Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-018-0674-7

ARTICLE

Discharge estimation in lined irrigation canals by using surface

velocity radar
Yen‑Chang Chen1 · Yi‑Jiun Liao1 · Wei‑Lun Chen1

Received: 3 November 2017 / Revised: 2 July 2018 / Accepted: 3 August 2018 / Published online: 16 August 2018
© The International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering and Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
This study proposes a surface velocity method for discharge estimation in lined irrigation canals. In this method, a surface
velocity radar is used for surface velocity measurement. However, this radar cannot be used to obtain a point velocity on the
water surface. A velocity profiler is used to measure the velocity distribution in the cross section of a canal. The measured
data are used to obtain surface and mean velocities in verticals by applying a probabilistic velocity distribution equation. Sub‑
sequently, the linear relationship between the surface velocity measured by the surface velocity radar and the surface velocity
estimated by the velocity distribution equation can be established. Additionally, the relationship between the estimated surface
velocity and mean velocity in verticals can be obtained through linear regression; this relationship is a constant. Therefore,
these two relationships can be used to derive a surface velocity coefficient for converting surface velocity to mean velocity
in a vertical. The surface velocity coefficient used in lined irrigation canals is different from that used in natural streams. It
is not constant and varies with the surface velocity observed by the radar. The feasibility of the proposed method is tested
by conducting discharge estimation processes in five lined irrigation canals. The results show that the proposed method is
reliable and accurate for estimating discharge in lined irrigation canals.

Keywords Discharge measurement · Lined irrigation canal · Surface velocity coefficient · Surface velocity radar · Velocity
distribution

Introduction facilities in Taiwan. Such canals supply not only agricultural

In Taiwan, water resource development has reached its limit.
Numerous people are concentrated in cities, and advance‑
ments in industrialization have engendered a continual
increase in the demand for water. Of the various water needs
in Taiwan, agricultural irrigation accounts for the largest
proportion. In the event of water scarcity, water reserved
for agricultural irrigation must always be temporarily real‑
located for domestic and industrial use. Recently, the water
shortage frequency has increased in Taiwan. Such shortages
lead to land fallowing and cause controversy over the alloca‑
tion of water resources to various users. Water has become
crucial in industrial development. Developing a method for
effectively utilizing and allocating existing water resources
is imperative. Irrigation canals are crucial water supply
* Yen‑Chang Chen
yenchen@ntut.edu.tw
1
Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University
of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
water but also domestic and industrial water. One of the key
factors of effective water management is determining the
location and amount of water in irrigation canals. Effective
water management requires accurate water measurement.
Accurate accounting and adequate records help allocate
equitable shares of water between competitive uses. Avail‑
able water can be reallocated to users according to informa‑
tion about discharge in irrigation systems. Therefore, accu‑
rate discharge measurement in irrigation canals can provide
reliable information to managers. Accurate information
about discharge in irrigation systems is one of the major
factors for successful and efficient water management.
Numerous methods can be used for measuring discharge
in irrigation canals. Discharge can be estimated using struc‑
tures such as flumes and weirs (Bureau of Reclamation 2001;
Wahl et al. 2005) that measure water stage or head. The most
common instruments for field applications are mechanical
current meters, electromagnetic velocimeters, and acous‑
tic Doppler velocimeters. In addition, the velocity–area
principle is used for calculating discharge to establish a

