Progress Report

On
Aurahi River Irrigation Project

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Ram Kumar Yadav (073bce121) Prof. Dr. Prem Chandra Jha

Ravi Chaudhary (073bce122) Project Supervisor

Roshan Ghimire (073bce127) Department of Civil Engineering

Sabin Dangol (073bce134)

Sakshi Niroula (073bce139)

Location Map of Project
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Under the prescribed syllabus of Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, the students of
Bachelor in Civil Engineering are required to complete a project in a designated topic in their final
year. Our project being Irrigation Engineering, first and foremost we would like to thank our
project supervisor Dr. Prem Chandra Jha for his continuous guidance and supervision. His
expertise and experience really made it easier for us to head in the right direction. We would also
like to express our sincere gratitude toward one of our dear batch mate Prakash Bhandari, who
was always there to provide technical as well as moral support during the project work. He has
been of immense help for us all. We would also like to thank Department of Civil Engineering for
providing us this wonderful opportunity to gain experience before we actually set out to work in
the field.

March 08, 2020 Sincerely yours,

Ram Kumar Yadav 073/BCE/121

Ravi Chaudhary 073/BCE/122

Roshan Ghimire 073/BCE/127

Sabin Dangol 073/BCE/134

Sakshi Niroula 073/BCE/139

 Table of Contents
Abstract

1. Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Scope of Study
2. Watershed Delineation
2.1 Watershed
2.2 Definition of Watershed Delineation
2.3 Methods of Watershed Delineation
2.4 Catchment Area
3. Design Flood
3.1 Rational Method
3.2 WECS/DHM Method
3.3 MHSP 1997
3.4 Modified Dickens Method
3.5 PCJ Method 1996
3.6 DHM 2004
3.7 Khosla’s Method
4. Water Requirement
4.1 Proposed cropping pattern and Method of Irrigation
4.2 Crop Water Requirement
4.2.1 Software Calculation of Crop Water Requirement by CropWat
8.0
4.2.2 Manual Calculation of Crop Water requirement
4.3 Irrigation Water Requirement
4.3.1 Calculation of IWR
4.3.2 Recommended IWR and Design Discharge
5. Project Progress
6. Discussion and Conclusion

List of Figures

 Catchment of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula (Topo Map)

 Catchment of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula (AutoCAD Map)
 Catchment of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula (GIS Map)

References
 Abstract

Final year project is a compulsory assignment that every student must complete in the final year
of their Civil Engineering course of Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering. As a student
of fourth year this has been a subject of great curiosity to us. While studying theory is easy, it’s
always hard to apply the theories and make something real out of it. The project itself was a great
learning experience and this report sums up the hard work we have done with the group and the
results that we obtained. In this report we have summed up the Discharge calculation part for
our Irrigation Engineering Project. We have measured the dimensions of the river and area of the
catchment using several methods and finally calculated the discharge available in the river. All
the methods used had their pros and cons but we have tried our best to overcome the limitations
and get as precise result as possible.
 General Information
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECTIVES

Main objective of this project is to develop necessary irrigation infrastructures to available

reliable year-round irrigation to a command area leading to increased cropping intensity,
crop productivity and m profitability. Specifically, these are referred as:

 To construct necessary irrigation infrastructures to assure reliable supply of irrigation

water for farming.
 To available year-round irrigation to a command area.
 To enhance agricultural technical capability of the beneficiary farmers.
 To increase cropping intensity and crop productivity of the command area through
adoption of improved cropping pattern and advanced farming technologies by the
beneficiaries and
 To help realize increased crop profitability and income.
1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of project works is defined as follows:

 Hydrological analysis
 Topographic survey – L-section, Cross section, Contour, Socio-economic and
Command area survey
 Water requirements and water balance computation
 Design and Drawing of Structure
 Cost Estimate and rate analysis
 Economic analysis
 METHODOLOGY
2. WATERSHED DELINEATION

2.1 WATERSHED
A watershed is all the land and water which contributes runoff to a common point. The
watershed above any point on a defined drainage channel is therefore all the land and
water areas which drain through that point. It is marked by an elevated line that forms a
division between two areas drained by separate stream systems or bodies of water. A
small watershed of few hectares that drains into small stream forms part of a larger
watershed, which in turn forms a part of still larger watersheds, until the combined
watershed becomes a major river basin draining millions of square kilometer of land.

