Water scarcity is emerging as one of the most pressing global challenges, particularly in the context of agricultural irrigation, which consumes nearly 70 % of the world’s freshwater, 40 % of which is wasted due to inefficient systems. Water Irrigation Systems (WISs), composed of interconnected open-channel networks, are vital for delivering water to farmland but often suffer from suboptimal performance due to decentralised control and lack of inter-pool communication. While centralised control can enhance efficiency, it is rarely scalable. This thesis investigates overlapping control with neighbour-to-neighbour communication, supported by Networked Control Systems (NCS) and Event-Triggered Control (ETC) strategies, as an approach to optimise water and energy use. The research covers WIS modelling, controller architectures, system identification, and the integration of ETC, culminating in a proposed framework for smarter irrigation control.