DESIGN OF TERRACES

INTRODUCTION
Overview
Definition
A terrace is a channel or bench constructed across the slope to intercept surface runoff water.
It is an ancient soil conservation practice used throughout the world. A schematic of field
with three terraces is shown below.

Terraces are used to provide erosion control by reducing the slope length. Terraces are the
most effective method for controlling erosion on long slopes. These concepts are discussed
in greater detail in Chapter 6.
Terraces are sometimes constructed to conserve moisture as well as to reduce soil erosion.
For these systems, water is ponded behind the terrace and is allowed to infiltrate into the soil.
A concern for these terraces is the potential overtopping for large rainfall events.
T-1

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Design Considerations
Design considerations for terraces include:
* Flow capacity (Chapter 5)
* Non-erosive velocities (Chapter 5)
* Minimize earthwork (volume of cut . volume of fill)
Flow outlets
A grass waterway is frequently used to convey water collected from terraces. We will discuss
the design of grass waterways in Chapter 6. They are usually simpler and cheaper to install.
The use of a grass waterway is schematically shown below.

Broad base terraces

This course will only consider the design of broadbase terraces. Lets consider the main
features of a cross section of a gradient terrace (cutslope, frontslope and backslope):

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For broad base terraces, the farm machinery operates on cutslope, frontslope and backslope
and therefore there is no land removed from production. Broad base terraces are generally
limited to milder slope of less than 10%.
An alternative terrace popular in other areas of the United States is the grass back slope
terrace. Here farm machinery operates on cutslope and frontslope only. The backslope is
steep with a sideslope ratio of 2:1 and is planted to grass. Grass back-slope terraces are used
for steeper slope (greater than 6%).
Design capacity
The procedures to design terraces to ensure that they have adequate capacity to carry the
design flow rate are discussed in detail in Chapter 6. Terraces are typically designed to carry
the peak flow rate corresponding to a return period of 10 years (NRCS uses a 10-yr, 24 h
storm).
Critical velocity
Terraces are usually designed so that the flow velocity is less than a critical velocity to
prevent excessive erosion in the terrace. The principle behind these designs are discussed in
greater detail in Chapter 6. Values for critical velocity used in the design are shown below.

Terrace gradient or slope

As discussed in Chapter 6, slope is a design variable that can be varied depending on site
conditions. An acceptable slope can be computed using (1) channel geometry, (2) critical
velocity, and (3) flow capacity. Typical values are given in the following table.
Terrace Length
500 ft or more
200 ft to 500 ft
100 ft to 200 ft
100 ft or less

Maximum Terrace Slope in Percent

Erosive Soil
Resistant Soil
0.35
0.50
0.50
0.65
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50

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Too avoid excessive deposition, the slope can not be too mild. A recommended minimum
slope is given below.
Smin = 0.1% for soil with good internal drainage
Smin = 0.2% for soil with poor internal drainage
GEOMETRY CHARACTERISTICS OF BROAD BASE TERRACES
Schematic of broad base terrace
Key variables for a broad base terrace are shown below.

where

H = ridge height
c = cut height or depth
f = fill height or depth
Designs usually have a constant ridge height H. The values of the cut (c) and fill (f) heights
varies along the terrace.
From the above figure, we can obtain the ridge height as

T-5

Cut (c) and fill (f) depths

By using the definition of land slope, cut height is defined from the above figure as

and fill height is defined as

By adding these two equations, we obtain

or using definition of ridge height

The maximum cuts (when f=0) and maximum fill (when c=0) is easily obtained as

Special case: If c = f, the depth of cut is equal to the fill height. The earthwork is balanced at
the cross section. For this condition, we obtain

Ridge height (H)

In the relationships for the computation of cut and fill values the ridge height is an important
parameter. In Chapter 6, procedures to determine H based on the flow capacity of the
channel are discussed. General values are given below.

Land Slope
4%
8%
12%

Terrace Ridge Height (feet)

Terrace Length
200 ft
600 ft
1000 ft
0.7
1.0
1.1
0.7
0.9
1.0
0.6
0.9
1.0

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Constructed slopes and sideslopes
Reconsider cross section of channel

Computation of constructed slopes

From figure the above figure, the slope of the frontslope is simply

The elevation difference for the cutslope is

and therefore the slope is defined as

By using similar steps for the backslope, the slope is defined as

Constructed sideslopes
In the construction of channels, contractors use sideslope. Sideslope is simply the inverse of
slope. A slope of 10% would be specified as a sideslope of 10:1. For the above channel, the
sideslopes are defined as

Other terrace geometry characteristics are given in Appendix T-A.

