All Issue

2026 Vol.68, Issue 1
Assessing Water Supply Reliability of Agricultural Reservoirs with Irrigation Canal Network Consideration

평야부 용수계통을 고려한 농업용 저수지 이수안전도 평가

Mi-Hye Yanga
,
Won-Ho Namb†
,
Young-Sook Kwonc
양 미혜a
,
남 원호b†
,
권 영숙c
aPh.D. Student, Department of Convergence of Information and Communication Engineering, Hankyong National University, Anseong, Republic of Korea
bProfessor, School of Social Safety and Systems Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Environmental Science, National Agricultural Water Research Center, Hankyong National University, Anseong, Republic of Korea
cPh.D. Student, Department of Convergence of Information and Communication Engineering, Hankyong National University, Anseong, Republic of Korea
†Corresponding author Tel.: +82-31-670-5137, Fax: +82-31-670-5139 E-mail: wonho.nam@hknu.ac.kr
2026. pp. 1-12
PDF XML Citation
Abstract

Agricultural reservoirs supply water to approximately 63.7% of irrigated paddy fields, making stable supply essential for maintaining crop productivity. Water supply reliability is a key indicator of water resource stability; however, in the absence of standardized evaluation criteria, drought frequency has traditionally been used as a proxy to assess reservoir performance. Most reservoirs were constructed between the 1940s and 1970s, necessitating a reassessment of their current reliability under evolving management practices and changing water demand. This study quantified water supply reliability using two metrics: the Water Utilization Safety Rate (WUSR) and the Water Supply Reliability Rate (WSRR), incorporating the structure and dynamics of rural irrigation systems. Water demand and shortages were estimated by comparing management-level ponding depths across irrigated areas using the EPA Storm Water Management Model (EPA-SWMM), which simulates hydraulic delivery through canal networks. Results were validated against the K-HAS model, a conventional water balance method widely used in Korea. While K-HAS indicated consistently high reliability, the SWMM-based analysis revealed equal or lower grades, reflecting reduced actual supply reliability. Yongseong Reservoir showed the lowest WUSR, mainly due to overestimated demand influenced by field conditions and SWMM's limitations. In general, SWMM projected higher water demand than K-HAS, resulting in noticeable discrepancies. This study emphasizes the importance of accounting for irrigation network complexity in reservoir reliability assessments. Improving SWMM modeling accuracy and establishing standardized evaluation criteria will enhance future assessments and support more effective agricultural water resource management.

Keywords
Agricultural reservoir
K-HAS
SWMM
water utilization safety
water supply reliability
water supply network
References