2.2 DEFINITION OF WATERSHED DELINEATION

It refers to creating a boundary that represents the contributing area for a particular
control point or outlet. It is used to define boundaries of the study area, and/or to
divide the study area into sub area.

2.3 METHOD OF WATERSHED DELINEATION

Watershed can be delineated by several methods. Here are some methods we used in
this project work.

- Topo Map
- Auto Cad
- ArcGis
2.3.1 Topo Map

Following procedure was adopted to figure out all the points of watershed in a
topographic map.

 We drew a circle at the outlet of the wetland in question.

 We put a small “X” at the highest point along the both sides of the water course,
working on our way upstream toward the head waters of watershed.
 Starting at the circle we connected all the X’s and ended at the same circle.
 It was noted that each lines were perpendicular to the contour lines, went along
the ridges and went through every peak point in the catchment area.

This enclosure formed was our catchment area and we delineated the watershed of our
wetland in concern.

Fig: Catchment Area of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula from Topo Map
2.3.2 Auto CAD

For this we imported the photo of topographic map into the AutoCAD and the scales were
matched. After that using the Spline command catchment area was redrawn upon the photo
and the channel was also drawn. The length of channel and area of catchment was thus
calculated using Auto CAD

Fig: Catchment Area of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula from AutoCad

2.3.3 ArcGIS
It is a tool that comes with ArcGIS, a desktop GIS product of ERSI and we have used the arc map
10.2.2 version in order to delineate the watershed. The DEM data used for this purpose was
obtained from USGS website. DEM data was downloaded first. Then the DEM thus obtained was
added to arc map. The DEM data is processed using various built in and extension tools of arc
GIS. The hydrology tool of spatial analysis was of great use for this purpose. The watershed is
delineated automatically in the GIS.

Fig: Catchment Area of Aurahi Khola at Hanspur Kathpula from ArcGIS

2.4 CATCHMENT AREA

The Catchment area obtained from different methods are tabulated below:

S.N. Methods Area

1. Topo Map 27.346 km2
2. Auto Cad 27.576 km2
3. ArcGIS 24.852 km2
3. DESIGN FLOOD

The Design Flood for a hydraulic structure may also be defined in a number of ways, like:

 The maximum flood that any structure can safely pass.

 The flood considered for the design of a structure corresponding to a maximum tolerable
risk.
 The flood which a project (involving a hydraulic structure) can sustain without any
substantial damage, either to the objects which it protects or to its own structures.
 The largest flood that may be selected for design as safety evaluation of a structure.

Estimation of Floods of Different Frequencies by Different Methods:

The Design flood is estimated by different method mentioned below:

3.1 Rational Method

This method is also based on the principle of the relationship between rainfall and runoff and
hence can be considered to be similar to empirical method. It is however, called rational
method because the units of the quantities used are approximately numerically consistent. This
method has become popular because of its simplicity.

The formula is expressed as:

𝐶𝐼𝐴
Q= 3.6

Where, Q is peak discharge in cumecs, C is runoff coefficient which on the characteristics of the
catchment area. It is a ratio of runoff and rainfall. (C values are given later).

I =the intensity of rainfall in mm/hr for the duration at least equal to "time of concentration".

A =catchment area in Km2

𝐾𝑇 𝑋
I=(𝑡
𝐶 +𝑎)^𝑛

Where, using data of North Zone of India,

K=5.914

x=0.1623

a=0.5

n=1.0127
Time of concentration:
It is the time taken by the rain water falling at the remotest point of the drainage basin to reach the
discharge measurement point. It is given by the Kirpich Equation as:

tc = 0.000324*L0.77/S0.358

where tc is time of concentration in hours,

L is length of the drainage basin in 'm' measured along river channel upto the farthest point on the
periphery of the basin.

S is average slope of the basin from the farthest point to the discharge measuring point under
consideration.

Assumptions:
The rational formula is given on the following assumptions:

(i) A peak flow is produced on any drainage basin by a rainfall intensity which continues

for a period equal to the time of concentration of the flow at the point under
consideration.

