Estimation of irrigation return flow from paddy fields based on the reservoir storage rate

This study proposed a simple estimation method for irrigation return flow from paddy fields using the water balance model. The merit of this method is applicability to other paddy fields irrigated from agricultural reservoirs due to the simplicity compared with the previous monitoring based estimation method. It was assumed that the unused amount of irrigation water was the return flow which included the quick and delayed return flows. The amount of irrigation supply from a reservoir was estimated from the reservoir water balance with the storage rate and runoff model. It was also assumed that the infiltration was the main source of the delayed return flow and that the other delayed return flow was neglected. In this study, the amount of reservoir inflow and water demand from paddy field are calculated on a daily basis, and irrigation supply was calculated on 10-day basis, taking into account the uncertainty of the model and the reliability of the data. The regression rate was calculated on a yearly basis, and yearly data was computed by accumulating daily and 10-day data, considering that the recirculating water circulation cycle was relatively long. The proposed method was applied to the paddy blocks of the Jamhong and Seosan agricultural reservoirs and the results were acceptable.