Public Health Engineering (CEPC601)

Course Content

Unit – I Sources, Demand and Quality of water

Water supply schemes - Objectives, components

 Sources of water: Surface and Subsurface sources of water, Intake Structures, Definition
and types, Factors governing the location of an intake structure, Types of intakes. Demand
of water: Domestic, Industrial, commercial & institutional, public use, losses & wastes, fire
demand. Factors affecting rate of demand, Variations of water demands, Forecasting of
population, Methods of forecasting of population, (Simple problems on forecasting of
population), Design period, Estimation of quantity of water supply required for city or town.
Quality of water: Need for analysis of water, Characteristics of water- Physical, Chemical
and Biological, Meaning and importance of different parameters of water- Total solids,
hardness, chlorides, dissolved Oxygen, pH, Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrogen and its compounds,
Bacteriological tests, Ecoli, Bcoli index, MPN, Sampling of water, Water quality standards as
per IS:10500.

1.1. Introduction

After estimating the water requirement for the proposed water supply scheme, as discussed
in the previous chapter, the planners of the scheme must go in for search of nearby water
sources, which may be able to supply the required amount of water. If the available supplies
of a particular source or sources of water chosen in the vicinity of the area, are not sufficient
to meet the demand, then it becomes imperative upon the planners to search some other
distant source or sources and to make arrangements for bringing the water from there.

The various sources of water available on the earth can be classified into the following two
categories :

Surface sources, such as i) Ponds and lakes ; ii)Streams and rivers ; iii)Storage reservoirs ;
and iv) Oceans, generally not used for water supplies, at present.

Sub-surface sources or Underground sources such as : (i) Springs ;

(ii) Infiltration galleries ; (iii) Infiltration wells ; and (iv) Wells and tube-wells.

Most of the earth's water sources get their water supplies from precipitation, which may fall
in various forms, such as, rain, snow, hail, dew, etc. Rains, no doubt, form the principal and
the major part of the resultant supplies. Since precipitation is the principal source of water
on the earth, and is responsible for the resultant yields of various sources, it will be worth
while to discuss the hydrologic principles underlying precipitation, rainfall, run-off, yields of
surface sources, etc ., before discussing these sources of water.

1.2. Hydrologic Cycle

As stated earlier, the various earth's water-sources get their supplies from precipitation,
while the precipitation in itself is the evaporation from these sources. Water is lost to the
atmosphere as vapour from the earth, which is then precipitated back in the form of rain,
snow, hail, dew, sleet or frost, etc. This precipitation and evaporation continue for ever, and
thereby a balance is maintained between the two. This process is known as hydrologic cycle
and is shown in Fig. 3.1.

Precipitation

Water evaporates from water surfaces like streams, rivers, oceans, ponds, etc ., and also
from the land and plants in the form of water vapour. The water vapour get collected in the
atmosphere and behave like a gas. Under a normal range of temperature and pressure, the
water vapour obey the various gas laws (i.e. Boyle's Law, Charles' Law, etc.). As the
evaporation continues, the amount of atmospheric vapour goes on increasing. But since a
space can hold only a certain fixed amount of water vapour in the presence of a solid or a
liquid surface, a stage is reached when any further addition of vapour will get condensed on
the surfaces. The vapour may get condensed in different forms, such as mist, rain, hail,
snow, sleet, etc. The evaporated water, thus, returns to the earth's surface in any of these
forms. This water which comes back to the surface of the earth in its various forms like rain,
snow, hail, etc ., is known as precipitation. A major part of the precipitation occurs in the
form of rain, and a minor part occurs in the form of snow. Other forms of precipitation such
as hail, sleet, mist, etc ., are all very small, and generally ignored in the design of most of the
hydrological works, and, therefore, they are not of much importance to us.

1.3Intake

Whenever the water is withdrawn from a surface source such as a lake or a river or a
reservoir, and the entrance of the withdrawal conduit is not an integral part of a dam or any
other related structure, then an intake structure must be constructed at the entrance of the
conduit. The basic function of the intake structure is to help in safely withdrawing water
from the source over a predetermined range of pool levels and then to discharge this water
into the withdrawal conduit (normally called intake conduit), through which it flows up to
the water treatment plant. In case of a reservoir where gravity flow is possible, the water
may be directly taken through the conduit up to the treatment plant, whereas, in case of
direct river supplies, the water after entering the intake well may have to be lifted by low lift
pumps and then taken to the treatment plant through conduits.

An intake structure constructed at the entrance of the conduit and thereby helping in
protecting the conduit from being damaged or clogged by ice, trash, debris, etc ., can vary
from a simple concrete block supporting the end of the conduit pipe to huge concrete
towers housing intake gates, screens, pumps, etc. and even sometimes, living quarters and
shops for operating personnel.

