Author(s): Samuel Hutchinson; Joseph Guillaume; Donald Raphel
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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 triage framework incorporating operationally accepted error bounds was developed to distinguish true anomalies from sensor noise. A structured fault hierarchy was created, linking anomaly to historic or hypothesised system failures, including leaks, control system errors, and sensor drift. This hierarchy, informed by historical data and operational expertise, supported both retrospective diagnosis and proactive maintenance planning. The method enabled attribution of seasonal conveyance losses and improved targeting of field investigations. Outcomes demonstrated strong alignment between observed anomalies and existing verified faults. However, real-time deployment still requires manual analytical effort. Future development will prioritise automation of fault classification to scale over entire irrigation districts.
Year: 2026