T-7

EXAMPLE PROBLEM FOR A SINGLE TERRACE LAYOUT

Problem definition
Terrace Information
Lets consider the following landscape for a terrace

More than one terrace may be placed on the field. Lets assume we are interested in Terrace
number 3. For this terrace, we will use the following information.
Land slope = sL = 4%
Terrace grade = 0.6%
Terrace length = 600 ft
Ridge height = H = 1.0 ft
Machinery width = w = 15 ft
Survey Information
The first step is to establish terrace line indicating where the terrace will be located. It is
usually a good idea to drive along the terrace line to assure that the farm equipment can
handle the curves. The terrace line can be surveyed using a rod and a level. The rod readings
are usually taken every 50 feet from the water divide to the outlet. Station 0+00 refers to the
outlet and station 6+00 refers to the last measured value located 600 feet from the outlet.
When rod reading are taken, a larger value indicates a lower point as shown below.

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Lets assume that the following values were measured for our example problem.

Station
0+00
0+50
1+00
1+50
2+00
2+50
3+00
3+50
4+00
4+50
5+00
5+50
6+00

Rod
Reading
(feet
13.4
11.4
9.4
10.9
12.2
9.1
8.3
9.4
10.1
8.5
7.0
7.0
8.0

A plot of the values are shown below. Elevations are also plotted relative to a 20 foot reference
point.

Problem Statement
Determine the cut or fill depth at the channel bottoms for each station so that the volume of
cut is equal to the volume of fill.
The steps to accomplish this goal will be explained as if the soil is moved in the sequence of
steps given below. In practice, the cut or fill depths are obtained using the rod readings given
in the last step.

T-9
Rod reading at the midpoint
Step 1: Determine the average rod reading
We can visualize a solution by first leveling the profile to single elevation. This elevation
corresponds to the average rod reading obtained by having equal areas under the curve for the
following figure.

The average rod reading is then obtained as

or rearranging terms

The remaining cut or fill depths will be made relative to this average value.
Step 2: Determine the cut necessary for a balanced cross section:
We could now cut a channel in the level profile. The earthwork would be balanced if cut and
fill depths are equal. For a balanced cross section, we have previously obtained the following
relationship.

For our example, H = 1 ft; sL =0.04 and w=15 ft so that we obtain

T-10

Step 3: Determine the rod reading at the midpoint (3+00 station)

The rod reading at the midpoint can now be computed as:
Original rod reading =
Average rod reading =
Cut required =
Additional cut =
Total cut =

8.3 ft
9.5 ft
c1.2 ft
c0.8 ft
c2.0 ft

Final rod reading =

The new profile is shown below. Remember that the difference between the average rod
reading and the channel bottom is balanced by the fill depth (not shown).

Rod readings for other stations

Step 4: Adjust rod readings to correspond to the slope of the channel.
We now need to determine rod readings so that the channel has a slope of 0.6%. If we pivot
the above level channel around the midpoint, the net earthwork would be zero.
The vertical change in rod readings for the 50 feet between stations is easily computed as
z = 50(0.006) = 0.3 ft
and the stations around the midpoint would have rod readings as

T-11
Station

Original
Rod
Reading

2+50

9.1

3+00

8.3

3+50

10.0

Channel
Rod
Reading

Cut or
Fill
(feet)
c1.5

10.3

c2.0
c0.6

By repeating these computations for all stations, we obtain the following cuts and fills for the
terrace channel.

Station

Original
Rod
Reading

Channel
Rod
Reading

Cut
or
Fill

0+00
0+50
1+00
1+50
2+00
2+50
3+00
3+50
4+00
4+50
5+00
5+50
6+00

13.4
11.4
9.4
10.9
12.2
9.1
8.3
9.4
10.1
8.5
7.0
7.0
8.0

12.1
11.8
11.5
11.2
10.9
10.6
10.3
10.0
9.7
9.4
9.1
8.8
8.5

f1.3
c0.4
c2.1
c0.3
f1.3
c1.5
c2.0
c0.6
f0.4
c0.9
c2.1
c1.8
c0.5

The solution is shown below.

