A basic goal of an irrigation manager is to apply water with the maximum possible efficiency. This mission is not easy and it is much more important when we have to irrigate under water scarcity conditions, which is a typical case for countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
A tool that can help to increase irrigation efficiency is the periodical audit of relevant systems.  Irrigation application efficiency depends on 3 key factors: a) design; b) installation and c) management (which involved both scheduling and maintenance). An audit scopes to increase system’s performance by proposing improvements for infrastructure or/and management.
The present guide targets mainly to the audit of end-user irrigation systems but it also provides basic auditing background regarding higher level irrigation and drainage systems.