Decision support system for improved irrigation water management

A Decision Support System for improved irrigation water management can accomplish this task by encapsulating the wealth of knowledge that exists amongst irrigation specialists and making it available to the wider audience of irrigation professionals. The developed framework for such a Decision Support System is based on the concept that has been successfully applied in the medical sector. The various diseases/problems have been associated with their respective symptoms. This forms the basis for a diagnosis of the problem and determination of the effects it can have if the problem goes unattended.The Decision Support System consists of the following main components: performance assessment, diagnostic analysis and impact assessment, and solution assessment. The programme's component to study the performance contains procedures on how to conduct performance assessments to determine the levels of performance of the selected irrigation topic. The causes and effects component guides the user in the diagnosis of the causes of a selected irrigation topic and enables the user to explore the potential effects the irrigation topic has on other system components. The solution assessment component enables the user to study potential solutions to identified problems and the respective constraints of their implementation. A further component of the programme contains detailed background information on the irrigation topics with references for further reading and case studies. Crucial to the knowledge accumulation is an expert facility that enables specialists to input new information as well as amend existing information. The quantity and quality of the expert knowledge captured in the system will determine the ultimate value of the tool.The framework for the Decision Support System has been developed and successfully implemented in a software package. The concept of the tool has been tested by applying it to an irrigation scheme. The expert input facility has likewise been tested with irrigation specialists entering their expertise into the system. The foundation has been laid for the system's database to be filled with expert knowledge. Thereafter, the system can be made available to the wider audience of irrigation professionals.