Optimal Management of Water and Energy in Irrigation Systems: Application to the Bardenas Canal

This paper presents a methodology for the optimal management of water and energy in irrigation systems. A two-layer management scheme is proposed. In the upper layer, an optimal control strategy is used to plan how to serve the demanded water within a prediction horizon of five days ahead in order to minimize electricity costs associated to pumping satisfying the physical limitations of the pipes. At the lower layer, a scheduling algorithm decides how to schedule the different pumps of the pumping stations in order to supply the desired flow with the maximum efficiency and minimum cost. A part of the Bardenas irrigation system in Spain is used as the case study to illustrate the proposed approach.