ABSTRACT
Most water projects are characterized by significant distribution losses. It is estimated that gravity irrigation systems typically lose about 40 percent of their water, while sprinkler and drip systems waste 30 and 10 percent, respectively [18]. Most often, however, the water “lost” is captured by users at the bottom of the river basin. It has often been argued that increasing these on-farm efficiencies may only result in “paper” water savings, since their impact on reducing return flows elsewhere in the basin may be significant [10].
