Im 8. Abe 122

Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Bayombong Campus
DEGREE PROGRAM BSABE COURSE NO. ABE 122

SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE Land and Water Conservation Engineering
YEAR LEVEL 4 TIME FRAME WK NO. IM NO. 8
I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

8. Flood Damage Control
Rainfall Harvesting Techniques
II. LESSON TITLE
III. LESSON OVERVIEW
IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES
V. LESSON CONTENT
FLOOD DAMAGE CONTROL
Flood Control
- refers to all methods used to reduce or prevent the damaging effects of flood waters.
- Some of the common techniques used for flood control are the installation of rock beams, rock
rip-raps, sand bags, maintenance of normal slopes with vegetation or application of soil
cements on steeper slopes and construction or expansion of drainage.
- Other methods include dykes, dams, retention basins or detention.
- Some methods of flood control have been practiced since Antiquity. These methods include
planting vegetation to retain excess water, terrace slopes to reduce slope flow, and building
alluviums (man-made channels to divert water from flooding), construction of dykes, dams,
reservoirs or holding tanks to store extra water during flood periods.
- In many countries, flood-prone rivers are often carefully managed. Defenses such as dykes,
reservoirs and dams are used to keep rivers from overflowing.
Earth embankments
- Earth embankments are widely used as dikes, levees, and dams. They are important in water
supply and flood control.
- earth embankments are subject to degradation by erosion, sloughing, and other natural
processes.
- Proper design, construction, and maintenance will yield a stable and reliable structure.
- An earthen embankment is a raised confining structure made from compacted soil to confine
runoff either for surface storage or for ground water recharge.
- These are also used for increasing infiltration; detention and retention of water to facilitate
deep percolation and also to provide additional storage as in the case of semi dug-out ponds.
- The cross-section of embankments is usually trapezoidal in shape. When constructed across
natural channel to induce channel storage, the embankment also called earthen dam. Further,
the embankment depends on its own weight to resist against sliding and overturning whereas
foundation work is also included in case of dam. However, at many instances both terms are
used as synonymously.
- The basic design principles to be described here apply equally to all earth embankments
whose total height above ground level does not exceed 15 m.
Disadvantages
- An earth embankment is easily damaged or destroyed by water flowing on, over or against it.
Thus, a spillway and adequate upstream protection are essential for any earth dam.
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IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
- Designing and constructing adequate spillways is usually the most technically difficult part of
any dam building work. Any site with a poor quality spillway should not be used.
- If it is not adequately compacted during construction, the dam will have weak structure hence
prone to seepage.
- Earth dams require continual maintenance to prevent erosion, tree growth, subsidence,
animal and insect damage and seepage.
Types of Embankment
1. simple embankment type
- is constructed of relatively homogeneous material and is either keyed into an impervious
foundation stratum
- This type is limited to low fills and to sites having sufficient volumes of satisfactory fill
materials available.
Figure. Earth embankment designs: (a) simple embankment using “key” construction; (b) simple
embankment with an impervious blanket for seepage control; (c) embankment using a central core, key, and
blanket of impervious material; (d) embankment with full diaphragm for seepage control; and (e)
embankment with core and partial diaphragm.
2. core or zoned type

- design includes a central section of highly impermeable materials extending from an
impermeable stratum in the foundation to above the water line
- An upstream blanket is sometimes used in conjunction with this design. Core type
construction reduces the percentage of high-grade fill materials needed.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
3. diaphragm type
- uses a thin wall of plastic, butyl, concrete, steel, or wood to form a barrier against
seepage through the fill.
- A full-diaphragm cutoff extends from above the water line down to and sealed into an
impervious foundation stratum
- A partial diaphragm does not extend through this full range and is sometimes referred
to as a cutoff wall.
- A diaphragm, particularly when constructed of rigid materials, has the disadvantage of
being unavailable for inspection or repair if broken or cracked due to settlement in the
foundation or the fill.
- The use of flexible diaphragms of plastic or butyl rubber has partially overcome this
problem.
General Requirements for Earth Embankments

1. Topographic conditions at the site must allow economical construction; cost is a function of fill
length and height, which determine volume of the structure.
2. Soil materials must be available to provide a stable and impervious fill.
3. Storage embankments must have adequate mechanical and flood spillway facilities to
maintain a uniform water depth during normal conditions and to safely manage flood runoff.
4. Large storage embankments should be equipped with a bottom drain to facilitate maintenance
and fish management.
5. Appropriate safety equipment must be installed around drop-inlets and other hazardous
portions of the structure.
6. All design specifications must be followed during construction and a sound program of
maintenance instituted to protect against damage by wave action, erosion, burrowing animals,
livestock, farm equipment, and careless recreational use.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Foundation and Earth Fill Requirements

