Improvement of agricultural water demand estimation focusing on paddy water demand

Currently, the demand for farmland is steadily decreasing due to changes in the agricultural environment and dietary life. In line with this, the government adopted an integrated water management with the enactment of the Framework Act on Water Management on June 2019. Therefore, it is required to take a closer look at agricultural water demand that accounts for 61% of water use for efficient water resources management. In this study, the overal process was evaluated for estimating agricultural water demand. More specifically, agricultural water demand for paddy field, which comprises 67% to 87% of agricultural water demand, was reviewed in detail. The biggest issue in estimating the paddy field water demand is the selection of the method for potential evapotranspiration. FAO recommends Penman-Monteith, but, currently, our criteria suggest a modified Penman equation that shows over estimation. Also, the crop coefficient, which is the main factor in evaluating evapotranspiration, has an issue that does not consider the current climate and crop varieties because it was developed 23 years ago. Comparing the Modified Penman and Penman-Monteith equations using the data from Jeonju National Weather Service, the modified Penman equation showed a big difference compared to the Penman-Monteith equation. When the crop coefficient was applied, the difference between late May and late August increased, where the amount of evapotranspiration was high. The estimation process was applied to four study reservoirs in Gimje. Comparing the estimated water demand with the supplied water record from reservoirs, the results showed that the estimation accuracy depends on not just the potential evapotranspiration, but also the standard water storing level in paddy fields.