Lift irrigation is a method of irrigation in which water instead of being transported by natural flow (as in gravity-fed canal systems)

requires external energy through animal, fuel based or electric power using pumps or other mechanical means. Treadle pumps, although an ancient method of lifting water for small heads have recently been modernized and used in a big way Lift irrigation schemes must accomplish two main tasks: first, to carry water by means of pumps from the water source to the main delivery chamber, which is situated at the top most point in the command area. Second, they must distribute this water to the field of the beneficiary farmers by means of a suitable and proper distribution system. The source is mainly groundwater, river streams, contour canals, ponds and lakes. For a viable lift irrigation scheme, the requirements are constant water source should for the whole irrigation season at the site and the feasibility to lift water to the desired location. Different capacity pumps are required depending upon the duty point head, and discharge. The rising main may be of steel, concrete or any other suitable material. Lift irrigation schemes are useful where the target land is at higher level. The advantage of lift irrigation is the minimal land acquisition problem and low water losses. The lift irrigation scheme are instrumental in stabilizing agriculture production particularly in the years of droughts and increase food production as water is available whenever it is required and thereby increase in income level. Lift irrigation schemes are either individually owned or owned by a group of farmers in a cooperative mode. For successful functioning the lift irrigation schemes require appropriate technique, planning, designing and execution through knowledgeable technical person. Participation of beneficiaries is quite necessary. Unplanned development of lift irrigation systems have the potential to have its adverse impact on the groundwater levels, as has been the case in many south Asian countries in the recent years. Continuous drop in groundwater table is making the cost of running and maintenance of lift irrigation schemes more costly. Cooperative lift irrigation schemes have the potential to be participatory in development and management. Multistage submerged pump is at the heart of any irrigation system. TANKS Like a pond an irrigation tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. Tanks are part of an ancient tradition of harvesting and preserving the local rainfall and water from streams and rivers for later use, primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for sacred bathing and ritual. Often a tank was constructed across a slope so to collect and store water by taking advantage of local topography. Tanks are especially critical in regions without perennial rainfall with cycle of dry seasons alternating with monsoon seasons. Due to limited storage tanks are unable to meet the demand in case of long dry spells. In extreme hydrological events the failure of one tank infrastructure results in large scale damage due to cascading effect.

Water is revered because of its scarcity in many parts of the world where dry and monsoon seasons alternate and failure of the monsoon season means failure of rainfed agriculture resulting in famine and death while plentiful water replacing irrigations sources is a time of rejoicing. Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in India's architecture. As early as 3000 BC sophisticated systems of drains, wells and tanks were built to conserve and utilize water. Tank building as an art form began with the Hindus and developed under Muslim rule. There are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating about 41,200km in semi-arid areas of India. This constitutes about one third of the total irrigated land in South India. Typically these tanks were maintained and managed by local farmers through some kind of Water User Associations. Some of these tanks have degenerated and fallen to disuse due to variety of reasons including encroachment onto the inundated area due to population pressure, faulty land policies, inadequate maintenance of the infrastructure and other social issues. In recent times Governments have started rehabilitating these old systems. SPRINKLER IRRIGATION In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as asolid-setirrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are calledrotors and are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism. Rotors can be designed to rotate in a full or partial circle. Guns are similar to rotors, except that they generally operate at very high pressures of 40 to 130lbf/in (275 to 900 kPa) and flows of 50 to 1200 US gal/min (3 to 76 L/s), usually with nozzle diameters in the range of 0.5 to 1.9inches (10 to 50mm). Guns are used not only for irrigation, but also for industrial applications such as dust suppression and logging. Sprinklers can also be mounted on moving platforms connected to the water source by a hose. Automatically moving wheeled systems known as traveling sprinklers may irrigate areas such as small farms, sports fields, parks, pastures, and cemeteries unattended. Most of these utilize a length of polyethylene tubing wound on a steel drum. As the tubing is wound on the drum powered by the irrigation water or a small gas engine, the sprinkler is pulled across the field. When the sprinkler arrives back at the reel the system shuts off. This type of system is known to most people as a "waterreel" traveling irrigation sprinkler and they are used extensively for dust suppression, irrigation, and land application of waste water. Other travellers use a flat rubber hose that is dragged along behind while the sprinkler platform is pulled by a cable. These cable-type travellers are definitely old technology and their use is limited in today's modern irrigation projects.