Diagnosis of the Availability of Groundwater Resources for Off-season Irrigation on the Pic of Sindou Rice Perimeter in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, more precisely, in the Cascades region, on the Pic of Sindou rice perimeter, producers made dike to channel water from overflow springs for off-season irrigation. However, this perimeter like most of the developed areas in the country is subject to the scarcity of water resources to carry out off-season activities. The objective of this study was therefore to analyze the problem of water on the Pic of Sindou rice perimeter in order to propose solutions to overcome the lack of water. The estimation of the volume of water taken from the aquifer, through the springs for off-season irrigation was made using the volumetric method and surveys of 200 producers on their method of managing irrigation during February-July 2019. Gross irrigation water requirements were determined using climatic data from the Karfiguela station. And, the method of the water table fluctuation from 2016 to 2019 is used to estimate the variation of the groundwater stock. Gross irrigation water requirements are currently satisfied at 8.3%, hence the inability of the four springs to cover production on the 260 hectare developed. The diagnosis also revealed that approximately 20% of the volume of water transported in the channels evaporates or infiltrates into the soil; 15% of spring water is not channeled and 18% is lost during off hours. However, the analysis of the variation of the groundwater stock revealed the existence of a groundwater reserve which can be mobilized by catchment works to satisfy the water deficit currently on the perimeter and even cover the extension of the perimeter to 300 hectare of available area.