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AN INVESTIGATION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE EXISTING WATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE IN SELECTED SMALLHOLDER IRRIGATION SCHEMES: CASE OF TUGELA FERRY IRRIGATION SCHEME AND MOOI RIVER IRRIGATION SCHEME, SOUTH AFRICA
Author(s) -
Dirwai T.L.,
Senzanje A.,
Mudhara M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.2347
Subject(s) - irrigation , analytic hierarchy process , causal model , operations management , operations research , engineering , mathematics , statistics , biology , ecology
This study investigated and evaluated the condition of the existing water conveyance, storage and control infrastructure in the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS) and the Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme (TFIS), in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. An infrastructure condition assessment (ICA) was undertaken based on inspections and condition scoring or grading. In addition, technical experts were consulted to determine the weights of the structural evaluation criteria using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Furthermore, the fishbone ‘Ishikawa’ diagram and the relative causal index (RCI) method were used to carry out the root cause analysis (RCA). For RCI, questionnaires were administered to stakeholders to capture their perception of the causal factors. According to the study, the fishbone ‘Ishikawa’ diagram characterized and identified 23 probable causal factors that led to infrastructure dilapidation. The RCI quantified the causal factors and revealed the converging points between technical experts (te) and the extension workers (ex) regarding causal factors. The converging causal factors were related to maintenance (RCI te = 0.8, RCI ex = 0.7) , people (RCI te = 0.7, RCI ex = 0.7) , institutions (RCI te = 0.7, RCI ex = 0.6) and the environment (RCI te = 0.8, RCI ex = 0.7) . The study further revealed that the stakeholders involved had points of divergence on causes of infrastructure decay. Follow‐up questionnaires were again administered to discover the reasons for diverging thoughts. The study recommends participatory engagement in process and procedure design for enhanced infrastructure conditions. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.