Chapter-3

CANAL HEADWORKS
 Introduction
 Permanent canals are provided with permanent head works at the site from where
they take off.
 Head works comprise the construction of a permanent weir or a dam across the
river along with other subsidiary works which will be deal in this article.
 An irrigation channel takes its supplies from its source which can be either a river
or a channel. The structures constructed across a river source at the head of an off
taking main canal are termed “ canal headworks” or “headworks”. The headworks
can be either diversion headworks or storage headworks.
Functions of Headworks:

The hydraulic structures provided at the offtake of a canal from its source are
known as ‘Canal Headworks’.

Permanent canals, taking off from the rivers, are provided with permanent
headworks. Headworks

Diversion headworks Storage headworks

Functions of Head Works.

The aims and objects of the canal head works are summarized below:

1. To prevent water required for canals passing the head works at a level
below that at which it can be utilized and to prevent of any flow
downstream.
2. To raise the level of the supply so that it can irrigate the area more
efficiently.
3. To gain command economically when the canal has to pass in
expensive cutting.
4. To reduce the fluctuations of the level of the river.
5. To control the silt entry into the canal.
6. To render the head works permanent thus ensuring the required
supply into the canal and to prevent them from being affected by the
vagaries of the river.
Diversion Headworks:

1. Diversion headworks divert the required supply from the source channel to
the off taking channel.
2. The water level in the source channel is raised to the required level so as to
divert the required supplies into the off taking channel.
3. The diversion headworks should be capable of regulating the supplies into the
off taking channel.
4. If required, it should be possible to divert all the supplies (at times of keen
demand and low supplies) into the off taking channel.
5. The headworks must have an arrangement for controlling the sediment entry
into the channel off taking from a river.

Storage Headworks:

Storage headworks, besides fulfilling all the requirements of the diversion

headworks, store excess water when available and release it during periods when
demand exceeds supplies.
1. Temporary diversion head works: For temporary diversion head works, bunds are
constructed every year across the source rivers after floods. Sometimes, temporary
diversion head works are constructed in the beginning and when the demand for
irrigation has developed sufficiently, they are replaced by permanent head works.
The Upper Ganga canal was run with temporary head works for about sixty years
before the permanent head works were constructed.

2. Permanent diversion head works: It consists of a permanent structure such as weir,

or barrage constructed across a river to raise water level in the river.
Location of Headworks on Rivers

Large rivers, basically have four stages, viz.,

(1) the rocky,
(2) boulder,
(3) trough (or alluvial) and
(4) delta stages.

Note: Both rocky and delta stages of a river are relatively not suitable for the location
of the headwork.

(1) Rocky stage : In this stage, rivers are in the hills. The bed slope and
velocities are high. It is generally not suitable for the location of a diversion
headwork.
Advantages:
A very good rocky foundation is usually available at the site.
Due to high flow velocities, there is no silting problem in the rivers.
High heads are available for the hydroelectric work.
Disadvantages:
The command area is not suitable for the agriculture
The discharge in the river is low because of the small catchment.
2. Boulder stage
In this stage banks and bed of the rivers are composed of boulders and gravels.

Advantages:
 The length of the weir is generally shorter in the boulder stage.
 The requirement of construction materials such as stone, aggregates, sand, gravel are
met easily due to availability of materials locally.

Disadvantages:
 There is a problem of seepage loss.
 Demand for irrigation water is low because the land is not fertile.

3. Trough or alluvial stage

In this stage the cross section of river is basically made up of alluvial sand and silt. The
bed slope and velocity are small.
Advantages:
 Demand od water is very high
 Seepage losses are less in the canal
 The water contains silt which is rich in manure content.
Disadvantages:
 Construction material is not available locally
 Cost of head works is high due to poor foundation condition.
 There is a problem of silt in the canal.
4. Delta stage

 The river achieves the delta stage as it approaches towards the ocean.
 The bed slope and velocities reduce very much so it is unable to carry the silt and
sediment load.
 It releases the sediment load and gets divided into channels on either sides of the
deposit resulting into the formation a delta.
 It is therefore of suitable for the location of a diversion head works because the river
section is excessively wide.

 Once the stage of a river has been chosen for locating the headworks, the site of the
headworks is selected based on the consideration of its suitability for the barrage
(or weir), the undersluices, and the canal head regulator.

 For irrigation purposes, the site for head works should result in a suitable canal
alignment capable of serving its command area without much excavation.
 For sediment considerations, the off taking channel should be located at the
downstream end of the outside of a river bend so that it has the advantage of
drawing less sediment.
 However a curved reach would need costly protection works against the
adverse effect of cross currents.
 Moreover, if canals take off from both the banks, the canal taking off from the
inner bank draws relatively more sediment.
Components of Head Works
1. Weir

A weir is an obstruction constructed across a river to raise its water level and divert
the water into the canal.

