Sediment Influx and Its Drivers in Farmers’ Managed Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia
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Faculty of Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 21, Arba Minch 4400, Ethiopia
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Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Department of Water Science and Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
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Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Department of Water Resources Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888, Adama 2118, Ethiopia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Achim A. Beylich
Water 2021, 13(13), 1747; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131747
Received: 30 April 2021
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Revised: 17 June 2021
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Accepted: 20 June 2021
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Published: 24 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Erosion)
Excessive soil erosion hampers the functioning of many irrigation schemes throughout sub-Saharan Africa, increasing management difficulties and operation and maintenance costs. River water is often considered the main source of sedimentation, while overland sediment inflow is overlooked. From 2016 to 2018, participatory research was conducted to assess sediment influx in two irrigation schemes in Ethiopia. Sediment influx was simulated using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and compared to the amount of sediment removed during desilting campaigns. The sediment deposition rate was 308 m3/km and 1087 m3/km, respectively, for the Arata-Chufa and Ketar schemes. Spatial soil losses amounts to up to 18 t/ha/yr for the Arata-Chufa scheme and 41 t/ha/yr for the Ketar scheme. Overland sediment inflow contribution was significantly high in the Ketar scheme accounting for 77% of the deposited sediment, while only 4% of the sedimentation at the Arata-Chufa scheme came from overland flow. Feeder canal length and the absence of canal banks increased the sedimentation rate, however, this was overlooked by the stakeholders. We conclude that overland sediment inflow is an often neglected component of canal sedimentation, and this is a major cause of excessive sedimentation and management problems in numerous irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Keywords:
irrigation; sediment; overland flow; soil loss
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gurmu, Z.A.; Ritzema, H.; Fraiture, C.d.; Riksen, M.; Ayana, M. Sediment Influx and Its Drivers in Farmers’ Managed Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia. Water 2021, 13, 1747. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131747
AMA Style
Gurmu ZA, Ritzema H, Fraiture Cd, Riksen M, Ayana M. Sediment Influx and Its Drivers in Farmers’ Managed Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia. Water. 2021; 13(13):1747. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131747
Chicago/Turabian StyleGurmu, Zerihun Anbesa, Henk Ritzema, Charlotte de Fraiture, Michel Riksen, and Mekonen Ayana. 2021. "Sediment Influx and Its Drivers in Farmers’ Managed Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia" Water 13, no. 13: 1747. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131747
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