- Earth dams and embankments may be built on a wide range of foundation materials
provided they are properly considered in the design process. A site investigation must be
performed to determine the foundation conditions.
- For small structures, the investigation may be limited to soil pits or auger borings.
- For larger structures the investigation should be more thorough to reliably determine the
nature of the underlying soil and geologic conditions.
- Geological and foundation conditions can be broadly classified as follows (USBR, 1987).
Rock Foundations
- Competent rock foundations (those free of significant defects) have relatively high sheer
strengths, and are resistant to erosion and percolation. Removal of weathered or
disintegrated rock and grouting of fractures are often necessary. Weaker rocks (clay
shales, weathered basalt, etc.) may present significant problems.
Gravel Foundations
- If these are well compacted, they may be suitable for earthfill structures. Special
precautions may be needed to control seepage through the highly permeable materials.
Silt or Fine Sand Foundations.
- These materials present problems of nonuniform settlement, potential soil collapse upon
saturation, uplift forces, piping, excessive seepage, and erodibility.
Clay Foundations
- These can support earth-fill structures, but require relatively flat embankment slopes
because of relatively low foundation sheer strengths. Clay foundations can also
consolidate significantly under the load of the fill.
Non-uniform Foundations
- It is not always possible to find a site with reasonably uniform materials of any of the types
described above. Structures on such sites may require special design features that should
be selected by experienced engineers.
Methods of Construction
a) Rolled Fill Dam: In this type of dams, successive layers of moistened or damp soils are laid one
over one another. Each layer not exceeding 20 cm in thickness is properly consolidated at
optimum moisture content which is maintained by sprinkling water and compacted by mechanical
roller only then the next layer laid.
b) Hydraulic Fill Dam: In this type of dams, the construction, excavation, transportation of the earth
is done by hydraulic methods. Outer edges of the embankments are kept slightly higher than the
middle portion of each layer. During construction, a mixture of excavated materials in slurry
condition is pumped and discharged at the edges. This slurry of excavated materials and water
consists of coarse and fine materials. When it is discharged near the outer edges, the coarser
materials settle first at the edges, while the finer materials move to the middle and settle there.
Fine particles are deposited in the central portion to form a water tight central core. In this method,
compaction is not required.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Site selection and Investigation for Earthen Embankment/Dam
Figure. Damages in the embankment and foundation (Source: Kunitomo, 2000)
Seepage through the Embankment

- The seepage line will intersect the downstream face at a point about h/3 above the base
for sideslopes flatter than 1:1.
- A toe drain or underdrain in or near the downstream edge of the embankment can intercept
seepage before it reaches the face of the embankment, thereby keeping the entire
downstream face unsaturated
- The seepage discharge through an embankment of homogeneous fill on an impervious
foundation can be approximated within ±20% as (Harr, 1962):
Where: q = discharge per unit length of the embankment

k = saturated hydraulic conductivity of the fill
h = head of water
d = adjusted flow length through the embankment
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Figure. Seepage line through embankments on impervious foundations: (a)

homogeneous embankment with a trapezoidal rock-filled toe drain and
(b) embankment with a core and a rock-filled toe drain.
Figure. Typical filter and perforated pipe toe drain.

