EXPERIENCES OF BULK WATER ALLOCATION IN LARGE SCALE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Irrigation Management Turnover (IMT) was introduced in major and medium scale irrigation scheme in Sri Lanka in early 1990s. After over a decade of experiences it has been found that, Water Users Associations (WUAs) have failed to mobilize adequate amount of resources toward system operation and maintenance (O&M) leading to inefficient water use and deterioration of irrigation infrastructure. The concept of Bulk Water Allocation (BWA) was introduced in 2002 and pilot tested in the Mahaweli System-H to find out a methodology, which can be used as a complete solution for water management problems in large-scale irrigation schemes. Under the BWA quantity of water to be issued for a particular distributary canal (DC) and consequently for a particular user for the cultivation practices in a given season is fixed before commencement of the season. The concept provided the volumetric impression of water use and incentive to utilize the water in an efficient manner. The research findings show that, water productivity, cropping intensity and extent of cultivation in dry season has increased significantly after implementation of BWA while using less amount of water to cultivate one unit of land has reduced. Farmer perception on BWA is also very positive in terms of increase in productivity and income. BWA concept has been seen as a strategy to achieve the expected objectives of IMT. Adequate supply of water with reliability and timeliness has improved the farmers’ confidence in water issues which has been a great incentive to motivate farmers to shift from traditional high water consuming, low return rice cultivation to less water consumptive, high return cash crops. Decentralized partial O&M cost recovery adopted with BWA has been successful in achieving targeted collection compared to past failed attempts of centralized water charges.