trr~tl Corr.\/ru~~/rorr Di\,isiorr, Alherttr Del~trrtrlrcrlt of t l~c Errr.irwrrrrort, Etlrn~~r~torr. Alttr., C~rrltrtltr T5J 026 A N D R. F. S~l'rtf Irrigtrtiur~ Sec.retnr.icrr, Alherttr Depnrtr~~erlt qj' Agric~~rlr~rl-e. 200-5 Ailollre Soictlr, Letl~britlge, Alter.. Ctrrlcrdtr T I J 4C7 Rcccivcd July 8. 198 1 Keviscd manuscript acccptcd Fcbruary 10. 1982 Extcnsivc agricultural dcvclopmcnt of' thc Canadian prairics did not takc placc until aftcr construction of the first transcontinental railway in 1885. Since th;lt timc. morc than 400000 ha has bccn dcvcloped for irrigation in the scmiarid southwcstcrn part of the region.Early irrigation systems wcrc based on contour canals and gravity irrigation. Thcsc systcnls arc now bcing rehabilitated to improvc cfficicncy and to minimizc future maintcnancc rcquircmcnts. Thc cost of upgrading cxisting irrigation systems is less than the cost of constructing ncw areas of cxpansion.Competing dcn~ands cxist for a limited supply of watcr in southcrn Albcrta. Kivcr basin planning studics havc provided an invcntory of potcntially irrigablc lands and watcr supply. Thcsc studics provide important guidclincs in plotting a course for futurc watcr managcmcnt and irrigation dcvclopmcnt.Kep~vur.d.s: irrigation, capital works rchabilitntion, cxpansion, cost-sharing. convcyancc cfficicncy, secpagc, canal lining, crops, drainagc. watcr application nlcthods. farm efficiency, river basin planning, watcr balance model. LC ddvcloppcmcnt dc la culturc cxtcnsivc dans Ics prairics canadicnncs nc s'cst produit qu'aprts la construction en 1885 du prcmicr chcmin dc fcr transcontincntal. Dcpuis cc tcmps. plus dc 400000 ha ont CtC prCparCs pour I'irrigation dans la partie sud-oucst semi-aridc dc ccttc contrCc.Lcs ancicns ouvrages d'irrigation consistaicnt avant tout en cnnaux pCriphCriqucs. ct I'irrigation sc faisait par gravitC. Ces systemcs sont prCscntemcnt rcl~iis en Ctat dc fagon quc lcur rcndcnlcnt soit amCliorC ct quc Icur cntrcticn futur rcprCsentc une chargc niinimalc. On constatc quc Ic colit dc ccttc rernisc cn Ctat cst infericur au colit d'amCnagcmcnt d'aircs agricoles nouvcllcs.On a fornlul6 dcs cicmandcs concurrcntcs pour un apport d'cau dans Ic s~ld dc I'Albcrta. Lcs Ctudcs d'arnenagcment dcs bassins ont pcrmis dc drcsser un invcntaisc dcs tcrrcs irrigablcs ct dcs caux disponiblcs. Ccs Ctudcs pcrnmcttcnt Cgalcmcnt d e dCgagcr d'irnportants crit6rcs dcvant guidcr Ics dCvcloppemcnts futurs dans Ic tlorn;~inc dc la gcstion dcs caux ct dc I'irrigation.[Traduit par la rcvuc]Can. J. Civ. Eng.. 9, 323-337 (1982)

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