REFERENCES

1
G. H. Cho, M. J. Ahmad and K. S. Choi, Water, Water supply reliability of agricultural reservoirs under varying climate and rice farming practices, 13(21); 2988 (2021)10.3390/w13212988
2
T. Hashimoto, J. R. Stedinger and D. P. Loucks, Water Resources Research, Reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability criteria for water resource system performance evaluation, 18(1); 14-20 (1982)10.1029/wr018i001p00014
3
C. H. Jang and Y. H. Kim, Journal of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, Improvement of water supply capability of the Nakdong River Basin dams with weirs, 36(4); 637-644, (in Korean) (2016)10.12652/ksce.2016.36.4.0637
4
Y. K. Jin and S. H. Lee, Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, An additional water supply method from upstream dams to lessen water supply shortage at downstream control points using a heuristic method, 17(6); 507-514, (in Korean) (2017)10.9798/kosham.2017.17.6.507
5
Joint Ministry, Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFRA), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Ministry of Environment (ME), Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), and National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Republic of Korea, 2022 National Drought Information Statistics Collection, (in Korean) (2024)
6
C. G. Kim and N. W. Kim, Journal of Korea Water Resources Association, Comparison of natural flow estimates for the Han River Basin using TANK and SWAT models, 45(3); 301-316, (in Korean) (2012)10.3741/jkwra.2012.45.3.301
7
J. S. Kim, J. Y. Lee, J. B. Lee, C. M. Song and J. S. Park, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Evaluation of agricultural water supply potential in agricultural reservoirs, 58(2); 65-71, (in Korean) (2016)10.5389/ksae.2016.58.2.065
8
J. M. Kim, J. H. Park, S. H. Jang and H. W. Kang, Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, Development and effective analysis of termination criteria at each drought response stage in a multipurpose dam, 18(5); 23-31, (in Korean) (2018)10.9798/kosham.2018.18.5.23
9
H. Y. Kim, W. H. Nam, Y. S. Mun, J. H. Shin and M. H. Yang, Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, Assessment of water cycle in agricultural watershed based on canal network modeling, 22(1); 33-43, (in Korean) (2022)10.9798/kosham.2022.22.1.33
10
H. J. Kwon, W. H. Nam and G. S. Choi, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, An irrigation reliability assessment of agricultural reservoir to establish response plan of future climate change adaptation, 62(2); 111-120, (in Korean) (2020)10.5389/KSAE.2020.62.2.111
11
H. W. Lee and J. H. Choi, Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers, Analysis of rainfall- runoff characteristics in Shiwha Industrial Watershed using SWMM, 37(1); 14-22, (in Korean) (2015)10.4491/ksee.2015.37.1.14
12
J. N. Lee and J. K. Noh, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Evaluating water supply capacity of embankment raised reservoir on climate change, 57(4); 73-84, (in Korean) (2015)10.5389/ksae.2015.57.4.073
13
L. Li, G. Bisht and L. R. Leung, Geoscientific Model Development, Spatial heterogeneity effects on land surface modeling of water and energy partitioning, 15(14); 5489-5510 (2022)10.5194/gmd-15-5489-2022
14
M. C. Mateus and D. Tullos, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Reliability, sensitivity, and vulnerability of reservoir operations under climate change, 143(4); 04016085 (2017)10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000742
15
Ministry of Food, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFRA), Ministry of Food, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of KoreaStatistical year book of land and water development for agriculture 2023, (in Korean) (2024)
16
D. N. Moriasi, J. G. Arnold, M. W. Van Liew, R. L. Bingner, R. D. Harmel and T. L. Veith, Transactions of the ASABE, Model evaluation guidelines for systematic quantification of accuracy in watershed simulations, 50(3); 885-900 (2007)10.13031/2013.23153
17
W. H. Nam, T. G. Kim, J. Y. Choi and H. J. Kim, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Evaluation of irrigation vulnerability characteristic curves in agricultural reservoir, 54(6); 39-44, (in Korean) (2012)10.5389/ksae.2012.54.6.039
18
W. H. Nam, E. M. Hong and J. Y. Choi, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Uncertainty of water supply in agricultural reservoirs considering the climate change, 56(2); 11-23, (in Korean) (2014a)10.5389/ksae.2014.56.2.011
19
W. H. Nam, E. M. Hong, T. G. Kim and J. Y. Choi, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Projection of future water supply sustainability in agricultural reservoirs under RCP climate change scenarios, 56(4); 59-68, (in Korean) (2014b)10.5389/ksae.2014.56.4.059
20
W. H. Nam, J. Y. Choi and E. M. Hong, Agricultural Water Management, Irrigation vulnerability assessment on agricultural water supply risk for adaptive management of climate change in South Korea, 152; 173-187 (2015)10.1016/j.agwat.2015.01.012
21
W. H. Nam, H. J. Kwon and G. S. Choi, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Reevaluation of design frequency of drought and water supply safety for agricultural reservoirs under changing climate and farming methods in paddy field, 60(1); 121-131, (in Korean) (2018)10.5389/KSAE.2018.60.1.121
22
J. K. Noh and J. N. Lee, Korean Journal of Agricultural Science, Variation of water supply for instream flow from reservoirs with various magnifications of paddy irrigation area to watershed area, 38(2); 331-341, (in Korean) (2011)
23
P. B. Parajuli, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Effects of spatial heterogeneity on hydrologic responses at watershed scale, 19(18); 1-18 (2011)
24
N. Y. Park, J. Y. Choi, S. H. Yoo and S. H. Lee, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Assessment of Anti-Drought Capacity for Agricultural Reservoirs using RCP Scenarios, 55(3); 13-24, (in Korean) (2013)10.5389/ksae.2013.55.3.013
25
S. J. Park, J. H. Kwak, J. H. Kim, S. H. Kim, H. J. Lee, S. N. Kim and M. S. Kang, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Analysis of inundation area in the agricultural land under climate change through coupled modeling for upstream and downstream, 66(1); 49-66, (in Korean) (2024)10.5389/KSAE.2024.66.1.049
26
M. R. Sharifi, S. Akbarifard, K. Qaderi and M. R. Madadi, Scientific Reports, Comparative analysis of some evolutionary- based models in optimization of dam reservoirs operation, 11; 15611 (2021)10.1038/s41598-021-95159-4
27
J. H. Shin, W. H. Nam, N. K. Bang, H. J. Kim, H. U. An, J. W. Do and K. Y. Lee, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Assessment of water distribution and irrigation efficiency in agricultural reservoirs using SWMM model, 62(3); 1-13, (in Korean) (2020)10.5389/KSAE.2020.62.3.001
28
J. H. Shin, W. H. Nam, H. Y. Kim, M. H. Yang and I. K. Jung, Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation, Application of EPA-SWMM with modulated controls for agricultural water balance analysis, 22(3); 37-44, (in Korean) (2022)10.9798/kosham.2022.22.3.37
29
J. H. Shin and W. H. Nam, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Estimating agricultural water demand considering the water distribution system, 66(6); 47-57, (in Korean) (2024)10.5389/KSAE.2024.66.6.047
30
J. H. Shin, W. H. Nam, M. G. Jeon, E. M. Hong, X. Zhang, V. Sharma, J. W. Do and I. Kisekka, Paddy and Water Environment, Assessing water distribution and efficiency by coupled hydraulic hydrological modeling for irrigation canal network, 22(4); 567-580 (2024)10.1007/s10333-024-00985-7
31
M. H. Sung, M. H. Jeung, J. A. Beom, T. S. Park, J. N. Lee, H. M. Jung, Y. J. Kim, S. H. Yoo and K. S. Yoon, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Simulation of water redistribution for the resized beneficiary area of a large-scale agricultural reservoir, 63(3); 1-12, (in Korean) (2021)10.5389/KSAE.2021.63.3.001
32
M. H. Yang, W. H. Nam, J. H. Shin, D. H. Yoon and H. C. Yang, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers, Evaluation of water supply reliability in agricultural reservoirs using water balance analysis, 66(5); 29-40, (in Korean) (2024)10.5389/KSAE.2024.66.5.029
Information
  • Publisher :The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국농공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국농공학회논문집
  • Volume : 68
  • No :1
  • Pages :1-12
  • Received Date : 2025-04-11
  • Revised Date : 2025-07-15
  • Accepted Date : 2025-09-22
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.5389/KSAE.2026.68.1.001
Journal Informaiton Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
  • NRF
  • KOFST
  • crossref crossmark
  • crossref cited-by
  • crossref funder-registry
  • crosscheck
  • orcid
  • open access
Journal Informaiton Journal Informaiton - close