Irrigation Structures
IDE-732
Course Title Irrigation Structures
Course Code IDE-732
Credit Hours 3 (L= 02 T= 03)
Aims and The course aims at imparting highly technical knowledge and skill in theory
Objectives and design aspects of various diversion structures including canal design by
tractive force approach. It enables students to design different types of
diversion and control structures.
Outline Different stages of rivers and their flow characteristics
Syllabus A critical review of silt theories for canal design
Tractive force approach for canal design
Schwarz- Christoffel transformation and Khosla et al. theory
Stability analysis, hydraulic and structural design of headwork components
weir and barrage
Design of gates, head regulator, divide wall, fish ladder, under sluices, silt
excluder
Design of regulating structures, distributary head regulator, cross regulator,
escapes & outlets
Basic canal design tools: stable channels and Manning's formula, alluvial
channels and Lacey's regime formula and the depth/top width ratio
Other sediment transport theories
Design of silt control structures; silt ejectors,
30 % assignments and group work
Assessment 20% mid-term test
50% final Examination
Basak N.N., (1999). Irrigation Engineering, Tata McGraw-Hill,
New Delhi.
References Sahasrabudhe, S.R. (1994). Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic
Structures, Sanjeev Kumar Kataria Publishing, India.
Novak, P. et.al. (1997). Hydraulic Structures, E & F.N. Spon, nc.,
London, UK.
Lal, Pande B.B et.al. (1987), Irrigation and Water Power
Engineering, Standard Publishers Distribution, Nai Sarak, India.
Depweg, H.W.Th (2001). Structures in Irrigation Networks:
Hydraulic Aspects, IHE, The Netherlands.
Laycock A. (2007): Irrigation systems. Design, planning and
construction. CAB International, British Library, London, UK.
1. Introduction
Irrigation System and Irrigation Network
• Irrigation is an artificial application of water to
crops when there is deficit of soil water for
root water abstraction.
• Several methods of irrigation are available
including the traditional flooding method,
border, basin, furrow, sprinkler, drip, etc…
• Several other technologies also exist across
the irrigation methods.
Irrigation is necessary when:
• Rainfall is inadequate
• Rainfall is uneven and timely
• Increasing production is required
• Growing a number of crops
• Growing perennial crops such as sugar cane,
banana, etc…
• Growing superior crops
• Insurance against drought
The Benefits of Irrigation
• Increase in crop yield.
• Protection from drought effects such as water
scarcity and famine
• Cultivation of cash and perennial crops
• Elimination of mixed cropping
• Increase in revenue
• Canal plantation
• Roadway provision (on the banks of the canals)
Allied benefits of Irrigation
• Hydropower generation (from large canals)
• Flood control
• Domestic and industrial water supply
• Inland navigation
• Groundwater Recharge
Some disadvantages of Irrigation
• The disadvantages of irrigation may arise due
to improper planning and design of a given
project. Therefore, the ill-effects can be
reduced or eliminated if proper planning and
design procedures are followed.
• Water Logging (aeration problem in the root
zone due to GW table rise into the root zone)
• Mosquito Nuisance (Malaria problems)
• Upsteam-downtream conflicts
Types of Irrigation
Irrigation Systems
Flow Irrigation Lift Irrigation
Combi
Storag ned
Direct e Irrigati Well
Irrigati on Lift canal
on Irrigati (Dam Irrigatio Irrigation
on
(Weir) (Dam) and n
pick up
Weir)
Rivers and Their Characteristics
• Rivers are the natural defined channels which carry
large volume of water which drain from a
catchment.
• The discharge in a river increases as it flows from
the mountain to the sea since the catchment area
increases and a large number of streams and
tributaries join it.
• Both precipitation and snow melting could provide
water to the river systems.
• In addition to water, rivers may also carry
significant amount of silt and sediment washed
from the catchment and river banks and bed.
Classification of Rivers
• Rivers may be classified based on:
• Variation of Discharge
• Location of the reach
• Plan form
Classification of rivers based on Variation
of Discharge
• Perennial rivers
Provide adequate supply of water throughput the year
except extreme drought. They may obtain the supply
from snow melting, precipitation and GW base flow.
Weirs are often constructed to abstract water for
irrigation.
• Non-perennial rivers
Non perennial rivers mainly obtain supply from seasonal
rainfall. These rivers do not get supply from snow melt or
GW base flow during the off-rain season. Carry very little
or no flow in the non-rainy season. Storage or combined
schemes are often suggested for water abstraction.
14
12
10
flow 8
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time
• Flashy rivers
In flashy rivers, there is a sudden increase in
discharge due to storm rainfall. The river stage
rises and falls in a short period of time. Storage
schemes are suitable.
