3rd Asian Regional Conference

RICE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FOR TANJUNG KARANG SCHEME, MALAYSIA
1Amin, M.S.M., 2Rowshon, M.K., and 3Masumoto, T.

ABSTRACT

Irrigation water is becoming increasingly scarce but its usage efficiency is still very low. Hence
techniques must be found to improve agricultural water management to cater for variability
in soil and crop conditions, hydrological uncertainties, and erratic flows in the river, canal
network and various control structures.

Rice Irrigation Management Information System (RIMIS) was developed as a user-friendly and
robust management system to ensure the efficient use of available water resources. RIMIS
allows prediction and allocation of available water resources equitably and more efficiently
for the 18,000 ha Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme in Selangor Malaysia. RIMIS is a
comprehensive water allocation and management framework embedded in an ArcGIS-VBA
platform. ArcObjects and Visual Basic for Application (VBA) programming languages were
used to develop the user-friendly Graphical Userinterface (GUI) inside the powerful ArcGIS
software.

RIMIS recommends daily equitable and efficient irrigation deliveries among tertiary canals
incorporating the allowable design irrigation supply based on the water demand and available
water resources for irrigation supply as the season advances. RIMIS gives information on the
uniformity of water distribution and the shortfall or excess using newly developed performance
indicators; and what decisions to adopt for the next day. Easy updating system of the associated
databases keeps the system always updated with respect to the real field situations. The results
were displayed on the computer screen together with colourcoded thematic maps, graphs
and tables in a comprehensible form that helps irrigation managers to enhance decision-
making in the management and operation of the irrigation system. RIMIS was found to be a
useful tool for a more equitable distribution of the available water supply to a wider area
aiming for higher crop production.

1
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Email: amin@eng.upm.edu.my Tel: +603-8946-6427
Fax: +603-8946-6425
2
Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources, Department of Land and Water Resources, National Institute for
Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-6, Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki
305-8609, Japan. Email: rowshon@yahoo.com Tel: +81-29-838-7538, Fax: +81-29-838-7609
3
Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources, Department of Land and Water Resources, National Institute for
Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-6, Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki
305-8609, Japan. Email: masumoto@nkk.affrc.go,jp Tel: +81-29-838-7538, Fax: +81-29-838-7609

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 3rd Asian Regional Conference

RICE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FOR TANJUNG KARANG SCHEME, MALAYSIA
1
Amin, M.S.M., 2Rowshon, M.K., and 3Masumoto, T.

ABSTRACT

Irrigation water is becoming increasingly scarce but its use efficiency is still very low. Hence
techniques must be found to improve agricultural water management to cater for variability
in soil and crop conditions, hydrological uncertainties, and erratic flows in the river, canal
network and various control structures.

Rice Irrigation Management Information System (RIMIS) was developed as a user-friendly and
robust management system to ensure the efficient use of available water resources. RIMIS
allows prediction and allocation of available water resources equitably and more efficiently
for the 18,000 ha Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme in Selangor Malaysia. RIMIS is a
comprehensive water allocation and management framework embedded in an ArcGIS-VBA
platform. ArcObjects and Visual Basic for Application (VBA) programming languages were
used to develop the user-friendly Graphical Userinterface (GUI) inside the powerful ArcGIS
software.

RIMIS recommends daily equitable and efficient irrigation deliveries among tertiary canals
incorporating the allowable design irrigation supply based on the water demand and available
water resources for irrigation supply as the season advances. RIMIS gives information on the
uniformity of water distribution and the shortfall or excess using newly developed performance
indicators; and what decisions to adopt for the next day. Easy updating system of the associated
databases keeps the system always updated with respect to the real field situations. The results
are displayed on the computer screen together with colourcoded thematic maps, graphs and
tables in a comprehensible form that helps irrigation managers to enhance decision-making
in the management and operation of the irrigation system. RIMIS was found to be a useful
tool for a more equitable distribution of the available water supply to a wider area aiming
for higher crop production.

