LINCOLN, Neb — Irrigation canal maintenance in western Nebraska is advancing with an innovative method developed by Husker geoscientist Mohamed Khalil. His non-invasive time-lapse analysis accurately identifies canal seepage and structural settlement, offering a significant improvement over traditional methods. Khalil’s work focuses on the Sutherland Supply Canal, managed by the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), which provided a $53,184 grant for the project.
Khalil, an assistant geoscientist with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, installed 513 electrodes along the lower North Platte and South Platte rivers to measure subsurface electrical resistance. “The process started in the field by collecting high-quality data,” Khalil said. “We can collect thousands of data points within two to three hours.” His analysis, published in the Journal of Applied Geophysics, is now being used by NPPD for canal maintenance.
The method’s benefits include precise leak detection and reduced maintenance costs, providing reassurance to producers about water volume and avoiding waterlogging and salinity issues. Khalil’s approach also has potential applications in groundwater contamination studies, aquifer analysis, and dam monitoring. “In Nebraska, there are around 3,000 dams,” Khalil noted, “and 5% of those are classified as high-hazard dams.”…