Case study on development of smart water resources and irrigation management information system in Thailand

Abstract EN

The conditions of water resources and irrigation management are rapidly changing due to several factors such as i) climate changing, ii) water needs increasing and changing, iii) water pollution, iv) infrastructure aging, etc.

Thus, the systematic analysis and management become the raising issues nation-wide.

So integrated smart water information system is very important key words for solution of these problems.

According to ICT development, the water monitoring system is also developed continuously.

For the effective supply, reasonable allocation and cost down of the water resources, many countries are trying to develop the real time monitoring and control using new technologies such as computer, internet, solar energy, communication, CDMA/GSM, satellite image, etc.

Irrigation Management Information System (IMIS) is developed through the technical cooperation and knowledge share program on Pran Buri O&M project1 of Regional Irrigation Office 14of Royal Irrigation Department (RID) in Thailand government.

The main works of Pran Buri O&M are the water resources and irrigation management.

Facilities, Pran Buri dam 391 MCM and main canal 54 km, are operated and maintained for farm land irrigation 37,720ha and industrial water use in Hua Hin.

RID has several issues such as aging facilities, decreasing the experienced staffs, inundating and shortage of water resources due to climate change.

So, RID has a strong concern and tries to develop the IMIS, it is a kind of the smart water management system, as the one solution of these issues.

This system has a control room, 23 master stations, 12 slave stations, 81 sensors.

There are the measuring sensors for water level, flow rate, gate open, rainfall and image.

The sensors of salinity and water quality can be installed such as temperature, COD, DO, PH, etc.

and measured data are collected from slave station to master station using WSN, wireless sensor network, Zigbee.

Field master and slave stations are operated by solar energy.

Server station collects the data from master stations using commercial telecommunication network, GSM, and serves the water management information through the internet and mobile phone.

These data are provided with the decision support information for water resources and irrigation management such as dam, reservoir, weir, pumping station, canal and so on.

So, IMIS is a kind of the decision support system and IT-based scientific water control system on the basis of the measured reliable data.

IMIS has three modules that are monitoring, evaluating and analysis.

Monitoring module shows the measured data such as water level, flow rate, rainfall, gate open, image etc.

From this module, user can get the water supply situations such as flood, drought, emergency or normal.

Evaluating module includes the estimation function of the water demand or consumptive use.

When the monitoring and estimating results are compared, user can understand the amount of ware supply and demand at the every station and irrigation regions.

It can be made the upper and lower rule curve for the operation of irrigation facilities.

Analysis module can support the decision making of the optimal water use including reasonable allocation of water use through integrated module of monitoring and evaluating because it can be provided the reservoir storage changing according to irrigation scenario.

Increasing of irrigation efficiency expects more than 20% including saving the water 10%, saving the labor and cost 30%.

Also this system would be contributed the real time cope with disaster and the automation of the water resources and irrigation management.