Overland flow of water over a porous bed in two spatial dimensions is
governed by three partial differential equations accounting for contin
uity of momentum in the x- and y-directions and continuity of mass. A
leapfrog explicit finite-difference numerical scheme was applied to so
lve this system of equations for the initial and boundary conditions t
hat characterize level-basin irrigation. The numerical procedure is st
able and robust for different applications, and can accommodate three
different inflow configurations: line, corner, and fan. These configur
ations simulate inflow from an overflowing canal on a field boundary a
nd at point sources from a corner or in the middle of a straight bound
ary, respectively. A numerical test was performed to assess the effect
of grid fineness on the results of the simulation and on central-proc
essing-unit time requirement. Data from two field tests were used to v
alidate the model in quasi-one-dimensional and two-dimensional conditi
ons.