1.4. Factors Governing the Location of an Intake

The site for locating the intake should be selected carefully, keeping the following points in
mind :

i) As far as possible, the site should be near the treatment plant so that the cost of
conveying water to the city is less.

ii) The intake must be located in the purer zone of the source so that the best
possible quality of water is withdrawn from the source, thereby reducing the
load on the treatment plant.

iii) The intake must never be located at the downstream or in the vicinity of the
point of disposal of waste water. When it becomes necessary to locate the intake
in the close proximity of the disposal of a drain etc ., it is advisable to construct a
weir or a barrage upstream of the disposal point and install the intake upstream
of the barrage.

(iv) The intake should never be located near the navigation channels, as otherwise,
there are chances of intake water getting polluted due to the discharge of refuse and
waste from ships and boats.

(v ) The site should be such as to permit greater withdrawal of water, if required at a

future date. Thus, there should be sufficient scope for future additions and expansions.

The intake must be located at a place from where it can draw water even during the driest
periods of the year. Thus, the intake must be located in deep waters, sufficiently away from
the shore line (i.e ., khadir banks*).As otherwise, during dry periods, when the water level
goes down and the water recedes inside, the intake may be left dry without any water to be
drawn around it. In case of rivers which meander considerably and also where there is
scarcity of water during summer seasons, a diversion weir or a barrage must be constructed.
This will ensure sufficient quantity of water in the "undersluices" *, from where the water
can enter the intake well or intake tower standing within the under sluice pocket of the river
; or from where an "off take channel" * may lead the water directly to the treatment plant
(when treatment plant of the city is situated lower than the "pond level" of the
undersluices) or to the sump well situated near the shore for lift. The construction of a
diversion weir will ensure constant supplies.

The intake site should remain easily accessible during floods and should not get flooded.
Moreover, the flood waters should not be concentrated in the vicinity of the intake.

In meandering rivers, the intakes should not be located on curves or at least on sharp
curves. If they have to be located on curves, it will be better to locate them on concave
banks* rather than locating them on convex banks". Although scouring tendencies will be
more on the concave side ; yet atleast, the water will remain available on this side ;
whereas, on a convex bank, water may not remain available due to silting and consequent
blockage.

1.5 TYPES OF INTAKES

Various types of intakes that are commonly used are described below :

1.5.1 Simple Submerged Intakes

A simple submerged intake consists of a simple concrete block or a rock filled timber crib
supporting the starting end of the withdrawal pipe, as shown in Figs. 5.1 and 5.2. The
withdrawal pipe is generally taken up to the sump well at shore, from where, the water is
lifted by pumps.
 The intake opening is generally covered by screen so as to prevent the entry of
debris, ice, etc. into the withdrawal conduit. In case of lakes, where silt tends to
settle down, the intake opening is generally kept at about 2 to 2.5 m above the
bottom of the lake and thus to avoid the entry of large amounts of silt and sediment.

Such intake structures should be placed in streams or in lakes at a place where they may not
get buried under sediment and where there are deep waters. (Note : In lakes, deep waters
are generally available in the middle.

1.5.2. Intake Towers

Intake towers are generally used on large projects and on rivers or reservoirs where there are
large fluctuations of water level. Gate controlled openings at various levels, called ports, are
generally provided in these concrete towers, which may help in regulating the flow through the
towers and permit some selection of the quality of water to be withdrawn. Access to these
towers is generally provided for operating the gates, etc ., by means of a foot bridge from the
tower up to the dam or up to the shore.

If the entry ports are submerged at all levels, then there is no problem of any clogging or
damage by ice or debris, etc. However, the level of the lowest port should be high enough
above the reservoir bed, so that the sediment is not drawn into them. There are two major
types of intake towers :
(i) Wet intake towers ; and (ii) Dry intake towers.

1.5.2.1. Wet Intake Towers. A typical section of a wet intake tower is shown in Fig. 5.3. It may
consist of a concrete circular shell filled with water up to the reservoir level and has a vertical
inside shaft which is connected to the withdrawal pipe. The withdrawal may be taken directly
to the treatment plant in case no lift is required (such as in a reservoir) or to the sump well in
case a low lift is required (such as in case of a river). The withdrawal conduits may lie over the
bed of the rivers or may be in the form of tunnels below the river bed. Openings are made into
the outer concrete shell, as well as, into the inside shaft, as shown. Gates are usually placed on
the shaft, so as to control the flow of water into the shaft and the withdrawal conduit. The
water coming out of the withdrawal conduit may be taken to pump house for lift, if the city's
water treatment plant is located at high elevation ; or may be taken directly to the treatment
plant, if it is situated at lower elevation.
1.5.2.2. Dry Intake Towers. The essential difference between a dry intake tower and a wet
intake tower is that, whereas in a wet intake tower, the water enters from the entry ports into
the tower and then it enters into the conduit pipe through separate gate controlled openings ;
in a dry intake tower, the water is directly drawn into the withdrawal conduit through the
gated entry ports, as shown in Fig. 5.4.
A dry intake tower will, therefore, have no water inside the tower if its gates are closed,
whereas the wet intake tower will be full of water even if its gates are closed. When the entry
ports are closed, a dry intake tower will be subjected to additional buoyant forces and hence,
must be of heavier construction than the wet intake towers. However, the dry intake towers
are useful and beneficial in the sense that water can be withdrawn from any selected level of
the reservoir by opening the port at that level.

