Water Management in the Dry Zone, Irrawaddy Basin, Myanmar

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Water Management in the Dry Zone,

Irrawaddy Basin, Myanmar

Robyn Johnston, Paul Pavelic, Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu,

Matthew McCartney International Water Management Institute Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI

IWMI Dry Zone Study 2013Commissioned by Livelihoods and Food Security Trust What are the best investments in water to improve food security and livelihoods in the Dry Zone of Myanmar?

Water Resources Assessment http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046133.pdf

Village surveys http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046134.pdf

Synthesis and priority investments http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046135.pdf

Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI

Google Earth; Johnston et al 2012

Socio-economic context• Total population of 10.1 million• 40% below poverty line• 40-50% of the rural population is landless• 25-35% do not have reliable access to safe domestic

water supplies (seasonal shortages)• Availability of water is major constraint to rural

livelihoods Photos: Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu/IWMI

Water strategies

Domestic/ villageRainwater harvesting

- village pondsGroundwater

- shallow wells- deep tubewells

River pumpingCarting / water sellers

25-35% without access to safe water

AgricultureReservoir & canal irrigationRiver pumpingGroundwater

- formal schemes- individual pumping

Village ponds / tanksSpate irrigation

15-20% of cropland is irrigated

Pakokku, Central Dry Zone

Rainfall vs PET

McCartney et al 2013

Photos: Google Earth; Robyn Johnston

www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world10 km Google Earth

Big rivers

McCartney et al 2013

Floodinghttp://waterdata.iwmi.org/

Reservoirs

• 7,760 Mm3 in 60 large reservoirs

• 1,020 Mm3 in ~ 2,000 small reservoirs

• Village ponds

• Total runoff ~39,000 Mm3

Thaphanseik 3550 Mm3

McCartney et al 2013 http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046133.pdf

Groundwater• Mix of alluvial and hard rock

aquifers• Widely used for village and

domestic supplies (shallow dug wells and pumped tube wells)

• Annual recharge ~ 4,770 Mm3 (30 – 90 mm)Domestic 646

Industrial 14

Agriculture 113

Total use (2000) Mm3 773

McCartney et al 2013 http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046133.pdf

DZ Irrigated areas '000 haFormal schemes(MOAI +WRUD) 509

Dry season 2012(IWMI) 267

Irrigation in DZ

Johnston et al 2013 http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046135.pdf

Irrigation in DZ

Graph: McCartney et al 2013 http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H046133.pdf; Table: Maung Maung Naing- ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ai408e/ai408e01.pdf

C

Irrigation in Hla Taw (Sagaing): Canal from Hla Taw reservoir (A). Tertiary canals to fields in poor condition (B). Most fields were fallow in March (C) he group and record the discussionA

B

Photos: Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu

Diesel pump station in Tup Ywa on Irrawaddy riverLift 110 feet; nominal command 1,500 acres.

Actual irrigation 300 acres (energy costs and availability)

Photo: Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu

Formal irrigation schemes• Underperformance - complex mix of problems• Access to water is more limiting than availability

– volume used in irrigation (~7,540 MCM/yr) is <3% of Irrawaddy flows

• Very high real cost in maintenance and energy

Myanmar Auditor General’s report in 2012: “67 river water pumping stations have achieved 16.3% of their target, providing water to 48,833 acres out of the 299,895 acres originally planned”

Informal irrigation in Budalin: groundwater pumping to establish thanaka trees and vegetables he group and record the discussion

Photos: Robyn Johnston and Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu

Groundwater• Critical for domestic supplies• Growing use for irrigation

– individual pumping– energy cost constrains use

• Recharge rates indicate a MODERATE resource– enough for additional 110,000 -330,000

ha depending on crop• Sustainable management of shared

resource by individual users

Photo: Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu/IWMI

Village ponds for domestic use, livestock, home gardens

Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI

Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI

Rainwater harvesting and storage• Simple, proven technologies common in DZ

– multiple use – domestic and livestock priority• Type, design are specific to location

– earth dams, sand dams, ring / turkey nest• Preferred intervention in village surveys for all

farmer types and landless• Maintenance issues and costs

– sedimentation, damage to structures (flooding, cattle)

Water access in Ta Ein Te village: village pond (A) dries out completely in the dry season (B), WRUD pumps from the river to keep water in it for as long as possible. Villagers then use groundwater pumped from a deep tubewell for drinking (>100 ft) (C); and a shallow open well (~20 ft) with poor water quality for washing (D). Pumping to the reservoir improves the quality of the shallow well

A

B

D

C

Photos: Google Earth; Robyn Johnston (right)

Photo: Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu/IWMI

Coordination• Department of Irrigation• WRUD (Water Resources Utilisation Department)• Ministry of Rural Development (domestic water)• MOECAF (environmental issues)• Ministry of Transport

– Dept of Meteorology and Hydrology– Directorate of Water Resources and River

Improvement )

National Water Resources Management CommitteeWorld Bank $30m for Irrawaddy Basin Plan

r.johnston@cgiar.org

Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI