Irrigation : Past, Present And Future

Without water, the lives of millions of children, and adults, are at risk. For children under five, water-and-sanitation diseases are one of the leading causes of death [4], along with malnutrition. [5] Unfortunately, studies show that in 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will be water stressed. [6] If this proves to be correct, then will two-thirds of the world’s population be hungry? We use so much water to produce even the simplest of agriculture. It takes 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water to make food for just one person, not to mention that humans need to drink 2.5 liters of water daily. [7]

Severe water scarcity could be imminent in the not so distant future. Flooding crop furrows has been an inexpensive irrigation method for over six thousand years. Though traditional, it is very wasteful. An excessive amount of the water evaporates into he air, or soaks into the ground while the plants receive very little. The excess water drains into rivers and underground aquifers. The water running from the furrows is polluted with fertilizers. The constant use of flooding creates erosion, waterlogging and salinization of the soil. 40 percent of the world’s food grows on irrigated soil.

The water supply now and in the future affects the population in many ways. According to “Water in 2050”, the water supply is the determining factor of how large the population may grow. In some areas lack of

Water is one of the most precious resources, which support the life of almost everything in the world. Indeed, the world is covered by 75% water, but most of this water is not suitable for human consumption or use. On the same note, the world has been increasing its consumption of water due to the increasing population, leading to increased demands. The increased water consumption, which has been a result of high population, is worrying because the matter may lead to massive water shortages in the future.

As we all understand, the Earth has many landmarks and it is these physical features that create an abundant and organized system within which we thrive. One of the most abundant natural resources on the planet is water and the importance of this element is as crucial as any other. For the fortunate few who get to utilize it, this amazing reserve provides us with our necessity for daily consumption as well as our ability to grow just about anything we please. Common irrigation practices are essential for gathering water into a contained area to grow crops that would not typically survive in areas without heavy rainfall. As a matter of fact, “irrigation is an ancient practice that originated along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq” and is now the result of an estimated 40 percent of all crops grown around the world (Water Encyclopedia). This tactic has provided many different cultures with numerous varieties of crops as well as growth in crop yield which in turn dramatically advances human civilization. As we develop into a more progressive society, the tools and systems used to grow our crops also become more intelligent as well as sustainable

California employs various irrigation systems. These irrigation systems are condensed into four different groups- sub-surface irrigation, surface irrigation (gravity), sprinkler irrigation, and drip/mico sprinkler irrigation (Orang, Snyder and Matyac). Sub-surface irrigation is when there is a pipe or open ditch that is blocked in order to force the water back to the crop root zone. Approximately two percent of the irrigation in California is done this way in 2001. There are six different type so surface (gravity) irrigation- wild flood, border, basin, furrow irrigation without sprinklers, wheel line sprinklers followed by furrow irrigation, and hand move sprinklers followed by furrow irrigation. Surface (gravity) irrigation is the most common form of irrigation in California; in 2001 it accounted for about 50% of all irrigation in California. There are various types of sprinkler irrigation systems. A few of the ones mentioned in this report include solid set, hand move, linear move, wheel line, and hose pull. The final category of irrigation systems is drip/micro sprinkler irrigation. Drip/micro sprinkler irrigation systems consist of having mini sprinklers above and below ground. This irrigation system made up about 33% of the irrigation in 2001. This type of irrigation would drastically help with water shortages. It would help because it doesn’t flood the fields with water

(Hasan and Özay 2002, 73-74). As Albiac (2008) reports, development of pipe network distribution and drip irrigation methods in other countries led the farmers to have remarkable irrigation efficiency in drought (143). Such technologies have already been used in China, but they are not widely spread in China’s agriculture. One investigation in China on rice paddy irrigation systems development was performed and it revealed that using the fry-foot paddy irrigation (when no water flooded the field) instead of flooding irrigation (when the rice field is completely flooded) significantly (40-60%) reduces water consumption (Xiaoping, Qiangsheng and Bin 2004, 351). Furthermore, drip irrigation method was applied in arid Northern China and it raised the water usage efficiency (Du et al 2007). However, introduction of new irrigation technologies faced some difficulties in China. As Hodstedt (2010) noticed in his article, the water saved by these technologies such as drip irrigation systems was simply spent on more food production and, therefore, did not reduce the water shortage. Also, as he reported, this caused two other environmental problems. Firstly, the water, which was the supply for underground water and aquifers as it was lost by deep percolation and leakage, became unavailable after the water-saving technologies were introduced and this strengthened the aquifers depleting along with its overpumping. Secondly, after

