Performance evaluation of an irrigation system under some optimal operating policies

Abstract

Three indicators are used to study the performance of a single purpose irrigation reservoir in Karnataka, India. The three indicators are reliability, resiliency and a productivity index. The performance of the reservoir is evaluated when it is operated with optimal operating policies over a sufficiently long period of time. Three different optimal operating policies are derived, having increasing mathematical complexity, using Stochastic Dynamic Programming (SDP). Two of the three policies, Policy II and Policy III, incorporate a detailed soil moisture dynamics model as an integral part of the SDP. Policy III considers, in addition, an optimal allocation of water among the irrigated crops when there is competition for water. The reservoir releases are simulated under each optimal operating policy using synthetically generated inflows, and a comparison of the system performances is made.