Assessing the energy consumption efficiency, irrigation application uniformity and life cycle assessment of groundwater-based irrigation systems in Oklahoma

Irrigation systems across Oklahoma were tested from 2015 to 2018 with the aim of determining their energy consumption efficiencies, irrigation uniformities, and application efficiencies. The actual Overall Pumping Efficiency (OPE) of the pumping plants were evaluated and compared against two widely used standards: The Nebraska Pumping Plant Performance Criteria (NPPPC) (Krantz, 2010) and the efficiency classification developed by the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT) at California State University-Fresno. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was also performed to quantify the environmental burdens of operating the pumping plants. For uniformity evaluations, two parameters Christiansen's coefficient of uniformity (CU) and Distribution uniformity (DU) were evaluated. Catch can method was used. Based on the audits results, three different irrigation treatments (different levels of uniformities) were chosen. The DayCent ecosystem model was used to simulate the impact of non-uniform irrigation on evaporation, transpiration, percolation, nutrient losses, leaching, crop yield etc