IMPROVING WATER USE EFFICIENCY: THE COLEAMBALLY IRRIGATION AREA MODERNIZATION PROJECT

摘要

This paper provides an overview of the Coleambally Irrigation Area (CIA) modernization project. The CIA irrigation district is located in the southern Murray-Darling Basin of Australia. The district comprises 477 irrigation farms containing 79,000 ha (hectares) of irrigated land supplied through 700 km of earthen open channel. Development of the CIA modernization project commenced in 2000 with the objective of improving channel conveyance efficiency, reducing operating costs and enhancing water supply services. To date, some AU$16 million (AU$1 ≈ US$0.75) has been expended on capital works for the modernization project. Conveyance efficiency has been improved from 75% before the project, to around 89% in the 05/06 irrigation season saving approximately 60 billion litres of water per year. The cost of the project has been recovered by selling water savings to district irrigators and to government for use as an environmental flow. This paper focuses on two key areas of the modernization project: automation of canal operations and accurate flow measurement in farm turnouts.