CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

2. Benefits of Better Water Measurement

Besides proper billing for water usage, many benefits are derived by upgrading water measurement programs and systems. Although some of the benefits are intangible, they should be considered during system design or when planning a water measurement upgrade. Good water management requires accurate water measurement. Some benefits of water measurement are:

• Accurate accounting and good records help allocate equitable shares of water between competitive uses both on and off the farm.
• Good water measurement practices facilitate accurate and equitable distribution of water within district or farm, resulting in fewer problems and easier operation.
• Accurate water measurement provides the on-farm irrigation decision-maker with the information needed to achieve the best use of the irrigation water applied while typically minimizing negative environmental impacts.
• Installing canal flow measuring structures reduces the need for time-consuming current metering. Without these structures, current metering is frequently needed after making changes of delivery and to make seasonal corrections for changes of boundary resistance caused by weed growths or changes of sectional shape by bank slumping and sediment deposits.
• Instituting accurate and convenient water measurement methods improves the evaluation of seepage losses in unlined channels. Thus, better determinations of the cost benefits of proposed canal and ditch improvements are possible.
• Permanent water measurement devices can also form the basis for future improvements, such as remote flow monitoring and canal operation automation.
• Good water measurement and management practice prevents excess runoff and deep percolation, which can damage crops, pollute ground water with chemicals and pesticides, and result in project farm drainage flows containing contaminants.
• Accounting for individual water use combined with pricing policies that penalize excessive use.