Author(s): Samuel Hutchinson; Joseph Guillaume; Donald Raphel

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Fault attribution; Open water irrigation channels; Water balance anomalies

Abstract: This work presents a multi-season application of water balance anomaly (WBA) detection as a diagnostic tool for monitoring water loss and infrastructure faults in an open-water channel irrigation network in Australia. Using lumped mass residuals from telemetered channel pool water balances, WBAs were spatially attributed by analysing inverse patterns across adjacent regulators. A method incorporating probabilistic error bounds was developed to distinguish true anomalies from sensor error/noise. A structured fault hierarchy was created, linking anomalies to historic or hypothesised system failures, including leaks, control system errors, and sensor drift. This hierarchy, informed by historical data and operational expertise, is supported by both retrospective diagnosis and proactive maintenance planning integrated with criticality assessment and triage processes. Outcomes demonstrated strong alignment between observed anomalies and existing verified faults. Real-time deployment now requires further reduction of manual analytical effort, prioritising automation of fault classification to scale over entire irrigation districts.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/iahr.proc.hic2026.247

Year: 2026