(Redrawn and revised from USBR, 1987.)
Types and Purpose of Flood Control Structures
Flood control structures – are designed to protect coastal and river-bank areas, including
urban and agricultural communities, homes, and other economically valuable areas, and
the people located within them. These structures are used to divert flows of water, by re-
directing rivers, slowing natural changes in embankments and coastlines, or preventing
inundation of vulnerable coastlines or floodplains.
1. Check Dams
- These are small gravity dams, usually constructed with rocks and mortar or
concrete, of variable height and width.
- This type of structures are located in small or medium sized gullies to stabilized
riverbed slopes and prevent soil erosion.
- Check dams, protect gullies from being eroded by rainfall and runoff impact.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
2. Retaining Walls
- are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at
different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain
soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to (typically a steep, near-vertical or
vertical slope).
- These are rock/concrete block structures built on steep slopes anywhere in the
watershed, where the erosion of the base foundation threatens lands and/or homes.
3. Bunding
- Bunding is the general name used in Jamiaca for flexible structures of variable
thickness and length, composed of galvanized wire mesh, stone, wild-cane and
riverbed materials.
- Used to prevent erosion and landslips and to protect agricultural lands from being
flooded.
-
4. Riprap
- To protect slopes, streambanks, channels, or areas subject to erosion by wave action.
Rock riprap protects soil from erosion due to concentrated runoff. It is used to stabilize
slopes that are unstable due to seepage.
5. Sausage Groynes
- These are long cylindrical, slightly flexible structures of variable thickness, composed
of wire and rocks
- Graynos are placed at the foot of banks anlong small, slow moving stream, where
there are signs of undermining and treats to permanent structures.
- Desined to stop such action by allowing the bank to collapse to an angle of repose in
such a manner to as form a moderate slope, which encourages the growth of
vegetation.
6. Spurs
- serve one or more of the functions (i) Training the river along the desired course to
reduce concentration of flow at the point of attack, guiding or deflecting the axis of
flow, (ii) Creating a slack flow zone with the object of silting up the area in the vicinity
of river bank.
7. Gabion/Matress Groyness
- protect slopes and stream banks from the erosive forces of moving water.
- These are long, flexible structures of variable thickness, composed of wire and rocks.
- They are placed on the shaped banks of large, fast moving streams where sever
erosion is occurring and many pose a danger to permanent structures.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
- Mattress groynes are designed to prevent the further erosion of the riverbank. They
trap soil particles to allow a build-up of the soil; thereby encouraging the growth of
vegetation.
8. Paved Drains
o Detention Ponds: Ponds placed on the off-side, can minimize the damage to
downstream structures by reducing peak flows. They should be considered in the
design of downstream protective structures.
o Dams: these structures can be used to control peaks, provided suitable
impounding sites can be found. Dams are designed for return periods usually
exceeding 25 years. Their cost, however, is usually high and their design and
construction require careful planning.
o Levees: are made of clay or earth fill material are being used with some structural
modifications and have proven quite effective. The slopes of an earth fill levee
should be no more than 2:1. The base should be wide to allow for a gradual slope.
Trees and bushes should not be planted on or near a levee because their root
systems tend to weaken it. These serve the purposed of confining flood waters to
the stream and to portions of the flood plain.
o Flood Walls or reinforced concrete: Flood walls require very little space and are
often used to protect cities and developed areas. They are costly to construct, but
involve minimal maintenance costs.
o Channel Alterations: reduce floods by deepening and widening the channel by
cutting meanders. Sometimes these works can have undesirable effects, by aiding
the sediment transport process. Care must be taken when channel alternatives are
considered.
9. Levees
- the main purpose of an artificial levee is to prevent flooding of the adjoining
countryside; however, they also confine the flow of the river resulting in higher and
faster water flow
10. Reservoirs
- Reservoirs are one of the most direct methods of flood control through storing surface
runoff: thus, attenuating flood water and storing flood water to redistributed without
exceeding downstream flood conditions
- Urban location – small detention ponds
- Regional location – large reservoirs, often constructed to meet multiple needs (e.g.,
downstream flood control, hydropower, water supply, and recreation).
- For flood control, it is ideal to maintain the reservoir at the lowest level possible for
storage. On the other hand, keeping the reservoir at a high level provides the ability to
maintain low flows and hydropower production in droughts.
- Flood control storage is often variable depending on season and hydrologic conditions.
In regions with predictable rainy or dry seasons, reservoir levels can be maintained
accordingly.
11. Seawalls
- designed to prevent coastal erosion and other damage due to wave action and storm
surge, such as flooding.
12. Dikes
- A dike has water only on one side, a dam has water on both sides. The main purpose
of a dike is protecting the land behind it from flooding.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Rainfall Water Harvesting Techniques
Importance of Water Harvesting

 Rainwater harvesting is a technology used for collecting and storing rainwater for human use
from rooftops, land surfaces or rock catchments using simple techniques such as jars and
pots as well as engineered techniques.
- Improvement in the quality of ground water,
- Rise in the water levels in wells and bore wells that are drying up,
- Mitigation of the effects of drought and attainment of drought proofing,
- An ideal solution in areas having inadequate water resources,
- Reduction in soil erosion as the surface runoff is reduced,
- Decrease in the choking of storm water drains and flooding of roads and
- Saving energy to lift ground water.
Types of Water Harvesting