1
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM
Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Email: amin@eng.upm.edu.my Tel: +603-8946-6427 Fax: +603-8946-
6425
2
Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources, Department of Land and Water Resources, National Institute for Rural
Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-6, Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8609,
Japan. Email: rowshon@yahoo.com Tel: +81-29-838-7538, Fax: +81-29-838-7609
3
Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources, Department of Land and Water Resources, National Institute for Rural
Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-6, Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8609,
apan. Email: masumoto@nkk.affrc.go,jp Tel: +81-29-838-7538, Fax: +81-29-838-7609

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INTRODUCTION

Integrated water resources development and management is crucial for ensuring food sufficiency
and security.1 However, most run-of-the-river irrigation projects, the demand curve seldom
satisfactorily match the erratic flows in the river. Therefore, it is essential to match the water
supply at the system head with the demand created by the actual field conditions and
requirements, so as to ensure adequate and even distribution of irrigation water throughout
the scheme. The challenge is to improve water management, precise control of water in the
irrigation system and on-farm to grow more rice with less water. Thus, the precise management
of the main canal system along with the tertiary level is needed to achieve equitable water
supply below the turnouts. Any water savings in rice cultivation will be significant and valuable.

Irrigation requires relatively large amounts of water, which is a commodity that is becoming
increasingly scarce. The world is facing severe and growing challenges in maintaining water
quality and meeting the rapidly growing demands for water resources. On the other hand,
rice cultivation compared to other field crops requires huge amount of water. Water scarcity
is an ever-increasing problem in rice irrigation schemes, hence demands improved water
management. Increasing competition for water among different sectors is forcing a more
equitable and efficient distribution of the available water resources for irrigation supply. There
is unanimous agreement among researchers and decision-makers for the need to improve
operation of irrigation systems in order to increase productivity. Timely prediction of available
water resources along with proper allocation and distribution is an essential prerequisite for
the successful operation and management of a rice irrigation system. Issues related to water
availability and distribution will be increasingly important globally in the coming years. The
impact of greater water scarcity on agriculture will be manifested prominently in the rice
production sector. The familiar "head-tail" problem still plagues many irrigation systems.

In large-scale irrigation systems like the Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation System (TKRIS), where
water is continuously delivered over a wide area with varying climate, soil, agronomic
practices, crop growth stages and other crop conditions, the water allocation by the tertiary
unit is an important component to improve the system management. A good irrigation depends
on the ability of its managers being able to apply the right amounts of water accurately and
efficiently. Unfortunately, most irrigation systems are still being unable to achieve this, leading
to high water losses and poor management. With the ever-increasing demands for water
among agricultural, industrial and domestic users, improved water management by using
new tools and techniques to efficiently allocate the available water resources for irrigation
supply is therefore a formidable challenge for producing more rice with less water.

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Each irrigation system is unique, both in terms of its physical and managerial structures.
Nonetheless, experience and insight gained in one location can be useful in another. Canal
water deliveries may become unreliable because of drought, limited storage, canal breaches,
high seepage losses, manual intervention, malpractices, relative position at the distribution
network, and various other management and operational inefficiencies. Water courses located
at upper reaches of the distributaries, get more water than their downstream (Kijne and Velde,
1990). Sharama and Oad (1990) and Latif and Sarwar (1994) designed variable-time models
for equitable water allocation in rotational irrigation system. Actual water management in
some irrigation schemes is carried out depending only on the experience and knowledge of
the administrator about the daily water demand. The Tanjung Karang scheme’s agriculture
water demand results in a conflict with domestic requirement during irrigation seasons when
there is no sufficient water to satisfy both water users. The deliverable supply to the scheme
depends on the way the water is divided by water managers. Mathematical models alone
are not satisfactory tools in the process of decisionmaking. The modern GIS technique coupled
with models can quickly guide the management in decisionmaking since the temporal and
spatial dimensions could be studied at once. Therefore, Rice Irrigation Management Information
System (RIMIS) was developed for ensuring the efficient use of available water resources,
decision-making in equitable water allocation and improving the existing irrigation water
management of a double cropping rice irrigation scheme. The system guides and provides
the user with recommendations on water allocation and distribution policies. Thus, the final
output is given in the form of specific water management actions for the irrigated areas.

