Purpose and Necessity of the Dredging Project

The proposed Dredging at the Limahong (Agno) River Channel and Delta will reduce heavy
siltation that is causing the reduction of the flood-carrying capacity of the river. During
heavy rains, flooding affects highly-populated areas of Lingayen, San Fabian, San Jacinto,
and Mangaldan, and the upper district or areas of Pangasinan.

Figure 3. Agno River Basin

 Figure 4. Sandbars observed along Limahong (Agno) River Delta
Aside from flood control, river dredging is done to restore or create habitats for aquatic
resources. Through this, it can restore the healthy state of the aquatic ecosystem. Dredging
can also help to replenish beaches. For instance, dredged sands and gravel could be used to
avoid erosion on beaches. Prevented erosion is beneficial to humans and wildlife. The
maintenance and safety of beaches can also boost local tourism which created a positive
impact on the economy. It is also a great alternative to concrete walls which is cost-efficient.
Furthermore, it also helps improve the quality of water because, through this activity,
contaminated sediments are removed as well. Dredging serves as a form of clean-up as well
most especially in highly industrialized and urbanized areas just like in Manila and other
cities. The wastes will be disposed of with the proper supervision and strict environmental
protocols. Since the silts and other wastes were removed, it will provide a clear waterway
for boats and other types of water transportation. Common activities include the transport
of cargo and other commodities.
Apart from the dredging activity itself, some of the dredged materials can be used for other
purposes instead of becoming waste. They can be used as coastal protections which could
lessen the expenses for those coastal projects. Also, materials can be used for industrial
developments such as housing and building other infrastructure. Specific materials that we
can use for construction are sands and gravel which can be used to produce bricks, clays,
and aggregates.
Generally, a large-sized sandbar causes a larger bank erosion, the size of the sandbar is
usually censured by wavelength. Furthermore, the sandbar moves downward enduring
floods, being accompanied by the movement of the stream convergence point. The
movement of the stream convergence points brings about a new bank erosion downstream.
Finally, the movement of the sandbar causes bank erosion at every river section. However if
the movement of the sandbar is restricted by some river morphological characteristics, bank
protection works can be concentrated us some limited river sections.
Methodology of the hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment yield and transport, scouring and
slope stability analyses.
This project requires Hydrologic and Hydraulic analysis because it is located at the River
Delta of the Limahong (Agno) River Basin, and the river morphology al the Limahong (Agno)
River is highly considered for the hydrologic and hydraulic study, which would, later on, be
the basis for the design depth of dredging.
The parameters and inputs in designing the different components of this project consist
mainly of those drawn from hydrologic, hydraulic, and structural aspects. It is noted that
hydrology is a prerequisite to hydraulic analysis and that hydraulic analysis is a prerequisite
to structural analysis.
The results at the Hydraulic Analysis are further used for Scour Analysis and as bases for
determining the allowable dimensions of the dredging section vis - a vis with the magnitude
of the increase of the flood - carrying capacity of the river.
Hydrologic analysis using HEC-HIMS and Hydraulic analysis using HEC-RAS
Hydrological Analysis using HEC-HMS
The hydrologic design was carried out in accordance with the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) - Design Guidelines, Criteria and Standards (DGCS) on Water
Engineering Projects, Volume 3, 2015 Chapter 3, with the inclusion of the effects of Climate
Change in Chapter ? of the same book. There was no record of baseflow along Limahong
(Agno) River so a general assumption of 0.05 m 3/s/km2 times the total Catchment Area is
adopted.
The hydrologic study conducted was focused in quantifying the magnitude of storm runoff
expected at the Lingayen Town Proper area. The method used is by SCS (Soil Conservation
System) with the aid of the HEC - HMS Software. It is currently the most common and most
acceptable method of computing discharge in most DPWH Flood Control Projects. This
method has been applied to many river basins in many countries where several synthetic
unit hydrographs have been developed. It can be estimated for ungauged river basins by
means of relationships between parameters of a unit hydrograph model and the physical
characteristic of the river basin.
Unit Hydrograph Method is also commonly used on watersheds with large catchment area.
The SCS Unit Hydrograph requires the computation of lag time which is easily derived from
the available data on the following parameters: catchment area, average sub-basin river
slope and lag time coefficient for valley, hilly and mountainous areas. The data on the
parameters were derived from the observations during the actual survey and the use of
QGIS Software.
A. Design Storm

The hydrologic study at the Limahong (Agno) River considers the 25 - year return
period since the Limahong (Agno) River Catchment Area on the River Mouth exceeds
40km2 (from Table 5-1 of Page 5-3 of DPWH DGCS Volume 3 Series of 2015.)
B. Derivation of Lag Time and river reach characteristics

The lag time is defined as the time between the center of mass of excess rainfall to
the time to peak at the unit hydrograph. The SCS unit hydrograph method
necessities it for solving equations. The following modified Synder's Lag Equation is
commonly used in the Philippines for this purpose.