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
858
stage–discharge relationship (Rantz 1982; Herschy 1999;
Yang and Chen 2013; Chen et al. 2014). Conventional dis‑
charge measurement methods usually require direct contact
with water or construction of control sections. Such methods
are costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Transit-time
acoustic flowmeters can measure discharge by transmitting
acoustic or sound pulses through the water from transduc‑
ers located on the banks or both sides of an irrigation canal
(Boiten 2003; Herschy 2009). Modern trends in technical
practice have placed increasing emphasis on using noncon‑
tact methods that can reduce risk and cost. A surface veloc‑
ity method is a noncontact approach to discharge estimation.
In this method, a surface velocity coefficient is used to con‑
vert the measured surface velocity to mean velocity in the
vertical. The cross section for discharge measurement can
be selected along the reach of a straight canal for surface
velocity measurement. Thus, flow can be uniformly estab‑
lished across the entire cross section. This results in accurate
discharge measurement and effective water management.
Several concepts or principles derived from velocity
distribution equations have been applied for establishing
the relationship between surface and mean velocities. Both
theoretical and empirical approaches can be used to obtain
the surface velocity coefficient (Marjang and Merkley 2007;
Bureau of Reclamation 2001). The theoretical approach is
usually based on a power law velocity distribution (Keulegan
1938)
( )m
u y
=a (1)
u∗ ks
where u is the point velocity at a distance y from the bed; a
is a constant; m is a constant that usually ranges between 1/4
and 1/12 for different boundaries; ks is the equivalent sand
grain roughness height; and u∗ is the shear velocity, which
can be expressed as follows:
√ velocities. Subsequently, the relationship between the sur‑
u∗ = gRSf (2)
where g is gravity; R is the hydraulic radius; and Sf is the
hydraulic gradient. Moreover, m values of 1/6 and 1/7 are
satisfactory for many flows in practice (Chen 1991), result‑
ing in the terms one-sixth and one-seventh power law veloc‑
ity distributions, respectively. The power law velocity dis‑
tribution has a fundamental disadvantage. It cannot be used
to calculate wall shear stress because it yields an infinite
shear stress on the wall. The boundary layer constitutes a
small flow portion. Therefore, the one-sixth and one-seventh
power law velocities result in highly accurate results for tur‑
bulent flow. When the m values are 1/6 and 1/7, the ratios
of mean velocity to surface velocity (surface velocity coef‑
ficients) are 0.86 and 0.87, respectively. Accordingly, a coef‑
ficient of 0.85 or 0.86 for a natural channel and 0.90 for a
13
Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866
smooth artificial channel (Rantz 1982) is commonly used to
convert the surface velocity to mean velocity in the vertical.
The most commonly used methods for measuring
discharge in irrigation canals have remained virtually
unchanged for decades. Such conventional discharge meas‑
urement methods are usually costly, labor-intensive, and
time-consuming. Because of deep cuts in funding for stream‑
flow measurement, the loss of gauging stations is acceler‑
ating. To achieve accuracy, safety, cost effectiveness, and
efficiency in discharge measurement processes, an alterna‑
tive method—namely the surface velocity method—that
does not require direct contact between water and people or
equipment can be used. The surface velocity method can be
applied to measure the discharge of lined irrigation canals
for two reasons. First, the shape of a lined irrigation canal
is fixed and the cross-sectional area can be estimated accu‑
rately according to the water stage. Second, the flow velocity
in a lined canal should be greater than the critical velocity
for preventing silting and should be less than the critical
velocity for preventing scouring. Therefore, the flow condi‑
tions in lined irrigation canals are relatively stable. The sur‑
face velocity and water stage can be measured using radars.
The surface velocity method is considered a reliable but less
accurate approach to estimating discharge in open channels
(Rantz 1982). However, several studies have attempted to
improve this method (Costa et al. 2000; Le Coz et al. 2012,
Tamari et al. 2013). The surface velocity coefficient is the
key factor for accurately measuring discharge in lined irriga‑
tion canals through the surface velocity method.
Surface velocity radars (SVRs) are widely used in Taiwan
for determining the discharge of natural streams, particularly
during high water periods. However, studies on the param‑
eters and procedures for using SVRs are rare. This study pro‑
poses a method that entails using an SVR for surface veloc‑
ity measurement. A velocity profiler is also used to measure
velocity distributions for determining the mean and surface
face velocity measured using the SVR and that measured
using the velocity profiler can be established. Ultimately,
the relationship between the surface and mean velocities is
derived, and the relationship reveals that the surface velocity
coefficient for measuring discharge in lined irrigation canals
is constant. That is, the surface velocity coefficient is suit‑
able for use in measuring discharge in lined irrigation canals.
Instruments for measuring surface velocity
and velocity distribution
The SVR and two-dimensional shallow water (SW) velocity
profiler are the basic instruments for discharge measurement
in the proposed method. The electronic equipment and the cor‑
responding operating principles are presented in Fig. 1. These
Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866 859