(ii) The peak flow resulting from any rainfall intensity attains maximum value when the
rainfall intensity lasts for the time equal to or greater than the time of concentration.

(iii) The maximum peak flow resulting from long duration rainfall intensity as mentioned
above is its simple fraction.

(iv) The coefficient of runoff is same for all storms of varying frequencies on a given
drainage basin.
 (v) The frequency of peak flow is same as that of the rainfall intensity for a given drainage
basin.

While defining the peak flow. When rainfall continues for such long enough time that all portions

of the drainage area simultaneously contribute runoff to an outlet peak flow is reached. Obviously

the rainfall must continue till water falling at the farthest point also reaches the discharge

measurement point. If the rainfall occurs at uniform rate right from the beginning the time of
concentration will be equal to the time of equilibrium when effective rainfall equals direct runoff.

Limitations of the Rational Method:

(i) It is clear that as the extent of the catchment area increases all assumptions cannot be
fulfilled. Hence, for large catchment areas the utility of rational formula is questionable.

(ii) For very large and complex catchment areas before the water reaches outlet from the

farthest point if the rainfall ceases then there is no possibility of whole catchment

contributing its share of runoff to the outlet simultaneously. In such cases the lag time of

peak flow is smaller than the time of concentration. In the above circumstances the rational

formula does not give maximum peak flow. Obviously the rational formula is applicable

for small and simple drainage basins for which time of concentration is nearly equal to the
lag time of the peak flow.

(iii) It is seen that rational formula gives better results for paved areas with drainages having

fixed and stable dimensions. Therefore, it is popularly used for urban areas and small

catchments only when detailed study of the problem is not justified. (The catchment area

best suited is of the order of 50 to 100 ha). Since flood records are not available for small
areas this method is found convenient.

(iv) The choice and selection of value of (P) the runoff coefficient is the most subjective thing
and requires good judgment. Otherwise it is likely to introduce substantial inaccuracy.
Refinement of rational method:

As a refinement sometimes the drainage basin is divided into zones by contours. Each zone is so
selected that the time of concentration of each zone is same. Each zone is then assigned
appropriate value of (C) the runoff depending upon the imperviousness of the area. The total
discharge is taken as summation of discharges from various zones. Using this value of total
discharge average runoff coefficient for the drainage basin can be worked out.

Basin characteristics Runoff coefficient

Forest 0.3
Freeland 0.22
Table: Runoff Coefficient

Return Period 10 20 33 50 100 300 500 1000

Discharge( m3/s) 62 70 80 87 98 143 188 302
Table: Instantaneous flood discharge for different return period by Mononobe Method

Return Period (yrs) 10 20 33 50 100 300 500 1000

Discharge (m3/s) 107.47 120.273 130.45 139.55 156.17 186.65 202.79 226.94
Table: Instantaneous flood discharge for different return period by Rational Indian Equation

3.2 WECS/DHM Method

WECS/DHM method employs regional prediction methods. It is a modification of WECS (Water

and Energy Commission Secretariat) approach of 1982 and has been developed jointly by WECS
and DHM (Department of Hydrology and Metrology) in cooperation with WMO (World
Meteorological Organization), WERDP (Water and Energy Resource Development Project, until
1989) and WISP (WECS/NEA Institutional Support Program) in1990 . The following equations
were used for flood forecasting:

Qmean, (month) = C*(basin area)A1*(area below 5000m+1)A2*(monsoon precipitation )A3

where C,A1, A2,A3 are coefficient for catchment area consideration.

Advantages of WECS/DHM 1990:

 This method considers the altitude of the catchment and works under the assumption
that water source above 5000m is in frozen state.
  No data of discharge from the field is required. Hydro meteorological data from the
stations nearby is enough to calculate the annual flow, extreme low flow and the flood
flow.

Return Period (Yrs) 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 5000 10000

Discharge (m3/s) 36 63 85 108 143 171 203 249 287 389 439

3.3 MHSP 1997

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in 1997 developed a method to predict long term flows, flood
flows and flow duration curves at ungauged sites through regional regression technique. This
approach uses both monsoon wetness index and average precipitation of the area along with
the catchment area of the river.