Lg = 0.6865 x Ct x [L x Lca / (S)0.5] 0.38

Where:
Lg: lag time (hour)
Ct: lag time coefficient
- For mountainous area = 1.20
- For hilly area = 0.70
- For valley area = 0.35
L: length of water course from the downstream end of the subbasin to
the upstream subbasin boundary (km)
Lca: length of water course from the downstream end of the subbasin to a
intersection on the stream perpendicular from the centroid of the
subbasin (km)
S: average basin slope (overall slope along longest water course from
the downstream to upstream end of the subbasin)

Table 1. Physical Parameters of Sub-Basin and Lag Time

River reach characteristics are also included in the Hydrologic Analysis as one of
requirements for the SCS Method, as shown in Table 2.
 Table 2. Physical Parameters of River Reach
C. Developing Hourly Rainfall Hyetograph by Alternating Block Method

Flood Control and Sabo Engineering Center (FCSEC) has provided the Runoff Analysis
Input Data Processing Form electronic spreadsheet (MS Excel) file for developing
hourly rainfall hyetograph by Alternating Block Method. A cropped print screen
image of the form showing the input of the Catchment Area is shown below.

River Basin Name Agno River

Catchment Area (km2) * 6186.482

Table 3. Runoff Analysis Input Data Processing Form - inputting Catchment Area

In order to compute runoff, the RIDF Curves based on iso-specific coefficient and
isohyet of probable 1-day rain is first used (Method 3 in Figure 4). As earlier
mentioned, the 25 - year is used in determination of discharge. The Computed
Coefficients for RID Curves as shown in Table 5 is used to compute the hourly Rainfall
Depth.
Figure 5. RIDF Curves Based on iso – specific coefficient and isohyet of probable 1-day rain
Sison, Pangasinan (centroid of Catchment area)

Figure 6. Iso – Specific Coefficient β

Figure 7. Isohyet map of probable 1-day rainfall for 25-yr return period.
Figure 8. Computation of Hourly Rainfall Distribution Based on isohyet of probable 1-day
rain (25 - year return period)
The form automatically computes the Excess Rain at the Hourly Rainfall Distribution
Data with Area Reduction factor included, for Method 3 the Area Reduction Factor
(fa) is set to 1.0 for the value of HEC - HMS Input Data as shown in Figure 6.
D. Inclusion of the effects of Climate Change

Climate change is an area of evolving scientific study, and further information and
guidance should be sought as part of the design process.

In the design of structures, there are two key ways that climate change can be
incorporated:

1. Incorporating into Present Design - where the design of structure is upgraded to

account for climate change estimates now.
2. Planned Upgrade - the design is undertaken in such a way that it is possible to
upgrade the structure in the future.

The following provides some suggested allowances for climate change that can be
considered for design:

1. General Approach - this is the default approach that can be adopted for all projects
2. Alternative approach - where the general approach may result in significant cost to
the infrastructure, then the alternative approach may be adopted.
Table 4 shows the suggested approach for incorporating changes to Extreme Rainfall.

Approach Recommendation
Incorporate a 10% increase in rainfall intensity in the design. For
General
example, a 100-year rainfall intensity is increased by 10%.
This sensitivity analysis should consider increases in rainfall
intensities of 10%, and determine the likely impact on the
Alternative proposed hydraulic design. In some situations, there will be
minimal impacts, while in others the differences in flood levels
will be more significant.
Table 4. General and Alternative approaches to adjustments due to Climate Change
Impact
Thus, as shown in Table 4, the General Approach was adopted which means 25 -
year return period, the rainfall intensity (fa) is increased by 10%.
E. Hydrological Computations using Unit Hydrograph Method with the aid of HEC -
HIMS Software

The HEC - HMS Version 4.0 Software is used to compute for the discharge based
from the outputs on River Properties (Table 1), Lag Time (Table 1), River Reach (Table
2) and Hourly Rainfall Distribution (Figure 6). Shown in Figure 7 is the HEC - HMS
Basin Model for the proposed dredging.

1. Basin Model Manager

a. Sub - basin Properties Input

As indicated before, the SCS Unit Hydrograph will be used in determining the
discharge of the Agno River Basin for the proposed dredging. At each Sub-basin
selected, Sub-basin Properties from Table 1 are inputted under Subbasin Tab as
shown in Figure 8. The SCS Unit Hydrograph is selected. Under Transform Tab,
Lag Time is inputted from values computed in Table 3, as shown in Figure 9.
b. Reach Properties Input

The Routing method under Reach Tab after selecting a Reach, is defined to be
Muskingum - Cunge. A Muskingum - Cunge channel flow routing scheme is
modified for application to large drainage networks with compound cross
sections and for continuous long - term simulation. This routing scheme is also
the most suitable since the data obtained from the morphology of Agno River

such as Length, Slope, Manning's roughness coefficient (n), Bottom width and
side slope are available which were obtained from field observations, field
surveys and delineations of Catchment area properties in QGIS Software. The
input values for the parameters in this method is found in Table 4. Inputting is
shown in Figure 14 and 15.
Figure 9. HEC – HMS Basin Model for Limahong (Agno) River Basin