METHODOLOGY

Rice Irrigation Management Information System (RIMIS) is a robust and user-friendly interactive
information and management system of a run-of-river rice irrigation system. RIMIS is an
ArcGIS-VBA user-interface comprised with five major modules, several sub-modules and
functions. ArcObjects and Visual Basic for Application (VBA) programming languages were
used to develop RIMIS inside the powerful Geographical Information System (GIS) software
ArcGIS version 8.3. The workflow diagram of the RIMIS is shown in Figure 1. On activation
within the ArcMap environment, the “RIMIS” main menu appears directly on the Menu Bar.
By selection of the menu item “Open RIMIS” allows to view the dialog wizard of the RIMIS
as shown in Figures 2 and 3. RIMIS can be used in their day-to-day operation and management
activities. The system can be regularly monitored during the irrigation season, so that an
improved operation is possible.

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Figure 1. ArcGIS-VBA Algorithm for the Development of RIMIS.

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Figure 2. Menu RIMIS and Tanjung Karang Irrigation Scheme in ArcGIS

Figure 3. Dialog Wizard of the Rice Irrigation Management Information System (RIMIS)

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Equitable Irrigation Deliveries

The recommended irrigation deliveries of tertiary canals can be computed for the irrigation
service areas for the main season and off-season as the season advances. A dialog window
like that of Figure 3 appears and the user is required to enter values of present Standing
Water Depth (SWj), Maximum or Allowable Irrigation Depth (SWmax or ASW), average
daily Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (EToj), average daily Seepage & Percolation (SPj),
expected average daily Rainfall (RFj), Crop-coefficient (kc) and Irrigation Efficiency (IE) into
the dialog wizard. The SWj can be obtained from the computation of the water balance
equation, which is fed into input TextBox using the command buttons ISAI, ISAII, ISAIII,
respectively. FAO Penman-Monteith and stochastic prediction models compute daily EToj and
RFj under each irrigation service areas (ISA). The available inflow for irrigation supply at
Tengi River Headworks (TRH) is determined using loss rate equation with respect to the upstream
inflow records. Before proceeding to simulate recommended irrigation supply, user can view
the irrigation delivery performance on previous days by clicking on the few irrigation indices
in Figure 4. It provides information to characterize the irrigation delivery performance on
previous days and what decisions to adopt for the next day. Irrigation deliveries are then
computed by clicking on the Command Button “Equitable Irrigation Supply” as in Figure 4.
The irrigation manager can instantly view irrigation deliveries for the irrigation operational
units for a specified period shown in Figures 4 and 5. To optimise the irrigation supply, the
recommended irrigation supply should not exceed Allowable Supply and/or Design supply.
It may not be possible based on the field condition but the recommended irrigation supply
must be less than available water for irrigation supply i.e., 17.21 < 18.21 m3/s for a particular
day (Figure 4). This condition can ensure to cover irrigation supply to the target service areas
with available or limited water resources.

Equitable and recommended irrigation deliveries for tertiary canals should not exceed allowable
supply or design supply. The total recommended demand must be less than the available flow
for irrigation supply. Irrigation deliveries are shown in output windows as the season advances.
Different water allocation rules could be simulated instantly to test the sensitivity of the water
allocation model.

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Figure 4. Dialog Wizard for Recommended and Equitable Irrigation Water Allocation by Tertiary
Canals, 20 October 2003

Figure 5. Output Dialog Wizard for Recommended and Equitable Irrigation Water Allocation by Tertiary
Canals, 20 October 2003.

