University of Gondar

Institute of Technology
School of civil and Hydraulic Engineering
Department of HWRE
Irrigation Engineering PPT
 CHAPTER-6

Irrigation-Drainage Systems
 Learning out comes

Purpose of drainage system

Salt concentration in cultivated land and irrigation water
Water logging problem
Reclamation of salt affected soil
Necessity of Drainage
Surface and subsurface drainage
Consideration for surface and subsurface drainage canal design
 Irrigation Drainage
Irrigation drainage is the process of removal of excess
water as free or gravitational water from the surface and
the subsurface of farm lands with a view to avoid water
logging and creates favorable soil conditions for
optimum plant growth.
6.1.Salt concentration in irrigated land and water

Salt problems in irrigation Agriculture

 Every water is not suitable for irrigation.

The quality of irrigation water is very much influenced by

the contents of the soil, which is to be irrigated.
Particular water may be harmful for irrigation on a
particular soil but the same water may be tolerable or even
useful on some other soil.
 con……..

Irrigation water may be said to be unsatisfactory for its

intended use if it contains:
 Chemicals toxic to plants

 Chemicals that react with the soil to produce

unsatisfactory moisture characteristics
Bacteria injurious to persons or animals eating plants
irrigated with water.
 con……..
There are two main causes of salinity :
A. Salinity caused by the supply of saline irrigation water

• The concentration of salt in water is not harmful to the plant,

but the concentration of salt which remain in the soil after the
saline water is used up by the plant is harmful.

B. Salinity caused by the upward movement of water and

salts, related to high water tables and lack of drainage

• Due to capillary rise

con……..
Measurement of salt concentration
con…..
con…..
con…..
Proportion of sodium ion to other cations
con…..
Potentially toxic elements
soil acidity and alkalify
impacts od acidity and sodicity on crop growth
con….
water logging and land reclamation process
cause of irrigated land water logging
con….
Effects of water logging
Reclamation of salt affected soils
Necessity of Drainage
Type of Drainage
1 Surface drainage
con…
Type of Surface drainage
 Design of Canals (Cont…)

Design of Alluvial Channels

 In the case of alluvial channels, the channel surface consists of alluvial soil which can be
easily scoured. Moreover, the velocity is low which encourages silting.
Therefore, in an alluvial channel, both scouring and silting may occur if the channel is not
properly designed.
The quantity of silt transported by water in an alluvial channel varies from section to
section due to scouring of bed and sides as well as due to silting (or deposition).
If the velocity is too high, scouring may occur. On the other hand, if the velocity is too low,
silting may occur.
The discharge capacity is decreased if the silting occurs because the cross-section is
reduced.
Therefore, the alluvial channel should be designed such that neither scouring nor silting
occurs.
The velocity at which this condition occurs is called the critical velocity. Such an alluvial
channel is called a stable channel.
 
 Design of erodible (Alluvial) canals

• Are canals with movable bed.

• Such canals designed on erodible (alluvial deposits) not only have
erosion problem but also in most cases the water carries sediments with
it.
• Design of such canals can be made based on the maximum and
minimum permissible velocities.
• This velocity which does not cause theoretically erosion of the bed and
that does not silt the canals is called non-silting and non-scouring
velocity.
• However, experience showed that alluvial canals designed on the
principle of maximum and minimum permissible velocities have not
functioned satisfactorily.
 Regime channels

• Canals designed for non-silting and non-scouring velocity are called

regime canals.
• A channel is in state of regime means that whatever sediment
entering the canal at the head is kept in suspension and local
sediments are not produced by erosion.
• Thus design of canals on alluvial deposits requires design of the canal
for non-silting and non-scouring velocity.

• Two researchers called R.G. Kennedy and Lacey from India who have
done a remarkable research for finding a solution for design of stable
(non-silting and non-scouring) alluvial canals.
 Kennedy’s Theory

•  Kennedy selected some straight reach of a canal which had not

caused serious silting and scouring for the previous more than 30
years.
• He concluded that whether a sediment particle will be kept in
suspension or will settle down is a function of generation of
eddies.
• If the velocity of flow is sufficient to generate eddies that are just
sufficient to keep the sediment just in suspension, silting do not
occur.
• According to Kennedy, a critical velocity is the velocity which
will just keep the canal free from silting and scouring.
 Kennedy…

Where: Vo is the critical velocity

Vo  0.55 * y 0.64
Y is the depth flow, m
0.55 and 0.64 are constants which depend on silt charge.

