IRRIGATION SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE IN GREECE

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HARMONIZATION AND INTEGRATION OF WATER SAVING
OPTIONS. CONVENTION AND PROMOTION OF WATER SAVING
POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
A. Karamanos, S. Aggelides and P.
Londra Agricultural University of Athens
Malta 3-7 May 2006
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• Population
• 11,000,000
• Area occupied
• 131,962 Km2
• Types of land use
• arable (30)
• forest (19)
• pastures (43.4)
• others (7.6)

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• Total annual precipitation
• 116,689 hm3
• Annual water potential
• 70,276 hm3
• Annual water consumption
• 8,200 hm3
• agriculture (83)
• domestic (13)
• industrial (2)
• other uses (2)

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Arable area 38,986 Km2Cultivated area
34,638 Km2Irrigated land 14,305 Km2
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WATER SAVING ASPECTS

1. Increase the drip irrigation systems
2. Increase the water use efficiency in irrigation
   networks.
3. Water saving practices in farm level.
4. Water saving in irrigation districts or regions.
5. Water saving techniques related to water
   harvesting.
6. Recharging the degraded aquifers.
7. Non-conventional water use.
8. Use of desalination water.
9. Affecting the water balance.
10. Application of rational agricultural practices.

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Increase the drip irrigation system 
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Increase the drip irrigation system 
The trends of irrigation techniques used in
public networks.
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1. Increase the drip irrigation system 

The trends of irrigation methods used in private
networks.
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1. Increase the drip irrigation system 

Conveyance of irrigation water in public
networks.
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1. Increase the drip irrigation system

Conveyance of irrigation water in private
networks.
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1.   Increase the water use efficiency in irrigation
   networks.

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1. Increase the water use efficiency in irrigation
   networks.

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1. Increase the water use efficiency in irrigation
   networks

Maximum calculated crop water requirements
4,089 Km3 Actual water use
6,833 Km3 WUE

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Data 1996
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1. Water saving practices in farm level.

• Storage water in farm reservoirs
• Destroy the weeds
• Using mulch
• Using minimum tillage techniques.
• Construction of terraces

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1. Water saving in irrigation districts or regions.

• Construction of dams.
• Construction off-stream water reservoirs.

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1. Water saving techniques related to water
   harvesting

• Structures which harvest runoff from ground
  surfaces (contour earth bands)
• Structures which harvest the rain from the roofs
  and ground surfaces and deposit water in
  rain-water tanks.
• Techniques which collect discharge by diversion
  the ephemeral water sources.

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1. Recharging the degraded aquifers.

Recharge takes place during winter when there is
enough rainfall. Following this technique the
water quantity of the aquifers is increased and
the quality of degraded groundwater is improved.
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1. Non-conventional water use

The use of wastewaters from treatment plants may
provide sufficient water for irrigation, in order
to prevent water shortage as well as intrusion of
the pollution loads to the sea, rivers and lakes.
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• Use of desalination water.

Desalination systems based on renewable energy
were used in some islands of Aegean Sea.
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1. Affecting the water balance

Water balance per water district (hm3).
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1. Affecting the water balance

• Application of appropriate agricultural practices
  in order to increase infiltrated water especially
  in the slopping cultivated areas, i.e. plowing
  according to the contour lines, cultivation in
  zones, using minimum tillage techniques etc.
• Low rock dams in winter water courses.
• Measures to avoid forest fires.

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1. Application of rational agricultural practices

• Avoid erosion
• Avoid chemical pollution of soils and ground
  waters

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BENEFITS OF WATER SAVING OPTIONS. PROPOSITIONS ON
MEASURES.

• Water saving requires coordinated actions in
  order to promote water resources management
  through an integrated and effective planning
  framework.
• A reasonable quantity of water can be saved by
  replacing the old surface irrigation systems with
  drip irrigation ones. This policy can be improved
  by subsidizing the purchase and establishment of
  drip irrigation systems.
• The increase of water use efficiency can be
  achieved by applying the following measures

• Training of young farmers in water management
  techniques.
• Pricing of irrigation water in public networks is
  based on the size of the parcel. Farmers should
  pay on water volume consumption basis, instead.

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BENEFITS OF WATER SAVING OPTIONS. PROPOSITIONS ON
MEASURES

• The construction of dams and off-stream water
  reservoirs as well as projects for recharging
  coastal aquifers need large investments.
  Nevertheless, by converting a dry or degraded
  land to irrigated one the family income is
  increased by more than 70 as well as the
  employment at a rate of 20 in the perimeter of
  the project district. In addition a reduction in
  labor cost was observed as a result of
  automations (Naftemporiki Newspaper, 2004).
• The effluents can be used to irrigate crops,
  forestry, amenities and for industrial needs.
  Thus the freshwater that is currently used for
  irrigation can be saved.
• Desalination water can be used in some
  Cyclades islands in order to overcome the
  competition between the vital economic sectors of
  agriculture and tourism.

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BENEFITS OF WATER SAVING OPTIONS. PROPOSITIONS ON
MEASURES

• Encouraging and subsidizing any measure or
  technique that affects positively the water
  balance
• Administrative measures must be applied in
  order to avoid the environmental degradation of
  soils and ground waters from nitrates,
  herbicides, fungicides and pesticides as well as
  of forests from fires

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The possible water saving opportunities in Greece
can be obtained mainly from

• The reuse of effluents from Waste Water Treatment
  Plants by 3.2 of current total use of
  freshwater.
• The reduction of water losses in the irrigation
  networks by 10 to 30 of the water used for
  agriculture.
• The different water saving options by an
  inestimable proportion (10 ?).

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Thank you !
Agricultural University of Athens