Spate irrigation
Definition / description
‘Spate irrigation’ is a method of irrigation that utilises the occasional and often unpredictable flood flows of normally dry watercourses, such as wadis, for crop production. Two principal forms can be distinguished according to how the water is collected or diverted and where it is applied to the crop.
- Water may be conveyed within the streambed, where channel flow is collected and spread throughout the wadi itself, in which the crops are grown. This form is referred to as ‘floodwater harvesting’.
- The other form involves the construction of earthen diversion banks across the dry riverbed, diverting water into a system of channels leading to embanked fields outside the riverbed, where the water is ponded for irrigation purposes. This form is classified as ‘floodwater diversion’.
Reference: [References]
Publications / information
- El-Askari, K., 2005:
Investigating the potential for efficient water management in spate irrigation schemes using the Spate Management Model.-
Journal of Applied Irrigation Science, Vol. 40. No 2/2005, pp. 177-192.
VL reprint under:
VL Irrigation & Hydrology - vl_ref_id_x_0007
Reference
- ICID-CIID, 2000:
Multilingual Technical Dictionary on Irrigation and Drainage. -
CD Version September 2000, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, New Dehli. -
Steenbergen van, F., Lawrence, P., Haile, A.M., Salman, M. and J.-M. Faurès, 2010:
Guidelines on spate irrigation. -
FAO Irrigation and Drainage Papers 65, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome.