Optimal and Postirrigation Volume Balance Infiltration Parameter Estimates for Basin Irrigation

Engineering analysis of surface irrigation systems is predicated on reasonably accurate estimates of a field’s infiltration properties. Optimal estimation methods pose multiple volume balance equations at various stages of an irrigation event and are assumed to produce the most accurate results among volume balance based procedures. They have the disadvantage of requiring surface volume determinations, which may be difficult to obtain in practice under many field conditions. This study contrasts infiltration solutions from optimal and a simpler postirrigation volume balance method and examines the implications of those solutions on the performance of management strategies with zero-slope and low-gradient basins. With those types of systems, there is little benefit in using optimization over postirrigation volume balance due to the nonuniqueness of solutions and uncertainties of inputs required by the estimation procedures. In addition, system hydraulic characteristics mitigate the insensitivity of the distribution uniformity to reasonable variations in infiltration characteristics from those assumed in the analysis. For the type of systems considered here, management can be optimized based on time needed to infiltrate a target depth, even if the infiltration function parameters are uncertain.