Wachemo University (WCU)

Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering

(HWRE)

(For G_4 Civil Engineering)

Hydraulics Structures II

Chapter 1: River Morphology

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Instr: Ms.Tirhas W.
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 1. River Morphology (RM)

1.1 Introduction
 Rivers are sources of water for industries, water supply, irrigation,
energy, etc.
 Rivers are the natural channels which carry a huge quantity of water
and sediment drained by the catchment as runoff.
 Rivers – strategic areas of national development
 Ethiopia has immense resources in water with a total annual surface
flow from 8 major river basins amounts to 112Bm3.
 Yet utilized at present is only a tiny fraction of the total resources of
our country.
 Rivers, particularly at the tail reaches, are mostly alluvial in nature
and therefore, very unstable – resulting in floods.

 RM is the study of the forms & patterns of rivers and the

processes that developed those forms and patterns.
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River engineering: is a science which regulates the relationship
between natural river and human life.
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 1.2 The watershed
 A watershed is an area of land that drains all the streams and
rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of
a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a
Stream channel.
 The watershed consists of surface water -lakes, streams,
reservoirs, and wetland -and all the underlying ground
water.
 Larger watersheds contain many smaller watersheds. It all
depends on the outflow point; all of the land that drains
water to the outflow point is the watershed for that outflow
location.
 ‘’Not all precipitation that falls in a watershed flows

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out’’
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 Watershed, example

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 watershed
 A watershed (also called drainage basin/catchment area) is
an area of land that drains or “sheds” water into a specific
water body.
 It is an independent drainage unit for surface water runoff.
 One watershed is separated from another by a natural
boundary known as the water divide or the ridge line.
 The physical characteristics of a watershed, including
geology, soil types, vegetation, topography and slope,
also influence water- shed water quality. For Example
 Minerals contained in some rocks can dissolve in water and
as a result, change the water's chemistry.

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 1.3 Definition of alluvial streams

(A) alluvial rivers

 Alluvial rivers are self-formed, meaning that their channels
are shaped by the magnitude and frequency of the floods
that they experience, and the ability of these floods to
erode, deposit, and transport sediment.
 Alluvial streams may be defined as an open conduit, with
geometric dimensions – cross section, longitudinal
profile, and slope – changing with time, in dependence of
discharge, material of stream bed and banks, and quantity
and quality of the sediment carried by the water.
 Alluvial channels are virtually free to adjust their
dimensions and shape in response to changing hydraulic
conditions and shape in place
HWRE  The alluvial rivers are therefore morphologically stable
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 alluvial river

Types of Alluvial river

1. Aggrading
2. Degrading
3. Stable deltaic
4. Deltaic

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 alluvial river (Example)

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 Definition of Diluvial streams
(B) Diluvial rivers
 This type of river is characterized by the fact that no unique
relations exist between the discharge of water, the sediment
transport and the bed material.
 Morphological changes due to the interaction of the
hydraulic and sedimentological characteristics of the river
are absent.
 In general, diluvial rivers are found in the upper reaches
with a rock bed and mountainous or torrential flow
characteristics.

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 Cont…

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 Cont…
Rivers are mainly classified according to the topography of the river
basins as:
 Upper reaches – rivers in the hilly regions
 Middle reaches – rivers in flood plains
 End reaches – tidal rivers
Rivers may also be classified according to their morphological processes.
 Zone I – similar to the upper reaches
 Zone II – the rivers at gentle slope
 Zone III – the flood plains and tail reach of the rivers.
Upper reaches – could be:
a. Incised or rocky rivers:
 The channel generally formed by the process of degradation
(erosion).
 The bed and the banks are usually highly resistant to erosion.
 The sediment load is different from the bed material.
 No regular pattern of meanders because varying resistance of bed
and banks to erosion.
b. Boulder rivers:
 The beds consist of a mixture of boulders, gravels, shingle and
HWRE sand.
 Tend to have straighter courses with wide shallow beds and
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interlaced channels.
 Cont…
Middle reaches (rivers in flood plains)
 Characterized by the zigzag fashion it flows – meandering
 While meandering, carry sediment similar to the bed material
 Material constantly carried from the concave bank and deposited on
the convex side or between two successive bends.
 Requires training due to unbalance of flow in the river.
End reaches (tidal /deltaic rivers)
 Just before joining sea, a river divided
into branches and forms delta shape.
 The velocity gets reduced as it
approaches the sea and water level
rises as a result.
 It is also affected by the tidal wave of sea
water.