(a)

Transducer depth
Blanking distance
Cell Begin

Cell-1

Cell-2
Beam 2 Beam 1
Velocity Velocity
Cell-3
Measurement area
Flow Cell-4

Beam 3
Water
Cell End Level
(dynamic)

(b)

Fig. 1  The instruments used in this study and the Doppler shift for measuring velocities; a velocity radar for measuring surface velocity; b
velocity profiler for measuring velocity distribution

two instruments do not influence the flow as water passes
through the sampling area or volume. Two of the most notable
advantages of the SVR are that it can remotely measure the
velocity of water in open channels and that it is easy to use.
However, determining velocity below the water surface is still
impossible. The operating principle of the SVR is outlined as
follows. The SVR basically transmits an electromagnetic sig‑
nal at a specific angle and receives the signal reflected by the
moving waves of water in order to determine the flow velocity
of the irradiated surface. The SW velocity profiler involves
three acoustic beams, namely beams 1–3, for measuring the
velocity distribution and water depth. Beam 1 is pointed in the
nadir direction for measuring water depth, and beams 2 and 3
are pointed in the upstream and downstream directions at a 45°
angle for measuring the velocity distribution. The principle of
the SW velocity profiler is that the transducer emits a sound
wave with a fixed frequency into the water; once the wave hits
observers in the water, it is reflected back to the transducer
at a different frequency. As shown in Fig. 1b, the location
and sampling size (cell length) for velocity measurement are
adjustable. The maximum number of cells for velocity meas‑
urement is 10. Therefore, the SW velocity profiler can operate
at water depths ranging from 0.2 to 5.0 m.
Both instruments measure the velocity using a physical
principle: the Doppler effect. They detect the change in the
observed frequency of sound when there is relative motion
between the instrument and an observer. According to com‑
posite surface Bragg theory, moving waves on the water sur‑
face constitute the observers of an SVR. By contrast, particu‑
late matter in every cell constitutes the observer of a velocity
profiler. The velocity of an observer is calculated as follows:
C Δf
v=− (3)
2 fo
where C represents the speed of sound, Δf represents the
Doppler shift, and fo represents the frequency of transmit‑
ted sound. For an SVR, the speed of sound through the air

13
860 Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866

is the speed of light (3 × 108 m/s). Assume that an SVR is Bi

pointed in the direction of a stream at a specific incidence C
L
∆
angle. The water surface velocity observed by the radar is
expressed as follows:
v
vR =
sin 𝜃 (4)

where vR denotes the surface velocity measured by the SVR D

and θ denotes the incidence angle (Fig. 1a). ξ

Estimations of surface velocity, mean y

velocity, and discharge η

Estimations of surface and mean velocities Channel bed (ξ=ξ0)

through probabilistic velocity distribution equation
(a)
According to (1), the maximum velocity always occurs on the
water surface. However, this is not the case in open channels.
When the maximum velocity occurs below the water surface, Bi
∆ C
L
the relationship between u and y is not a one-to-one relation‑
ship, and a velocity can be found at two different locations. As |h|
mentioned, the disadvantage of the power law velocity distri‑
bution is that it cannot be used to calculate wall shear stress
because it yields an infinite velocity gradient at the wall, and
it fails to yield zero slope at the center line.
Chiu (1988) proposed a system of primary flow isovels,
which is a ξ–η orthogonal coordinate system defined in Fig. 2.
This ξ–η coordinate system can describe the velocity distribu‑ D
tion by a set of isovels and enables a one-to-one relationship
between u and ξ. If h > 0, the maximum velocity occurs below
the water surface h unit. If h > 0, the maximum velocity occurs
on the water surface; h ≤ 0 indicates no physical meaning. The
probability of the velocity being between 0 and u is expressed ξ
as follows: y