Return Period (yrs) 5 10 20 33 50 100 300 500 1000 10000

3
Q (m /s) 100 132 159 175 204 241 296 335 403 643
Table: Instantaneous flood discharge for different return period by MHSP 1997

3.4 Modified Dickens Method

This method is also widely used in Nepal.

where, A and As are the total catchment area and snow covered area in Km2 respectively and T
is the return period in years.

Dicken's Modified (Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee, India)

Total Basin Area (A) 27.576 km2

Perpetual Snow Area (a) 0 km2
p 21.75805 Km2

T, Years 2 10 33 50 100 300 500 1000

CT 4.32 7.16 9.27 10.01 11.23 13.17 14.07 15.30
QT, m3/s 52 86 112 120 135 158 169 184
Table: Instantaneous flood of Different Frequencies by Modified Dickens Method.
3.5 PCJ Method 1996

Formula for the Calculation of maximum Rainfall Discharge:

Qp = 16.67 apoPɸF KF + QS

Where,
Qp = Maximum rainfall design discharge for required exceedence probability (p) in m3/sec
ap = Maximum rainfall design intensity for required exceedence probability (p) in mm/min
ap = ahr.kt ,
where, ahr = Hourly rainfall intensity for required exceedence probability (p) in mm/min at
selected rainfall stations
kt = Reduction coefficient of hourly rainfall intensity (depends on the size of catchment area)
op = Infiltration coefficient of the basin, derived as the function of exceedence probability (p)
Φ = Areal reduction coefficient of maximum rainfall discharge (depends on the size of
catchment)
F = Catchment area of drainage basin in sq. km.
kF = Coefficient for unequal distribution of rainfall in different size of basin, captured by one
rain.
QS = Discharge by melting of snow, can be taken as 0 to 10% of Q P in the absence of data.

Note: All parameters except catchment area can be directly taken or can be calculated from
the dissertation work for any basin of Nepal.

Limitations of PCJ method:

This method can be applied only for the estimation of flood discharge up to 300 years return
period.

Return Period 10 33 50 100 300

3
Discharge (m /s) 87 186 231 289 371
Table: Instantaneous flood discharge by PCJ Method
3.6 DHM 2004 Method

It is an advance version of DHM 1990, which is generally used to find out the flood discharge.

Return Period (yrs) 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 5000 10000

3
Flood Discharge (m /s) 40 74 103 136 184 226 272 341 399 558 638
Table: Instantaneous flood discharge for different return period by DHM 2004.

3.7 Khosla’s Method

Khosla (1960) analysed the rainfall, runoff and temperature data for various catchments and
arrive at an empirical relationship between runoff and rainfall. The time period is taken as a
month.

R M = PM - L M

where, LM = 0.48*Tm for TM > 4.5 ℃

RM = monthly runoff in cm and R M ≥0

PM = monthly rainfall in cm

LM = monthly losses in cm

TM =mean monthly temperature of catchment in ℃ .

If the loss LM is higher than PM then RM is taken to be zero.

rainfall temperature
month (cm) (℃) monthly runoff(cm)
January 1.2 16.45 0
February 0.1 18.45 0
March 1.1 23.1 0
April 0.9 27.65 0
May 5.6 28.9 0
June 22.1 29.45 7.964
July 40 28.7 26.224
August 31.9 28.7 18.124
September 20.4 28.15 6.888
October 7.3 26.7 0
November 0 22.15 0
December 0 17.5 0
Total= 130.6 59.2
 Annual runoff= Total=59.2 cm

𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑓𝑓 130.6

Annual runoff coefficient= = = 0.22
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 59.2

Comparison of floods of different frequency by different methods

S. No Methods and approaches 10 33 50 100 300 500 1000

1 WECS 1990 85 123.167 143 171 218.33 249 287
2 DHM 2004 103 156.8 184 226 295 341 399
3 MSHP 1997 132 175 204 241 296 335 403
4 Modified Dickens 86 112 120 135 158 169 184
5 PCJ 1996 87 186 231 289 371 453 658
6 Rational (Subramanyam) 106 137 149 168 244 320 510
7 Rational (Mononobe) 62 80 87 98 143 188 302

