Automated scheduling of open-channel deliveries: potential and limitations
Date
2007-06
Authors
Gooch, Robert S., author
Bautista, Eduardo, author
Strand, Robert J., author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Irrigation and municipal water delivery systems are under ever-increasing pressure to improve operations. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology is helping delivery organizations improve flexibility of operations, reduce costs, and overcome operational constraints, as it allows operators to remotely monitor and operate check gates to maintain desired water level and/or flow targets at control points. Computerized canal control schemes in combination with the SCADA technology, can further enhance operations by automatically handling scheduled demand changes (feedforward control) and responding to unexpected perturbations (feedback control). Significant progress has been made in recent years in the development of computerized control schemes, but adoption of such technologies is slow, partly because the potential benefits relative to existing manual operational procedures cannot be easily predicted, and partly because control schemes, ultimately, must be configured to the particular needs and constraints of the delivery system. This paper examines the potential application of computerized scheduling on the Salt River Project's (SRP) delivery system. The objective is to evaluate the potential for improved water control compared with current manual operations. We also examine particular constraints faced by SRP operators, how they impact the development of daily operational schedules, and how that would limit the applicability of automated scheduling concepts.
Description
Presented at SCADA and related technologies for irrigation district modernization, II: a USCID water management conference held on June 6-9, 2007 in Denver, Colorado.