Changes in hydraulic performance and comparative costs of lining and desilting of secondary canals in Punjab, Pakistan: Fid-Bau Portal

Changes in hydraulic performance and comparative costs of lining and desilting of secondary canals in Punjab, Pakistan

Murray-Rust, D. Hammond / Vander Velde, Edward J.

Abstract Observations on the hydraulic changes of lining of secondary canals in Punjab, Pakistan show that performance improvement objectives are not always achieved. If lining is justified on the basis of water savings through reduced seepage losses, then tail end areas should receive improved water deliveries. Observations in two distributary canals following lining do not demonstrate significant improvements in tail end conditions. Justification of lining on the basis of more stable water conditions is also hard to identify; reduction in the variability of discharges was not observed. Financial analysis of a recent canal lining experience in Punjab indicates that water savings would have to be unrealistically high, and sustained for long periods, if the initial capital cost is to be repaid through improved water conveyance efficiency. Furthermore, the hydraulic improvements achieved through alternative interventions appear to strengthen the argument that lining can be justified only under special conditions, rather than adopted as a wholesale approach to solving water distribution problems. Whatever the intervention, management control must be strengthened; lining is not a substitute for effective canal operational and maintenance inputs.