η
u
𝜉 − 𝜉0
𝜉max − 𝜉0 ∫
= p(u)du (5)
0 Channel bed (ξ=ξ0)
where ξ is the isovel of u, ξ0 is the value of ξ when u is
0, ξmax is the value of ξ when u is the maximum velocity, (b)
and p(u) is probability of u. The probability of the velocity
being less than u is derived by dividing the area of the isovel Fig. 2  ξ–η coordinate system for the probabilistic velocity distribu‑
tion equation; a h ≤ 0; b h > 0
between ξ and ξ0 by the total area. Based on the principle
of probability,
0≤𝜉≤1 (6) where M is a parameter. The set of isovels ξ is
On the basis of the concept of maximizing Shannon’s infor‑
y ( y )
mation entropy (Chiu 1989), the probabilistic velocity distribu‑ 𝜉= exp 1 − (8)
D−h D−h
tion can be obtained as follows:
[ ] where D represents the water depth and h represents the
umax ) 𝜉
(7) location of umax. When umax occurs below the water surface
( M
u= ln 1 + e − 1
M 𝜉max h unit, h > 0, and (7) becomes

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Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866 861

umax [ ) y ( y )] Table 1  Characteristics of the lined irrigation canals in this study and
ln 1 + eM − 1 (9)
(
u= exp 1 − . the study sites
M D−h D−h
If h ≤ 0 , u max occurs on the water surface, and (7) Canal Length (km) Irrigated areas Location of the cross
(ha) section
becomes
[ ( )] N (°) E (°)
umax )y D−y
(10)
( M
u= ln 1 + e − 1 exp . Taoyuan 25.4 11,964 24.971261 121.269232
M D D−h
Shihmen 27.0 12,206 24.830148 121.240116
The mean velocity in a vertical can be estimated by inte‑ Huludun 40.0 13,299 24.275542 120.761644
grating (9) or (10) with M, h, and umax determined using Liuqin 0.2 – 23.781428 120.612617
nonlinear regression. The surface velocity (us) can also be Zhuo 40.3 44,612 23.780906 120.616570
obtained using either (9) or (10) when y = D.

