Handbook of methods for controlling surface

waters in and around aggregate quarries

This publication and references within it to any methodology, process, service, manufacturer, or
company do not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the Minerals Industry Research
Organisation or The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs'
Contents
CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................ (i)
TABLES................................................................................................................................. (iv)
FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... (v)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................... (vii)
PREFACE ...........................................................................................................................(viii)

1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1
1.1 Why worry about water?..............................................................................................1
1.1.1 Operational issues.........................................................................................................1
1.1.2 Environmental Impacts.................................................................................................1
1.1.2.1 Water quantity impacts.................................................................................................2
1.1.2.2 Water quality impacts...................................................................................................2
1.2 Legislation ...................................................................................................................3
1.2.1 Acts and regulations .....................................................................................................3
1.2.1.1 Water Resources Act 1991 ...........................................................................................3
1.2.1.2 Groundwater Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2746) ..........................................................4
1.2.1.3 Land Drainage Act 1991 ..............................................................................................4
1.2.2 Regulatory bodies.........................................................................................................4
1.3 The role of the Environment Agency and other bodies................................................4
1.4 Climate change ...........................................................................................................6

2 THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE MINERAL WORKINGS ON SURFACE WATER........7

2.1 The hydrological system..............................................................................................7
2.1.1 Some definitions...........................................................................................................8
2.2 Effects of surface mineral workings on water quantity.................................................9
2.2.1 Size and season.............................................................................................................9
2.2.2 Evaporation ................................................................................................................10
2.2.3 Infiltration and runoff.................................................................................................10
2.2.4 Groundwater...............................................................................................................11
2.2.5 Summary of changes in the components of the water balance that might arise
through mineral extraction .........................................................................................12
2.3 Effects of surface mineral workings on water quality.................................................12

3 EXISTING PRACTICES ............................................................................................14

3.1 Method 15
3.2 Analysis .....................................................................................................................14
3.2.1 Perceptions .................................................................................................................14
3.2.2 Controls ......................................................................................................................15
3.2.2.1 Discharge consents .....................................................................................................15
3.2.2.2 Control measures........................................................................................................16
3.2.3 Assessments................................................................................................................16
3.2.4 Flocculants..................................................................................................................17
3.2.5 Other comments .........................................................................................................17

i
4 RAINFALL AND RUNOFF.........................................................................................18
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................18
4.2 The Flood Studies Report and Flood Estimation Handbook......................................18
4.3 Rainfall estimation .....................................................................................................19
4.3.1 Using the FEH or FSR................................................................................................19
4.3.2 Met Office data...........................................................................................................20
4.3.3 Other software ............................................................................................................20
4.4 Runoff estimation ......................................................................................................21
4.4.1 Runoff estimation using the FEH or FSR ..................................................................22
4.4.2 Rapid runoff components: overland and subsurface flow..........................................23
4.4.3 Runoff estimation using the Rational method............................................................23
4.4.3.1 Runoff coefficients .....................................................................................................23
4.4.3.2 Time of concentration ................................................................................................23
4.4.3.3 Time-area method - hydrograph synthesis .................................................................26
4.4.4 Runoff estimation using other rainfall-runoff models................................................28
4.4.4.1 Water balance .............................................................................................................28
4.4.4.2 Infiltration-based runoff models.................................................................................29
4.4.4.3 The Probability Distributed Moisture model..............................................................29

5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGING SURFACE WATER ................................33

5.1 Consideration in quarry design..................................................................................33
5.1.1 Risk management .......................................................................................................33
5.1.2 Allow room for ponds ................................................................................................34
5.1.3 Monitoring equipment................................................................................................34
5.1.3.1 Rainfall and streamflow .............................................................................................34
5.1.3.2 Measurement of infiltration rates ...............................................................................36
5.1.4 Choice of system ........................................................................................................37
5.1.5 The role of vegetation in quarries...............................................................................38
5.1.6 The importance of maintenance .................................................................................39
5.2 Routing of drainage in and around quarries ..............................................................39
5.2.1 Prevent intrusion of surface water..............................................................................39
5.2.1.1 Purpose .......................................................................................................................39
5.2.1.2 Segregation of runoff..................................................................................................40
5.2.2 Ditch and drain design................................................................................................41
5.2.2.1 Capacity......................................................................................................................41
5.2.2.2 Lining .........................................................................................................................42
5.2.3 Culverts ......................................................................................................................42
5.2.4 Maintenance ...............................................................................................................45
5.3 Design of attenuation ponds and settlement lagoons................................................45
5.3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................45
5.3.2 Attenuation ponds.......................................................................................................46
5.3.3 Settlement lagoons .....................................................................................................49
5.3.4 Alternative commercial devices .................................................................................52
5.3.5 Steps in designing a settlement lagoon system ..........................................................53
5.3.5.1 Estimating rainfall ......................................................................................................53
5.3.5.2 Estimating runoff........................................................................................................53
5.3.5.3 Water management design software...........................................................................54

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 5.3.6 Construction and maintenance ...................................................................................55
5.3.6.1 Batters.........................................................................................................................57
5.4 Design of sumps and soakaways ..............................................................................58
5.4.1 Sumps .........................................................................................................................58
5.4.1.1 Turbidity.....................................................................................................................59
5.4.2 Steps for designing a sump.........................................................................................60
5.4.2.1 Procedure....................................................................................................................60
5.4.2.2 Maintenance ...............................................................................................................62
5.4.3 Soakaways ..................................................................................................................62
5.4.3.1 Suitability of site ........................................................................................................63
5.4.3.2 Geotechnics ................................................................................................................63
5.4.3.3 Infiltration coefficient.................................................................................................64
5.4.3.4 Design points..............................................................................................................65
5.4.4 Steps for designing a soakaway..................................................................................66
5.4.4.1 Equations ....................................................................................................................66
5.4.4.2 Procedure....................................................................................................................67
5.4.4.3 Maintenance ...............................................................................................................68
5.5 Flocculants ................................................................................................................69
5.5.1 Need for flocculants ...................................................................................................69
5.5.2 Operation of flocculants .............................................................................................69
5.5.3 Types of flocculants ...................................................................................................69
5.5.4 Use of flocculant ........................................................................................................70
5.6 Removal of chemical pollutants.................................................................................70
5.6.1 Hydrocarbon separators..............................................................................................70
5.6.1.1 Interceptors.................................................................................................................70
5.6.1.2 Reed beds ...................................................................................................................71
5.7 Health and safety ......................................................................................................72
5.8 Education and communication ..................................................................................72
5.9 Hydrology of restored quarries ..................................................................................73
5.9.1 Abandoned ponds .......................................................................................................73
5.9.2 Ponds and wildlife ......................................................................................................73
5.9.2.1 Construction of the ponds...........................................................................................73
5.9.2.2 Water balance calculations.........................................................................................74
5.9.3 Energy crops...............................................................................................................75

6 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................76

7 USEFUL WEB SITES................................................................................................77

8 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................78
8.1 Appendix 1 - Infiltration..............................................................................................78
8.2 Appendix 2 - Sedimentation ......................................................................................80

iii
Tables

Table 4.1 The runoff coefficient c used in the FAA equation....................................................24

Table 4.2 Manning’s coefficient, n, for overland flow...............................................................25
Table 5.1 Possible storage structures for controlling surface water in quarries.........................38
Table 5.2 Manning roughness coefficient (n) for different surfaces ..........................................41
Table 5.3 Erosion coefficients for different soils .......................................................................42
Table 5.4 Steps in the calculation of the depth of flow required in a trapezoidal channel
able large enough to contain the discharge from a 100y return period storm ............44
Table 5.5 Flow rates (m s-1) that will not cause erosion for the six different depths .................44
Table 5.6 Steps in calculating the storage volume required for an attenuation pond.................57
Table 5.7 The steps in calculating the storage volume for a sump to store runoff from an
area of 10ha with a runoff coefficient of 0.5 being pumped out at 100 m3 h-1 ..........61
Table 5.8 The steps in calculating the required pumping capacity to allow a sump of 900
m3 to store runoff from an area of 10ha with a runoff coefficient of 0.5 ..................61
Table 5.9 Typical ranges of infiltration coefficients for various soil and rock types (in
part after Bettess, 1996)..............................................................................................64
Table 5.10 Steps in calculation of the maximum depth of water in a soakaway with a void ......68
Table 5.11 Steps in calculation of the maximum depth of water in a soakaway with gravel
with a porosity of 0.35...............................................................................................68
Table 8.1 Parameter values for the Horton equation from Wilson (1990).................................79

iv
Figures

Figure 1.1 What to avoid. Heavy sediment load discharged from a quarry in a receiving
stream ...........................................................................................................................3
Figure 1.2 The 30-day duration annual maxima rainfall predicted for Shrewsbury......................6
Figure 2.1 The main components of the terrestrial hydrological cycle. Surface and
subsurface flows are indicated by arrows where Qi is infiltration, Qoe is
precipitation excess overland flow, Qos is saturation overland flow, Qt is
throughflow, Qp is percolation and Qg is groundwater flow. These terms are
defined in Section 2.1.1................................................................................................8
Figure 2.2 The hydrological features and effects of mineral working.........................................10
Figure 4.1 Rainfall depth for different storm durations and return periods for 1 km grid
point 173000E 826000N according to the FEH .........................................................20
Figure 4.2 Rainfall estimated for 1 km grid point 565050E 159350N using the hybrid
model compared to estimates calculated using the FSR model for return
periods (rp) of 1, 10 and 100 years.............................................................................21
Figure 4.3 a) The rainfall profiles of the 50% summer and 75% winter storms. The 50%
summer rainfall profile is used for urbanised catchments (quarries) and the
75% winter profile for rural catchments. b) The cumulative rainfall profiles
used for according to the FSR used for converting mean rainfall intensities to
symmetrical temporal distributions of rainfall. ..........................................................28
Figure 4.4 A possible probability distribution of infiltration capacity for a quarry as
required for the PDM model ......................................................................................31
Figure 4.5 Rainfall runoff relationships predicted using a probability distributed
infiltration capacity as might be found for a quarry...................................................32
Figure 4.6 Rainfall runoff relationships predicted using a probability distributed storage
capacity as might be found for a natural rural catchment ..........................................32
Figure 5.1 An automatic tipping bucket raingauge......................................................................35
Figure 5.2 A small flowmeter in situ in a 750mm culvert. This flowmeter is able to
measure depths as low as 25mm and flow velocities down to 21 mm s-1 ..................35
Figure 5.3 A rainfall simulator (sprinkling infiltrometer) with runoff collector (covered
with polythene for calibration) and tipping bucket flowmeter in the background
(see Figure 5.4)...........................................................................................................37
Figure 5.4 Large tipping bucket flowmeter for measuring runoff from sample plot...................37
Figure 5.5 Barriers placed across a dttch to retard flow and enhance infiltration .......................40
Figure 5.6 A typical well constructed clean-water ditch .............................................................40
Figure 5.7 An well-constructed attenuation pond and its outlet structure ...................................46
Figure 5.8 Plan view of a landscaped attenuation pond and settlement lagoon with
associated ditches and structures................................................................................47
Figure 5.9 Cross section through a typical attenuation pond and settlement lagoon. Water
flows from right to left. Details of the connection between the pond and
lagoon are shown in....................................................................................................47
Figure 5.10 Cross section through the central berm showing details of the outlet structure of
the attenuation pond ...................................................................................................48
Figure 5.11 Construction details of a typical trash screen for protecting the throttle plate
from debris .................................................................................................................48
Figure 5.12 Construction details of a typical throttle plate to control the effluent rate from
an attenuation pond ....................................................................................................48
Figure 5.13 Construction details of a typical settlement lagoon....................................................50

v
Figure 5.14 Four settlement lagoons in series. Although parallel lagoons would be a better
arrangement they are well sheltered from the wind and have well developed
reed growth to assist in cleaning and decontaminating the water. .............................52
Figure 5.15 Cross sections of a cyclonic type separator for removing suspended sediment
and oil from ruuoff water ...........................................................................................53
Figure 5.16 A example of a well designed and constructed outlet weir from a settlement
lagoon .........................................................................................................................55
Figure 5.17 A well constructed settlement tank. The large length to width ratio minimises
short circuiting and the barrier at the end of the second section can be
positioned to reduce the drop in level between sections thereby reducing the
turbulence generated...................................................................................................56
Figure 5.18 An example of the clarity of water possible in a sand quarry sump ..........................59
Figure 5.19 A typical modern prefabricated hydrocarbon interceptor prefabricated of glass
ibre..............................................................................................................................71
Figure 5.20 Schematic of a typical Phragmites reed bed for cleaning runoff water .....................72
Figure 8.1 The infiltration capacity for a sandy clay according to the Green-Ampt and
Horton equations. The dotted line illustrates that if the rainfall intensity is just
under 10 mm h-1 then the soil will be able to absorb the rainfall and there will
be no puddling of water, for about 2 minutes according to the Horton equation,
or 5 minutes according to the Green-Ampt equation. Thereafter the rate of
accumulation of puddles, or runoff will be at the rate indicated by the orange
and blue lines..............................................................................................................78
Figure 8.2 The settling velocity for spherical particles as a function of diameter and
specific gravity for the Stoke’s law flow regime (1µm = 10-6 m) ..............................80

vi
Acknowledgements
This Handbook is an output from a one-year project ‘Hydrological assessments in and around
aggregate quarries’ funded by the MIRO under the MIST programme. We are grateful for
the help that we have received from the quarry operators and staff of the Environment Agency
who have responded to our requests for information. We are particularly grateful to those
quarry managers and technical staff who were willing for us to visit their quarries and gave
their time in discussions and showing us around.

vii
Preface

Purpose
This handbook is written for all those with an interest in surface water management in and
around quarries. These will include quarry operators and managers, and staff of Government
departments and agencies including the Environment Agency, Environment Agency Wales,
the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, English Nature and local and regional
planning authorities and environmental and organisations. Since it is written for a wide
audience the mathematical content has been kept to a minimum.

Approaches to hydrological assessment within quarries and in the receiving catchments were
covered in detail in The stability and hydrogeology of deep mineral workings (Geoffrey
Walton Practice, 1988). The approaches outlined in that publication were based on data and
methods set out in the Flood Studies Report (NERC, 1975) and the NCB handbook: Technical
management of water in the coal mining industry (NCB, 1982), both of which are now
outdated. Whilst still relevant, these handbooks no longer reflect the latest methods, or data
used in flood estimation, nor do they cover the currently required standards of water quality
for discharge off site. This Handbook brings together in one place the issues to be considered
and design methods for control structures used when managing surface water in and around
quarries. It also indicates sources of useful information and suppliers of design software and
field measurement equipment. Although directed at aggregate quarries the Handbook will be
of relevance to all quarry operators.

Disclaimer
Reference to a proprietary product, whether equipment or software, does not constitute
recommendation or endorsement.

Notation

The superscripted minus sign is used throughout the text in place of the solidus that is often
used and may be more familiar to some readers, e.g. for cubic metres per second we use

m3 s-1 instead of m3/s.

viii
ix
1 Introduction

1.1 Why worry about water?

1.1.1 Operational issues

Water in quarries comes from groundwater or precipitation or from surface waters flowing into
them. Groundwater can be controlled through dewatering methods but it is not considered in this
handbook except in so far as it affects surface water; other guides on mineral extraction and
groundwater are available (e.g. Thompson et al., 1998).

The importance of properly managing surface waters has been highlighted through extensive
flooding in the very wet winters of 2000/1 and 2003/4, yet there has often been little consideration
of the hydrological aspects in the design and maintenance of quarries. High rainfall can result in
high flow rates of dirty water entering water courses from quarries in contravention of statutory
requirements. Effective management of surface water in and around quarries is a key element for
compliance with planning and licence conditions directed to controlling environmental impact and
risk to the public and property. Quite apart from the requirements of statutory bodies there are
obvious impacts on normal quarry operation, either directly or indirectly through the need to
suspend operations so health and safety requirements are maintained. Left unattended surface water
in quarries has the potential to:
• erode faces and spoil slopes;

• cause tips to fail through increased pore pressure;

• lead to rock slope instability;

• hinder or prevent normal plant operations.

With some thought and careful application all of these consequences can be avoided and it is the
purpose of this handbook to assist this process by providing guidance on good practice for dealing
with surface waters in and around quarries.

1.1.2 Environmental Impacts

There are potential issues arising from both the volume and the quality of surface water discharged
from quarries into receiving waters.

1
1.1.2.1 Water quantity impacts
When water is discharged into water courses it has the potential for creating significant damage to
the water environment these include:
• flooding if a discharge exceeds the capacity of a water course;

• erosion problems if the flow rate is high;

• changes in the character of the water course, e.g. ephemeral streams could become
permanent thereby changing the ecosystem.

In addition to the effects of discharges from a quarry there maybe similar effects on water courses
receiving water diverted from a different catchment and drought effects in donor water course.