700

600

500
WECS 1990
Discharge (M3/S)

DHM 2004
400
MSHP 1997
300 Modified Dickens
PCJ 1996
200
Rational (Subramanyam)
Rational (Mononobe)
100

0
10 33 50 100 300 500 1000
Return Period

Figure: Comparison of floods of different frequency by different methods

Risk Analysis and Return Period of Design Flood

The design of a hydraulic structure always faces a doubt about the risk of failure. This is because
the estimation of the design flood discharge and the HFL during the design flood involve a
nature or inbuilt uncertainty and as such a hydrological risk of failure. The risk (R) is a function
of return period of the design flood (T) and expected life of the structure (n) and is given by:
1
R = 1 - (1 - 𝑇 )n

It can be seen that the return period for which a structure should be designed depends upon
the acceptable level of risk and design life of the structure. In practice, the acceptable level of
risk is governed by economic and policy considerations.

Risk (%)
T(Years) n=25 yrs n=50 yrs n=75 yrs n=100yrs
25 63.96 87.01 95.32 98.31
50 39.65 63.58 78.02 86.74
75 28.51 48.89 63.46 73.88
100 22.22 39.5 52.94 63.4
Table: Risk (%) for different flood frequency and design life of structure.
 120

100

80
Risk(%)

n=25 yrs
60
n=50 yrs
n=75 yrs
40
n=100yrs

20

0
25 50 75 100
Years

For the design of Weir and river training structures of Aurahi Khola, if the 100 years design
flood is used assuming the design life of 25 years, then the associated risk will be 22.22%. The
design flood frequency is designed with the basic consideration of the risk involved and the cost
of minimizing that risk. The risk factor is dependent on the type and size of structure, volume of
water impounded by it and the extent of damage in the event of failure of the structure, which
depends on the population and property downstream of the structure likely to be affected by
the worst eventuality of the failure of the structure.

Based on international practices, type and size of the structure, impounded volume and
preliminary assessment of the extent of likely damage in the event of worst failure, the
frequency of design flood for Aurahi Khola Irrigation Project is recommended equal to 100
years.

Selection and Recommendation of Method for Flood Flow

The curve given by the PCJ and Rational (Subramanyam) lie on the higher side of the average
value. Even though the flood from these curves will give higher factor of safety the cost of the
project will be very high. On the other hand Rational (Mononobe) and Modified Dickens
Method gives the curve on the lower side of the mean value. Even though this method will
prove economical the risk will be high. Hence we need to choose from the curves that lies in the
mean region i.e., WECS 1990 or DHM 2004. As DHM 2004 is latest version and uses the average
Basin Elevation and annual wetness index. Hence, DHM 2004 is recommended for computation
of design flood.
4. Water Requirement
4.1 Proposed Cropping Pattern and Method of Irrigation

After implementation of project, Yield of crop will be increased. The proposed cropping
patterns has been prepared considering crop varieties and their growing period, socio-
economic conditions, existing farming practice and water availability. Due emphasis has been
given to make cropping pattern more practical and adoptable than being over ambitious.
Considering Field condition and farmers mentality, we have only proposed farming of wheat
and paddy as they are the most easily available and efficient in terms of production and
consumption. Our cropping pattern includes wheat in winter and paddy in summer. Changes
may be adopted in future as per need but for now, this is the best option for the best yield.

4.2 Crop Water Requirement

Crop water requirement (CWR) is defined as the depth of water [mm] needed to meet the
water consumed through evapotranspiration (ETc) by a disease free crop, growing in large fields
under non-restricting soil conditions including soil water and fertility, and achieving full
production potential under the given growing environment.

4.2.1 Software Calculation of Crop Water Requirement by CropWat 8.0

There are two set of climate parameter applicable to Aurahi Khola basin. Considering proximity
and geographic similarity each of the block is attached to one of the set. The modified
penman’s method has been adopted as suggested by DMIP in order to calculate ET0 value.
These estimation are based on the latest available CropWat computer program.