Calculation of discharge
The shape of a lined irrigation canal is fixed. Therefore, the
cross-sectional area can be divided into several subsections.
Mathematically, the discharge can be represented using the
mean-section method:
n+1
[( )( ) ]
∑ ū i + ū i+1 di + di+1 (
(11)
)
Q= bi+1 − bi
i=0
2 2
where ū i denotes the mean velocity in vertical i, di denotes
the depth of flow in vertical i, bi denotes the distance from
an initial point to vertical i, and n denotes the number of
verticals. The depths of flow at verticals 0 and n + 1 are the
depths of the initial and end verticals. The velocities at ver‑
ticals 0 and n + 1 are zero.
Descriptions of study sites and irrigation
canals
To control seepage and weed growth, prevent waterlogging,
increase the water supply capacity, and reduce evaporation
losses and maintenance costs, concrete linings are widely
used for canals in full banking in Taiwan. Such linings can
efficiently resist the effect of scouring and erosion. There‑
fore, the increased velocity can eliminate the possibility of
channel bed silting. To reduce the requirement of land width
for the canals, rectangular cross sections are used for the five
canals in this study. Table 1 shows the widths of the cross
sections and lengths of the five canals used for discharge
measurement. The five canals provide municipal and indus‑
trial water supply as well as irrigation for a land area of
approximately 82,000 ha.
The objective of the discharge measurements is to obtain
sufficient water information under a sufficient number of dif‑
ferent flow conditions and to obtain reliable results. Therefore,
the velocities and water stages used for discharge calculation
are derived in four important irrigation canals and a canal for
supplying water to industries. Every canal has a straight align‑
ment for a distance of approximately 200 m. The cross sections
of the five canals for discharge measurement are illustrated
in Fig. 3, and these canals are located in northern and central
Taiwan.
The characteristics of the five canals are presented in
Table 1. The Taoyuan Canal and the Shihmen Canal are the
main canals of the irrigation systems in the northern and
southern parts of Taoyuan City. Both canals are constructed
to transport water from the Shihmen Reservoir to agricultural
land. They are the aortas of the irrigation systems in northern
Taiwan. These canal systems irrigate up to 24,000 ha of crop
land and have enabled considerable increases in crop yield.
The Huludun Canal is a 40-km-long aqueduct, located in
the northern part of Taichung City. It conveys water from the
Dacia River. The Shigong Dam on the Dacia River diverts
water into the Huludun Canal. Three smaller canals branch‑
ing off the Huludun Canal transport water into the irrigation
system of the Taichung Irrigation Association. It irrigates up
to 13,299 ha of crop land.
The Liuqin Canal transports water from the octagonal
diversion work, whose water comes from the Zhuo Canal,
to a purification plant. Although the Liuqin Canal is short in
length, it belongs to the irrigation system and is managed by
the Yunlin Irrigation Association. The only purpose of the
Liuqin Canal is to supply industrial water for the Yunlin Off-
Shore Industrial Park.
The Zhuo Canal is one of the main canals of the Kanan irri‑
gation system. The Kanan irrigation system is the most impor‑
tant irrigation system in Taiwan, and this system improved
the plantable area for rice from 5000 to 150,000 ha. The Zhuo
Canal obtains its irrigation water from the Ji-Ji Diversion
Weir that serves as the water resource management center of
the Zhuoshui River. This canal irrigates a farmland area of
44,612 ha between the Zhuoshui River and the Beigong River
in Yunlin County.

13
862 Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866

Fig. 3  Study locations and

sections of the irrigation canals
for discharge measurement; A is
the Taoyuan Canal; B is the Shi‑
hmen Canal; C is the Huludun
Canal; D is the Liuqin Canal; E
is the Zhuo Canal

A
B
Taiwan
Strait
C

Taiwan
D, E

Pacific
Ocean

Relationship between surface and mean
velocities of irrigation canals
The studied cross sections are a few meters from the bridges
established across the canals. Figure 4 depicts the data col‑
lection equipment. Figure 4a shows the mobile crane used
for measurement; the SVR is mounted at the end of the
boom of this crane. The incidence angle of the SVR is 45°.
The boom rotates to a position parallel to the canal during
surface velocity measurement. Figure 4b shows the measure‑
ment of velocity distribution in the Taoyuan Canal. The SW
velocity profiler is installed under a 30-lb C-type sounding
weight that is streamlined to offer minimum resistance to
flowing water. This sounding weight can stabilize the SW
velocity profiler; thus, velocity distribution and water depth
measurements can be obtained at a highly close position to
the water surface.
To precisely estimate the discharge in the canals, veloc‑
ity distribution measurements are taken in several verticals.
The distance between two verticals is 1 m. Because the SVR
cannot be used in regions that are excessively close to the
bank, two surface velocity measurements are taken if the
canal width is less than 6 m. If the canal width is greater
than 6 m, three surface velocity measurements are taken
using the SVR. The surface velocities are distributed in the
cross section as evenly as possible. Figure 5 shows the posi‑
tions of eight verticals (numeric symbol) and three irradiated
surfaces (Roman numeral) considered in the cross section of
the Taoyuan Canal.
Figure 6 presents the velocity distribution in the cross
section of the Taoyuan Canal. To stabilize the SW veloc‑
ity profiler, the sounding weights are sunk into the water to
a depth of 0.2 m. The blanking distance is 0.1 m, and the
cell depth is also 0.1 m. The first velocity measurement is
conducted 0.3 m from the water surface. The velocity dis‑
tribution comprises 6 velocities in the vertical. Therefore,
40 velocities are collected in the cross section. This ensures
the accuracy of the discharge estimation. In Fig. 6, the circle
represents the observed velocity and the line represents the
velocity distribution based on (7). All circles are very close
to the lines, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of (7) in
describing the velocity distribution over the entire depth,
regardless of whether the maximum velocity occurs on or
below the water surface. Figure 5 also shows the velocity