• Virgin rivers
Virgin rivers are rivers which completely dry up
due to evaporation or percolation before joining
the other river or sea. Virgin rivers are common in
arid areas. Seasonal use of water is recommended
here.
Classification of rivers based on the
location of the reach
• Mountainous rivers
Rivers in mountain/hilly regions. Mostly in rocky
and boulder portions of a river reach.
• Rivers in flood plains
After boulder stage, the river may enter into
alluvial plains where the banks and the bed of a
river may consist of silt and sand.
• Delta Rivers
Rivers in a flat terrain form Delta. In deltaic stage a
river may split into a number of braided channels.
• Tidal Rivers
Just before joining a sea or an ocean, a river
becomes a tidal river. In tidal rivers, there is a
periodic change in the water level due to tides. The
river receives the sea water during flood tides but
during ebb tides, it delivers water back to the
sea/ocean.
Classification of rivers based on the plan
form
• Strait rivers
These are straight in plan and have a trough
section. The maximum velocity is located in the
middle of the section. Such are rivers are possible
in mountainous reach and rare in the flood plains.
• Meandering Rivers:
Meandering rivers follow a winding, crooked
course. They consist of a series of bends of
alternative curvature in plan.
• Braided rivers:
A braded river flows in two or more channels
around islands developed due to deposition of silt.
a. Straight River
b. Meandering River
c. Braded River
Various stages of a River
The stages of the rivers (as implied in the earlier
section) are:
• The rocky stage
• Boulder (sub—mountainous) stage
• Trough and alluvial stages
• Deltaic stage
• Rocky stage
The rocky or hilly or mountainous stage is the
first stage of the river after it takes off from the
mountainous range. The flow channel is formed
in the rock by degradation and cutting. The cross
section of the river is usually made up of rock.
The slope is very steep and velocity of flow is
high. The bed and banks of the river are rock and
less susceptible to erosion.
The rocky stage is ideal reach for dam
construction.
• Boulder (sub—mountainous) stage
The boulder stage is the 2nd stage of a river. The
bed and banks of a river consist of boulders,
gravels and shingles in this stage. The river cross
section is also well defined. The bed slope is still
steep. The velocity of flow is high but less than that
of the rocky stage. During floods, the river may
transport boulders and shingles downstream.
Most diversion works are constructed in the
boulder stage of a river. However, the percolation
loss of water is a challenge in this reach since the
bed material is course.
• Trough and alluvial stage:
A river in this stage flows in a meandering direction.
The bed and banks of the river in this reach are
made up of sand and silt deposits. The velocity of
flow is small since the bed is flat and hence
deposition of silt may take place on the convex side
(inner side) and erosion takes place on the concave
side (outer portion) of the meander.
The behavior of the river in this stage depends on
the silt charge and flood discharge. The river may be
aggrading, degrading or stable. River training works
are required in this reach.
• Deltaic stage
The last stage of a river before it drains into a
sea. The river gets divided into a number of small
branches and forms a delta. The bed slope is so
flat and the river carries no sediments with it. The
sediments get deposited and the river flows on
either side of the deposit to form divided
channels. As the river reaches the sea, the
channels get silted up and more and more smaller
channels form before the river joins the sea. No
civil works are practiced in this reach.
Irrigation project development and
approaches
• Before river devolvement projects are materialized,
several steps are needed to be taken into consideration
including the feasibility of the site for the project, data
collection on topography, soil, hydrology, socio-
economics, material availability for construction,
alternatives options, etc.
• An irrigation project is also not exceptional to such
requirements. It may also consist of but not limited to
collection of agronomic data, storage or diversion
options, irrigation scheduling and cropping pattern,
community participation, WUA, water delivery
mechanisms, etc.
• The demand for a project may raise due to several
cases including community request, raising
national revenue, industrial demands, etc.
• After an irrigation project is initiated, it shall
undergo the following key steps.
Social and economic aspect
• Coherence of the farming society (community
participation and engagement).
• Is the proposed project raises conflict or not?
• The need of miscellaneous structure (weir, foot
bridge, washing bay, cattle trough, etc..).
Technical Considerations
• Location and detailing of the required structures
(weir, canal head regulators, CD works, ancillary
works, etc..)
• Location of the irrigation area
• Stability of the river banks and dimensions of the
structure
• Type of structure
• Topographic survey
• Soil investigation
• Hydrological Data
Review Questions for this section…
A. When is irrigation not important?
B. Briefly explain the necessary steps to carry out
constructing an irrigation scheme.
C. What are the benefits and disadvantages when
a head work structure is located in the
mountainous reach of a river? How about if the
head work is located in the flood plain?
D. Did you encounter any conflicts in an irrigation
scheme (large size, medium or small scale?)
Why was the conflict raised?
Straight River
C D
A B
Meandering River
B F
C
A
E
D
where is the possible site for a diversion scheme?