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The system allows for saving of all outputs in the MS Access database simply by clicking on
the Command Button “Save”. The Command Button “Show Records” can retrieve information
into output dialog wizard from the database for the selected date. The Command Button
“Clean Box” removes all information from the dialog wizard. The Command Button “Delete”
permanently deletes all records from database on a day. The Command Button “Backup”
helps to keep all files as backup any time in operation advances. The results can be displayed
in various forms such as maps, tables, and graphs, which can be helpful to the irrigation
manager prior to forwarding his decision to the field operators. Clicking the CheckBox "Graph
Created by Arcobjects" and “Graph Created by VBA” within the dialog window presents
irrigation delivery in tabular and graphical forms respectively. This module allows for viewing
irrigation delivery performance before and after a day as the season progresses. The outputs
for recommended and equitable irrigation supply as the season advanced (Off Season: 10
May 2003 & Main Season: 10 November 2003) are shown in Figures 6 and 7, respectively.
The Check Box “Graph for Daily Irrigation Supply for Whole Scheme” represents the
recommended, allowable and design irrigation supply to the planted areas by tertiary canals
on 20 April 2003 and 10 November 2003, respectively.

Figure 6. Recommended, Allowable and Design Irrigation Supply by all Tertiary Canals,
10 May 2003 in Off Season.

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Figure 7. Recommended, Allowable and Design Irrigation Supply by all Tertiary Canals,
10 November 2003 in Main Season.

Figure 8. Recommended, Allowable and Design Irrigation Supply together with Planted Areas in Table,
20 October 2003 in Main Season.

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The daily recommended, allowable and design irrigation deliveries together with the planted
areas presented in tabular format by tertiary canals is shown in Figure 8. The results described
from Figures 6 to 8 also can be represented for each irrigation service area as irrigation
supply is staggered by one month to each ISA by activating the Check Box either “Graph
Created by Arcobjects” or “Graph Created by VBA” in Figure 3.

The module allows keeping the records on daily irrigation task in the database. It helps user
to diagnose the irrigation distribution for each tertiary unit as the season progresses, like
Figures 9 and 10 for the both seasons. There are many options available in this module that
helps irrigation manager the proper allocation of available water resources to the targeted
service areas. The name and information of the object are displayed on the screen whenever
the user clicks on the particular object from the map layout. Therefore, the irrigation manager
will be able to know instantaneously, the amount of deliveries and the location of distribution.
The programme also allows for viewing targeted irrigation deliveries, along with graphical
representation for each compartment, Tertiary Canal and block.

Figure 9. Recommended, Allowable and Design Irrigation Supply by a Single Unit of

Tertiary Canals out of 63 for the Entire Off Season.

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Figure 10. Recommended, Allowable and Design Irrigation Supply by a Single Unit of Tertiary
Canals out of 63 for the Entire Main Season.

Monitoring Irrigation Delivery Performance

A new performance indicator called Rice Relative Water Supply (RRWS) was developed for
evaluating and characterizing irrigation delivery performance correctly as the season advances
(Rowshon et al., 2006). The results are computed by clicking on the Command Button
“Monitoring Irrigation Performance” in “Monitoring Irrigation Deliveries” window, which is
displayed on clicking in Figure 3. Inputs are directly fed into a dialog window from the
scheduling module. The programme allows plotting of irrigation delivery performance as the
season progresses, helps to know field condition and allocate the right amount of irrigation
supply for the next day. Irrigation delivery performance in off season and main season can
also be shown as in Figures 11 and 12 after clicking on the Command Button “Rice Relative
Water Supply (RRWS)” in Figure 3. The irrigation performance characterizes as over supply
for RRWS > 1.0, undersupply for RRWS < 1.0 and good performance for RRWS = 1.0.
Therefore, the irrigation manager can easily quantify how irrigation water will be delivered
with the available water resources for the next day. The appropriate information system is
prerequisite to make the right decision on water allocation as well as possible remedial actions
as the season advances. The RRWS_I, RRWS_II and RRWS_III represent Rice Relative Water
Supply (RRWS) for Irrigation Service Areas (ISA) I, II and III, respectively. The RRWS 1.0 is
the value for RRWS = 1.0.