13
Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866
Fig. 4  Velocity measurement; a surface velocity measured from a
car by a radar; b velocity distribution measured by the SW from near
water surface
isovels of the cross section of the Taoyuan Canal. As the
other open channel in a straight reach, the velocity decreases
toward the bed and walls, and the maximum velocity occurs
at the surface close to the center line of the canal. The veloc‑
ity distribution throughout the middle seven-ninths of the
cross section is nearly uniform. The discharge estimation
results for the other four canals are presented in Table 2.
When the SVR transmits a beam of radio waves, the beam
forms an elliptical pattern on the target area. The irradiated
area increases as the distance between the SVR and the tar‑
get area increases. Therefore, the SVR samples the surface
velocity from an area; it cannot measure a point velocity on
0.5
0 1 2 3
Fig. 5  Isovel based on obtained velocities and verticals for velocity measurement
863
the water surface. Figure 7 shows the relationship between
the surface velocities measured using the SVR and those
estimated using (7). The figure indicates that the estimated
surface velocity is greater than the measured surface velocity
when the velocity is greater than 0.8 m/s. Compared with
the measured surface velocity, the estimated surface veloc‑
ity is underestimated when the velocity is less than 0.8 m/s.
However, the correlation coefficient (γ2 = 0.90) indicates
that a strong linear relationship exists between the meas‑
ured and estimated surface velocities. This relationship can
be expressed as follows:
us = 1.49vR − 0.4 (12)
This relationship can be applied to estimate a point veloc‑
ity on the water surface by using the surface velocity meas‑
ured by the SVR.
Figure 8 shows the relationship between the estimated
surface velocity and mean velocity. The mean velocity in
the vertical is estimated by integrating (7) with M, umax,
and h obtained through nonlinear regression. The surface
velocity can also be obtained using (7) when y = D. Figure 8
shows five sets of points. The five sets of points obtained
in the five irrigation canals represent different flow condi‑
tions. The velocity ranges from 0.4 to 2.5 m/s. The figure
also shows that the surface velocity coefficient (Cs) is fairly
constant at 0.95 in the different lined irrigation canals and
not very sensitive to different flow conditions. The observed
Cs value is greater than the coefficient (0.85) used for natural
steams but is close to the coefficient (0.9) suggested by the
United States Geological Survey for smooth artificial chan‑
nels. Therefore, the mean velocity in a vertical can be esti‑
mated by combining (12) and Cs. The relationship between
the surface velocity measured by the SVR and mean velocity
can be expressed as follows:
( )
ū = Cs us = 0.95 1.49vR − 0.4 = 1.42vR − 0.38. (13)
Figure 9 presents a comparison of the discharge estima‑
tions (Qest) obtained using (13) and (11) and those (Qobs)
obtained using (7) and (11) in the five lined irrigation canals;
4 5 6 7 8 9
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864 Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866

Fig. 6  The velocity distributions

based on the probabilistic veloc‑
ity distribution equation and 1.4
(1) 1.4
(2) 1.4
(3) 1.4
(4) ∆
∆ ∆ ∆
the observed velocities on the
verticals in the Taoyuan Canal 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

y(m)

y(m)
y(m)

y(m)
0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

u(m/s) u(m/s) u(m/s) u(m/s)

1.4
(5) 1.4
(6) 1.4
(7) 1.4
(8)
∆ ∆ ∆ ∆

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

y(m)

y(m)
y(m)

y(m)
0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

u(m/s) u(m/s) u(m/s) u(m/s)

