Irrigation Land Management Model

Abstract

The Irrigation Land Management (ILM) model was developed as a research tool to simulate the demand and response of a multiple‐field multicrop irrigation system in a variety of environments in order to assist managers in exploring strategies that can be used to improve system performance. It addresses the two‐fold problem of first determining the aggregate irrigation water requirement for a command area represented by multiple landowners, cropping patterns, and water‐management schemes; then, once water is delivered, simulating the command area's response to the water supply. It includes field‐ and weather‐generation components to assist in the exploration of alternative management strategies. The model was validated using field data from a large irrigation system in Utah and used to analyze its current management program.