1. Rainwater Harvesting
 Rainwater harvesting is defined as the method for inducing, collecting, storing and
conserving local surface runoff for agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions. Three types
of water harvesting are covered by rainwater harvesting:
 Water collected from roof tops, courtyards and similar compacted or treated
surfaces is used for domestic purpose or garden crops.
 Micro-catchment water harvesting is a method of collecting surface runoff from a
small catchment area and storing it in the root zone of an adjacent infiltration basin.
The basin is planted with a tree, a bush or with annual crops.
 Macro-catchment water harvesting, also called harvesting from external
catchments is the case where runoff from hill-slope catchments is conveyed to the
cropping area located at foothill on flat terrain.
2. Flood Water Harvesting
 Flood water harvesting can be defined as the collection and storage of creek flow for
irrigation use. Flood water harvesting, also known as ‘large catchment water harvesting’
or ‘Spate Irrigation’, may be classified into following two forms:
 In case of ‘flood water harvesting within stream bed’, the water flow is dammed
and as a result, inundates the valley bottom of the flood plain. The water is forced
to infiltrate and the wetted area can be used for agriculture or pasture
improvement.
 In case of ‘flood water diversion’, the water is forced to leave its natural course and
conveyed to nearby cropping fields.
3. Groundwater Harvesting
 Groundwater harvesting is a rather new term and employed to cover traditional as well as
unconventional ways of ground water extraction.
Water Harvesting Technique
A. Runoff Harvesting
1. Short Term Runoff Harvesting Techniques
a. Contour Bunds: This method involves the construction of bunds on the contour of
the catchment area. These bunds hold the flowing surface runoff in the area located
between two adjacent bunds.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Figure. Contour Bunds. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)
b. Semicircular Hoop: This type of structure consists of an earthen impartment

constructed in the shape of a semicircle.
Figure. Layout of Semi-Circular Hoop. (Source: Barron and Salas 2009)
c. Trapezoidal Bunds: Such bunds also consist of an earthen embankment,

constructed in the shape of trapezoids. The tips of the bund wings are placed on the
contour. The runoff water yielded from the watershed is collected into the covered
area. The excess water overflows around the tips.
- In this system of water harvesting the rows of bunds are also arranged in
staggered form to intercept the overflow of water from the adjacent upstream
areas. The layout of the trapezoidal bunds is the same as the semicircular
hoops, but they unusually cover a larger area
- Trapezoidal bund technique is suitable for the areas where the rainfall intensity
is too high and causes large surface flow to damage the contour bunds. This
technique of water harvesting is widely used for irrigating crops, grasses,
shrubs, trees etc.
Figure. Layout of Trapezoidal Bund. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)
d. Graded Bunds: Graded bunds also referred as off contour bunds. They consist of
earthen or stone embankments and are constructed on a land with a slope range of
0.5 to 2%.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
- They are used as an option where rainfall intensity and soils are such that the
runoff water discharged from the field can be easily intercepted.
- The downstream bunds consist of wings to intercept the overflowing water from
the upstream bunds. Due to this, the configuration of the graded bund looks
like an open ended trapezoidal bund. That is why sometimes it is also known
as modified trapezoidal bund. This type of bunds for water harvesting is
generally used for irrigating the crops.
e. Rock Catchment: The rock catchments are the exposed rock surfaces, used for
collecting the runoff water in a part as depressed area. The water harvesting under
this method can be explained as: when rainfall occurs on the exposed rock surface,
runoff takes place very rapidly because there is very little loss.
f. Ground Catchment: In this method, a large area of ground is used as catchment

for runoff yield. The runoff is diverted into a storage tank where it is stored. The
ground is cleared from vegetation and compacted very well. The channels are as
well compacted to reduce the seepage or percolation loss and sometimes they are
also covered with gravel. Ground catchments are also called roaded catchments.
This process is also called runoff inducement.
2. Long Term Runoff Harvesting Techniques

a. Dugout Ponds: The dugout ponds are constructed by excavating the soil from the
ground surface. These ponds may be fed by ground water or surface runoff or by
both. The dugout ponds can also be recommended where maximum utilization of
the harvested runoff water is possible for increasing the production of some
important crops. This type of ponds require brick lining with cement plastering to
ensure maximum storage by reducing the seepage loss.
Figure. Illustration of Dugout Pond. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)
b. Embankment Type Reservoir: These types of reservoirs are constructed by