Table 2  Discharges measured Canal Date Width (m) No. of No. of surface Average Discharge ­(m3/s)
by velocity profiler vertical velocity depth (m)

Taoyuan 10/13/2016 9.0 8 3 1.34 10.34

Shihmen 7/21/2016 5.4 6 2 2.79 10.76
Huludun 8/3/2016 7.6 7 3 2.41 16.96
Liuqin 8/17/2016 5.7 6 2 1.14 3.05
8/22/2016 6 2 1.11 2.45
Zhuo 8/17/2016 8.1 8 3 2.32 32.31
8/22/2016 8 3 2.30 28.49

the straight line in this figure represents the line of agree‑
ment. The data points in the figure adequately fall onto
the line of agreement, indicating the accuracy of the pro‑
posed method. The discharge values determined through
this method by using only two or three surface velocities
sampled by the SVR are nearly as accurate as those deter‑
mined through the velocity distribution method by using
velocity samples collected at more than 40 points spread
over the entire cross section. When the SW velocity pro‑
filer is applied, approximately 30 min would be required

13
Paddy and Water Environment (2018) 16:857–866 865

2.5 40
Taoyuan Canal
Shihmen Canal
Huludun Canal
2.0 Liuqin Canal
30 Zhuo Canal

1.5

Qobs (m /s)
us (m/s)

3
20

1.0

Taoyuan Canal
Shihmen Canal 10
0.5 Huludun Canal
Liuqin Canal
Zhuo Canal
us=1.49vR-0.4
0.0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0 10 20 30 40
vR (m/s) 3
Qest (m /s)

Fig. 7  Relationship of observed and estimated surface velocities Fig. 9  Accuracy of discharge measurement by using surface velocity
method

3.0
Taoyuan Canal proposed method is an efficient and accurate approach to
Shihmen Canal
Huludun Canal discharge estimation.
2.5
Liuqin Canal
Zhuo Canal
u=0.95vs
2.0
Conclusions

This paper proposes a method for discharge estimation in

u (m/s)

1.5 rectangular lined irrigation canals. The proposed method

requires only a few surface velocity samples obtained from
the water surface by an SVR mounted on a mobile crane.
1.0
Thus, it can rapidly estimate the discharge of a channel.
The key factors of the proposed method include the surface
0.5 velocity coefficient and the relationship between the sur‑
face velocity observed from the irradiated area by the SVR
and the surface velocity in the vertical. Both the estimated
0.0 surface velocity and mean velocity can be obtained through
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 the probabilistic velocity distribution equation. The relation‑
vs (m/s) ship between the measured and estimated velocities is linear.
Moreover, the ratio of the mean velocity to the estimated
Fig. 8  Relation between surface and mean velocities in lined irriga‑ velocity is invariant to discharge and water stage levels.
tion canals Therefore, it is the surface velocity coefficient and is con‑
stant. The proposed method utilizes these two relationships
to estimate discharge in lined irrigation canals. Data col‑
for discharge estimation by measuring velocity distribu‑ lected from five different irrigation canals are used to test the
tions. By contrast, the proposed method requires only two or feasibility of this method for estimating discharge through
three surface velocity samples obtained using an instrument the SVR. The results reveal that the proposed method can
mounted on a mobile crane; therefore, the discharge estima‑ achieve accurate and reliable discharge estimations in lined
tion process would require less than 5 min. Accordingly, the irrigation canals. This method can enable saving time and

13
866
reducing labor. The method is efficient for estimating dis‑
charge in lined irrigation canals.
This study provides a new method for estimating dis‑
charge in lined irrigation canals. The current work focuses
on using an SVR to estimate discharge in lined irrigation
canals. Future studies will extend this work to estimate dis‑
charge in natural streams by using an SVR.
Acknowledgements The authors express their gratitude to the 3rd
River Management Office of Water Resources Agency and Ministry
of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Grant No. MOST 106-2221-E-
027-031-) for their support of this study.
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