By: Irina Chushkina, Candidate of Technical Sciences, senior lecturer at the Department of Civil Engineering, Technologies of Construction and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Water Engineering and Ecology, Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University.
This project resulted from the training YPARD did with Ukrainian attendees in collaboration and partnership with AgriSciences Platform "AgriSci-UA".
The restoration of irrigated agriculture in Ukraine is a priority task to ensure food security of the country. However, the current situation in the irrigation sector is in crisis, caused primarily by the deterioration of the technical condition of reclamation systems due to their long and improper operation. Technogenic impact leads to a deterioration in the quality of surface water, which requires an assessment of the suitability of surface water for irrigation of agricultural land, taking into account environmental and agronomic criteria. Today, one of the most limiting factors for the continued operation of irrigation systems is the significant loss of water for filtration, which can reach more than 30% or more of the total water supply.
In the damaged sections of the canals, this figure is more than 103 cubic meters per month per 1 linear meter of length, which amounts to 3,000 euros per month in losses. Implementation of measures aimed at restoring and developing irrigation is one of the priorities of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, Directive 2000/60 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe of 23 October 2000. Thus, today the issue of determining the volume of unproductive water losses and carrying out repair and restoration works in order to increase the efficiency of buildings and the overall level of their technical operation is relevant.
Our team proposed and substantiated a method for determining the zones of filtration deformations and water losses by using the integrated application of geophysical methods of the Earth's natural pulsed electromagnetic field (NIEMFE) and vertical electrical sounding (VES), which can determine the quality parameters and dimensions of disturbed areas. According to the comparative characteristics of geophysical methods used to diagnose the technical condition of irrigation systems, the integrated application of PIEMPZ and SEZ requires less time, staff and money compared to other known geophysical methods.
The methodology for determining the technical condition by geophysical methods (linear objects – trunk channels), is to apply only route observations along the canal, and at some points to conduct vertical electrical sounding to establish the groundwater level. Deterioration of operating conditions will be determined, including permanent movement of water, which will cause the destruction of anti-leakage protection. The proposed methodology will be carried out during field work on the Kilchen main canal with a length of more than 15 km. The objective is to establish the relationship between the geological features of the location of the object and the level of its technical condition. Additionally, to determine filtration flows affecting the hydrogeological regime and the ecological and reclamation state of the adjacent territories.
Read the original blog here.