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 Fluvial processes and the shaping of rivers

Natural streams/rivers are essentially open hydraulic systems in

equilibrium.
The variables in a river system are:
 Channel width
 Boundary roughness
 Size and concentration of sediment load
 Depth and slope
 Discharge
The variables are constantly changing (from day to day) – brings a
change in the river morphology.
As water moves its way downstream, energy is expended on the
transportation and rearrangement of materials in the river channel and on
the flood plain.
 meanders can migrate,
 banks may erode,
 new channels may form and
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 old ones cut off creating backwaters.
Schumm (1977) assigned three zones to the land-water interactions within
fluvial hydro systems: 03/13/2024 13
 Cont…

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 Cont…
There are three zones to the land-water interactions within fluvial
hydro-systems:-
ZONE 1 : Sediment supply zone
 The upper zone within the catchment.
 This zone is characterised by valley slopes impinging almost directly
onto the channel.
 There are coarse channel sediments and these arise from bank and
slope erosion inputs.
ZONE 2 : Sediment transfer zone
 Comprises mainly the lowland reaches of the river where the channel
is often bordered by a wide floodplain.
 In this zone the rivers redistributes sediment derived from upstream
and bank and bed erosion.
 Sediment varies from cobble and gravel- sized material in the upper
reaches to silt, clay and alluvium in the lower reaches.
HWRE  Meander bends migrate laterally and fine sediments can be stored
on the floodplain after a flood 03/13/2024 15
 Cont…
ZONE 3 : Depositional zone
 Sediment is deposited in estuary.
 The range of substrates found within the ‘production’ and ‘transfer’ zones
together with their hydrological regime, determine the habitat
characteristics of the river.
 In a natural/unmodified river it is the range of natural habitat features, and
it is this that may be degraded or altered by river engineering works.
Morphology of natural channels
The plan geometry of rivers/ pattern includes:
 straight,
 meandering and
 braided.
The morphology of a river channel is a function of a number of processes and
environmental conditions, including:
 the composition and erodibility of the bed and banks (e.g., sand, clay,
bedrock);
 vegetation and the rate of plant growth;
 the availability of sediment;
HWRE  the size and composition of the sediment moving through the channel;
 the rate of sediment transport through the channel and the rate of
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deposition on the flood plain, banks, and bed; etc.
 Cont…

Meandering
Channel

Straight
Channel
.

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Braided channel
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 Straight channels

 Alluvial rivers having narrow, deep cross section and flat slope are
usually not straight over long distances.
 When the river section is wide, shallow and having steep slope, it can
be straight over a long reach.
 The velocity of water flow is higher in the middle of the channel cross-
section; making the surface level water lower in the middle.
 This velocity gradient from edges to middle develops rotary currents.

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 Meandering channels

 Straight rivers are rare in nature. This is in part linked to

the fact that velocity at a river cross section is unevenly
distributed.
 As a consequence, convergent and divergent patterns of
downstream flow result in the development of a
longitudinal sequence of pools and riffles.

