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
Dec 18, 2014
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
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
Photo: Matthew McCartney/IWMI