Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Canal Linings
Canal Linings
Canal Linings
• The most common and (usually) most important reason is to reduce seepage
losses (and this may be for a variety of reasons)
• The assumption that lining will solve seepage problems is often unfounded,
simply because poor maintenance practices (especially with concrete linings) will
allow cracking and panel failures, and tears and punctures in flexible membranes
• Seepage losses from canals can be beneficial in that it helps recharge aquifers
and makes water accessible to possibly larger areas through groundwater
pumping. The extent of aquifers is more continuous than that of canals and
canal turnouts. But, pumping ($energy$) is usually necessary with groundwater,
unless perhaps you are downhill and there is an artesian condition (this is the
case in some places).
• “Administrative losses” and over-deliveries can add up to a greater volume of
water than seepage in many cases (that means that canal lining is not always the
most promising approach to saving water in the distribution system)
• Sometimes, only the bottom of a canal is lined when most of the seepage has
been found to be in the vertical direction
• It may be advisable to perform soil compaction testing under concrete linings to
determine if steps need to be taken to avoid subsequent settlement of the canal
• Lining to decrease maintenance costs can backfire (costs may actually increase)
• Concrete pipe is an alternative to lined canals, but for large capacities the pipes
tend to cost more
• Many billions of dollars have been spent world-wide during the past several
decades to line thousands of miles of canals
BIE 5300/6300 Lectures 221 Gary P. Merkley
II. Some Types of Lining and Costs
1. Soil
• Lime
• Bentonite clay
• “High-swell” Bentonite & coarse clay or other “bridging material”
• Geosynthetic clay liner (“Bentomat”)
• Soil mixed with portland cement
• Thin compacted earth (6 - 12 inches)
• Thick compacted earth (12 - 36 inches)
5. Plastic
6. Asphalt (bituminous)
7. Synthetic Rubber
Earthen Linings
1. protection
• ozone “attack” and UV radiation
• puncture due to maintenance machinery
and animal feet, etc.
• vandalism
2. anchoring
• flotation of the lining (high water table)
• resist gravity force along side slope
• wind loading
• Plastic linings are typically 10 to 20 mil (0.010 to 0.020 inches, or 0.25 to 0.5 mm)
-- thicker membranes are usually recommendable because of increased
durability, and because the overall installation costs only increase by about 15%
for a doubling in thickness
• The USBR previously used 10 mil plastic linings, but later changed most
specifications to 20 mil linings
• Plastic linings of as low as 8 mil (PE), and up to 100 mil have been used in
canals and retention ponds
• Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is made of nearly the same material as
common trash bags (such as “Hefty” and “Glad” brands), but these trash bags
have a thickness of only 1.5 - 2 mils
• Plastic canal linings are manufactured in rolls, 5 to 7 ft in width, then seamed
together in a factory or shop to create sheets or panels of up to 100 ft (or more)
in width
• Rubber membrane linings can have a thickness ranging from 20 to 60 mil
• Flexible plastic and synthetic rubber linings are susceptible to damage
(punctures, tears) both during and after installation
• Flatter than normal side slopes (say 3:1) are sometimes preferred with plastic
linings to help prevent the possible migration of the lining down the slope, and to
help prevent uncovering of the lining by downward movement of soil
Gary P. Merkley 226 BIE 5300/6300 Lectures
• Correctly installed plastic and synthetic rubber linings are completely impervious,
provided they have not been damaged, and provided that the flow level in the
channel does not exceed the height of the lining
• Plastic liners will “age” and lose plasticizer, causing a loss of flexibility and
greater potential for damage. Increased plasticizer during fabrication has been
shown to be effective in this regard
plas-ti-ciz-er (plas'tuh sie zuhr) n. a group of substances that are used in plastics to
impart viscosity, flexibility, softness, or other properties to the finished product
• Some canals in central Utah have had plastic linings for more than 30 years, and
most of it is still in good condition (measured seepage is essentially zero in the
lined sections, but some evidence of puncture/tearing has been found)
• Plastic lining material is sometimes used to retrofit existing concrete-lined canals
after the concrete lining canal fails and or continued maintenance is considered
infeasible
Preparing a canal section for buried
membrane lining (courtesy R.W. Hill)
• In the former Soviet Union, thin PE lining has been placed under precast slabs of
concrete lining in some canals
• In India, some canals have been lined with plastic (PE) on the bottom, and bricks
or tiles on the side slopes
• Polyethylene (PE) is the lowest cost geomembrane material, PVC is next lowest.
Some newer materials such as polyolefin are more expensive
• Exposed membrane linings have been tried, but tend to deteriorate quickly for
various reasons
• Exposed membrane linings have recently been installed in some full (operating)
canals
Fly Ash
• Fly ash is a fine dust particulate material (roughly the size of silt) produced by
coal-burning power plants, usually in the form of glassy spheres
• Fly ash contains mostly SiO2 (silicon dioxide), Al2O3 (aluminum oxide), and Fe2O3
(iron oxide)
• Fly ash is often mixed with soil to form canal linings, the mixture being more
dense and less permeable than soil alone
• Fly ash is sometimes mixed with both soil and portland cement