1.1.2.2 Water quality impacts

The major threat to water quality posed by quarries is suspended sediments (see Figure 1.1). In
high concentrations these are deleterious to water life in many ways including:
• Light levels are reduced which over a prolonged period will affect the plant life

• Toxic chemicals including heavy metals are adsorbed by the finer sediments

• Waters which normally contain more than 80 mg l-1 suspended solids are unlikely to
support a good fish population.. Fish are adversely affected by heavy loads of
suspended solids through:

- interference with the functioning of their gills;

- deposited sediments interfere with feeding by affecting invertebrate

populations;

- deposited sediments produce egg mortalities.

Other potential problems associated with quarries are:

• Extremely fine, colloidal particles cause discolouration of water even at low
concentrations with the potential to reduce light levels and appear unpleasant.

• Toxic chemicals which include some commonly used flocculants, e.g. poly-
electrolytes pose obvious threats to wildlife.

• Hydrocarbons such as oil, petrol and grease can form films and emulsions on water
surfaces and readily adsorb to suspended particulate matter.

2
Figure 1.1 What to avoid. Heavy sediment load discharged from a quarry in a receiving stream

1.2 Legislation

1.2.1 Acts and regulations

The main legal instruments relating to surface water and quarries are listed here.

1.2.1.1 Water Resources Act 1991

This act is the principal legislation regulating water quality and quantity in England and Wales. It
deals with:
• functions and duties of the Environment Agency (EA) relating to water;

• control of pollution of water resources;

• the consenting of discharges to controlled waters;

• the abstraction and impoundment of water for private and public use.

The Act created offences of causing or knowingly permitting, among others:

1. any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter controlled waters;

2. matter to enter any inland freshwaters so as to tend to impede the proper flow of
waters, resulting in aggravated pollution originating primarily from other sources.

The Act also established the framework for setting consents. Consents set conditions on the quality
and quantity of effluent permitted.

3
1.2.1.2 Groundwater Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2746)
Groundwater is defined as controlled water in the Water Resources Act 1991, so is subject to the
same controls as any other discharge to controlled waters. The emphasis of these regulations is to
prevent the direct or indirect discharge of specified (List 1) substances to groundwater and to
control pollution resulting from the direct or indirect discharge of any List II substances.

1.2.1.3 Land Drainage Act 1991

This act invests Local Authorities with certain powers generally relating to flood prevention,
maintaining flows in watercourses and the making of byelaws, specifically:
1. Section 14 gives District Councils powers to maintain and improve existing
‘ordinary’ watercourses and construct new works

2. Section 25 gives powers to District Councils to enable them to serve notice on

persons requiring them to carry out necessary works to maintain the flow of
‘ordinary watercourses. Consent of the EA must be gained before a notice is served

3. Section 66 enables a District Council to make byelaws to secure the efficient

working of the drainage system in its area.

1.2.2 Regulatory bodies

The Environment Agency (EA) was established with the Environment Act 1995 which transferred
functions and duties of National Rivers Authority which had been formed under the Water
Resources Act 1991.

1.3 The role of the Environment Agency and other bodies

The Government bodies with the responsibility for protecting surface waters are the Environment
Agency in England, and Environment Agency Wales in Wales. In England the Agency is divided
into seven regions (Southern, Thames, South West, Midlands, Anglian, Wales, North West and
North East). Each has a Regional Office, which co-ordinates the activities of Area Offices and
provides central technical and administrative support. Altogether there are 26 area offices across
England and Wales, with area operational teams which are responsible for the day-to-day
management of surface waters in the area that includes regular monitoring of rivers and lakes.

The EA sets licence (consent) conditions aimed at ensuring that:

• flooding is neither caused nor exacerbated in receiving waters (restrictions on the
rate of discharge); and

4
 • the water discharged does not have a detrimental impact on receiving water quality
(restrictions on the concentration of suspended solids and other pollutants).

To ensure compliance with the consent conditions the EA undertakes regular assessments of the
quality and quantity of discharges and when necessary brings prosecutions against offenders..

Conditions on concentration limits, characteristics and volume of effluent discharged to controlled

waters are generally at the discretion of the EA. They depend greatly on the environmental
sensitivity receiving water and the use to which it is put, e.g. abstraction for drinking water, fishing
or recreation. Water quality objectives are set for specific parameters for these classes of waters, to
maintain the quality for the use to which they are put. The EA has duties to exercise their powers in
determining applications for discharge consents so as to ensure that water quality objectives for
particular waters are met– i.e. Surface Water Classification, Regulations for River ecosystems,
Abstraction for drinking water, Bathing waters.

The EA also has responsibility for the protection of groundwater. It produced in 1998 Policy and
practice for the protection of groundwater. 2nd ed. which establishes a technical framework for
groundwater protection, within which the Agency can use its statutory powers in a consistent and
uniform manner and the various statutory and non-statutory consultations it has with other
organisations. The document provides:
• classification of groundwater vulnerability;

• definition of source protection zones.

The boundary between surface and groundwater is rarely clear and contaminated surface water can
significantly influence groundwater quality.

The EA works with English Nature and Countryside Commission for Wales, which have
responsibility for conserving wildlife and geology, as consultees on issues of licence to abstract and
consents to discharge with conservation implications (Water Resources Act 1991).

Other bodies with interest in matters of surface waters are:

• the local water authority, e.g. if water is discharged into a foul or combined sewer, it
will be necessary to obtain its permission;

• the local planning authority if discharging into roadside ditches.

5
1.4 Climate change

The consensus among environmental scientists is that the climate is changing at an unprecedented
rate as a result of human activities, in particular the use of fossil fuels. Mathematical climate
change models run by the Met. Office, predict that by the 2080s for all of the UK the climate will
become wetter in the winter months, especially in the south and east by up to 30%. Conversely, in
the summer, rainfall could decrease by up to 50% (Met. Office, 2002). It is also expected that the
climate will become more variable and extreme with more days of heavy rainfall in the winter. As
part of a study (DEFRA, 2001) by the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, Wallingford and the Met
Office, the Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model was used within a global model to predict the
change in frequency of extreme rainfall events at different locations in the UK. An example (Figure
1.2) based on data from the report shows the predicted 30-day extreme value rainfall distributions
for 2000 and a potential future climate around 2090 for an area near Shrewsbury. From the graph
we see that storms with a return period of 20 years at present will have a return period of about four
years by 2090.

Figure 1.2 The 30-day duration annual maxima rainfall predicted for Shrewsbury

Clearly if these predictions prove to be accurate the changes in rainfall would have a significant
impact on the management of surface water in and around quarries.

6
2 The effects of surface mineral workings on surface water

2.1 The hydrological system

Although water in the environment is constantly in a state of flux as solid (ice), liquid or gas (water
vapour), the total amount is conserved so that there is a balance between the water in the different
parts of the hydrological cycle. For a catchment the precipitation falling, P, is equal to the sum of
the water that discharges from the catchment, Q, the water that is lost through evaporation, E, the
water that drains deeply to the groundwater outside the catchment, D, and the changes in the
quantity of water that is stored ∆S. Writing this as a simple sum,
P = Q + E + D + ∆S . (2.1)

Each of the terms on the right of the equation is the sum of several components. The discharge is
the sum of water that flows over the surface as overland flow, Qo, the stream flow, Qs, the
throughflow, Qt, and the groundwater flow, Qg,

Q = Qt + Qo + Q g . (2.2)

Overland flow can be considered as the sum of precipitation excess flow and saturation excess flow,
see Section 2.1.1 for further definitions.

Evaporation is the sum of the interception loss (Section 2.1.1), I, transpiration loss, T, evaporation
from the substrate, Es, and from water bodies, Ew,

E = I + T + Es + Ew . (2.3)

The change in storage ∆S is the sum of the change in the unsaturated zone storage, ∆Su, i.e. water in
the soil and rock above the water table, saturated zone storage, ∆Ss, i.e. water in soil and rock
beneath the water table and standing water storage, ∆Sw, i.e. water stored in any surface
depressions,

∆S = ∆S s + ∆S u + ∆S w . (2.4)

The main components of the terrestrial hydrological system are shown in Figure 2.1.

7
Figure 2.1 The main components of the terrestrial hydrological cycle. Surface and subsurface flows are
indicated by arrows where Qi is infiltration, Qoe is precipitation excess overland flow, Qos is saturation overland
flow, Qt is throughflow, Qp is percolation and Qg is groundwater flow. These terms are defined in Section 2.1.1.

2.1.1 Some definitions

base flow the component of runoff that takes a slow route to a discharge point and is
delayed in arrival, and can continue long after rainfall has ceased, consisting
of deep subsurface flow often supplied from groundwater
catchment an area of land surface from which fallen precipitation drains to a water
course or body
channel precipitation the precipitation that falls on the surface of a water course
discharge point the gauged or ungauged point on a water course at the lowest point of a
catchment water course
discharge see runoff
groundwater the water that is held in saturated soil and rock strata
hydraulic conductivity a measure of the degree to which water is able to pass through a porous
medium which is a function of the permeability of the medium and the
viscosity of the water
hydrograph the variation in runoff with time
infiltration the process by which water enters the surface of the ground (soil or rock)
interception the process in which precipitation is intercepted by plants and evaporated
directly back into the atmosphere without ever reaching the ground
overland flow that component of the rapid runoff that flows over the surface of the land as
a result of either the rainfall rate exceeding the infiltration capacity (rainfall-

8
 excess overland flow) or saturated surface conditions (saturation-excess
overland flow)
percolation the movement of water through the ground via fissures or intergranular flow
permeability a measure of the degree to which a porous medium allows fluid to penetrate
and pass through
precipitation any form of moisture input to the water balance, e.g. rain, snow, hail,
measured in mm depth1
rapid runoff the portion of the runoff that takes a rapid route in reaching the discharge
point and consisting of overland flow, throughflow and streamflow cf. base
flow
runoff also confusingly referred to as streamflow, or discharge, is any mass of
water moving under gravity, from the smallest surface seepage, to the
largest of rivers, which can be considered as the sum of a rapid runoff
component and a delayed or baseflow component
streamflow surface runoff that is confined to rivulets and stream channels
through flow that component of runoff that infiltrates laterally through the surface layers
and can be considered as shallow subsurface flow
transpiration the process through which water is removed from the soil through plant
roots and evaporated into the atmosphere through pores (stomata) in the
leaves

2.2 Effects of surface mineral workings on water quantity

2.2.1 Size and season

Mineral workings will generally affect the distribution of surface water in the locale to a degree
dependent upon the scale of the workings. The wider the pit the greater the catchment area and the
larger the volume of precipitation caught and the more throughflow and surface runoff that will be
intercepted or diverted. Also the deeper the pit the greater the potential for surface water and
groundwater becoming mixed.

The effects of the disturbance of the natural catchments by quarrying in much of the country are
likely to be greatest in the winter when rainfall is highest and when the soils are near to saturation.
However in the east, high intensity summer rainfalls are also likely to cause problems with large
flow rates of turbid water potentially reaching water courses when they are at low flows.

1 Conventionally amounts of rainfall are referred to in terms of the depth (mm) fallen, rather than volumes. For
consistency and convenience hydrologists also refer to quantities of water in the other components of the water
balance in units of water depth over an implied unit area. An exception is runoff and its components which are also
often quantified in units of volume per time (m3 s-1).

9
2.2.2 Evaporation
Annually across the UK evaporation varies between about 15% of precipitation in the west, and
75% in the east, the majority arising from vegetation. Evaporation from vegetation occurs either as
part of the process of transpiration (Section 2.1.1) or through the process of interception (Section
2.1.1). Compared to transpiration and interception loss rates, evaporation rates from bare soil or
rock are small and the amount of water available for evaporation is small: as soil water evaporates a
zone of dry surface soil acts as an efficient barrier to further evaporation. Removal of vegetation
during quarrying therefore reduces significantly the evaporation component of the local water
balance. With the less permeable surfaces often found in quarries there is an increase in the volume
of surface water which will often require diverting into conveniently placed ponds and sumps.
Rates of evaporation from these will in general be slightly higher than transpiration rates, however
in most quarries the surface area of standing water will be small compared to the rest of the quarry
except for some riparian sand and gravel workings. Consequently evaporation rates from quarries
are only significant following rainfall while the surfaces are wet, and when considering the design
of schemes for managing surface water it is usually acceptable to ignore the evaporation
component.

Figure 2.2 The hydrological features and effects of mineral working

2.2.3 Infiltration and runoff

Catchment runoff, Q, consists of two components (Figure 2.1) the subsurface component
comprising groundwater, Qg, and throughflow, Qt, and the surface component of overland flow, Qo.
In UK conditions in natural catchments overland flow, Qos, usually occurs when soils become

10
saturated and are unable to contain further rainfall or throughflow. However, overland flow may
also occur when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity of the surface (see Section
8.1). High intensity rain falling on clay soils could result in overland flow, or less intense rain
falling on bare rock surfaces or haul roads in quarries would result in overland flow.

Because vegetation abstracts water from the soil its removal leads to more rapidly saturated soils
which in turn increase throughflow and saturation excess overland flow (Figure 2.2). Removal of
vegetation can also reduce infiltration rates by removing entry paths into the soil and in winter the
exposed soils will be more prone to freezing giving temporarily impermeable surfaces.

Removal of the surface soil to either bedrock or less permeable subsurface soils can further increase
the volume and rapidity of surface runoff leading to rainfall excess overland flow. However in sand
and gravel quarries the permeability of the deposits is likely to exceed that of the removed soil so
that for these quarries there may be an increase in infiltration and reduction in overland flow.

For many quarry surfaces e.g. hard rock surfaces, concrete pads and metalled roads, infiltration is
negligible, however for fissured rocks, and permeable surfaces in which there is intergranular flow
e.g. sand and gravel surfaces, infiltration capacities will be high. In the same way the infiltration
capacity of areas of soil within the quarry will vary depending upon the clay content of the soil and
whether or not the soil is vegetated. Rock and sand stock piles will have high infiltration capacities
but small storage capacities so that rainfall will rapidly drain from them and either emerge as
overland flow if they are placed on impermeable surfaces, or soak into the substrate to augment the
groundwater or subsurface throughflow.

Runoff from quarry surfaces will in general be faster and increased in volume. However, if
attenuation ponds (also called balancing or detention ponds) are built the runoff response will be
reduced to below what would be expected from the natural catchment for most storms. Thus a
quarry with a well designed and managed system for water management can have a beneficial effect
at times of peak flows.

2.2.4 Groundwater
Despite advantages in controlling the management of silty water there is often (Section 3.2.2.2) no
separation between surface water and groundwater in quarries with both collecting in sumps.
Where there is dewatering it is likely that there will be impacts on the local surface water, with a
significant drop in water levels as the base flow component is reduced. Conversely when working
and dewatering have finished reestablishment of a high water table may lead to flooding.

11
There are many groundwater issues connected with mineral extraction that are too numerous to be
considered here, and are outside the remit of this handbook; further information can be found in
Thompson (1998).

2.2.5 Summary of changes in the components of the water balance that might arise
through mineral extraction
• Diversion of existing streams and ditches – e.g. it may be necessary to route a
tributary into a different stream, thereby augmenting flow stream but depleting flow
in the original stream

• Construction of new ditches to prevent surface water flowing into the workings

• Increased surface runoff and overland flow as a result of the removal of vegetation
and soil and the interception of throughflow.

• More rapid response of runoff to rainfall through decreased infiltration and

constructed channels and ditches

• Infiltration of rainfall may be decreased through the removal of vegetation and soil
but in some quarries, e.g. sand and gravel quarries infiltration may be increased

• Decreased evaporation through the removal of vegetation and soil

• Increased evaporation from new open water bodies

• with a good system for water management flood peaks in receiving waters may be
tempered

2.3 Effects of surface mineral workings on water quality

Operating quarries create dirty water through mobilisation of suspended solids. Chemical pollution
can also occur through the exposure of unstable minerals and weathering products during extraction
and through the introduction of fuel, oil or other chemicals during routine working or spillages.
Many operations create water/sediment suspensions, these include:
• blasting and excavation;

• crushing and washing;

• vehicle movements;

• wheel washing;

• dust suppression on crushers and roads.

12
Measures are required to ensure that large concentrations of suspended solids are not transported to
the surface water environment around quarries. These measures include: segregating runoff from
different areas, recycling process water, using constructed ponds and settlement lagoons with or
without flocculants to enhance sedimentation, using vegetated channels and reed beds to remove
suspended solids and the heavy metals that often adsorb to the particles (Section 5.6.1.2).

It is important that no polluting chemicals are allowed to enter the groundwater; in addition to
surface water there is a legal requirement to protect the groundwater environment. This is
particularly important in areas where there are shallow aquifers, or in proximity to abstraction
points e.g. wells or springs, used as potable water sources.