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 Cont…
 Meandering channels are single channels that are sinuous in plan.
 The bed of a meandering stream includes pools at or slightly downstream
of the bends and riffles between the bends.
 Meandering is characteristic of lowland rivers with slack slopes,
 Meandering channels are efficient equilibrium features that represent the
channel plan geometry, where single channels deviate from straightness.
 This deviation is related in part to the cohesiveness of channel banks and
the abundance and bulk of midstream bars.
Meander Parameters:
 Meander length, L - the axial length of one meander.
 Meander Belt, B – the outer edges of clockwise or anti-clockwise loops
of the meander.
 Meander ratio/sinuosity index – a measure of deviation
SI = the ratio of the meander belt to meander length,
i.e. SI= B/L.
 Crossings – the short straight reaches of the river connecting two
consecutive loops.
 There are a number of equations showing the relationship between the
HWRE parameters, and with discharge.
For example: L = 46Q0.39 03/13/2024 20
 Braided channels

 In streams having highly variable discharge and easily

eroded banks, sediment gets deposited to form bars and
islands that are exposed during periods of low discharge.
 Braided channels are subdivided at normal flows by
midstream bars of sand or gravel. At high water, many or
all bars are submerged.
 A single meandering channel may convert to braiding
where one or more bars are formed.
 Each of the subdivided channel is less efficient, being
smaller than the original single channel and this is often
compensated for by an increase in slope (i.e., by down
cutting).

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 1.5 Development process of a stream

Stream processes entail the:

 erosion,
 transportation, and
 deposition of earth materials from the floor and bed of a
stream's channel by channelized water.
The flow of a stream is controlled by three inputs:
 surface runoff (from precipitation or melt water),
 Day lighted subterranean water, and
 surfaced groundwater (spring water).

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 stages of stream

There are three stages of stream development.

 young streams,
 mature streams, and

 old streams.
 The first stage of stream development is youthful. This
usually takes place in a V-shaped valley and is
characterized by steep channels and a straight gradient.
 There are no floodplains or meanders at this stage, and
the stream is still developing its channels. It is rare to
see floodplains at this point, and if there are any they are
very small.
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 stages of stream

 At the mature stage, streams begin to show signs of

bends and curves, which are known as meanders, and
floodplains start to develop. The gradient, velocity and
discharge become moderate, and they are present in
valleys and hills that are rounded.

 By the old stage, streams have clearly defined

floodplains and the meanders are very pronounced. Old
streams feature slower velocities, reduced gradients and
greater discharge.

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 1.6 Self-adjustment of a cross-section
 Since a river adjusts to handle its load and discharge, it is
logical to assume that the geometry and size of a channel
cross section are controlled only by these factors.
 However, another important control on channel
morphology is the nature of bed and bank materials in
which a river establishes itself.
 Where rivers traverse valleys filled with alluvium, the
cohesiveness of the sediment and its resistance to erosion
will greatly influence the shape of a channel and,
ultimately, the behaviour of flow within it.
 Where bank materials are soft and easily erodible, scour of
the banks causes channels to expand laterally, forming
cross sections that are wide and shallow.
 Where channel margins are resistant to erosion, there is a
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tendency for cross sections to become narrower, with
steeper banks. 03/13/2024 25
 Self-adjustment of a cross-section
 The resistance of alluvial bank materials is dependent on a
variety of factors. Finer-grained materials, like clays and
muds, tend to be more cohesive and resistant to erosion.
 In addition, the degree of cementation and consolidation
of sediments will dictate their resistance. However, one of
the most important factors controlling cross-section
geometry in alluvial rivers is the presence and type of
bank-stabilizing vegetation.
 The role of riparian vegetation in shaping channel cross
sections is usually underappreciated. The mesh-work of
roots from trees and the diverse riparian vegetation that
are directly dependent on river water can, in many cases,
is effective in stabilizing riverbanks.

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 1.7 Bed & channel forms and alluvial roughness
 Alluvial roughness is found to be a function of a single
parameter which includes the total Shields stress, a
particle Reynolds number, and the ratio between flow
depth and sediment diameter.
 Bed roughness develops due to stream surface relief at
the base of a flowing fluid and it exerts frictional effect
on the flow in the stream.
 Bed roughness is considered to be smooth or rough
depending on whether sediment particles project
through the viscous sublayer at the base of the flow.
 Bed forms are relief features initiated by the fluid
motions generated downstream of small local obstacles
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at the bottom consisting of movable (alluvial) sediment
materials.
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 .
.

THANK
YOU!!

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