Farmers need water to grow crops, feed animals, and, of course, to stay alive; but, how much water is too much? When farmers- and other land owners- use too much of their own water and run out, they dig. They don’t dig straight down, they dig

It is apparent from the lines chart, precisely in agriculture, the water consumption was always higher than others, although the consumption in threes areas had increase and reached at peak in 2000. The water used for agriculture was about 500km in 1000, during one hundred years after, it climbed significantly to 3000km, which was largest number in 2000. This figure had just over three times as much as the highest proportion in industrial use and six times as much as its of domestic use. Moreover, both water consumption of industries and homes bottomed out in 1900 at below 100km.

In recent years overconsumption of water has drained the earth’s river basins faster than rain can replenish them. An average person’s daily water footprint i.e. the total amount of water consumed to support their lifestyle is 3,800 liters. Most of this consumption relates to the crops that are farmed to provide us with food and clothing. Irrigation consumes an enormous amount of water, and the effects of this are seen at every stage in the food chain. For example 98 percent of the water footprint created by raising beef cattle comes from growing the grain that feeds the cows during their lifetimes. For each kilogram of steak produced, we consume 15,415 liters of water. That’s enough drinking water to last one person nearly 17 years. Growing water footprint is partly a result of our increasing population; but it is also compounded by the fact that irrigation systems, especially in the developing world, are often extremely inefficient. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization states that even a good irrigation scheme is only 50-60 percent efficient. Poor irrigation systems can result in the vast majority of the water being lost to evaporation, seepage and other problems before it reaches the fields. Moreover, once it gets there, if farmers choose to irrigate at the wrong time for example, just before it rains, the water will be wasted and the crops may even be damaged.

Water is the fundamental asset to bolster all shape life on earth. Shockingly it is not equally disseminated over the world via season or area. All through the historical backdrop of the world dams and stores have been developed with a specific end goal to anticipate surges, to supply drinking and

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes

Many people know that water is essential for human-being and it is not only valuable for health and life, but water is also important for industry and agriculture. Furthermore, use of water has a spiritual, cultural and recreational dimension. However, water resources are not infinite. Wide and inefficient use of water resources can lead to irreversible consequences, such as water shortage. This essay will firstly discuss the problem of water shortage on examples of developed and developing countries and include the diversification of the same issue in the different parts of the world. It will also identify causes and effects of this environmental problem on society and other spheres of life. Moreover, in this essay I am going to propose

It is an essential resource for sustaining life as well as central to agriculture and rural development, and is intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. According to the World Bank, (2010) report, water is a scarce resource with multiple interwoven uses that range from drinking water, energy, irrigation, manufacturing things, transport of people and goods among others. The report further states that, more than one-sixth of the Worlds’ population does not have access to safe drinking water, with 80% living in rural areas thus access to water cannot not be guaranteed globally.

Water is primarily irrigated; irrigated water is needed for growing the crops this planet survives and flourishes off of. There are various methods of irrigation, such as surface irrigation, drip/macro irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and subsurface irrigation. Surface irrigation involves techniques where water is simply distributed over the soil surface by gravity. It is also the most common form of irrigation throughout the world. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root of a plant. This is a very effective method of irrigation because almost no water is lost through runoff or evaporation (Burt,…& Hardy, 2000). However, drip irrigation is rarely used by small-scale farmers, who face some of the worst water shortages, because of the high costs of this particular irrigation system (Burt,…& Eisenhauer, 1997). The selection of an irrigation method for agriculture is dependent on the type of crop, climate of the area, economics, water quality, energy availability, and multiple other factors (Burt,…& Hardy, 2000). The United States exports about one-third of all water it withdrawals in the form of crops and various other goods.