13
3 Existing Practices

3.1 Method
This brief review is based upon the responses received to two questionnaires: one sent to the EA
area offices across the country and the other to managers and operations directors of
igneous/metamorphic rock, sedimentary rock, and sand and gravel quarries across the country. The
size of the operators ranged from large international companies down to small independent ones.
The main purpose of the questionnaires was to determine:
1. the perception of where the main problems were;

2. the range of conditions imposed on quarry operators;

3. the control measures used;

4. the methods of control assessment.

The questionnaire for quarry managers or operators was usually completed during an interview with
them at the quarry concerned so that the control measures could also be observed directly.

This review cannot be considered as rigorously representative; because of the time involved and
reticence on the part of many operators to provide the information requested, the sample size was
small (27 quarries). Nevertheless within the sample there was a wide range of controls and methods
of dealing with surface waters which reflect current practices.

3.2 Analysis

3.2.1 Perceptions
Given the much greater number of aggregate quarries, it is not surprising that they were considered
to create problems, either more often or to a larger extent than dimension stone quarries. However
these problems were not considered as bad as clay pits in some areas or as potentially serious as
coal mining operations where these are still in existence. There was not a strong link between
problematic quarries and age. However older quarries had fewer constraints on the extents and
methods of working and are therefore more likely to be exploited in ways detrimental to the water
environment. Also, there is generally less room available in older quarries for constructing
sufficiently large settlement lagoons to produce properly clarified water.

In most areas winter was identified as the season when high rainfalls and melting snow with
saturated soils would lead to problems associated with high discharge flows, i.e. storm overflows

14
and water moving through settlement lagoons too rapidly for sedimentation. In two areas the
impact of sediment discharges after summer rainfalls into low flowing water courses was identified
as causing major problems as a result of the high sediment concentrations. In some quarries
problems were caused by water pouring into the excavations from overtopping water courses or
blocked ditches. Other external causes were cattle drinking from ditches on restored land and
runoff from restored fields during very heavy rainfall flowing into ditches that fed the discharge
point.

3.2.2 Controls
The EA imposes controls on the quality and quantity of water that is discharged from quarries in
accordance with the Water Resources Act 1991 (Section 1.2.1.1). The constraints imposed as part
of the discharge consents vary greatly between sites depending on the environmental sensitivity and
the use to which the receiving water is put. To achieve the discharge constraints the local EA area
team may specify the use of particular structures or protocols at the planning/application stage but
there are no mandatory national requirements and each case is considered individually.

3.2.2.1 Discharge consents

• Volumetric discharge rates vary according to the size of the receiving waters rates
up to 20000 m3 daily are not unusual, but are primarily groundwater. In some areas
the operator is required to record the daily discharge volume.

• Limits on suspended solids from the sample of quarries ranged from 30 to 250 mg l-1
however limits as low as 10 mg l-1 were referred to by one EA area, and 5 mg l-1 iron
was required by another. Because heavily colloidal clays can produce cloudy water
even at the lowest limits of suspended solids, a turbidity limit may also be specified
for particular quarries.

• There were differences between EA areas in the attitude towards any relaxation of
constraints in the event of extreme weather and the use of storm overflows. Some
recognised that the quarry discharge may actually contain fewer suspended solids
than the river water that is highly turbid from eroded soils at times of flood peaks.
Others implied that it was possible to allow for a controlled emergency discharge
dependent upon a risk assessment incorporating a cost-benefit analysis. Others
stated that consent discharges apply at all times and that ponds should be designed to
cope with all storms but that non-compliance would be assessed according to the

15
 national enforcement and prosecution policy taking into account any relevant factors
such as extreme weather.

3.2.2.2 Control measures

• Of the sampled quarries the most common method (40%) of dealing with surface
water was to pump water from a sump to settlement lagoons before discharging the
water to a water course.

• 24% pumped water directly from a sump to a water course, some only operated
when automatic turbidity monitoring equipment allowed

• 20% had gravity fed settlement lagoons without attenuation ponds

• 16% had soakaways, one of which was downstream of a settlement lagoon

• there was just one example of an attenuation pond and settlement lagoon but without
properly controlled flow between the two

• 44% of the quarries dewatered but of these most, 63% did not segregate the
groundwater and surface water

• at 24% of the quarries the pit water was treated separately from water running off
the plant and office buildings area

• there was one example of water running from the plant area directly into a water
course

• most treatment systems had been specifically designed by a professional but in a few
quarries the system had developed by trial and error over the years

• about equal numbers of ponds and lagoons were constructed of masonry/concrete

and earth banks

3.2.3 Assessments
• The EA is a statutory consultee to local planning authorities and raises objections or
conditions on a particular application to them, but details are left until later. The
consent process can take four months to complete. The EA also seeks to make its
position clear at the pre-planning stage to allow for strategic planning in the light of
conservation and water resource, quality and flooding issues.

16
 • In at least one area it is becoming common that the operator is required to
demonstrate that the proposed control measures will be effective.

• The frequency of visits to check compliance with consents is determined by the

volume of discharge but ranges from fortnightly to annually or less with monthly
visits the most common.

3.2.4 Flocculants
• 36% of the sampled quarries used flocculants

• Permission to use flocculants must be obtained from the EA as part of a discharge

consent

• The EA does not encourage the use of flocculants

3.2.5 Other comments

Several of the quarries visited recycled the water within the quarry for use in stone washing, dust
suppression and other processes. These used sophisticated pumping schemes with water-level
monitoring. Monitoring of water levels and discharge flow rates was in place at more than one of
the quarries.

It is a legacy of the low priority given to dealing with quarry surface water in the past that the space
allowed for many of the settlement lagoons was too small, and that the system for dealing with
surface water in many quarries was not the result of a careful design project but an almost
evolutionary trial an error process. Moreover the failure to segregate clean and dirty water in the
majority of quarries which results in the need for additional water processing capacity only
exacerbates the problem of small lagoons.

17
4 Rainfall and runoff

4.1 Introduction
Annual precipitation (rain and snow) varies across the UK from about 550 mm in parts of East
Anglia to over 3000mm in north-west Scotland. Distribution throughout the year is also variable
with more rain falling in the south west during the winter months, whereas in the south east and
midlands rainfall is evenly distributed through the year. In the east thunderstorms tend to produce
the heaviest short duration rainfalls, whereas in the west synoptic weather fronts produce large total
rainfalls through long duration, lower intensities of rain.

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme events and the distribution of
rainfall through the year: in future heavier rainfall can be expected in the winter months and
summers are expected to be drier. These changes imply that larger volumes of runoff will have to
be controlled in future and also that the discharge of suspended sediments and pollutants in summer
will potentially have a greater impact upon the lower flowing streams.

4.2 The Flood Studies Report and Flood Estimation Handbook

The Flood Studies Report (FSR) was produced by the Institute of Hydrology in 1975 and was for
over twenty years the standard tool employed for determining the size and frequency of flood
events across the UK. As the vital first part of this, a methodology was developed for predicting
rainfalls at any location in the UK. This was achieved through a comprehensive synthesis of British
rainfall data to produce maps of rainfalls with a 5-year return period for the British Isles. Tables
and curves derived from detailed statistical analysis of the data were produced to allow the rainfall
for any duration and return period to be calculated from the 5-year return period values for a point
or given area.

The FSR was largely superseded by the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) in 1999 which employs
some new methods for estimating rainfall and flood frequency in gauged catchments. The FEH is a
comprehensive manual providing a range of methods and supporting meteorological and catchment
data relevant to flood estimation in gauged and ungauged British catchments as well as catchments
larger than 0.5km2. The FEH uses an entirely new statistical approach for estimating the
hydrographs associated with flood events and their frequency.

18
4.3 Rainfall estimation

4.3.1 Using the FEH or FSR

One of the first steps in designing structures for dealing with surface waters is to estimate the
rainfall depths expected for storms of different return period and duration for a particular location.
Both the FSR and FEH provide the means of obtaining this information for places in the UK; the
FEH software on CD ROM makes it particular easy. Of the two the FEH is now generally
considered to provide the most accurate estimates and is preferred by the EA. The improved
accuracy is the result of many more rainfall records being available and used in developing the FEH
than in the FSR, e.g. the number of station years used was more than 150000 for daily rainfall
compared with about 96000 in the FSR, and more than 7300 compared with 2300 for hourly
rainfall.

FEH-estimated rainfalls are smaller in a few places, e.g. in parts of central and southern Scotland.
In general, however, the FEH rainfalls are greater than those given by the FSR, e.g. for storms of
one day duration there is an increase by as much as 40% in upland areas and up to 20-30% in many
lowland areas this corresponds roughly to storm return periods being halved. The general increase
in rainfall across the country is similar sometimes larger for one hour duration rainfalls. The FEH
also reflects more accurately the effect of topography on rainfall and variability across the country
on both a regional and local scale is greater in the FEH than the FSR which was criticised as being
over general and masking spatial variability.

Using the FEH to determine rainfall distributions is simpler than the FSR because the FEH uses a
single mathematical model of the rainfall depth-duration-frequency relationships, and data are
provided digitally rather than on maps. Rainfalls for a range of return periods and durations are
produced in a single operation whereas the FSR required a series of calculation steps. Moreover the
estimates are generally more reliable, incorporating an additional 25 years of data and a new
method for developing rainfall growth curves viz. Focussed Rainfall Growth curve Extension
(FORGEX). This method was designed to represent more accurately the spatial variability in
rainfall extremes than the FSR which had been criticised as being over general. However, estimates
of short duration rainfall (less than one hour) are less reliable than those given by the FSR. This is
because calibration of the FSR rainfall method used short duration (less than one hour and down to
five minutes) rainfall data from 150 stations whereas the shortest duration storms used in the
calibration of the FEH model was one hour albeit from many more stations. An example of the
rainfall distributions produced by the FEH method for a range of storm durations and return periods

19
is plotted in Figure 4.1 using output listed in a text file produced by the FEH software on CD ROM.
The FEH rainfall estimates are calculated for duration increments of 15 minutes up to a maximum
duration of 16 days.
rainfall (mm)
400

300

200

return period (years)

5
100 10
50
100
200
500

0
0 5 10 15
storm duration (days)

Figure 4.1 Rainfall depth for different storm durations and return periods for 1 km grid point 173000E
826000N according to the FEH

4.3.2 Met Office data

Rainfall rates for a particular location can be purchased from the Met Office, for durations ranging
from two minutes to two hours and return periods from twice-a-year to 100 years estimated using
the FSR method.

4.3.3 Other software

Some commercial drainage design packages (e.g. WinDes, HydroWorks see Section 7) include
rainfall generating software that is based on the FSR.

As part of the research program that funded this handbook a prototype version of a new software
tool has been developed for the purpose of aiding the design of attenuation ponds and settlement
lagoons (Section 5.2). Rainfall distributions are produced within this using both the FEH duration-
depth-frequency relationships and a model from the FSR for estimating the five-year return period
rainfall together with growth curves. For rainfall events of one hour and longer the FEH estimates
are used, for shorter durations the FSR estimates normalised by the FEH one-hour rainfall are used.
This ensures that there are not discontinuities in the rainfall distributions at one hour duration and
also that the greater spatial variability inherent in the FEH rainfall figures are reflected in the short

20
duration events. Figure 4.2 compares the FSR rainfall estimates and the hybrid estimates generated
by the new model for return periods of 1, 10 and 100 years for a location in Kent.

rainfall (mm)

200

100

20
hybrid rp=1
10 FSR rp=1
hybrid rp=10
FSR rp=10
hybrid rp=100
2 FSR rp=100
1
1 10 100 1000
duration (min.)

Figure 4.2 Rainfall estimated for 1 km grid point 565050E 159350N using the hybrid model compared to
estimates calculated using the FSR model for return periods (rp) of 1, 10 and 100 years.

4.4 Runoff estimation

For a particular rainfall event, runoff estimation can mean merely determining the peak flow rate, or
the total flow volume, or the complete hydrograph. For the purposes of designing drainage
channels and culverts the peak flow is the key variable whereas for designing attenuation ponds and
settlement lagoons at least the flow rates for storms of different durations are needed. The volume
of quarry surface water that a rainfall generates is dependent upon several factors including the
surface type and the area of the quarry. Flow rates will also depend upon the infiltration capacity of
the surfaces, and the steepness of the slopes.

A wide range of methods exist for estimating the runoff from natural catchments of varying degrees
of complexity, physical realism and success (see Beven, 2002). Many papers and books have been
written and whole careers based upon determining the relationship between rainfall and runoff. The
plethora of models and methods reflect the difficulty involved in predicting runoff which is
dependent upon many variables. Clearly a detailed review of the methods available here would be
out of place. Complex mathematical approaches requiring significant user interaction are not
appropriate for the vast majority of quarry applications. The practical and pragmatic methods for
assessing runoff included below will provide reasonably accurate estimates for engineering
purposes for most situations. A more detailed model is described briefly that is included in a
software tool (Section 5.3.5.3) supplied with this handbook.

21
4.4.1 Runoff estimation using the FEH or FSR
The FEH provides methods and supporting meteorological and catchment data relevant to flood
estimation in gauged British catchments as well as ungauged catchments larger than 0.5km2.
However, the methods cannot be applied to catchments smaller than 0.5km2 unless the catchment of
interest has been gauged and there are ample flood data. This precludes their use for internal quarry
catchments which are smaller than 0.5km2, and frequently the upper reaches of the natural
catchments into which surplus runoff is discharged (and which are most vulnerable to flooding as a
result of the additional discharge) are also smaller than this. Moreover there will be very few
indeed that are gauged. The application of FEH is therefore only likely to be relevant for
determining the effects of quarry discharges on floods in natural catchments larger than 0.5km2.

In situations where flood data are available and where the catchment has a larger area than 0.5km2,
there two approaches can be used,
1. a statistical analysis of the flood peak data, or,

2. the rainfall-runoff method developed in the FSR that is based upon regressions
between runoff parameters and catchment descriptors.

The statistical approach is preferred when there are more than two or three years of records; the
rainfall-runoff method is preferred when there are data from five or more flood events. Within each
of the two main methods there is a hierarchy of approaches dependent upon whether flow data exist
for the catchment of interest or a nearby, similar catchment that can be used as an analogue for
statistical analysis using method 1, or data transfer using method 2. If no such catchment exists
then the last resort is to use the rainfall-runoff method with parameter values derived from
catchment descriptors such as area, annual rainfall, mean drainage path length and mean drainage
path slope, base flow index etc. It is unfortunate that this method is least reliable for small
catchments and that there were only four calibrations of the FSR method against catchments smaller
than 1km2.

Since it will be exceptional that the FEH or FSR rainfall-runoff methods can be used, and since they
require somewhat experienced hydrological interpretation, rather than the recipe type approach
appropriate for a handbook, no further information is given here. Those interested in investigating
the methods further should refer to the well documented original publications.

22
4.4.2 Rapid runoff components: overland and subsurface flow
As described in Section 2.2.3 the major component of runoff from hard rock quarries, and certainly
the important one as far as the design of attenuation ponds is concerned, is overland flow whereas in
natural rural catchments, the type that the majority of quarries discharge into, subsurface flow will
usually predominate. The methods and models described here either consider only the overland
component or do not distinguish between overland and subsurface flow

4.4.3 Runoff estimation using the Rational method

This very old method has the advantage of being very simple and can give useful preliminary
information when all that is known are the area A (ha) and rainfall intensity R (mm h-1) for a
catchment. The flow expected Q (m3 h-1) is then given by,
Q = 10kAR , (4.1)

where k is a dimensionless empirical catchment coefficient which allows for only a fraction of the
rainfall input becoming runoff. This single parameter has to account for the variety of runoff
production processes and the non-linear relationships operating between antecedent conditions
within the catchment and runoff. It cannot have a unique value but will vary between storms, and
the main problem with this method is determining the correct value of k for the peak flow of
interest.

4.4.3.1 Runoff coefficients

Determining what proportion of a rainfall reaches the catchment discharge is the essence of runoff
estimation. For natural catchments larger than 0.5km2 the FEH provides a means of estimating the
Standard Percentage Runoff (SPR) based upon various catchment descriptors. Values of SPR,
called SPRHOST, are given for all the catchments on the FEH CD ROM database which also
contains the catchment descriptors. Although not endorsed by the FEH, in the absence of any
calibrated values for k, or catchments where it is available SPR could be used to provide at least a
rationally based value for use in Equation (4.1).

4.4.3.2 Time of concentration

For catchments with very rapid runoff, e.g. hard-rock quarries or heavily urbanised catchments the
FSR rainfall-runoff method is not suitable as the regression relationships were derived using
catchments less heavily urbanised. According to Houghton-Carr (1999) for catchments more than
50% urbanised, (probably most hard-rock quarries are equivalent to this) methods used for

23
estimating runoff for sewer design are probably more appropriate. These involve the use of the
time of concentration.

