Irrigation and Drainage Systems 8: 137-158, 1994

© 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands

Changes in hydraulic performance and comparative costs of

lining and desilting of secondary canals in Punjab, Pakistan

D. H A M M O N D M U R R A Y - R U S T 1 & E D W A R D J. V A N D E R V E L D E 2
l III Sycamore Drive, Ithaca N Y 14850, USA; 2 330 Greenwich Road NE, Grand Rapids M I
49506, USA

Accepted 5 April 1994

Key words: canal operations, desilting, economic impact, financial analysis, hydraulic perfor-
mance, lining, Pakistan, Punjab, seepage

Abstract. Observations on the hydraulic changes of lining of secondary canals in Punjab, Pakistan
show that performance improvement objectives are not always achieved. If lining is justified on
the basis of water savings through reduced seepage losses, then tail end areas should receive
improved water deliveries. Observations in two distributary canals following lining do not
demonstrate significant improvements in tail end conditions. Justification of lining on the basis
of more stable water conditions is also hard to identify; reduction in the variability of discharges
was not observed.
Financial analysis of a recent canal lining experience in Punjab indicates that watet savings
would have to be unrealistically high, and sustained for long periods, if the initial capital cost is
to be repaid through improved water conveyance efficiency. Furthermore, the hydraulic
improvements achieved through alternative interventions appear to strengthen the argument that
lining can be justified only under special conditions, rather than adopted as a wholesale approach
to solving water distribntion problems. Whatever the intervention, management control must be
strengthened; lining is not a substitute for effective canal operational and maintenance inputs.

1. C a n a l lining objectives and assessment

C a n a l lining is o f t e n p r o m o t e d as a long t e r m s o l u t i o n to p r o b l e m s of water

c o n v e y a n c e i n canal systems. 1 T h e p r i m a r y j u s t i f i c a t i o n s used in s u p p o r t of
canal lining are:
- r e d u c t i o n in c o n v e y a n c e losses t h a t i m p r o v e h y d r a u l i c c o n v e y a n c e effi-
ciency a n d reduce the c o n t r i b u t i o n of canal flows to b u i l d up of watertables
- e s t a b l i s h m e n t of m o r e stable c a n a l cross-sections that result in m o r e
m a n a g e a b l e head-discharge relationships
- r e d u c t i o n in the m a i n t e n a n c e i n p u t s r e q u i r e d o n a r e c u r r e n t basis
These a p p a r e n t benefits require significant capital outlays, either at the time
of initial c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the system or w h e n lining is retrofitted to existing
canals. While there has b e e n c o n s i d e r a b l e effort expended in testing lining
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alternatives under controlled conditions, it is surprising to find relatively few

systematic evaluations of lining under field conditions when it is subject to nor-
mal wear and tear.
To assess lining under field conditions, it is important to look at two main
aspects:
- the changes in hydraulic impact of lining before and after lining to deter-
mine whether the desired performance improvements are actually achieved,
and
- the economic costs and benefits of lining when compared to other potential
uses of the same capital investment using appropriate discounting and with
a realistic life length of the lined sections.
This paper presents field-based results and observations on lining for three
secondary canals in the Lower Chenab Canal system in Punjab, Pakistan:
Ghordour and Lagar distributaries in Upper Gugera Division, and Khikhi dis-
tributary in Lower Gugera Division. These observations were carried out over
several years as part of the overall IIMI program to assess the performance of
canal systems in Pakistan.
To facilitate the evaluation of the hydraulic changes consequent to and the
economic implications of canal lining, the results also are compared with
changes in similar canals in both Divisions that were subject to different levels
of maintenance interventions.

2. Study Iocations

In 1987, the first field research undertaken by IIMI in Pakistan was to evaluate
the impact of lining in Lagar and Ghordour distributaries, two small secondary
canals in Upper Gugera Division of the Lower Chenab Canal system, near
Sheikhupura in the Rechna Doab of the Punjab plain. Work has continued on
these canals through 1993, including monitoring daily discharges before and
after a program of focussed desilting in 1989 and periodic observations to as-
sess conditions of and changes in hydraulic performance as a consequence of
other physical and maintenance interventions in 1992 and 1993.
Later in 1987, field work in Khikhi and Pir Mahal distributaries in Lower
Gugera Division was initiated as part of a program to compare the impact of
lining and major desilting on performance in larger secondary canals. Follow-
ing intensive daily measurements at groups of watercourses along each canal,
a program of periodic observations for one or two months a year was begun
and continued until 1993. A brief description of each canal is presented below.

Ghordour distributary is located approximately 35 km downstream from

Sagar Head, the beginning of Gugera Branch canal. Its head regulator is ton-