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Figure 11. RRWS Characterizing Daily Irrigation Delivery Performance for the Off Season, 2003.

Figure 12. RRWS Characterizing Daily Irrigation Delivery Performance for the Main Season, 2003/04.

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Allocation of surface water resources is more difficult due to the variability of water use,
typical irrigation supply and the pattern of water availability. Mathematical models alone are
not satisfactory tools in the process of decision-making. The modern GIS technique coupled
with mathematical models can quickly guide the management in decision-making since the
temporal and spatial dimensions could be studied at once. Therefore, the development of
water allocation mechanisms integrated with Geographical Information System (GIS) is
worthwhile for ensuring equitable supply and efficient use of available water resources for
enhanced decision making in the operation and management of the existing irrigation system
of the scheme.

Rice Irrigation Management Information System (RIMIS) is a GIS integrated water allocation
model. It was developed to ensure the efficient use of available water resources for the Tanjung
Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme. It simulates daily equitable and allowable irrigation deliveries
among tertiary canals incorporating design irrigation supply, actual field water demand and
available water resources for irrigation supply as the season advances. The model provides
satisfactory results to achieve equitable irrigation deliveries by tertiary canals incorporating
the available water resources for irrigation supply and showed that a significant amount of
water can be saved and delivered to wider crop areas. The recommended irrigation delivery
is computed with respect to the available water discharges in the main canal. The model gives
information on the uniformity of water distribution and the shortfall or excess using newly
developed performance indicators; and what decisions to adopt for the next day. Easy updating
system of the associated databases keeps the system always updated with respect to the real
field situations. RIMIS has the capability to analyse different scenarios for the performance
of the water allocation with changes in variables such as average, maximum and minimum
condition of canal inflows, rainfall, reference crop evapotranspiration and irrigation efficiency.
Based on the derived optimal policy, optimization strategies with different inflow patterns will
adequately allocate equitable distribution of irrigation water among all tertiary canals.

Irrigation engineers or water managers need appropriate and regular information related
to aspects of irrigation water management for a clear picture of the scheme condition. The
easily obtained comprehensive information allows the manager to characterize the irrigation
delivery performance faster. RIMIS was found to be practically acceptable and an effective
tool for providing a more equitable distribution of available water resources for irrigation
supply that take cognisance of hydrological uncertainties while aiming for higher crop
production.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from IRPA (Intensified Research Priorities
Areas) grant Project No. 01-02-04-0070-EA001 54016 under MOSTE (Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment, Malaysia) for completing the research works; and “Model
development for prediction of water resources changes due to natural variation and human
modification in the Asian monsoon region” under PR2002 (Revolutionary Research Project
2002) of the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) of Japan
to participate and present this paper in the International Conference ICID 2006 in Kuala
Lumpur.

REFERENCES

1. Kijne, J.W. and Van D. Velde, E.J. 1990. Salinity in Punjab watercourse commands &
irrigation system operatings: The imperative case for improving irrigation management
in Pakistan. IIMI Int. Programme Review, Sri Lanka.

2. Latif, M. and Sarwar, S. 1994. Proposal for equitable water allocation for rotational
irrigation in Pakistan. J. Irrig. and Drain. Sys., ASCE, 8: 35-48.

3. Rowshon, M.K., Amin, M.S.M., Hassan, S.M.H., Shariff, A.R.M., and Lee, T.S. (2006).
New Performance Indicators for Rice-based Irrigation Systems. Paddy and Water
Environment, Vol. 4 (2)

4. Sharma, D.N. and Oad, R. 1990. Variable time model for equitable irrigation water
distribution. J. Agril. Water Mgmt., 17: 367-377.

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