The time of concentration is the time taken for water to flow from the furthest point on a catchment
to the point of interest, e.g. the position of a storage structure. It is used to determine the duration of
a storm that will produce the maximum runoff rate, on the assumption that the maximum will occur
when the whole of the catchment is producing runoff. This assumption will not be valid for
permeable catchments because the runoff is likely to increase with time as the infiltration rate
decreases. Moreover it is possible for large catchments that larger flow rates will occur with high
intensity localised summer storms that do not cover the whole catchment. Nevertheless, for small
chiefly impermeable catchments its use is appropriate.

There are many empirical equations for calculating the time of concentration. The following two
are applicable to quarries.

The FAA equation gives the time of concentration tc in minutes

t c = 3.26(1.1 − c )L0.5 (100s )
−0.333
,
(4.2)

where L is the slope length (m), s is the slope and c is a runoff coefficient (see Table 4.1). This
equation was originally derived for runoff from airport runways and used by the US Federal
Aviation Agency.

An alternative equation that requires iteration because it includes the rainfall intensity which was
derived for developed areas and gives the time of concentration as
t c = 6.98(Ln ) R −0.4 s −0.3
0.6
(4.3)

where n is the Manning coefficient for overland flow (see Table 4.2)

Table 4.1 The runoff coefficient c used in the FAA equation

ground surface qualifier c
short uniform grass sandy soil @ 2% 0.05 - 0.1
sandy soil @ 2-7% 0.1 – 0.15
sandy soil @ 7% 0.15 – 0.2
heavy soil @ 2% 0.13 – 0.17
heavy soil @ 2-7% 0.18 – 0.25
heavy soil @ 7% 0.25 – 0.35
pavement brick 0.7 – 0.85
asphalt 0.7 – 0.95
concrete 0.7 – 0.95
industrial light 0.5 – 0.8
heavy 0.6 – 0.9

24
 Table 4.2 Manning’s coefficient, n, for overland flow
coefficient
surface
n
smooth impervious rock, asphalt
0.035
etc
smooth, bare, stoneless, packed
0.05
soil
thin grass, moderately bare 0.1
pasture 0.2
dense vegetation 0.4

Example 4.1

A hard rock quarry in south Wales has an area of 37ha, a total slope length of 430m, and a height
between the top and an attenuation pond of 150m. A value of runoff factor of 0.85 has been found
from rainfall and runoff data at a similar quarry. What is the peak runoff expected for a ten-year
return period storm?
From Table 4.1 we decide that a value of c = 0.8 is appropriate. According to Equation (4.2) the
time of concentration is the same irrespective of the rainfall intensity and using the values listed
above gives,
−0.333
 100 × 150 
t c = 3.26 × (1.1 − 0.8) × 430 0.5
× 
 430 
t c = 6.2 minutes.

For this catchment the rainfall intensities for a ten-year return for the different storm durations are
duration (min.) 2 5 10 15 20 30 60 90 120
rainfall intensity (mm h-1) 108 81.6 60.6 49.6 42.6 34 22.6 17.6 14.7
Interpolating between the 5 and 10 minute storms gives the rainfall intensity for a 6-minute duration
of 77.4 mm h-1 which when used in Equation (4.1) gives for the peak flow

Q peak = 10 × 0.85 × 37 × 77.4

Q peak = 24342 (m 3 h -1 )

which over the duration of the storm amounts to 2434 m3.

Repeating this exercise using Equation (4.3) to calculate tc it is necessary to iterate on the rainfall
intensity. So start by using a value for tc of 6.2; the value we have just calculated using
Equation (4.2). This gives
−0.3
 150 
t c = 6.98 × (430 × 0.04 ) × 
0.6
 × 77.4 −0.4
 430 
t c = 9.3 minutes

25
Interpolating from the table above we get an intensity of 64.8 mm h-1 for nine minutes. Putting this
intensity back into Equation (4.3) gives
−0.3
 150 
t c = 6.98 × (430 × 0.04 )
0.6
×  × 64.8 −0.4
 430 
t c = 9.9 minutes

Repeating the procedure once more causes little change in tc and so a value of 10 minutes is taken
as the time of concentration. Using the corresponding rainfall intensity of 60.6 mm h-1 in the
Rational equation gives a peak flow rate Qpeak = 19059 m3 h-1 which over the duration of the storm
amounts to 3176 m3.

It is clear from this example that the two methods give significantly different the times of
concentration which in turn lead to different peak flows. Following the cautionary principle the
higher flow rate should be used in the design of drains or culverts.

For most quarry applications tc is not required in the design of storage structures with effluent or
pumping, since tc is usually shorter than the storm duration requiring the largest storage.. There is
also some evidence that when this method of using tc and Equation (4.1) is applied to natural
catchments it grossly overestimates the runoff peak. However it is useful for estimating flows from
impermeable catchments as required for example in the design of drainage networks.

4.4.3.3 Time-area method - hydrograph synthesis

Storm discharge varies as rainfall intensity changes, and as more parts of a catchment contribute to
the discharge. What is known as the time-area method is an attempt to take these factors into
account to generate a simple hydrograph. To do this it is necessary to extend the principle behind
the time of concentration to the whole catchment and determine zones of points with water-travel
time from the discharge point up to a certain value. The time interval between zones is constant: so
zone 1 might contain all points with a travel time up to 1 hour, zone 2 contains points with a travel
time between 1 and 2 hours and so forth.

We also need to know or estimate the temporal variation of rainfall during the storm. The FEH
recommends use of two profiles determined by statistical analysis of extensive rainfall records for
the FSR: the 50% summer profile for urban catchments and the 75% winter profile for rural
catchments. These represent profiles that are more sharply peaked than 50% of summer storms and
75% of winter storms respectively (see Figure 4.3a). To apply these profiles to a particular mean
rainfall intensity requires the cumulative distribution (Figure 4.3b). The procedure is as follows:

26
 1. divide the storm into an odd number of intervals each of between 10 to 20% of the
full duration

2. read off from the cumulative graph the percentage rainfall corresponding to the
percentage of the storm duration required

3. subtract the rainfall already counted

4. plot the rainfall against the time

This is best explained by example: So, using summer profile and the mean intensity of 17.6 mm h-1
for a 90-minute storm from above.
1. divide the storm duration into 9 steps of 10 minutes = 11.1% of the storm duration

2. for the central 10 minutes we see from Figure 4.3b that 11.1% corresponds to 35 %
of the rainfall or 6.16 mm

3. the central three times steps correspond to 33.3% of the duration giving 68% of the
rainfall so each of the ten minute blocks either side of the central 10 minutes
contain (68 – 35)/2 = 16.5% or 2.9 mm

4. the central five times steps correspond to 55.5% of the duration giving 83% of the
rainfall so each of the ten minute blocks either side of the central 30 minutes
contain (83 – 68)/2 = 7.5% or 1.3 mm

5. continue this procedure until the profile is complete.

27
Figure 4.3 a) The rainfall profiles of the 50% summer and 75% winter storms. The 50% summer rainfall
profile is used for urbanised catchments (quarries) and the 75% winter profile for rural catchments. b) The
cumulative rainfall profiles used for according to the FSR used for converting mean rainfall intensities to
symmetrical temporal distributions of rainfall.

The time-area method calculates the changing flow rate as the product of the changing rainfall and
contributing areas. As the storm proceeds, so more catchment area contributes to the runoff. So, if
the area of the zone starting to contribute runoff during time interval ∆tn is an, and the rainfall
during that interval is pn, then the flow rate qn is given by

q n = a n p1 + a n −1 p 2 + a n − 2 p3 + .......... a1 p n
n
q n = ∑ a n −i +1 pi
i =1

This convolution methodology is used in the FSR rainfall runoff model and the method also
underlies some of the more sophisticated distributed rainfall-runoff models used by hydrologists
today, however it is not generally recommended in this basic form for natural catchments. It shares
the same problems as the time of concentration method; it requires accurate estimates of the time of
travel, and can produce peak flow values for rural catchments that are too large.

4.4.4 Runoff estimation using other rainfall-runoff models

4.4.4.1 Water balance
From Equations (2.2), (2.3), and (2.4) the water balance is

P = Qt + Qo + Q g + I + T + E s + E w + D + ∆S u + ∆S s + ∆S w . (4.4)

28
The accuracy of this method in estimating runoff is limited only by the accuracies of the other
components of the water balance. Unfortunately there are often large uncertainties associated with
the various components: e.g. the deep drainage to groundwater, D, and soil water storage are very
difficult to estimate for natural catchments, even precipitation input is uncertain to at least ±5%.

Some simplifying assumptions can be made for most quarry catchments. Usually I, T and Es are
negligible and in some quarries it may be possible to neglect other components, e.g. the quarry may
be above the water table so that Qg and ∆Ss are zero, and in winter evaporation is small so Ew may
be neglected. Applying these assumptions to Equation (4.4) we get

P = Qt + Qo + D + ∆S u + ∆S w .

This equation still contains terms that are difficult to estimate, e.g. the two separate Q terms and
∆Su. However for quarries with small unsaturated storage capacity which are either impermeable or
for which an estimate can be made of infiltration, it may be possible to use it to estimate ∆Sw from

∆S w = P − D . (4.5)

For this case the runoff is assumed to go to changing the storage in a sump, ∆Sw and any water that
infiltrates, percolates to groundwater.

Example 4.2

For the same quarry as in Example 4.1 with an area of 37ha it is assumed that Equation (4.5) is
valid and that the mean infiltration capacity is 12 mm h-1. Determine the change in storage
following a 90-minute storm with a mean intensity of 17.6 mm h-1.
Using Equation (4.5) and the mean rainfall intensity gives:

∆S w = (17.6 − 12 ) × 90 ÷ 60 ÷ 1000 × 370000 = 3108m 3 .

However if we use the storm profile then we get for the central ten minutes

∆S w = (6.16 × 6 − 12) × 10 ÷ 60 ÷ 1000 × 370000 = 1539m 3

and for the two ten-minute blocks either side of the centre of the storm,

∆S w = (2.9 × 6 − 12) × 2 × 10 ÷ 60 ÷ 1000 × 370000 = 666m 3 .

giving a total of 2205m3. (The infiltration rate exceeds the rainfall rate for the remainder of the
storm.) It therefore makes a large difference with this method which storm profile is used. It is
clear that the number of assumptions, or conversely the amount of information required, make this
method of very limited use other than providing very approximate estimates of runoff or storage
requirements.

29
4.4.4.2 Infiltration-based runoff models
Estimation of the rate of runoff from a catchment can be calculated as the difference between the
rainfall rate and the infiltration rate (Section 8.1). There are many equations that have been used to
estimate the infiltration rate but all need appropriate values of parameters. These can be determined
either from field measurements or calibration of models against runoff data. The main problem,
assuming that appropriate values of the parameters are known for the different surfaces, is that
infiltration is measured over a relatively very small area and not representative of the process at the
catchment scale.

4.4.4.3 The Probability Distributed Moisture model

Using the infiltration capacity as a means of estimating runoff provides a physically-based approach
that is applicable to quarries. However, choosing a single constant infiltration value, or one of the
functions in Section 8.1 to represent the variation in infiltration with time, does not account for the
variation in infiltration capacity across the quarry. This can be modelled using a Probability
Distributed Moisture model (PDM). The PDM deals with the frequency of occurrence of
hydrological variables of certain magnitude over a catchment, without regard for the location of a
particular occurrence within the catchment.

Relationships between rainfall and direct runoff can be derived from a PDM, based on either the
storage or infiltration capacities of the different land surfaces. In UK conditions the storage
capacity is the more appropriate variable for most catchments, however, where there is a large
percentage of impermeable land in a catchment, such as in a quarry, then the infiltration capacity
will be the more appropriate variable.

The probability distribution can be found on an areal basis so that the distribution of infiltration or
storage capacity for the catchment is determined from the fractional area of the catchment having
capacity values within a certain range. The procedure to do this for the infiltration capacity would
be:
1. determine from measurements or published vales for different soils and rocks the
range of infiltration capacities for the different quarry surfaces, e.g. haul roads, car
parks, quarry bases, stockpiles, spoil heaps, waste ground etc;

2. determine the areas of each of the different surfaces within the quarry;

3. calculate the fractional areas of different surfaces by dividing by the total quarry
area;

30
 4. plot the fractional area for each surface against the infiltration capacities – an
example of what might be produced is shown in Figure 4.4

5. fit a curve of given mathematical form (e.g. lognormal) through the data to allow
the calculation of a probability density function

Figure 4.4 A possible probability distribution of infiltration capacity for a quarry as required for the PDM
model

The same procedure could be followed for the storage capacities in a natural catchment to form the
basis for a PDM based on soil water storage. Once the distributions are established the PDM model
then provides a methodology for calculating rainfall-runoff relationships. Examples of such
relationships and their corresponding probability density functions are shown in Figure 4.5 and
Figure 4.6 The application of this method is described later in Section 5.3.5.3.

31
 direct runoff (mm) probability density
function
250 0.8
rainfall rate
(mm h-1)
200 5
0.6
10
20
150
50
100 0.4
100

0.2
50

0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
-1
net rainfall (mm) infiltration capacity (mm h )

Figure 4.5 Rainfall runoff relationships predicted using a probability distributed infiltration capacity as might
be found for a quarry

direct runoff (mm) probability density

function f(c)
250 0.02
initial basin
storage (mm)
200 0
20 0.015
40
150 60
80 0.01
100
100

0.005
50

0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100
net rainfall (mm) storage capacity (mm)

Figure 4.6 Rainfall runoff relationships predicted using a probability distributed storage capacity as might be
found for a natural rural catchment

32
5 Recommendations for managing surface water

5.1 Consideration in quarry design

It is important to consider the management of surface water during the planning of a quarry. In
some this may require no more than allowing for a storage volume within a quarry where water will
either soak into the substrate or collect without interfering with operations until pumped out. Even
then it will be necessary to estimate the volume required and measures will be needed to ensure that
no contaminants enter the groundwater. However, usually it will be necessary to provide structures
to avoid flooding and discharge of high concentrations of suspended sediments. In the past
handling surface water in quarries was often neglected when they were first planned and subsequent
problems were exacerbated by the limited options available for reducing either their scale or
frequency. Matters only get worse as a quarry is extended making a larger catchment area for
rainfall. Fortunately, simple, relatively inexpensive methods can be used to ensure that flooding
does not occur and that the concentrations of suspended sediments are controlled to acceptable
levels but these measures must be planned and properly designed before the quarry is started with
adequate land set apart for the necessary structures.

5.1.1 Risk management

Unless vast storage exists within a quarry it will never be possible to design a system that is capable
of handling all storms, and so structures are designed to a specified storm return period. When this
size of storm is exceeded the structure will not operate fully and there will be some untreated
discharge via an overflow system into the receiving waters. Which return period is chosen will
depend upon what is considered an acceptable risk, and the lifetime of the structure.

The fractional risk, r, associated with a particular event with a return period of T years occurring in
a period of M years is given by,
M
 1
r = 1 − 1 −  . (5.1)
 T
According to this the risk of a storm with a return period of 10 years occurring during a two year
period is 0.19, less than the risk, 0.22, of a storm with a return period of 100 years occurring during
a 25 year period. If ponds are required for temporary works, e.g. stockpiles, it should be possible to
design them to a shorter return period than would be required for permanent structures. The EA
area operational team should be contacted for guidance as to what it considers appropriate risk for a
particular water course.

33
Rearranging Equation (5.1) thus

1
T= , (5.2)
1 − (1 − r )
1M

makes it possible to calculate the period of time that will produce a given level of risk for a design
return period, e.g. it may be decided that a 5% is an acceptable risk for discharging some untreated
runoff from a stockpile with a two-year lifetime into a stream. Equation (5.2) shows that this would
require at least a 40-year return period design storm. Whereas the acceptable risk for discharging
runoff into a less sensitive stream over a 20 -year period might be 10% which would require a
design storm return period of 190 years.

5.1.2 Allow room for ponds

Space for the establishment of permanent structures is often limited in and around quarries, and it
can sometimes be difficult to arrange gravity flow, given the topography close to discharge points.
These matters need to be planned carefully.

5.1.3 Monitoring equipment

5.1.3.1 Rainfall and streamflow
With some foresight much useful information can be collected before alterations are made that are
likely to affect the flow of surface waters. It is recommended that as soon as the requirement for
estimating peak flows is foreseen one or more recording raingauges (see Figure 5.1) are installed at
the site and a flow recorder installed in the relevant water course, whether that be a stream or
drainage culvert. The equipment to record the flow does not need to be a permanent structure;
several small portable flowmeters are commercially available ideally suited to this type of
application (see Figure 5.2).

34
 Figure 5.1 An automatic tipping bucket raingauge

Figure 5.2 A small flowmeter in situ in a 750mm culvert. This flowmeter is able to measure depths as low as
25mm and flow velocities down to 21 mm s-1

Even a short period of data will provide the means to:

1. estimate the base flow contribution;

2. estimate roughly the mean percentage of rainfall that becomes runoff;

3. estimate the catchment lag: the time between the centroid of the rainfall to the
runoff peak - as little as six months data are needed for quarries, 18 months for
natural catchments;

35
 4. calibrate models.