forming a dam or embankment on the valley or depression of the catchment area.
The storage capacity of the reservoir is determined on the basis of water
requirement for various demands and available surface runoff from the catchment.
In a situation when heavy uses of water are expected, then the storage capacity
of the reservoir must be kept sufficient so that it can fulfill the demand for more
than one year.
c. Irrigation Dam: The irrigation dams are mainly meant to store the surface water
for irrigating the crops. The capacity is decided based on the amount of input water
available and output water desired. These dams have the provisions of gated pipe
spillway for taking out the water from the reservoir.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
d. Silt Detention Dam: The basic purpose of silt detention dam is to detain the silt
load coming along with the runoff water from the catchment area and
simultaneously to harvest water.
e. High Level Pond: Such dams are located at the head of the valley to form the
shape of a water tank or pond. The stored water in the pond is used to irrigate the
area lying downstream. Usually, for better result a series of ponds can be
constructed in such a way that the command area of the tank located upstream
forms the catchment area for the downstream tank. Thus all but the uppermost
tanks are facilitated with the collection of runoff and excess irrigation water from
the adjacent higher catchment area.
f. Farm Pond: arm ponds are constructed for multi-purpose objectives, such as for
irrigation, live-stock, water supply to the cattle feed, fish production etc. The pond
should have adequate capacity to meet all the requirements. The location of farm
pond should be such that all requirements are easily and conveniently met.
g. Water Harvesting Pond: The farm ponds can be considered as water harvesting
ponds. They may be dugout or embankment type. Their capacity depends upon
the size of catchment area. Runoff yield from the catchment is diverted into these
ponds, where it is properly stored. Measures against seepage and evaporation
losses from these ponds should also be.
h. Percolation Dam: These dams are generally constructed at the valley head,
without the provision of checking the percolation loss. Thus, a large portion of the
runoff is stored in the soil. The growing crops on downstream side of the dam,
receive the percolated water for their growth.
B. Flood Water Harvesting

a. Permeable Rock Dams (for Crops)
- These are long low rock dams across valleys slowing and spreading floodwater as
well as healing gullies. These are suitable for a situation where gently sloping valleys
are likely to transform into gullies and better water spreading is required.
Figure. Permeable Rock Dams. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)
b. Water Spreading Bunds (for Crops and Rangeland):

- In this method, runoff water is diverted to the area covered by graded bund by
constructing diversion structures such as diversion drains. They lead to the basin
through channels, where crops are irrigated by flooding. Earthen bunds are set at a
gradient, with a "dogleg" shape and helps in spreading diverted floodwater. These are
constructed in arid areas where water is diverted from watercourse onto crop or fodder
block.
IM No.:ABE 122-2S-2021-2022
Figure. Floodwater farming systems: (a) spreading within channel bed;

(b) diversion system. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)
c. Flood Control Reservoir:

- The reservoirs constructed at suitable sites for controlling the flood are known as flood
control reservoirs. They are well equipped with self-operating mechanical outlets for
letting out the harvested water into the stream or canal below the reservoir as per
requirement.
C. Groundwater Harvesting
a. Qanat System: A qanat consists of a long tunnel or conduit leading from a well dug at a
reliable source of groundwater (the mother well). The Qanat system was used widely
across Persia and the Middle East for many reasons. First, the system requires no energy,
relies on the force of gravity alone. Second, the system can carry water across long
distances through subterranean chambers avoiding leakage, evaporation, or pollution.
And lastly, the discharge is fixed by nature, producing only the amount of water that is
distributed naturally from a spring or mountain, ensuring that the water table is not
depleted. More importantly, it allows access to a reliable and plentiful source of water to
those living in otherwise marginal landscapes
Figure. Cross Section Showing Qanats. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)

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Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

DEGREE PROGRAM BSABE COURSE NO. ABE 122

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

II. LESSON TITLE

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

FLOOD DAMAGE CONTROL

2. core or zoned type

General Requirements for Earth Embankments

Foundation and Earth Fill Requirements

Site selection and Investigation for Earthen Embankment/Dam

Figure. Damages in the embankment and foundation (Source: Kunitomo, 2000)

Seepage through the Embankment

Where: q = discharge per unit length of the embankment

Figure. Seepage line through embankments on impervious foundations: (a)

Figure. Typical filter and perforated pipe toe drain.

Types and Purpose of Flood Control Structures

Rainfall Water Harvesting Techniques

Importance of Water Harvesting

Types of Water Harvesting

Water Harvesting Technique

Figure. Contour Bunds. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)

b. Semicircular Hoop: This type of structure consists of an earthen impartment

Figure. Layout of Semi-Circular Hoop. (Source: Barron and Salas 2009)

c. Trapezoidal Bunds: Such bunds also consist of an earthen embankment,

Figure. Layout of Trapezoidal Bund. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)

f. Ground Catchment: In this method, a large area of ground is used as catchment

2. Long Term Runoff Harvesting Techniques

Figure. Illustration of Dugout Pond. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)

b. Embankment Type Reservoir: These types of reservoirs are constructed by

B. Flood Water Harvesting

Figure. Permeable Rock Dams. (Source: Barron and Salas, 2009)

b. Water Spreading Bunds (for Crops and Rangeland):

Figure. Floodwater farming systems: (a) spreading within channel bed;

c. Flood Control Reservoir:

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