionally, fertilizers have been used to increase yields, but there has been a recent movement to reduce or eliminate chemical fertilizers due to environmental concerns. Typically, around 20 ponds are linked in a row in order of descending elevation. Sluice gates are then used to control water flow from pond to pond or field to field. Ownership among pond networks vary. Some networks are singularly owned, while other networks contain many owners. Management therefore requires effective social interactions between owners, which is facilitated by a locally elected governing body. Throughout the region there is also an abundance of wildlife. The region is also home to an impressive collection of over 300 different species of birds from all over the world at the Parc des Oiseaux. Sluice gate between ponds with birds in the background. Sluice gate diverting water from field. Pond under crop production with water draining. In the foreground is a field under crop production and in the background is a pond. Gignac Irrigation System (France) The Gignac Canal is an irrigation canal located near the medieval village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert. The canal takes water from the Herault stream, with a water right of about 3.5 m³/s. The canal was built in 1889 after a disease outbreak threatened to wipeout all the vineyards. The disease could be treated by simply flooding the fields, thus the need for the canal. About 3000 hectares of vineyards and residential areas are currently served by the canal. Historically, all irrigation was gravity fed with efficiencies in the 20-25% range. However, modernization projects have greatly increased efficiencies by implementing low-pressure drip irrigation, high-pressure sprinkler systems, and automated control gates. Past irrigation schedules were strictly enforced, but with recent implementation and future plans for automation, water usage is increasingly supplied in an on-demand basis. Fees for water use vary depending on the type of user, i.e. farming or residential, and for the system of conveyance, i.e. gravity or pressurized. Algae and plant growth in the canal has always caused issues with clogging. Previously, chemical herbicides were used to control the problem, but such chemicals are now banned. Research was facilitated by the SupAgro Irrigation Lab that found vegetative growth could be controlled by flushing the canal every two weeks with high discharge rates. Vegetative growth is also cleaned out when the canal is closed from October to March for maintenance. Students climbing a ladder to reach the canal. A portion of the canal over a road and river. Portions of the irrigation canal including sluice gates and a monitoring station. Research site along the Gignac Canal to test flush velocities Gate being placed to divert water from the canal into the four for clearing algae in the canal. “canals” of the research structure. Four canals of varying widths and velocities – inlet. Four canals of varying widths and velocities – outlet. Breathtaking views from the Gignac Canal. SupAgro Irrigation Lab (France) Montpellier SupAgro is a French university specializing in agriculture and agronomy. Their irrigation lab is equipped with an experimental canal network outfitted with various control structures such as constant-level valves, gates, sluice gates, weirs, and baffle modules. Maximum discharge in the network is 70 L/s with four different possible outlets. The network is used as an educational tool that develops an awareness of hydraulic analysis, management strategies, and real-time measurements. A control scenario is created where discharge at the outlets is varied depending on user demand. Students are selected to act as managers, who are responsible for organizing and making the appropriate adjustments of control structures to meet these demands. Real-time discharge measurements are taken by pressure transducers located at each of the four outlets, which monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the managers. As the control structures are manipulated, graphs of the data illustrate the behavior of the resulting short and long waves produced.