There is a large variety of equipment commercially and some relevant web sites are given in
Section 7. It would be a wise investment to budget for the purchase of such equipment which when
installed at a quarry will enable the operator to build up an appreciation of the runoff response to
rainfall. As the workings develop and new structures, e.g. attenuation ponds, are needed the
information previously gained will be invaluable in providing guidance for the sizing of the ponds.

5.1.3.2 Measurement of infiltration rates

Infiltration rates for quarry surfaces are required for improved estimation of runoff. Rates for
various soils are published and there are also means of calculating infiltration capacities from soil
parameters (Section 8.1), however, if possible it is best to determine infiltration rates for the
different surfaces present in a quarry. Two methods for measuring infiltration rates are used: the
double ring infiltrometer and the sprinkling infiltrometer.

The double ring infiltrometer method which requires maintaining a constant head of water within a
circular enclosure is not suited to most quarry surfaces or slopes.

In principle the sprinkling infiltrometer is simple and should provide more realistic estimates of the
infiltration capacity. Artificial rain is applied at a measured rate and the runoff from a known area
is collected and measured at regular intervals to allow the runoff rate to be calculated. The
infiltration capacity is calculated as the difference between the two rates.

An example of a sprinkling infiltrometer system is shown in Figure 5.3. Rain is simulated using a
petrol driven pump to force water through a nozzle, specially designed to give uniform coverage; it
also produces a realistic range of drop sizes. Rainfall intensity is adjusted using a manual valve and
a clock gauge to facilitate maintaining the setting. A runoff collector made of welded steel collects
the runoff from 1 m2 of surface is collected and piped to a large tipping bucket flowmeter (Figure
5.4) with logger. A windbreak is often necessary to maintain the uniformity of the spray.

36
Figure 5.3 A rainfall simulator (sprinkling infiltrometer) with runoff collector (covered with polythene for
calibration) and tipping bucket flowmeter in the background (see Figure 5.4)

Figure 5.4 Large tipping bucket flowmeter for measuring runoff from sample plot

5.1.4 Choice of system

Assuming that adequate space has been allocated for water control measures the best system to use
will be dictated to a large extent by whether the quarry is on a hillside or not. On a hillside water
will be able to flow to a point without pumping where structures can be built for treating it, whereas
a sunken quarry will require pumps for removal of the water. Although the majority of quarries are
sunken there are often some parts of these that are above the excavation, e.g. plant areas or loading

37
areas, where it will be possible to adopt the recommended two stage system. The options are
summarised in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1 Possible storage structures for controlling surface water in quarries
relevant
quarry possible best options comment
section
standard attenuation pond
hillside proven two-stage system 5.3
and settlement lagoons
pumps should be selected to ensure that they are
sump and pump to
able to pump at a rate sufficient to cope with the
sunken settlement lagoons 5.4.1
design storm. greater flexibility is provided by
outside
using several pumps rather than a single larger one.
sump and pump with
turbidity meter to water has the advantage of requiring less space 5.4.1
course
if the permeability of the substrate is high enough
settlement lagoon,
this requires the smallest space but does require 5.4.1, 5.4.3
intercpetor and soakaway
periodic de-sludging
may be possible if there is adequate room available
standard system or for parts of the operation that are outside the 5.3
excavation

5.1.5 The role of vegetation in quarries

Vegetated slopes produce less runoff than bare slopes and the primary role of planting vegetation in
quarries is to reduce runoff and soil erosion and thus the amount of suspended solids in runoff.
Erosion by water occurs through two mechanisms: detachment of soil particles by rain drops and by
overland flow.

Bare soil surfaces are subject in varying degrees to erosion by rainfall: sandy soils are most erodible
whereas some soils, e.g. clays are less so. There are also some soils which become capped with an
almost impermeable crust after high intensity rainfall. Soil particles are detached through the action
of shear forces when rain drops impact the soil surface. The greater the kinetic energy of the drops
the greater potential there is for soil detachment. As the size distributions of rain drops are such
that there are relatively more large drops in high intensity rainfall, high intensity rainfalls have the
greatest energy load and therefore the greatest erosive potential. Once soil particles are mobilised
they will be transported by any overland flow.

Vegetation provides a protective cover for the soil in reducing the kinetic energy of the drops
reaching the soil; the denser the cover the more effective the protection. It also increases the
permeability of the soil through providing pathways for the water to flow, e.g. around the stems,
(see Section 2.2.3) and through drying the soil as water is abstracted by the plant roots. The root
system also stabilises the soil by mechanical binding it together. Grass is an ideal choice for use in

38
quarries. It is rapid growing, cheap to plant and easy to maintain, provides a dense cover and
extensive surface root system, and typically extracts about 400mm of water from the soil annually.

Erosion also occurs through the action of overland flow which scours particles from the surface and
carries them away; the more rapidly moving the water is, the greater the shear forces acting to
remove the particles. And clearly the more water the greater the amount of soil removed. It is
therefore, particularly important that long, steeply sloping soil surfaces are vegetated as quickly as
possible to minimise the potential for significant erosion events.

With climate change the expectation is for more extreme rainfall events - higher intensities and
larger rainfall totals – so that the importance of quickly establishing grass cover on exposed soil will
become more important.

5.1.6 The importance of maintenance

Apart from ensuring normal quarry operations and meeting environmental legislation regular
correct maintenance procedures are vital to avoid more serious consequences. Reed (1999)
recounts how a long duration low intensity rainfall in south Wales resulted in two people being
drowned in their home as a result of a blocked culvert. Analysis showed that the low intensity
storm which would not be expected to create it was only a five year flood but bad maintenance
resulted in disaster. Specific maintenance points for the various structures are covered in following
sections.

5.2 Routing of drainage in and around quarries

5.2.1 Prevent intrusion of surface water

5.2.1.1 Purpose
It is not desirable that water be left lying around on quarry sites and it should not be allowed to
accumulate on roads and in working areas. Instead it should be channelled and directed to places
where it will do least harm and also kept as clean as possible.

Care needs to be taken in designing the route of ditches:

• It is desirable to avoid steep gradients and sharp bends.

• They must maintain as even a fall as possible.

• Where steep gradients cannot be avoided, some form of flow retardation may be
required (see for example )

39
Figure 5.5 Barriers placed across a dttch to retard flow and enhance infiltration

5.2.1.2 Segregation of runoff

It is important to design quarry drainage systems to keep dirty water separate from clean water that
would otherwise not require treatment before being discharged. One of the main causes of
suspended solids in runoff is the movement of vehicles in the quarry. Water that collects on haul
roads and in plant areas should be segregated from water from other parts of the quarry. Roads and
plant areas should be graded so that surface water runs into gullies, drains and channels which route
it to settlement systems.

Figure 5.6 A typical well constructed clean-water ditch

40
5.2.2 Ditch and drain design
5.2.2.1 Capacity
The ditch system needs to have adequate capacity to transmit the maximum anticipated flow rate.
Ditch capacity will vary in relation to:
• cross sectional area

• shape (specifically the wetted perimeter)

• gradient

• roughness of the ditch wall.

Ditch capacity may be analysed by the Chézy – Manning formula:

Ac R 0.667 S 0.5
Q= (5.3)
n
where:

Q is the flow rate in (m³s-1); Ac is the cross sectional area of channel in (m²); R is the “hydraulic
radius” - a parameter defined as the cross sectional area divided by the wetted perimeter, P (m); S is
the channel bed gradient (change in elevation divided by length) and n is the Manning roughness
coefficient, an experimentally derived figure which varies according to channel lining.

The area of the ditch and the hydraulic radius will vary according to the depth of flow. Typical
values for the Manning roughness coefficient are given in Table 5.2:

Table 5.2 Manning roughness coefficient (n) for different surfaces

material forming channel n
smooth plastic 0.0114
planed wood 0.012
smooth concrete 0.012
rough wood 0.013
rough concrete 0.014
rough brick or well dressed masonry 0.016
sheet steel piles 0.018
spoil channel 0.020
corrugated iron/steel 0.024
clean earth 0.025
well sorted gravel 0.029
rough masonry 0.030
short grass 0.030
clean, straight natural stream 0.030
earth with weeds and stones 0.035
rough rock 0.035
clean, winding natural stream 0.040
unsorted gravel 0.055
overgrown stream or channel 0.100

41
The drag of the channel walls and floor causes the flow rate to vary across the ditch, being fastest
in the centre and least at the edges. The average velocity of water in the ditch may be calculated by
dividing the flow rate by the cross sectional area.

For most small and medium sizes quarries, a trapezoidal ditch of 1m² area should be adequate.

5.2.2.2 Lining
Ditches in erodible soils may need to be lined to prevent erosion. Cohesionless soils such as sands
and silts may erode very quickly, with major gullies forming overnight. The eroded soil adds to the
suspended solids in the runoff requiring treatment, and can choke the ditch when deposited. This
can be a serious problem for clean water ditches, as the sediment will contaminate water that would
otherwise not need treatment.

The ditch is liable to suffer from erosion when:

V > Gd 0.2 (5.4)

where: V is the velocity of flow (m s-1), G is the erosion coefficient, d is the depth of flow (m).

Typical erosion coefficients are given in Table 5.3

Table 5.3 Erosion coefficients for different soils

soil type erosion coefficient
sand 0.60
loose sandy clay 0.60
firm clay 0.84
soft sandstone 0.91

Where the velocity is likely to exceed this figure, then the channel should be lined, unless erosion
can be tolerated. In practice, ditches cut in sand, clay or soft sandstone will all probably require
lining to resist erosion during extreme storms, unless ditch gradient is very slack. The lining needs
to be sufficiently strong to withstand the scour of the water and abrasion from gravel and sand
transported by the water. Thin plastic is not usually strong enough. Redundant conveyor belt has
proved adequate in many instances.

5.2.3 Culverts
Capacity can be calculated as with ditches and varies according to the same factors. Flow capacity
may be calculated in the same manner. Owing to the interplay between wetted perimeter and cross
sectional area, maximum flow occurs when the pipe is about 95% full.

42
It is usual that a smooth inner lining is present, such as plastic or smooth concrete. Corrugated
steel pipes however impose considerable drag on the flow and can have as much resistance as an
earth channel.

Flow velocity in a culvert is usually greater than in the adjoining ditches. Entrance and exit shape
can influence the capacity of the culvert. This is because the water has to be accelerated and
decelerated as it enters or leaves the culvert. Square edges to the inlet and outlet impose
considerably greater resistance to this process than smoothly curved bell shapes. The extra expense
of such entrances may be justified by the decreased cost of a narrower pipe. However, minimum
diameter of pipe should be 450mm to avoid blockages.

Example 5.1

Compute expected maximum depth required for a trapezoidal channel, and determine if lining is
required, to cope with a 100year return period rainfall for a 2.5ha catchment with a runoff factor
of 93.7%. The time of concentration (the time for water to flow from the furthest part of the
catchment to the section of ditch; See Section 4.4.3.2) is 15min

The required maximum flow rate can be computed from the rainfall-runoff values, given the
catchment area of the ditch and the time of concentration. As average rainfall intensity falls with
increasing time period, the peak flow occurs at the time of concentration. Given a 15min time of
concentration for a site, the 100year return period rainfall intensity for a 15min-duration storm can
be calculated using the methods described in Section 4.3. For this example the rainfall intensity is
94.8mm h-1.

The flow rate, Q (m³h-1), is given by Equation (4.1):

Q = 10kAR

where: A is the area of catchment (ha) R is the rainfall intensity (mm h-1), and k is the runoff factor.

So for this example the catchment discharge is:

Q = 10 x 2.5 x 94.8 x 0.937 = 2220m³ h-1

This is the maximum flow rate the ditch will need to pass during the extreme storm event.

In the Chézy–Manning formula (Equation 5.3), the channel area, wetted perimeter, gradient and
bed roughness are required to compute the flow capacity. The gradient and roughness are
determined by the site geometry and geology. The channel area and wetted perimeter vary
according to the depth of flow. For a given bed width and side batter, a number of depths will need

43
to be considered to compute the actual depth of flow. For a typical ditch geometry, capacity may
be calculated as below:

Table 5.4 Steps in the calculation of the depth of flow required in a trapezoidal channel able large
enough to contain the discharge from a 100y return period storm

Capacity of trapezoidal channel

Required flow rates l s-1 m³ s-1 m³ s-1h
for 100-year flood 616.7 0.62 2220
Channel gradient (v:h) 0.025 (1 in 40 )
Manning roughness coefficient (n) 0.025 (Clean earth)
Bed width (m) 0.5
Side batter (v:h) 2
Depth of flow (m) 1 0.7 0.5 0.415 0.4 0.3
Channel area (m²) 1.00 0.60 0.38 0.29 0.28 0.20
Hydraulic radius (R) 0.34 0.27 0.22 0.19 0.19 0.16
Velocity of flow (m s-1) 3.06 2.62 2.28 2.11 2.07 1.84
-1
Volume of flow (m s ) 3.06 1.56 0.85 0.62 0.58 0.36
-1
Volume of flow (l s ) 3064 1560 853 618 580 358
-1
Volume of flow (m³h ) 11031 5616 3072 2225 2090 1289

From Table 5.4 we see that the velocity of flow in the ditch corresponding to carry a discharge of
2220m³ h-1 is 2.22 m s-1 for a flow depth of 0.415m.

The flow rates (m s-1) that will not cause erosion for these depths of flow according to
Equation (5.4) are given in Table 5.5.

Table 5.5 Flow rates (m s-1) that will not cause erosion for the six different depths

material G flow rates

1 0.7 0.5 0.415 0.4 0.3
sand 0.97 0.97 0.90 0.84 0.81 0.81 0.76
firm clay 1.35 1.35 1.26 1.18 1.13 1.12 1.06
soft sandstone 1.47 1.47 1.37 1.28 1.23 1.22 1.16

The flow velocity at which erosion may occur is much less than the flow velocity of 2.11 m s-1
required for a discharge of 2220m³ h-1, therefore lining will be required, especially for clean water
channels.

44
5.2.4 Maintenance
All drains, culverts and ditches, especially those carrying water off site should be regularly
inspected to ensure that they are free from leaks and blockages. The frequency of inspection will
depend upon the size of the channels and the consequences of failure. It is recommended that daily
inspections be made wherever failure of the structure could result in injury to persons, or to persons
or property outside the quarry.

5.3 Design of attenuation ponds and settlement lagoons

5.3.1 Introduction
The cheapest method of removal of sediment from water is through silt settlement lagoons. These
operate by slowing the flow as a result of increasing width so that sediment can settle out before
reaching the outflow from the lagoon. The higher the flow, the larger the area of settlement lagoon
required. Ideally, and most reliably, flow through lagoon systems operates by gravity with no need
for pumping; this requires a fall through the system and a location downstream of the last polluting
inflow, usually very close to the final discharge point from the site.

To keep settlement lagoons within reasonable size limits requires the rate of inflow to be limited
through for example, the use of an attenuation pond (see for a well-constructed example) which
provide storage for peak flows and regulate discharge to the settlement lagoons. Currently it is
common (see Section 3.2.2.2) for there to be no separate attenuation pond; instead large silt lagoons
with some storage volume are used. This is possibly a legacy of the design given in the NCB book
(NCB, 1973). However, this cannot be generally recommended. The increased flow rates from
large storms stir up settled sediments and can in very large storms scour out the accumulated
contents in one event. Rather separate attenuation ponds should be constructed following the
design points covered next.

45
Figure 5.7 An well-constructed attenuation pond and its outlet structure

5.3.2 Attenuation ponds

A typical design for an attenuation pond and settlement lagoon system is shown in Figure 5.8 and
Figure 5.9; details of the attenuation pond outflow are shown in Figure 5.10. Attenuation ponds
must provide adequate storage for all runoff during and following design rainfall events, so that
flow rates through settlement lagoons are always at a controlled rate slow enough for the size of the
lagoons. The outlet from the pond will be near its base at the high water level of the settlement
lagoon. The outlet, protected by a trash guard (Figure 5.11), should consist of a pipe that is blocked
by a plate with a sharp-edged circular hole in it (Figure 5.12). The hole in the throttle plate must be
sufficiently small to limit the flow out of the full pond at the desired rate, while being large enough
to prevent overflow from the attenuation pond except for storms exceeding the design criterion. For
these events overflow will be via a spillway and properly constructed drainage channel into a water
course through an outlet structure designed to minimise erosion. The level of the spillway must be
carefully surveyed and constructed so that it only operates at and above the design storm. This will
ensure that suspended solids only exceed the consent concentrations when the receiving water
courses are in spate and able to tolerate the higher concentrations.