4.2.2 Manual Calculation of Crop Water Requirement

The procedure adopted to calculate CWR is given below:

Reference Crop Evapo-transpiration (ET0)

Collect and evaluate available climatic and crop data; based on meteorological data available
and accuracy required, select prediction method to calculate ET0. Compute ET0 for each 30 or
10-day period using mean climatic data. Analyze magnitude and frequency of extreme values of
ET0 for given climate.

Crop coefficient (kc)

Select cropping pattern and determine time of planting or sowing, rate of crop development,
length of crop development stages and growth period. Select kc for given crop and stage of crop
development under prevailing climatic conditions and prepare for each crop coefficient.
Calculate crop evapotranspiration (ETcrop) for each 30 or 10 day period:ETcrop=kc.ET0
Factors affecting ETcrop under prevailing local conditions

Determine effect of climate and its variability over time and area. Evaluate the effect of soil
water availability together with agriculture and irrigation practices. Consider relationship
between ETcrop and level of crop production.

4.2.3 Comparison of CWR by different methods

We use CropWat for learning purpose. Hence for further calculation CWR from manual
calculation is used.

4.3 Irrigation Water Requirement

Irrigation Efficiency

Overall irrigation efficiency is made up of farm application conveyance and operational losses
and depends on soil type and condition, type of canal regulating structures and water
management practice etc. Generally, the irrigation efficiency in monsoon season seems to be
lower than that in dry season because it is difficult to operate the regulating facilities quickly to
respond to unforeseeable rainfall event. However due to the difficulties to evaluate difference
in dry and monsoon season, irrigation efficiency has been uniformily applied for determining
the crop water requirement.

Distribution and major canal losses are caused due to seepage and poor water management.
Most of the soil in the study area is red loamy and surface irrigation method is used for
irrigation.

According to PDSP manual irrigation efficiency has been adopted.

Field efficiency = 75%

Canal Efficiency = 80%

Percolation Losses

For the irrigation water requirement of paddy, it is explicitly considered to estimate the deep
percolation losses. This primarily depends upon the type of the soil. This soil has been taken as
red loam and deep percolation losses has been adopted as 10mm per day.

Land Preparation Requirement

The estimation of water requirement for land preparation can be critical as it generally cause
peak in irrigation demand particularly for pre monsoon paddy crop. According to PDSP manual
land preparation requirement is taken 150mm to 155mm per day for paddy.
4.3.1 Calculation of IWR

ET0 being obtained from CropWat software, the following procedure was followed to calculate
the net Irrigation Requirement.

1. Find ET0 (Half Monthly values)

2. Calculate 80% reliable rainfall
3. Calculate ETcrop = ET0*Crop coefficient
4. Add land preparation requirement
5. Add percolation losses
6. Calculate field requirement = sum of 3,4 and 5
7. Find effective Rainfall = Pmon*(125-0.2*Pmon)/125 for Pmon<=250 mm
= 125+0.1*Pmon
8. Calculate I-net = Field requirement – Effective rainfall
9. Determine E-field, E-farm and E-main
10. Calculate I-gross, considering in 9
4.3.2 Recommended IWR and Design Discharge

The IWR value is calculated for different crops throughout the year with maximum value is
adopted for canal design.
5. Project Progress
5.1 Task Completed

S.N. Task Completed

1 Watershed Delineation by Different Methods
2 Design Flood by Rational Method
3 Design Flood by WECS/DHM Method
4 Design Flood by MHSP 1997 Method
5 Design Flood by Modified Dickens Method
6 Design Flood by PCJ Method
7 Design Flood by DHM 2004 Method
8 Design Flood by Khosla’s Method
9 Crop Water Requirement
10 Irrigation Water Requirement

5.2 Task Remaining

S.N. Task Remaining

1 Design Flood by MIP Method

2 Command area Determination

3 Analysis of Flow v/s Demand curve

4 System Design

5 Cost Estimation

6 Economic Analysis
6. Discussion and Conclusion

Aurahi River Irrigation Project is a new project. It lies in the Mahabharat region of the country.
With the construction of this project, the proposed command area is expected to be provided
with year round irrigation facility. Consequently, the agriculture yield will be increased
substantially and eventually, the living standard of the people living within the command area
will be rise.