 Although dams are very useful for managing the high discharge by rivers but it
brings notable changes in the morphology of river, ground water, climate
changes, inundation of land and social etc.
 The construction of high dam has great disadvantage of inundating the habitat
land and it creates havoc among the people and this leads to rehabilitation and
relocation.
 For minimization of inundated area which leads to serious problems of relocation
and rehabilitation of the habitats, it is quite important to reduce the maximum
water level of the reservoir. This minimization of the maximum water level of the
reservoir can be achieved by deploying spillway/weir of high discharge capacity.
Different types of weirs

Barrages are considered better than weirs due to following reasons:

(i) Barrages offer better control on the river outflow as well as discharge in the off
taking canal.
(ii) With proper regulation and with the help of under sluices and sediment excluders,
the upstream region in the vicinity of the headwork can be kept free of sediment
deposition.
(iii) Because of the lower crest level of a barrage, the afflux during floods is small.
(iv) It is possible to provide a roadway across the river at a relatively small additional
cost.

The procedure of design of barrage is similar to that of a weir. Weirs are of the
following three types :
1.Masonry weirs with vertical downstream face
2. Rock fill weirs with sloping aprons
3. Concrete weirs with glacis
Fig.1: Bhimgoda weir (old) on the river Ganga at Haridwar

Fig.2: The Okhla weir (old) on the Yamuna river near Delhi.

Fig.3: Concrete weir

History of weirs and its development
 Schleiss (2011) presented a brief historical review of development of piano key weir
from the labyrinth weir. Spillways play a vital role for the safety of dams from high
flood discharge. There are many types of spillway developed till now on the basis of
crest length.
 The different type of geometries of spillway on the basis of crest length developed so
far is given below: (a) Duckbill spillway or bath tube spillway (in case of parallel side
walls), (b) Fan spillway, Y type spillway and Daisy-shape (marguerite), morning glory
spillway. Addition to this the development of labyrinth weir took place in thirties of the
last century.
Labyrinth weirs
 Labyrinth weirs are mainly used to pass the
high flood discharge at comparatively low
head and are quite useful from the point of
safety of dams. They are basically used as
spillways for dams where the flood surcharge
space or spillway width is limited (Lux and
Hinchliff, 1985).
 On the other hand labyrinth weirs can also be
used for the protection of canals and run-off
river hydroelectric power plants.
 The important characteristics of labyrinth
spillways is that they are non-linear in shape
and repeating the plan form in similar fashion
as V shaped or triangular in shape, U shaped
or rectangular in shape and trapezoidal in
shape. On the basis of application the crest of
the spillways has different shapes as (Falvey
2003) sharp or narrow crest, flat crest, ogee
crest, half round –crest and quarter -round
crest.
Piano Key Weir

 Piano key weir (PKW) is a new type of spillway which is replacement of

traditional labyrinth weir.
 In the past decade, PKWs were constructed basically at dams with low head over
the crest to enhance the overflow capacity of the existing dams (Leite Ribeiro et
al., 2012).
 PKW has a larger effective crest length which helps it to enrich the discharge
capacity (Leite Ribeiro et al., 2012; Lemperiere and Ouamane, 2003).

Fig. 1 : Schematic diagram of Piano key weir

Different Type of Piano key weir and its research area
Divide wall
A long wall constructed at right angles in the weir or barrage, with stone masonry or
cement concrete.
On the upstream side, the wall is extended just to cover the canal head regulator and on
the downstream side, it is extended up to the launching apron.

Functions of the divide wall are as follows:

(1) It forms a still water pocket in front of the canal head that assists in settling of silt.
(2) It controls the eddy current or cross currents in front of the canal head.
(3) It provides a straight approach in front of the canal head.
(4) It resists the overturning effect on the weir or barrage caused by the pressure of the
impounding water.
The divide wall is generally constructed as a strong masonry wall with a
top width of about 1.5 to 2.25 m and checked for safety for the following
two conditions:

(i) For low stage of the river , the water levels on the two sides of the
walls are the same but the silt pressure is assumed to correspond to the
sediment deposit up to full pond level on the pocket side.

(ii) For the high stage of the river, the under sluices are discharging. At this
condition, the water levels on the two sides are assumed to be different; the
weir side level being higher by about 1.0 m.
The Fish Ladder

 Generally, large rivers are suitable for the various types of fish, many of which
are migratory in nature.

 They move from one part of the river to another according to seasons.

 Basically, in India, they move from upstream to downstream in the beginning of

winter in search of warmth and return upstream before the monsoon for clearer
water.

 If no such arrangement is made in the weir for this migration, large scale
destruction of fish life may take place in the river.
 Most fish can travel upstream in water flowing with a velocity of 3.0 m to 3.5 m
per second. The design of the fish ladder should therefore be such that it
constantly releases a current of water with a velocity not exceeding this value.
The Fish Ladder
A typical design of fish ladder is illustrated in figure below.

 It consists of an inclined channel with a slope not exceeding 1 in 10.

