Hydrological balance in supply and demand of water for irrigation in a productive unit

The hydrological balance for a farm or productive unit of sugar cane is defined as the difference between the supply of water on the farm and the requirement for irrigation at the source, which takes into account the efficiencies of the irrigation system.

The calculation of the balance of supply and demand for water is useful in improving irrigation management and basic for planning it on a farm, in addition to being technical support to the environmental authority for a request for concession of surface water or a permit to build a deep well. This balance allows us to know if certain development works are necessary, for example, regulation reservoirs, deep wells or a system for the use of surplus water, among others.

Irrigation planning for a productive unit consists of identifying and collecting information on the relevant physical and socioeconomic factors that affect it, followed by the formulation and evaluation of alternatives to make decisions about the irrigation system it requires (Solomon et al., 2007).

Given that in chapter 2 of this book it was shown that the demand for water is equivalent to the irrigation requirement at the source, in this new This chapter will present the concepts and methodologies for calculating each of the factors involved in the supply and demand of water for irrigation, with examples that facilitate its application by producers in their companies.