Water scarcity, which is typical of arid and semiarid regions such as Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), makes necessary the efficient use of water and energy resources. For this aim, there are several Decision Support System tools, where a benchmarking technique for one of them was established. This technique is based on comparison between management of different Water User Associations (WUAs). The aim of this work is comparison of two of the most extended irrigation systems (sprinkler and drip irrigation systems) in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), by using performance indicators related to management of irrigated area. The Benchmarking technique was applied during three irrigation seasons (2006-2008) in seven WUAs of Castilla-La Mancha Region (Spain), in which groundwater resources are the most common source of water. The command area of those WUAs is comprised between 170 ha and 1700 ha. The proposed indicators utilized in the Benchmarking techniques are classified into two groups: descriptive and performance indicators. The information required to calculate the proposed indicators as obtained from managers and farmers of each WUA, complemented with data obtained by using specialized equipment. For each irrigation system analyzed (sprinkler and drip irrigation systems) a preliminary analysis by descriptive statistics was performed, with averages and dispersion measures for most of the indicators obtained. In order to establish the grouping and differences between WUAs with different irrigation systems, a Cluster Analysis was applied. The obtained results show a notable difference between WUAs with drip irrigation systems and WUAs with sprinkler irrigation systems. Regarding the energy cost per unit irrigation delivery indicator, there are similarities between WUAs irrigated with sprinkler systems and those irrigated with drip irrigation systems. It can be explained by the fact that all WUAs use groundwater resources. The main differences appeared in total management, operation, and maintenance cost per unit irrigation delivery, in which energy cost are really important. In WUAs with sprinkler irrigation systems, energy cost represent about 65 % of total management, operation, and maintenance cost, compared to approximately 45 % in WUAs with drip irrigation systems.
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