46
Figure 5.8 Plan view of a landscaped attenuation pond and settlement lagoon with associated ditches and
structures

Figure 5.9 Cross section through a typical attenuation pond and settlement lagoon. Water flows from right to
left. Details of the connection between the pond and lagoon are shown in

47
Figure 5.10 Cross section through the central berm showing details of the outlet structure of the attenuation
pond

Figure 5.11 Construction details of a typical trash screen for protecting the throttle plate from debris

Figure 5.12 Construction details of a typical throttle plate to control the effluent rate from an attenuation pond

48
The rate of outflow (Q m3 s-1) from the feed pipe and settlement lagoon will be at a rate given by,

Q = C D (d , h ) d 2 2 gh (5.5)

where CD is a discharge coefficient that is a function of, d the hole diameter, and h the head of water
in the attenuation pond. g is the acceleration due to gravity.

Calculating the size of the attenuation pond is an iterative procedure that involves determining the
rainfall duration for a given return period that will require the largest storage. This storage will be
equal to the difference in the inflow and outflow rates, integrated over the time there is runoff. As
seen the outflow rate is dependent upon the head of water (see Eqn. 6.3) which in turn is determined
by the dimensions of the pond. The most difficult part of the calculation is estimating the runoff
that will occur. Methods for arriving at a realistic estimate of runoff are considered in Section
5.3.5.2, however before this can be estimated the design period rainfall must be determined and this
is considered in Section 5.3.5.

5.3.3 Settlement lagoons

Settlement lagoons are designed so that under ideal conditions all particles having an equivalent
spherical diameter d or greater are removed (see Section 8.2). These particles settle out of the water
at a range of velocities above a certain minimum velocity, us, corresponding to the smallest and
lightest particles. Therefore for ideal settling the minimum volumetric rate Qc (m3 h-1) at which
water is cleaned of particles of diameter d or greater is given by

Qc = Au s

where A is the surface area of the cleaned water. This rate of production of cleaned water can be
equated to the rate at which water leaves (and enters) the settlement lagoon and is used to define the
minimum lagoon area viz.

A = Qc u s . (5.6)

N.B. the required area is independent of the depth of the water.

The surface area of the settlement lagoon is therefore found by equating the flow rate from the
attenuation pond, Q, from Equation (5.3), to Qc in Equation (5.4).

Studies of settlement lagoons in the US (Kathuria, et al., 1976) showed that sediment removal
efficiencies of 95% were achieved when the residence time of water in the lagoons exceeded 20
hours, or the settling velocity, 10-5 m s-1. This velocity corresponds to particles having a specific
gravity of 2.2 with a diameter of about 5.10-6 m; the size of very fine silt particles. By way of

49
example, if inflow to a lagoon was at 1 m3 h-1 than for the settling velocity of 10-5 m s-1 a lagoon
surface area of 100 m2 would be required.

These values are what would be expected in an ideal lagoon. However, real lagoons depart from
the ideal through the processes of scouring, turbulence and short circuiting which occurs when
some water flows through the lagoon in less than the residence time. As indicated above using a
properly constructed attenuation pond to feed the settlement lagoon eliminates scouring.
Construction measures can also be taken to reduce the effects of the other two processes. Influent
from the attenuation pond should be over a carefully levelled weir across the full width of the
settlement lagoon; this will reduce turbulence and short circuiting. A similar structure at the
outflow will also ensure that turbulence is not created by the accelerating effluent and that short
circuiting is again reduced. An oval shaped pond with its longer axis in the direction of flow will
also reduce short circuiting by eliminating unproductive corners. Short circuiting can also occur
when the density of the inflowing fluid is less than that already in the lagoon. It can be reduced by
constructing baffles or placing netting across the width of the pond. As an additional security at the
design stage a short circuiting factor can be applied to the calculated lagoon area: a value of 1.1 is
generally adequate. A typical settlement pond with details of the outlets is shown in Figure 5.13.

Figure 5.13 Construction details of a typical settlement lagoon.

50
It may be possible to use smaller settlement lagoons with higher settling velocities if the grain size
distribution is such that removing the larger particles will allow the water quality to meet the
discharge consent. To determine if this is possible it will be necessary to determine from sampling
the runoff over a range of storms throughout the year the grain size distribution.

Where a large settlement area is required two or more lagoons should be constructed in parallel,
rather than in series as is often the practice. Smaller ponds have the advantage of requiring less
time and effort to dredge and therefore are more likely to be correctly maintained. If there is more
than one pond arranging them in parallel makes it possible to shut off one for dredging while
keeping the system operative, albeit at reduced capacity. When there is more than one settlement
lagoon each should have its own feed pipe with throttle plate from the attenuation pond.
Connecting lagoons in parallel also avoids the generation of turbulence, which hinders settlement of
solids that can occur when water flows from one lagoon into the next.

To prevent resuspension of solids in settlement lagoons a depth of at least 1m should be maintained.

Maintaining this depth will require the lagoons to be dredged at regular intervals. If particularly
high sediment loads are expected then the lagoon should be made deeper to reduce the frequency of
dredging. If this is necessary it will also be necessary to increase the lagoon area to give sufficient
time for the particles to settle. Also wind –induced turbulence can stir the surface layer of the
lagoon which will be worse if there is sediment accumulation creating high sediment loads in the
top layers of the lagoon. Planting reeds (Phragmites spp. see Figure 5.14), and where practicable
some willows species, around the edge of lagoons has several benefits, viz:
• Sheltering the lagoon from the wind

• Slowing water movement and trapping sediments around the stems and roots

• Removing contaminants, e.g. heavy metals

51
Figure 5.14 Four settlement lagoons in series. Although parallel lagoons would be a better arrangement they
are well sheltered from the wind and have well developed reed growth to assist in cleaning and decontaminating
the water.

Sediment lagoons, where water is pumped from a sump have the advantage of regulated inflow and
if the water is pumped from the surface of the sump then there will be some preliminary clearing of
the water. The disadvantage of this system is the dependence upon the pump(s) and the cost of
maintenance and fuelling.

5.3.4 Alternative commercial devices

Commercial products of varying degrees of complexity are available for cleaned runoff water which
would normally be used in place of a settlement lagoon. An example of the construction of one
such separator that works on the cyclone principle is shown in Figure 5.15. Web addresses of
suppliers are given in Section 7.

52
Figure 5.15 Cross sections of a cyclonic type separator for removing suspended sediment and oil from ruuoff
water

5.3.5 Steps in designing a settlement lagoon system

5.3.5.1 Estimating rainfall
The best method for estimating rainfall of given return periods is the FEH for storms longer than
one hour (Section 4.3.1). For shorter periods the values given by the FSR are still considered the
best although the FEH estimates are acceptable for durations down to 30 minutes (FEH, Vol.2).
However using the two different sets of predictions will give rise to discontinuities at the one-hour
boundary. This problem can be overcome by multiplying the FSR values by the ratio of the FEH to
FSR values for the one-hour storm. The PondSizer program produces continuous rainfall
distributions by combining the distributions from both the FSR and FEH methods (Section 4.3.3).

5.3.5.2 Estimating runoff

An accurate assessment of the area is a primary concern. Recent large scale survey data should be
used to determine the total surface area and the areas of the different surface types. Modern
surveying software (Section 7) makes this a quick and easy task.

Clearly the most cautious approach in estimating runoff would be to assume that the entire quarry
surface is impermeable. However this would result in unnecessarily large storage requirements for
the ponds, where space is usually at a premium. It is therefore sensible to take account of the
different permeabilities within the quarry while maintaining a cautionary approach.

53
Unfortunately there is no easy method of making an accurate estimate of runoff. The most accurate
estimates require sophisticated models that require more data, and more detailed understanding of
the processes at work in the quarry than are likely to be available.

Of the methods reviewed in Section 4.4 the following three can be considered for use in sizing
storage:
1. The Rational method is simple to understand and easy and quick to use, but at best
can only give a rough estimate of the runoff.

2. Methods that use infiltration models (Section 8.1) probably give an acceptable
compromise between the requirement for detailed information and goal of best
accuracy. The infiltration equations are used in the PondSizer software.

3. The Probability Distributed Moisture (PDM) models probably provide the best
compromise. A PDM model is incorporate in the PondSizer software.

In all of the methods it is necessary to estimate of the permeability or infiltration rates which are
best measured at the quarry if possible (see Sections 5.1.3.2 and 5.4.3.3). Otherwise we suggest
until measured values become available that:
• Taking a mid value from the figures in Table 5.9, but only for gravel and sandy
soils, will give a rough estimate;

• For spoil tips, waste and restored areas it should be possible to assign soil types for
which infiltration parameters are available or can be calculated (see Section 8.1).

• Areas of concrete or asphalt and unfissured bedrock are treated as impermeable.

• Intermediate values are assigned to other areas such as haul roads, areas of fractured
rock.

5.3.5.3 Water management design software

Various commercial software products exist to aid the design of controls of surface water that
would be of relevance to quarries. These range from comprehensive drainage design products such
as WinDes which deals with all aspects (soakaways, ponds, sumps, culverts pipes etc) and
HydroWorks originally developed for urban drainage and sewer design to much smaller products
like DEWOP that apply to just a few of the elements e.g. drains, culverts and sumps. The web
addresses for the developers of these products are listed in Section 7 their inclusion here does not
indicate endorsement they are given as examples only.

54
A prototype version of a computer program, PondSizer, is provided with this handbook that can be
used to aid the design of attenuation ponds, and settlement lagoons. It can also be used to produce
just rainfall distributions for a range of return periods and durations as a plain ASCII text output
file.

The PondSizer package includes the following:

• hybrid rainfall estimation for return periods from 1 to 100 years and duration for 2 to
1440 minutes;

• option of uniform, winter or summer storm profiles;

• runoff estimation using different options including,

- Horton equation;

- Green-Ampt;

- PDM;

• optimises the area of the combined attenuation pond and settlement lagoon system.

5.3.6 Construction and maintenance

For correct and efficient operation of settlement lagoons it is important that they are designed to
minimise turbulence and make use of the full surface areas. The relative heights of the inlet and
outlet weirs should also be constructed with particular attention paid to the levelling and relative
heights of the inlet, outlet and overflow weirs (Figure 5.16).

Figure 5.16 A example of a well designed and constructed outlet weir from a settlement lagoon

55
Rather than lagoons, multi-section settlement tanks of concrete or concrete block are often
constructed (Figure 5.17). These are more expensive and likely to be less efficient than a properly
designed lagoon because of the turbulence generated when the water drops from one section to the
next. And because of the small size of the sections they can be difficult to clean out with the mobile
buckets used in quarries.

Figure 5.17 A well constructed settlement tank. The large length to width ratio minimises short circuiting and
the barrier at the end of the second section can be positioned to reduce the drop in level between sections thereby
reducing the turbulence generated.

However well the ponds and lagoons are designed and constructed they will only operate efficiently
if they are regularly and properly maintained.

Maintenance must include:

• regular inspection of the throttle plate and trash guard for debris;

• uniformity of flow at the inlet and outlet structures of the settlement lagoon during
periods of flow;

• records of the time of dredging and the amount of sediment removed, this will allow
the frequency at which the lagoons require dredging to be established;

• measurement of the level of silt accumulation in the lagoon to schedule de-sludging;

• visual inspections are made of the integrity of the walls and spillways regularly, say
weekly;

• inspection of outlet of settlement lagoon for erosion of water course.

56
5.3.6.1 Batters
A major safety consideration when designing any water storage structure is the provision of a
sloping edge. The gradient of this slope, or batter, should be no greater than one in three (33%) to
make it easier for a person to clamber out if they have fallen in.

Example 5.2

Determine the size of attenuation pond and settlement lagoon to accommodate storms with a 100
year return period for a 6ha catchment with 1ha vegetated.
The rainfall intensities for a range of storm durations (see the extract from a spreadsheet below)
were in this example supplied from the Met Office, however, intensities could equally well have
been generated from the FEH or the PondSizer program. The infiltration capacity (fourth and sixth
row in the extract) is calculated for vegetated and bare ground using the Horton equation (Section
8.1) and the partial runoff rate Qp from the vegetated or bare ground from

Q p = (R − f ) A p

where R is the rainfall intensity, Ap is the partial area and f is the infiltration capacity. If O is the
mean discharge rate at which water leaves the attenuation pond to flow into the settlement lagoon
and t is the storm duration, then the required volume, Sw, for the attenuation pond is given by

S w = QT − Ot ,

where QT is the partial runoff rate from catchment. The results of this sequence of calculations for a
mean discharge rate of O = 7.5 m3 h-1 are seen in the extract below.

Table 5.6 Steps in calculating the storage volume required for an attenuation pond
100 year return Storm duration (hrs) 0.35 0.5 1 2 6 8 10
period Rainfall intensity (mm h-1) 79.5 65.6 44.1 26.0 11.2 9.0 7.6
Total rainfall (mm) 27.8 32.8 44.1 51.9 67.4 72.2 76.1
vegetated ground infiltration capacity (mm h-1) 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00
Partial runoff (m³) 208 228 241 119 0 0 0
bare ground infiltration capacity (mm h-1) 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00
Partial runoff (m³) 1286 1490 1905 1995 1571 1210 805
Total runoff (m³) 1494 1718 2146 2236 2236 2236 2236
Runoff rate (m³h-1) 4269 3436.0 2146.0 1118.0 372.7 279.5 223.6
Storage required (m³) 1492 1714 2139 2221 2191 2176 2161
The pond will require a capacity of 2221 m3 to accommodate the largest storm runoff which occurs
with a storm of two hours duration: the area will depend upon the shape chosen. For a rectangular
pond with sides in the ratio 2:1 with a depth of 2m and batter of 3 an area of 1568 is required given
by sides of 56m by 28m. The mean discharge rate O is calculated in another spreadsheet from

57
 O = QT − S w t F

where tF is the time taken for the pond to fill. The calculation is iterative.

The area needed for the settlement lagoon is calculated using Equation (5.4),
2
A = 10.4 0.036 = 289m

using the maximum discharge rate of 10.4 m3 h-1, which corresponds to the discharge rate from the
full attenuation pond.

5.4 Design of sumps and soakaways

5.4.1 Sumps
Sumps provide storage for water that would otherwise lie on the surface becoming heavily
contaminated with sediments through vehicle movements and general quarrying activities. Suitable
channelling through pipes, channels and earthworks will be needed in places to divert the water into
the sump. Sufficient capacity is needed to store runoff and groundwater without excessive,
expensive pumping. The extent to which this is possible will be determined by the rainfall, runoff
and quarry catchment area, and the permeability of the strata. Consideration should be given to
whether the sump is to be used as storage for washing water. Inexpensive software exists for
assisting in the calculations for the design of sump dimensions and pump selection taking into
account rainfall and runoff parameters (see Section 7).

Pumping can be controlled automatically, e.g. by water level monitors, or by manual operation.
Water should be abstracted from the surface using floating intakes to reduce sediment in the
discharge. The selection of a pump or pumps must take into account the discharge flow consent,
the suction lift and delivery head required. Using several pumps rather than one large one will
provide greater flexibility.

Sumps are used in isolation but more frequently are used in series with settlement lagoons. If there
is not room for settlement lagoons then turbidity meters should be installed to monitor the water in
the sump and prevent pumping above threshold levels set to comply with sediment discharge limits.
There are three arrangements of sump and settlement lagoons:
1. If the sump receives water from the settlement lagoons, then water can be pumped
from them directly to the receiving waters, assuming the settlement ponds are
functioning correctly and that a surface intake is used for the pump. Additional
security is achieved if

58
 - pumping is dependent upon the turbidity being low enough;

- the sump is sufficiently large to be able to absorb pulses of water with

high sediment load if the settlement ponds are overwhelmed.
2. If water from the sump is pumped to settlement lagoons then the pump rate must
not exceed the design flow rate for the lagoons and the effluent from the pump
should pass over a suitable structure to minimise turbulence. Using a surface intake
for the pump will take advantage of any settlement of sediments in the sump.

3. In some places it may be possible, using a surface intake, to pump untreated water
from a sump directly to the receiving waters and remain within the discharge
consent. However this will only be possible where one or more of the following are
true:
- the receiving waters are not sensitive;

- the fraction of small sediment particles is small;

- the sump is sufficiently large to be able to absorb pulses of water with

high sediment loading during large storms.

Figure 5.18 An example of the clarity of water possible in a sand quarry sump

5.4.1.1 Turbidity
Turbidity can be measured with an automatic turbidity meter which can be set to switch pumps on
and off, or with a handheld meter by an operator. Regular measurements are needed and this may
prove more expensive than the capital expense of an automatic system. Laboratory analysis of

59
samples can be bypassed by using a simple ruled test card held behind a test tube sample. To use
this method the card must be calibrated against a reference for each site and may not work for some
types of sediment.