Intake towers are huge structures of various designs standing in the reservoir or the river, and
hence, should be located, as not to interfere with navigation. They must be properly designed
so as to withstand the worst possible combinations of various forces, such as hydrostatic
pressure, wind and earthquake forces, and forces caused by waves, ice, debris, etc.
1.5.3. Medium Sized River Intake Structures

Medium sized river intake structures are generally constructed for withdrawing water from
almost all rivers, and are a via media between the submerged intakes (usually adopted for
small streams) and the intake towers (usually adopted for reservoirs). River intakes are
discussed in this article ; while the canal intakes are discussed in the next article.

River intake structures can be broadly classified into the following two types :
(i) Twin well type of intake structure ; and (ii) Single well type of intake structure.

Both these types of river intake structures are discussed below :

1.5.3.1 Typical Twin Well Type of River Intake Structure - This is the most commonly used type
of river intake, which is generally constructed on almost all types of rivers, where the river
water hugs the river bank. Such a condition is usually available on non-alluvial rivers ; while in
meandering alluvial rivers, such a condition can be obtained by constructing a weir across the
river as to store water up to pond level, thus making it available near the river bank on the
under-sluice side.

Typical details of such an intake structure are shown in Fig. 5.5. More detailed section and plan
of such an intake structure constructed on Krishna river in Belgaum district of Karnataka State
of India, are shown in Fig. 5.6.

As can be seen from these figures, such a typical river intake structure consists of :

I ) an inlet well ; ii) an inlet pipe ; and (iii) a jack well.

The inlet well or the intake well or the collector well is a circular or more preferably an oblong
well (rectangular well with circular ends), located in the river bed, somewhat away from the
river bank, amidst water, so that it always remains surrounded with water, even during low
flow stage. The well is built in masonry or concrete, and is raised above the river HFL and
covered at the top by wooden sleepers, etc. ; as to make it approachable from the river bank
through a foot bridge arrangement.
River water enters into this well through the openings or ports, which are left in the well
steining, and fitted with vertical bar screens. These screens may be made of vertical iron bars
of 20 mm dia, placed vertically @ 30 to 50 mm horizontal clear spacing and fitted to an angle
iron frame, which may be fixed properly in the opening. Depending upon the discharge to be
entered into the inlet well, the total area of such openings can be worked out by restricting the
flow velocity through the screens to a value of about 15 to 20 cm/s,asto prevent entry of
debris, etc. The total required area of opening(s) can be provided by providing one or more
screened openings at one level. Such. openings or ports are infact usually provided at 2 to 3
levels in the well, thus providing one or more ports at each level, depending on the pumping
rate. The lower layer of ports permits the direct entry of water at the low flow stage of the
river ; while the upper layer of ports meet the requirement of the high flood stage. The middle
level ports are usually provided at the normal river level in rivers with fluctuating levels.
Sometimes, screened openings are provided in the full height of the inlet well and are
controlled by gates, as to enable the water to enter the inlet well from any desired level,
depending upon theriver water level. This is more helpful when river water is likely to fluctuate
considerably. These ports can be closed or opened by gates to be operated from the top
platform, to adjust the opening at any level.
1.5.3.2 Single Well Type of a River Intake -- In alluvial rivers, water is usually ponded up by
constructing a weir across the river. From the upstream side of such a weir, a channel may
sometimes be taken off, as in a usual diversion head works scheme *. The water entering this
offtake canal may then be collected and lifted for supply to the City Treatment Plant located at
higher elevation. The intake structure for collecting water in such a case shall then be located
in this offtake channel. Similarly, sometimes, an approach channel may be excavated from the
deep river towards the river bank up to the site of intake. In such situations, the intake
structure may be constructed across the off-take or approach channel in the form of a single
jack well (sump well) provided with direct entry ports, as shown in Fig. 5.7.

This arrangement will eliminate the construction of a separate inlet well and the inlet pipe, as
are required in the twin well type of river intake. Openings or ports fitted with bar screens are
provided in the jack well itself, rather than in the inlet well, as explained in the twin well
structure. The sediment entering this intake will usually be less, since clearer water will enter
the off-take channel. This sediment will partly settle down in the bottom silt zone of the jack
well or may be lifted up with the pumped water, since the modern day pumps can easily lift
sedimented waters. The jack well can be periodically cleaned manually, by stopping the water
entry into the well.