• As this formula is purely empirical depending on observations, in order

to apply it to other canals reaches, some factor which takes into
account the soil type is needed.
• He introduced a factor called critical velocity ratio (m), which depends
on the size of the silts.
0.64
  Vo  0 .55 .m . y
 Kennedy…
Values of m

Sediment type m
Light sandy silt 0.9 to 1.1
Sandy, loamy silt 1.2
Hard soil 1.3
 Procedure for design of regime canals on Kennedy’s
theory

The following procedure can be used for canal design:

1. Assume a trial depth of flow y and determine the critical velocity Vo;
2. Determine the area of flow, A from A=Q/Vo;
3. Workout the canal cross sectional parameters;
4. Calculate the actual mean velocity V in the canal from the Kutter’s formula,
Manning’s formula or Chezy equation;
5. Compare V and Vo. If the same, ok; if not the same assume another y and
repeat steps 1 through 4.

 1  0.00155  
 n   23   
 S   * RS
V 
  0.00155  n 
1
   23  *
 S  R 
 Lacey’s Regime Theory
• Lacey came up with three kinds of regimes called initial, true and final
regimes after carrying out investigations for the design of regime canals
on alluvial deposits.

• According to him, for a given discharge, silt charge and silt grade, there
is only one canal section and one canal slope at which a canal would be
in regime.

• He mentioned that the regime theory can be applied to only channels

in true regime or final regime.
 Lacey’s…
• A canal in true regime is a canal in which discharge, velocity, depth of
flow, amount of silt and size of silt are constant.
• However, in irrigation channels, true regime can never be attained.

• A canal is said to be in final regime if there is no resistance of the sides

so that the flow can adjust the canal cross section (depth, slope,
perimeter etc) according to discharge and silt grade.

• Lacey argued that bed material size is an important parameter to be

considered. As a result, he introduced a silt factor (f) which is a function
of the mean particle size.
 Procedure for design of regime canals on Lacey’s Theory

1. Evaluate the flow velocity from

1
Where V is in m/s V  
 Qf 2
 6


Q is design discharge in m /s
3  140 

f is silt factor, ,where d is mean particle size, mm

2. Determine the hydraulic radius, R from f  1.76 * d
3. Calculate the area of flow, AQ
V 5 V 
2
R  *  
4. Calculate wetted perimeter, P 2  f 
5. Workout y and b from the known, A, P and R
6. Compute the canal bed slope, S P  4.75 * Q

 5
f 3 
S  1


 3340.Q
6 

 Design of Canals (Cont…)

He established the idea of critical velocity ‘Vo’ which will make a channel free from
silting or scouring. From long observations, he established a relation between the critical
velocity and the full supply depth as follows,
 
Vo = C x Dn
The value of C and n where found out as 0.546 and 0.64 respectively.
 
Thus, Vo = 0.546 x D0.64
Again he realized that the critical velocity was affected by the grade of silt. So he
introduced another factor m, which is known as critical velocity ratio (C.V.R).
 
Thus, Vo = 0.546 x m x D.64
 
Drawbacks in Kennedy’s Theory
 
The theory is limited to average regime channel only.
The design of channel is based on the trial and error method.
The value of ‘m’ was fixed arbitrarily.
Silt charge and silt grade are not considered
There is no equation for determining the bed slope and it depends on Kutter’s
equation only.
The ratio of ‘B’ to ‘D’ has no significance in his theory.
 Design of Canals (Cont…)

Drawbacks in Lacey’s Theory

 
The concept of true regime is theoretical and can not be achieved
practically.
The various equations are derived by considering the silt factor f, which is
not at all constant.
The concentration of silt is not taken into account.
Silt grade and silt charge are not clearly defined.
The equations are empirical and based on the available data from a
particular type of channel. So, it may not be true for a different type of
channel.
The characteristics of regime channel may not be same for all cases.
2.Sub-surface drainage System