5.4.2 Steps for designing a sump

5.4.2.1 Procedure
1. decide upon the acceptable risk level for overtopping of sump

2. calculate the return period storm

3. determine from the FEH the rainfalls for different durations

4. calculate the runoff expected for each rainfall from step 3

5. specify a pumping rate

6. calculate the required storage of the sump

Example 5.3

Suppose that a sump is required for collecting the runoff from 10ha of a quarry in south Wales near
Newbridge.

Following the steps listed above gives:

1. A risk of 50% for quarry operations being suspended through flooding once a year
is acceptable.

2. This risk requires storms with a two year return period (This can be checked using
Equation 5.2.) are used for the design specification.

3. From the FEH the rainfalls for a two-year return period and different durations at a
1km point near Newbridge are obtained. The different storm durations chosen are
given in the top row of an extract from a spreadsheet shown as Table 5.7 below,
and the FEH rainfall estimates are in Row 2.

4. Runoff is calculated in this example using a simple fraction of 0.5 of the rainfall.
Other more sophisticated methods of estimating runoff could be used, e.g. the
Horton formula could be used to calculate the time varying infiltration rate end
thence runoff rate. The runoff is in Row 3 and the runoff rate, calculated from the
runoff divided by the storm duration, is in Row 4.

5. A pump with a capacity of 100 m3 h-1 will be used.

60
 6. The required storage (S) is given by:

S = (Qin − P )t
where Qin is the mean rate of runoff, P is the pumping rate and t is the storm
duration. The storages calculated using this equation for the different storm
durations are shown in the bottom row of the table.

The maximum storage required is 1131 m3 for a storm of 8 hours duration. Further analysis using
the FEH data for storm durations between 4 and 12 hours shows that a maximal storage of 1141 m3
is required for storms of 9.75h duration.

Table 5.7 The steps in calculating the storage volume for a sump to store runoff from an area of
10ha with a runoff coefficient of 0.5 being pumped out at 100 m3 h-1
storm duration (h) 0.5 1 2 4 8 12 16 24
rainfall (mm) 10.8 14.8 20.4 28.1 38.6 46.6 52.7 62.8
runoff (m3) 539.0 740.0 1020.0 1403.5 1931.5 2328.0 2635.5 3139.5
rate of runoff (m3 h-1) 1078.0 740.0 510.0 350.9 241.4 194.0 164.7 130.8
required storage (m) 489.0 640.0 820.0 1003.5 1131.5 1128.0 1035.5 739.5

Example 5.4

At the same quarry the operators are limited to the size of sump that they can allow and wish to
know how large a pump will be required to meet the same security level.

The same procedure as in the previous example is followed up to step 4. The pump capacity is
given by Equation rearranged thus

S
P = Qin − .
t
which is used to calculate the figures in the last row of the extract from a spreadsheet shown as
Table 5.8. If the allowable sump volume was 900 m3 the required pump capacity is about 130 m3 h-
1
to cope with the runoff from storms of 8h duration.

Table 5.8 The steps in calculating the required pumping capacity to allow a sump of 900 m3 to store
runoff from an area of 10ha with a runoff coefficient of 0.5
storm duration (h) 0.5 1.0 2.0 4.0 8.0 12.0 16.0 24.0
rainfall (mm) 10.8 14.8 20.4 28.1 38.6 46.6 52.7 62.8
runoff (m3) 539.0 740.0 1020.0 1403.5 1931.5 2328.0 2635.5 3139.5
rate of runoff (m3 h-1) 1078.0 740.0 510.0 350.9 241.4 194.0 164.7 130.8
required pumping rate (m3 h-1) -722.0 -160.0 60.0 125.9 128.9 119.0 108.5 93.3

61
As in the previous example a more detailed analysis provides a more accurate figure: for this
example maximal pumping at 132 m3 h-1 is required for storms of 5.75h duration.

5.4.2.2 Maintenance
Sumps require little maintenance, the following inspections should be made and appropriate action
taken:
• daily visual inspection to detect oil slick on the surface;

- if possible the spillage or leak should be detected and stopped

- no pumping from the sump unless it is into an oil interceptor

• check on the depth of silt at a frequency dependent upon the sediment load of the
water;

- de-sludge if the sump volume is becoming too small

• weekly inspection of pump and maintain at the recommended intervals.

5.4.3 Soakaways
The process by which water enters the substrate through the process of infiltration is described
above (Section 2.2.3). Although it is expected that soakaways will be used in sand and gravel
quarries it is possible they might be used in limestone or sandstone quarries where there is major
fissure or karsitic flow. Clearly it is important that contaminants are not allowed to enter the
groundwater especially if there is an aquifer.

The EA has developed the Groundwater Protection Policy (EA, 1998) and as part of this has
defined Source Protection Zones (SPZs) for nearly 2000 wells, boreholes and springs used to supply
drinking water. Around each source there are an inner zone (Zone I), an outer zone (ZONE II) and
a catchment zone. Zones I and II are defined by water travel time to the source, which for Zone I is
50 days or a 50m radius whichever is larger, and for Zone II the travel time is 400 days or 25% of
the source catchment whichever is larger. Restrictions on discharges to groundwater are greatest
for Zone I and least for the catchment zone. Within each zone there is a further categorisation by
activity. If the site is within an SPZ then the local operational team of the Environment Agency
should be consulted before planning the soakaway.

When planning a soakaway consider the following:

1. If there is a significant unsaturated zone then this will act as a bio-filter, however if
there is a significant risk of contamination then settlement lagoons or separators

62
 (Section 5.3.4) and hydrocarbon interceptors (see Section 5.6.1) must be installed
before the water reaches the soakaway.

2. If fissure or karsitic flow occurs at the site consult the local operational team of the
Environment Agency.

3. If the site is within an SPZ then the local operational team of the Environment
Agency

4. There are many other sources not included in the 2000 EA SPZs which must also
be considered when planning a soakaway. The local operational team may be able
to help identify these.

5.4.3.1 Suitability of site

Rapid infiltration is the main requirement for a soakaway site which requires that:
1. the surface of the substrate is sufficiently permeable – clearly the lower the
permeability the slower the infiltration rate;

2. the substrate is unsaturated – hydraulic pressure gradients will suck the water into
the substrate;

3. any water table is at sufficient depth to maximise the unsaturated zone – the
available water storage will be large enough;

4. the substrate is sufficiently deep and extensive – same as for requirement 3.

5.4.3.2 Geotechnics
When water enters a soil it affects the bulk mechanical properties of the soil which can result in
reduced strength and stability, e.g. increased pore water pressure can lead to a reduction in shear
strength with implications for the stability of slopes. Bettess (1996) gives details of possible effects
that are just listed here:
• reduced load bearing capacity

• slope stability

• ground movement

• soil erosion and collapse

• mineral dissolution

• other chemical reactions

63
 • collapsible soils

• highly swelling clays

Most of these effects are only important when considering putting a soakaway near spoil tips or the
foundations of plant or buildings and can be avoiding by placing it well away from them. A
geotechnical survey of the site will reveal any potential deleterious impacts on the soil quality and
should be considered essential if the soakaway cannot be placed in relative isolation of tips or other
structures.

5.4.3.3 Infiltration coefficient

When a location for the soakaway has been identified it is necessary to determine the rate at which
water infiltrates the surface to be able to determine correctly the required size of the pond. This can
be quantified using the infiltration coefficient. Table 5.9 gives nominal ranges of the infiltration
coefficient for different types of substrate.

Table 5.9 Typical ranges of infiltration coefficients for various soil and rock types (in part after
Bettess, 1996)
substrate infiltration coefficient (m h-1)
gravel 10 - 1000
sand 0.1 - 100
loamy
0.01 - 1
sand
sandy
0.05 – 0.5
loam
loam 0.001 – 0.1
silt loam 0.0005 – 0.05
chalk 0.0001 - 100
sandstone <0.0001 – 0.5
limestone <0.0001 - >1000

These values can be used to give an estimate of the possible size ranges for a pond. However a site-
specific value is needed for the final design and this can be determined using the following
procedure which follows Bettess (1996).

Soakaway test

In essence a pit is dug and filled with water and as the water drains the water level and time since
the pit was full are recorded. However the following points must be considered:
• the location for the test pit should be at the proposed site of the soakaway

64
 • additional pits may be necessary to allow representative sampling of the substrate –
if any dimension of the soakaway is expected to exceed 25m (10m if the substrate is
particularly heterogeneous) a second pit should be used

• the pit should be as deep as the proposed soakaway and the volume of water used in
the test should be at least 1m3 if the area to be drained exceeds 100m2.

Once an appropriately sized pit has been dug at the site the surface area of pit that would be wetted
when it was half full of water should be calculated (i.e. both sides and bottom surfaces). It should
then be filled quickly to the invert level of proposed inlet. As the water drains, its level and the
elapsed time since it was full should be recorded. The test should be repeated twice in succession
and the smallest infiltration coefficient calculated from the tests used.

It may not be possible to fill the test pit however the calculations can be completed using the level
to which the water reached as the top level. The infiltration coefficient is given by,
V
q=
Aw t

where V is the volume of water between 25 and 75% of the top level, Aw is the surface area of base
and the sides up to 50% of the maximum water depth and t is the time taken for the water level to
fall from 75 to 25% of the maximum level.

5.4.3.4 Design points

Types of structure
Soakaways that may be used at quarries can take at least three forms viz.
1. unlined excavations in which the voids are left empty, sometimes referred to in
other applications as infiltration basins;

2. unlined excavations in which the void is filled or partially filled with gravel or
stones;

3. excavations containing prefabricated perforated concrete rings which can be

unfilled or filled.

In general because of limitations on the sizes of prefabricated concrete rings the third type is only
likely to be used for dealing with the small volumes of runoff from roofs of buildings in the quarry.
The cheapest and easiest to construct is the first type which also requires the smallest area for a
given capacity. However, there are several advantages of filling or partially filling the void viz.
• in sandy soils the filling will provide stability to the structure;

65
 • the fill will prevent scouring of the sides of the soakaway by the influent;

• if the void is filled then the potential danger of deep standing water is removed.

Seasonal variation of the water table

If there is a shallow water table then the seasonal variation in its level may cause it to enter the
soakaway. This will reduce the capacity of the soakaway and allow what may be dirty water to
enter the groundwater. Maintaining at all times at least one metre of unsaturated zone above the
groundwater will provide the necessary buffer to improve the quality of the surface water.

Avoiding scour

Storm runoff entering a soakaway is likely to erode its sides and base. Placing large rocks or other
suitable material, e.g. old conveyer belt, under the inlet will be necessary to prevent this occurring.
However a better alternative if possible is to ensure that the water is slowed before entering the
soakaway. This may be possible if water arrives via open water channels by using a weir to create a
pool and will have the advantage of causing some settlement of sediment that would otherwise tend
to clog the soakaway.

5.4.4 Steps for designing a soakaway

5.4.4.1 Equations
Bettess (1996) gives the following equations for designing a 3-D soakaway, i.e. one in which the
vertical dimension is not insignificant compared with the other dimensions. Strictly the equations
apply to soakaways with vertical sides however, they are used

The maximum depth, dmx, that water rises to in a soakaway dmx, is given by:

d mx = a[exp(− bt D ) − 1] (5.7)
where
Ab RAe
a= − (5.8)
p pq
and
pq
b= (5.9)
νAb

and where

tD is the storm duration

Ab is the basal area of the soakaway (m2)

66
p is the perimeter of the soakaway (m)

q is the infiltration coefficient (m h-1)

ν is the porosity of the fill

R is the rainfall rate (m h-1)

Ae is the effective impermeable runoff area (m2)

Time to empty

The time taken for a soakaway to empty or half empty is useful for assessing the readiness of a
soakaway to cope with the next rainfall event. The following equation is used to estimate the time
for a soakaway to half empty

 
νA  d + Ab p 
t 0.5 = b ln  mx 
qp  d mx
+ Ab p 
 2 

5.4.4.2 Procedure
1. decide upon the acceptable risk level for overtopping of soakaway

2. calculate the return period storm

3. determine from the FEH the rainfalls, RT, for different durations, tD, and calculate
the intensities from RT/tD

4. determine the effective impermeable area Ae, the infiltration coefficient q, and the
porosity of fill, ν

5. choose the horizontal dimensions for the soakaway

6. calculate b from Equation (5.7)

7. calculate a for each rainfall intensity from Equation (5.6)

8. calculate dmx from Equation (5.5)

Example 5.5

A temporary soakaway for runoff from a 3ha of land with a typical runoff coefficient of 0.5 in a
sand quarry in north Wiltshire is to be constructed. Site tests indicate that the infiltration
coefficient is 0.1 m h-1.

67
Following the steps listed above gives:
1. A risk of overtopping of 20% during the proposed two-year lifetime of the
soakaway is considered more than adequate

2. This indicates from Equation (5.2) that ten-year return period rainfalls are the
required design events

3. Rainfalls are obtained from the FEH and the intensities calculated (Table 5.10
shows an extract from a spreadsheet with the rainfall intensities and depths for
storms of two minutes to two hours duration.

4. Calculate the effective impermeable area, Ae as runoff coefficient x area = 1.5ha

5. infiltration coefficient q = 0.1 m h-1

6. it is decided not to fill the soakaway so the porosity ν =1

7. it is decided to construct a square soakaway and as a first guess the length of the
side is chosen as 10m

For sides of 10m the maximum depth is 8.8m with a storm of 18h duration. This was unacceptably
deep and the sides were increased in length. For sides of 40m the greatest depth of 0.35m (Table
5.10 bottom row) occurs for a storm of 1.5 hours duration and the time to half empty is 1.7h.
Table 5.10 Steps in calculation of the maximum depth of water in a soakaway with a void

b = Pq/(Bn) 0.02
storm duration (h) 0.0333 0.0417 0.0833 0.1667 0.2500 0.5000 1.0000 1.5000 2.0000
intensity (m/h) 0.1417 0.1335 0.1049 0.0756 0.0600 0.0386 0.0239 0.0178 0.0144
rainfall (mm) 4.7233 5.5625 8.7417 12.6000 15.0000 19.3000 23.9000 26.7000 28.8000
a = B/P - Di/(Pq) -255.6875 -240.3125 -186.6875 -131.7500 -102.5000 -62.3750 -34.8125 -23.3750 -17.0000
dmx (m) 0.0852 0.1001 0.1555 0.2194 0.2559 0.3111 0.3464 0.3480 0.3366

To ensure the soakaway did not collapse it was decided to fill it with gravel with a porosity of 0.35.
This increased the maximum water depth to about 1m for a storm of 1.25h (Table 5.11 bottom row)
and reduced the time to half empty to 1.6h.
Table 5.11 Steps in calculation of the maximum depth of water in a soakaway with gravel with a porosity of
0.35

b = Pq/(Bn) 0.02
storm duration (h) 0.0333 0.0417 0.0833 0.1667 0.2500 0.5000 1.0000 1.5000 2.0000
intensity (m/h) 0.1417 0.1335 0.1049 0.0756 0.0600 0.0386 0.0239 0.0178 0.0144
rainfall (mm) 4.7233 5.5625 8.7417 12.6000 15.0000 19.3000 23.9000 26.7000 28.8000
a = B/P - Di/(Pq) -255.6875 -240.3125 -186.6875 -131.7500 -102.5000 -62.3750 -34.8125 -23.3750 -17.0000
dmx (m) 0.2434 0.2859 0.4440 0.6259 0.7295 0.8847 0.9806 0.9806 0.9442

68
5.4.4.3 Maintenance
In soakaways where intergranular flow is the dominant mechanism by which water soaks into the
groundwater, the permeability will reduce with time as flow paths become blocked with deposited
sediment. To ensure proper operation of soakaways there must therefore be a maintenance
programme of regular dredging to remove the sediments. In soakaways where fissure flow
dominates sediment deposition is much less likely to impede the flow of water.

5.5 Flocculants

5.5.1 Need for flocculants

Settlement rate decreases rapidly with decreasing particle size, as the surface area (and hence drag)
decreases much less rapidly than the mass (and hence driving force) as the radius of the particle
diminishes. Fine silt and clay size particles can take a very long time (weeks) to settle out of water.
Extremely small particles, such as colloidal iron, may never settle out. The size of silt pond
required to detain the water for the requisite time becomes prohibitively large. The usual solution
to this problem is to decrease the settling time by increasing the effective size of the particles. This
requires the use of flocculants, these increase the effective size of the particles by making them
coagulate. Flocculants are chemicals that cause the aggregation of small particles to larger
particles, which settle more rapidly. However, there are problems. The use of flocculants is often
not allowed by the EA, especially when the discharge is upstream of a public water supply.

5.5.2 Operation of flocculants

Flocculants generally operate by electrostatic attraction. According to Migniot (1989), the settling
velocity of flocculent particles, uf, can be estimated using

250
uf = us when ds < 0.04 mm
d s2

where us and ds are the settling velocity and diameter respectively of the separate particles. Except
for very light particles (such as coal of PFA) flocculation is unlikely to be needed for diameters
greater than 0.04 mm (see Figure 8.2).

