GULLY CONTROL

What is Gully?

A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside.
Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and
width.

How gullies are formed? Generally, gullies are formed by an increase in surface run-off.
Therefore, minimizing surface run-off is essential in gully control. Watersheds deteriorate
because of man's misuse of the land, short intensive rainstorms, prolonged rains of moderate
intensity, and rapid snow melts. These precipitation factors also turn into high run-off which
causes flooding and forms gullies.

Basically, the gully erosion happens because of the flow or because of the runoff so if we can
control the runoff, then obviously we can also control the formation of the gully itself. Now,
there are three possible ways of controlling runoff:

Retention of runoff in the gullied area

Diversion of runoff around gullied area and

Conveyance of runoff through the gully

Retention of runoff in the gullied area is possible through good crop management and by
adapting appropriate conservation practices (e.g. countour farming, strip cropping, bunding,
terracing and more)

Diversion of runoff around gullied area is the most effective control. Terraces and diversion
ditches are used for diverting runoff from its natural outlet.

If it is not possible to retain or divert runoff, runoff must be conveyed through the gully itself.
This is only possible if vegetation is established in the gullies and soil conservation structures are
built at critical points to give primary control.
GULLY CONTROL MEASURES

 Biological and vegetative measures

-Sod flumes, Anti erosion crops, low sodded earth fills, sod strips checks, trees
and shrubs and changing gully into grassed waterways
 Engineering measures
-Temporary Gully control Structure
-Permanent Gully Control Structure

Temporary gully control structures are made from locally available materials and have a life
up to 3 to 8 years. Examples are woven wire check dam, brush dam, loose rock dam and plank or
slab dam. The basic purpose they serve is to retain more water as well as soil for proper plant
growth and prevent channel erosion until sufficient vegetation is established.

Permanent gully control structures

The three basic types are drop spillway, drop inlet spillway, and chute spillway. These are used
in gullies with medium to large drainage area (used in situations where temporary structures may
fail) and usually built of masonry or reinforced concrete.

Drop spillway, it is weir structure in which flow passes through the weir opening, falls
on an apron and then passes into the downstream channel. It is use to control gradient in either
natural or constructed channels and to serve as inlet and outlet structure for tile drainage system.
Functions of components

1. Head wall - It acts as a front wall against runoff in the drop spillway. The size of the weir
should be sufficient to pass the design discharge safely.
2. Head wall extension - Permits stable fill and prevents piping due to seepage around the
structure
3. Sidewalls - Guide the water and protect the fill against erosion
4. Wing walls – Provide stability to fill and give protection to gully banks and surface
5. Apron – Dissipates the kinetic energy of falling water by creating hydraulic jump
6. Longitudinal sills – Provide stability to the apron
7. End sills – Its main function is to obstruct the water from going directly into the channel
below
8. Cut off wall – Prevents under the structure besides reducing uplift and preventing sliding
9. Toe wall – Prevents undercutting of apron
Drop inlet spillway - is one in which the water enters through a horizontal circular or
rectangular box type inlet and flows to outlet through a circular conduit. Preferred when there is
an opportunity to provide temporary storage.

- Discharge characteristics varies with the range of head

- As long as the outflow through the box remains less than the capacity of the pipe, e.g., at
low heads, discharge is governed by the riser and the pipe flows only partially full
- When the outflow at the box exceeds the capacity of the pipe, the box inlet fills and the
discharge is then governed by the pipe capacity

- Used for gully control when the drop exceeds 3m

- Preferred when there is an opportunity to provide temporary storage
- Principal spillways for farm ponds or reservoirs
- Used as culverts in roadway structures and flood prevention structures
Chute spillway - is a steeply sloping open channel which leads the water form higher elevation
to the downstream channel. The chute is sometimes of constant width but is usually narrowed for
economy and they widened near the end to reduce the discharge velocity. Used when drop
exceeds 3m and it is superior to drop inlet spillway for large discharges and is preferred over
drop inlet spillway when there is no opportunity to provide temporary storage.

Comparing the three types of permanent gully control structures

The drop spillway has relatively low drop and has no upstream storage, the drop inlet spillway
should be used when the drop exceeds 3 meters and has an upstream storage and lastly for the
chute spillway, used for gully control when the drop also exceeds from 3 meters but does not
have an upstream storage.