T-12

Check earthwork balance

To check the earthwork, we need to determine the rod reading for the ridge centerline using
H=1 ft. The ridge centerline is one foot above the channel centerline and located 15 ft
downslope. The original rod reading for the ridge is estimated as 4%(15 ft)=0.6 ft.
Compute ridge centerline values:

Station

Estimated
Rod at
Ridge

Channel
Rod
Reading

Cut
or
Fill

Terrace
Rod at
Ridge

Cut
or
Fill

0+00
0+50
1+00
1+50
2+00
2+50
3+00
3+50
4+00
4+50
5+00
5+50
6+00

14.0
12.0
10.0
11.5
12.8
9.7
8.9
10.0
10.7
9.1
7.6
7.6
8.6

12.1
11.8
11.5
11.2
10.9
10.6
10.3
10.0
9.7
9.4
9.1
8.8
8.5

f1.3
c0.4
c2.1
c0.3
f1.3
c1.5
c2.0
c0.6
f0.4
c0.9
c2.1
c1.8
c0.5

11.1
10.8
10.5
10.2
9.9
9.6
9.3
9.0
8.7
8.4
8.1
7.8
7.5

f2.9
f1.2
c0.5
f1.3
f2.9
f0.1
c0.4
f1.0
f2.0
f0.7
c0.5
c0.2
f1.1

Total cut depths ( endpoint values):

T-13

Total fill depths (1/2 endpoint values):

Terrace using elevation values:

APPENDIX T-A
ADDITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR TERRACES
Cut and fill areas
Lets reconsider the terrace cross-sectional geometry:

T-14
For a mild slope:
Slope distance . w + x1 and cz . c
and therefore the area of cut can be defined as

and likewise for the area of fill

To further simplify, we will evaluate x1 and x2 using other design variables (i.e., c and f).
Consider the case of maximum cut (cm and x1 =w) and smaller cuts corresponding to x1.
Since s2 is a constant, we have two parallel lines as shown below.

For straight line segments, we obtain

and likewise for x2

Therefore the area of cut is obtained as

and the area of fill is obtained as

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Cut and fill volumes

Lets consider the volume of cut or fill for a section of terrace of length L shown below.

The volume of cut and fill for the segment of terrace of length L is

The total volume for n segment of L is then

To minimize the earthwork, the goal of most terrace designs is for

Geometry characteristics for hydraulic computations

Overview
In Chapter 6, the hydraulic characteristics will be evaluated for broad base terraces. The
geometry characteristics are defined here. We are interested in relationships for area, wetted
perimeter and hydraulic radius.

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Lets consider the cross section of broad base (actually any triangular channel with different
sideslopes) shown below for a flow depth of water of d

Area
The cross-sectional flow area for a flow depth of d is defined as

or as

where Z1 can be calculated using the sideslope equations given in the previous section.
Wetted perimeter
The wetted perimeter (WP) is defined for the above geometry as

Hydraulic radius
The hydraulic radius (R) is defined as the ratio of cross-sectional area and wetted perimeter
and therefore is defined as

T-17
or

where Z2 can also be calculated using the equations given in the previous section.

T-18

TERRACE ASSIGNMENT
Due Date:

Problem 1 - 10 Points
Lets consider a terrace with the following characteristics:
Broad-base graded terrace
Width of row crop equipment w=20 ft (8 rows)
Ridge height H = 1.2 feet
Land slope = 5%
For a balanced section, find the cut (at channel center line), the fill (at ridge line) and the
three side slope ratios. Sketch the terrace cross section and label the cut depth, fill depth and
side slope ratios.
Problem 2 - 40 points
Given Information
Terrace design information:
Broad-base graded terrace
Width of row crop equipment w =15 ft
Ridge height H = 1.0 feet
Land slope = 5%

T-19
Site survey notes along the channel bottom centerline are given below. The outlet of the
terrace does not necessarily correspond to station 0+00.

Sta
0+00
+50
1+00
+50
2+00
+50
3+00
+50
4+00
+50
5+00
+50
6+00
+50
7+00
+50
8+00

Original
Rod
Reading
2.2
2.8
3.0
3.9
4.1
3.5
2.8
2.7
2.6
3.0
4.2
4.8
5.6
6.4
6.8
6.5
7.0

Assignment
You are required to determine the cut or fill at the channel centerline at each station.
Construct a graph showing the original ground surface and the elevation or rod reading of the
channel centerline.
You can design the terrace to have a slope between 0.2% and 1%.