5.5.3 Types of flocculants

There are several types of flocculant. The most common type is polyelectrolyte. However, starch,
alum, sodium aluminate, ammonium alum, ferrous and ferric sulphate and pulverized limestone can
all act as flocculants in the correct circumstances. Generally, it is necessary to undertake trials to

69
determine the most cost effective substance, or combination of substances, to use. For example,
alum blocks are very useful if colloidal iron in suspension is present in the water. Polyelectrolytes
might be required to remove clay from the same water.

5.5.4 Use of flocculant

Different brands of flocculant may work best with clay particles of certain specific chemical
composition. Owing to the variation in chemistry of the clay particles, the type of flocculant to use
can usually only be determined by experiment. A number of different varieties may need to be tried
to obtain the best result. Whatever variety is used, the local area operational team of the EA should
be consulted regarding the acceptability of use of the flocculant. For this, the manufacturers data
sheets regarding toxicity will be required.

Addition of flocculants should be made at a rate determined by the flow rate: the addition of too
much flocculant can result in the opposite effect to that desired. Flocculants can be either liquid or
solid, for which different administration systems are required. Solid flocculants may be placed in
baskets hung in the inlet to the settlement pond, where the water may flow over them. The amount
dissolved will be proportionate to the flow rate. Liquid flocculants will need a dispenser that can be
regulated by the flow rate into the sedimentation pond. This could be a ball-cock or pressure type
valve in the attenuation pond. The best position for delivering the liquid flocculant is between the
attenuation pond and the settlement lagoons, preferably just after the throttle plate, where the flow
is sufficiently turbulent to enhance mixing. If cationic and anionic type flocculants are used, then
two silt ponds will be required, with the cationic flocculant delivered in inlet to the upstream silt
pond, and the anionic flocculant delivered between the two ponds. As cationic flocculants are
frequently toxic to fish, great care will be required in administration rate to the flow rate.

5.6 Removal of chemical pollutants

5.6.1 Hydrocarbon separators

The most likely pollutants to be expected in quarries are hydrocarbons in the form of lubricating oil,
petrol and diesel from quarry plant. Hydrocarbon separators are not intended to deal with major
spillages but rather the spillages and leaks that occur during the routine operation of the quarry or
from washing of plant. Major spillages are only likely to occur at the site of storage tanks and these
can be contained by properly designed storage areas with an impermeable base and bunds, of
sufficient volume to be able to contain the contents of the enclosed storage tank(s).

70
5.6.1.1 Interceptors
Simple hydrocarbon interceptors of bricks and concrete of the type included in Figure 5.13 can be
manually constructed in situ. However, prefabricated glass-fibre separators (see Figure 5.19 an
Section 7 for supplier) are now readily available and likely to cost less than the labour costs
involved in making traditional type.

Figure 5.19 A typical modern prefabricated hydrocarbon interceptor prefabricated of glass ibre

5.6.1.2 Reed beds

Reed beds provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to the traditional interceptors. Bacteria
living in the soil around the roots of the reeds (Phragmites sp) break down any hydrocarbon
products contained in the surface water drainage directed to the wetland so that there is no long-
term accumulation of spilt product. The benefits are an improved quality of water leaving the site
with very little on-going maintenance compared with a separator which the wetland replaces. An
example of a constructed wetlands reed bed is shown in Figure 5.20.

71
Figure 5.20 Schematic of a typical Phragmites reed bed for cleaning runoff water

5.7 Health and safety

Any standing water body is potentially dangerous particularly if groundwater feeds into it. They are
to be treated as danger areas and securely fenced off to prevent entry by unauthorised people.
Barriers should be placed around the boundary of the danger area so that it is not possible to enter
the area without knowing it. Warning notices, for example advising of deep cold water, and the
provision of life belts are recommended. Advice on appropriate measures can be obtained from the
Health and Safety Executive.

Any pond that has a volume greater than 25000 m3 will be subject to legislation under the
Reservoirs Act.

5.8 Education and communication

Once a well designed system for controlling quarry surface water is operating it is essential that
measures are taken to maintain its satisfactory day-to-day performance. In addition to the
historically low priority given to water issues in quarries it is likely that a significant reason for poor
water management is ignorance rather than wilful disregard for environmental well being.

This ignorance may extend throughout a company and effect the strategic way the water is handled
but it is the work force which is going to make a difference to performance level. It is also the work
force who will be the most likely to discover problems. It is therefore important that:
• they take a proactive approach - spot potential problems before they occur;

72
 • everyone knows their role and responsibilities;

• there is a system of protocols for managing water with regular inspections of

structures etc.

Measures to encourage and educate the workforce to achieve these goals might include:
• lectures, films, seminars from outside experts;

• good communication between all levels of staff the management levels.

5.9 Hydrology of restored quarries

5.9.1 Abandoned ponds

Measures should be taken to prevent sediment that remains in lagoons at the end of operations from
escaping into the aquatic environment. If the sediments contain toxic substances then the
appropriate procedures as advised by the Health and Safety Executive should be followed for
disposing of them. Otherwise the simplest measure for stabilising them against future erosion is to
plant appropriate fast growing species with an extensive root system to provide binding of the
sediments. In many places it will be appropriate to maintain and encourage the growth of
Phragmites spp. or other wetland species. Tree species such as willow, poplar and alder could be
considered (see Section 5.9.3).

5.9.2 Ponds and wildlife

In some locations it will be necessary to provide ponds for wildlife habitats during the lifetime of a
quarry, e.g. where endangered species such as the great crested newt are present on site. More often
such ponds will be constructed as part of the post-operational restoration work. The EA have
published advice on the design of wildlife ponds.

5.9.2.1 Construction of the ponds

• To ensure that the ponds are recharged by rainfall, it may be necessary to provide
artificial impermeable catchment areas.

• Heavy-duty butyl rubber liner is used for the base of the pond which extends beyond
the average water level to provide the impermeable rainfall catchment area.

• To prevent the possibility of the liner being punctured by the rock surface, it should
be laid on a 20cm layer of sand lining the hole excavated for the pond.

73
 • A layer of Gault clay placed on top of the liner will provide protection from damage
and a substrate for the roots of water plants.

• A 10 cm thick layer of pea gravel, having high permeability and porosity, placed
over the gently sloping margins of the clay liner allows rainfall to drain quickly
through to the pond - the gravel retains little water within it, and the evaporation rate
from the gravel is significantly lower than that which would occur from vegetation
that would grow in the uncovered clay.

• To avoid freezing solid in the winter the ponds should be 60cm or more in depth

From the hydrological viewpoint the absolute areas of ponds for wildlife habitats are unimportant
since the water balance is only dependent on the pond surface area relative to the catchment area.
The area and depth of a habitat pond will be dependent upon the type of habitat to be provided, in
particular whether the pond is to be permanent or seasonal. Seasonal ponds provide habitats for
newts and invertebrates safe from predation by fish. To determine the appropriate size of pond
relative to the catchment area simple water balance calculations are needed.

5.9.2.2 Water balance calculations

After the initial filling, water levels in the ponds will be determined by seasonal variation in rainfall
and evaporation.

For a preliminary, simplified calculation, the change in the soil water storage is ignored and the
water balance (in units of mm water depth) of a pond that has no leakage surrounded by a grassed
catchment is given by:

S = P + R − E0 + S0

where: S is the depth of the pond,

P is the precipitation,

E0 is the evaporation from the pond, and

S0 is the initial depth.

The runoff, Q, is given by:

Ac
Q = (P − E A )
Ap

where EA is the evaporation from the impermeable catchment area assumed to be 0.25ET, where ET
is the potential evaporation rate. Ac and Ap are the areas of the catchment and pond surface

74
respectively. These equations assume that the sides are vertical so that there is no change in the
ratio of catchment to pond areas.

The equations are used to estimate the depth of water in the pond on a monthly basis by driving
them with average monthly rainfall and evaporation data for the location. Monthly potential
evaporation estimates (ET), such as those generated by the Met. Office Rainfall Evaporation
Calculation System (MORECS) can be adjusted using a monthly-varying correction factor to
provide estimates of the evaporation from open water (E0), after Finch and Hall (2001).

By adjusting the depth and catchment areas it is possible to size the ponds to ensure that they do not
dry up even in drought periods, or they dry up for part of an average year.

5.9.3 Energy crops

There is significant potential for disused quarries to become productive sites for growing crops that
can be harvested and used for energy production through combustion. Energy crops are fast
growing species that include willow and poplar grown as short rotation coppice and potentially
grass species such as Miscanthus and switch grass. All of these species require a plentiful water
supply. Indeed the availability of water is the overriding control on the productivity of short
rotation coppice. Such crops would be well suited to planting on former riparian sand and gravel
quarries or other disused quarries where there is plentiful water and easy access for harvesting
machinery. Some of the advantages of this use for disused quarries would be:
• Beneficial contribution to the environment through

- reducing consumption of fossil fuel and taking up CO2 from the atmosphere

- providing a habitat of high ecological value

• Creating an aesthetically attractive landscape

• Long term management of surface water using a sustainable, environmentally

beneficial natural system.

At the time of writing there is an ongoing MIRO-funded project investigating the feasibility of
introducing methods for exploiting this opportunity (Section 7)

75
6 References

Bettess, R., 1996. Infiltration drainage – manual of good practice. Construction Industry Research
and Information Association, CIRIA Report 156, London. (108pp). ISBN 0-86017-457-3
Beven, K.J., 2002. Rainfall-Runoff Modelling: The Primer. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
(360pp). ISBN 0-470-86671-3
DEFRA, 2001. To what degree can the October/November 2000 flood events be attributed to
climate change? DEFRA FD2304 Final Report June 2001 (40pp)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/floodincidents/fd2304fr.pdf
EA, 1998. Policy and Practice for the Protection of Groundwater. The Stationery Office. London.
(57pp). ISBN 0-11-310145-7
Finch, J.W. and Hall, R.L., 2001. Estimation of open water evaporation – a review of methods.
Report for the Environment Agency R&D Project W6-043. Centre for Ecology and
Hydrology Wallingford, (145pp).
Geoffrey Walton Practice, 1988. Technical Review of the Stability and Hydrogeology of Deep
Mineral Workings, for the Department of the Environment. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-752133-7
Kathuria, D.V., Nawrocki, M.A. and B.C. Becker., 1976. Effectiveness of surface mine
sedimentation ponds. Report to the Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory, US
Environmental Protection Agency. Cincinnati. EPA-600/2-76-117. (100pp)
Migniot, C., 1989. Tassement et rhéologie des vases. La Houille Blanche, 1, 11-29.
NCB, 1982. Technical Management of Water in the Coal Mining Industry. National Coal Board,
London (130pp)
NERC 1975. The Flood Studies Report (5 volumes) Natural Environment Research Council,
Wallingford
NERC 1999. The Flood Estimation Handbook (5 volumes) Natural Environment Research Council,
Wallingford. ISBN 0-948540-94-X. http://www.nwl.ac.uk/ih/feh/
Rawls,W.J., and Brakensiek,D. 1989, Estimation of soil water retention and hydraulic properties.
In Morel-Seytoux, H.J. (Ed.) Unsaturated Flow in Hydrologic Modelling: Theory and
Practice. Kluwer Academic, Dordecht. pp. 275-300.
Thompson, A. Easton, P.H., Hine, P.D., and C.L. Huxley. 1998., Reducing the effects of surface
mineral workings on the water environment: A guide to good practice. Report to the
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Symonds Travers Morgan (part
of the Symonds Group Ltd.), East Grinstead. (212pp). ISBN 0-9522345-9-9
Wilson, E.M. 1990. Engineering Hydrology. (Fourth Edtion), Macmillan, London. pp.348. ISBN 0-
333-51716-4

76
7 Useful Web sites
The following sites give more detail on the likely effects of climate change in the UK:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/prclimatechange.html

http://www.ukcip.org.uk/climate_change/future_uk.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/evidence/uk_change.shtml

The Environment Agency website contains much useful information but requires some
perseverance in locating some items:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

Details of the Water Act 2003 can be found at:

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/20030037.htm

and also on the EA website

Energy crops and quarries:

http://www.quarries2energy.co.uk

Suppliers water management equipment:

Sediment traps

http://www.siltbuster.com/fconstruction/homecons.html

Oil interceptors

http://www.tubosider.co.uk/bypass.html

http://www.richmondtrading.ie/products/5_i/1_oi.htm

Suppliers water management design software:

DEWOP: http://www.egee.psu.edu/Faculty/kecojevic.htm

HydroWorks http://www.wallingfordsoftware.com/../training/list.asp

WinDes http://www.microdrainage.co.uk/windes.asp

77
8 Appendices

8.1 Appendix 1 - Infiltration

Water infiltrates into a soil or rock surface as a result of gravity and surface tension, acting through
capillary suction. When the surface is dry this suction is large and infiltration rates are often limited
to the rainfall rates until the surface saturates. The point at which this happens depends upon
several factors including the antecedent wetness of the ground, the rainfall rate, the permeability of
the ground, and the slope. Usually in the UK for most of the time the rate of infiltration into soil is
limited by the rate of rainfall. However, if the soil is already near saturation or relatively
impermeable then the rate of infiltration will be limited by the capacity of the soil to absorb the
rainfall. This rate is termed the infiltration capacity. If rain falls at a higher rate than this then
puddles will fill surface depressions and eventually overflow down slope as overland flow.

Figure 8.1 The infiltration capacity for a sandy clay according to the Green-Ampt and Horton equations. The
dotted line illustrates that if the rainfall intensity is just under 10 mm h-1 then the soil will be able to absorb the
rainfall and there will be no puddling of water, for about 2 minutes according to the Horton equation, or 5
minutes according to the Green-Ampt equation. Thereafter the rate of accumulation of puddles, or runoff will
be at the rate indicated by the orange and blue lines.

Many equations have been developed to estimate the infiltration capacity. Estimates from two, the
Green-Ampt and Horton equations, are shown in Figure 8.1. For these curves the Horton equation
predicts significantly greater runoff.

The Horton equation estimates the infiltration rate f(t) as

( )
f (t ) = f e + f i − f e e −α t , (8.1)

78
where fe is the long term final infiltration rate, fi is the initial infiltration rate, and α is a parameter
determined largely by surface texture. The infiltration parameters, fe and fi are dependent upon the
surface type and cover, and fe is also dependent upon the rainfall intensity, slope and initial
substrate water content. Values for the parameters for a few surfaces taken from Wilson (1990) are
given in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1 Parameter values for the Horton equation from Wilson (1990)
surface fi (mm h-1) fe (mm h-1) α (min-1)
sandy loam bare 280 6-220 1.6
grassed 900 20-290 0.8
sandy clay bare 210 2-25 2
grassed 670 10-30 1.4

The Green-Ampt equation takes the form

 (θ s − θ )ψ 
f (t ) = K s  1 + , (8.2)
 F 
where Ks is the hydraulic conductivity at saturation, ψ is the capillary suction, θs is the porosity and
θ the residual saturation and F is the depth of water infiltrated. The advantage with this equation is
that the parameter values can be determined from the soil characteristics such as the percentage clay
and sand (Rawls and Brakensiek, 1989).

Infiltration can be limited by an impermeable layer which causes the top layer to become saturated.
Surface accumulation or runoff then occurs through saturation excess rather than limited infiltration
capacity and this can be represented by,

f (t ) = bF −1 + f e (8.3)

where b is a constant and h is the depth of storage. The value of h is updated at each time increment
∆t such that

h = (R − f (t ))∆t when R > f (t ) , (8.4)

h = (R − f e )∆t when R < f (t ) . (8.5)

79
8.2 Appendix 2 - Sedimentation
The concentration and electrical charge of particles in a fluid can be such as to cause significant
interactions between particles that either hinder or enhance the settling process. When the
concentration of particles is such that there is no significant interaction, they settle separately at a
rate dependent upon their diameter and specific gravity, and the kinematic viscosity of the fluid.
Three different flow regimes exist in which the relationships between these variables are different.
For the smallest particles (spherical diameter less than about 0.1 mm) the relationship between
particle diameter (d) and settling velocity (us) is given by Stoke’s Law which can be written

us =
g
(ρ p − 1)d 2 ,
18ν

where g is the acceleration due to gravity, ν is the kinematic viscosity of water and ρp is the specific
gravity of the particles. The settling velocity as a function of spherical particle diameter and
specific gravity is shown for the Stoke’s law flow regime in Figure 8.2. Using values of 1.5.10-6
m2 s-1 for the kinematic viscosity of water and 2.2 for the specific gravity of the particles, we see
that particles of 5.10-6 m diameter with a specific gravity of 2.2 have a settling velocity of about 10-5
m s-1.

Figure 8.2 The settling velocity for spherical particles as a function of diameter and specific gravity for the
Stoke’s law flow regime (1µm = 10-6 m)

80