Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Engineering (9210-01) - City & Guilds

Unit 109 Irrigation engineering
Assessment Criteria
Outcome 1 Understand the principles of irrigation and drainage systems,
field application methods and social and economical impacts
The learner can:
1. Explain irrigation engineering and associated terms.
2. Describe the need for irrigation, sources of irrigation water, (surface water, groundwater and
rainfall).
3. Analyse the flow and lift irrigation schemes for their characteristics.
4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of irrigation.
5. Describe Cultivation seasons, weather patterns.
6. Describe the historical development and present irrigation schemes as applied locally.
7. Conduct feasibility studies.
8. Evaluate sociological and economical (NPV, IRR etc.) aspects.
9. Describe the field irrigation methods
a. surface irrigation: basin, border, furrow, drip etc.
b. overhead irrigation: water can, sprinkler etc.
c. sub surface irrigation
10 Describe the drainage requirement for irrigated lands.
11 Recognise the simple theories and methods of drainage.
Outcome 2 Apply the principles of water management to achieve
optimum efficiency of irrigation systems
The learner can:
1. Describe soil moisture holding capacities and soil water release curves.
2. Estimate the irrigation water requirement
a. land preparation requirement
b. crop water requirement: potential evapotranspiration, growth stages and crop factors
c. effective rainfall
d. losses: farm losses and conveyance losses
3. Differentiate between the application, distribution and conveyance efficiencies.
4. Prepare irrigation schedules encompassing cropping patterns and crop calendar.
Outcome 3 Design reservoir capacities and select suitable types of
irrigation canals and structures
The learner can:
1. Explain design considerations of reservoirs storages.
2. Classify dams on their characteristics.
3. Design and maintain canals.
4. Identify and select canal structures appropriate for different purposes depending on their
merits, de-merits and hydraulic design considerations
a. conveyance structures: siphons, flumes, drops, chute etc.
b. regulating structures: checks, check drops, turnouts, cross regulators, head regulators etc.
c. protective structures: channel spillways, cross drainage structures etc.
d. water measurement structures: Parshall flumes, weirs etc.
Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Engineering (9210-01) 57