 The compartment of bays of fish ladder should be sufficiently large so that the fish
do not collide with the sides of the bay when ascending.
 Grooved gates are provided at the entrance and at the exit of the fish ladder for
closing it.
 The water supply to the fish ladder should be adequate for the fish to travel at all
the times.
Canal Head Regulator

The canal head regulator is provided at the head of the off taking canal and has the
following objects:
1. To regulate the supply of water into the canal, and to completely shut out the high
floods from entering into the canal.
2. To control the entry of the silt into the canal.

The crest level and the waterway of the head regulator are interrelated. To obtain
control on silt; it is necessary that the crest of the head regulator should be higher
than the crest of the under sluices by a minimum of 1.20 m and if a silt excluder is
provided, by a minimum of 1.80 m. The required discharge is to be passed into the
canal with the designed ‘pond level’ ( or level to which water can be raised up in the
river at low stage by means of the weir).
The width of the waterway can be calculated by the discharge formula:
Q= 1.71(L-knH)H3/2
Where n is the number of end contractions and k is the a coefficient depending on the
shape of the shape of the pier nose. The value of k may be taken as 0.01 to 0.03
depending on the shape of the pier nose.
It consists of a number of piers which divide the total width of the canal into a
number of spans which are known as bays.

The regulation is provided by gates, sometimes by two sets, one rising and one
falling. Spans of 6 m to 8 m are commonly used with counterbalanced steel gates
operated manually by winches
A typical design of head regulator is given in Figure below.
The main aspects of the design are:
 Determine the crest level and the waterway, the number of spans and the
spacing and thickness of piers.
 Provide a sloping glacis to be continued to the calculated level for formation of
hydraulic jump under different discharge conditions.
 Provide a length of horizontal floor beyond the glacis equal to at least five
times the maximum height of the hydraulic jump (y2-y1). Provide a vertical cut
off at the end of the horizontal floor.
Under sluices

The function of under sluices are given below:

 It maintains a clear and well defined river channel in front of the head regulator
 It is used to scour away the silt deposited in front of the head regulator.
 They pass low floods without dropping the weir crest shutters.
 They control the silt entry into the channel.
 They provide greater waterway for floods, thus lowering the flood levels
Scouring sluices, also known as scour outlets or scouring gates, are hydraulic structures
commonly employed in dam and weir systems to prevent or mitigate scouring—the erosion
of sediment from the foundation or downstream area of the structure due to water flow.
Here's an overview of scouring sluices:

1.Purpose: The primary purpose of scouring sluices is to release controlled flows of water
downstream of a dam or weir to prevent or reduce the likelihood of sediment deposition
and scouring around the structure's foundation. By discharging water at a controlled rate,
scouring sluices help maintain stable hydraulic conditions and protect the integrity of the
structure.
2.Location: Scouring sluices are typically located at the base or toe of a dam or weir, near
areas vulnerable to scouring. They are designed to discharge water directly into the
downstream channel, effectively flushing away sediment and preventing its accumulation.
3.Structure and Design: Scouring sluices consist of openings or gates integrated into the
structure's foundation. These openings can be adjusted to control the rate and direction of
water discharge. The design of scouring sluices takes into account factors such as flow
velocity, sediment characteristics, and hydraulic conditions to ensure effective scour
prevention.
4.Operation: Scouring sluices can be operated manually or automatically,
depending on the specific design and requirements of the dam or weir system.
Operators can adjust the sluice gates to regulate the flow of water and tailor it to
the desired scour prevention needs.
5. Flow Control: The controlled discharge of water through scouring sluices helps
maintain stable hydraulic conditions around the dam or weir, reducing the
potential for erosion and scouring. By flushing sediment away from critical areas,
scouring sluices help preserve the structural integrity of the hydraulic structure and
minimize maintenance requirements.
6.Maintenance: Regular inspection and maintenance of scouring sluices are
essential to ensure their proper functioning. Sediment accumulation or debris
blockages can affect the efficiency of the sluice gates and may require cleaning or
removal to maintain optimal performance.
7.Safety Considerations: Safety protocols should be followed when operating or
maintaining scouring sluices, as they involve working near fast-flowing water and
hydraulic structures. Proper safety measures, such as personal protective
equipment and hazard awareness training, should be implemented to minimize
risks to personnel and equipment.
River Training Works
River training works at a canal head works are required for providing a smooth non-
tortuous approach to the work and prevent the river from outflanking the work. This
purpose is usually accomplished by guide banks on either side.
In addition, marginal bunds are required upstream of the work to prevent additional
area from getting submerged due to raised high flood level caused by the afflux created
the weir.
Marginal bunds, also known as marginal embankments or marginal levees, are raised
earthen structures constructed along the margins of water bodies such as rivers, lakes,
or canals. These bunds serve various purposes, including flood protection, erosion
control, and land reclamation. Here's an overview of marginal bunds and their
functions:
 Flood Protection: One of the primary functions of marginal bunds is to provide
protection against flooding by containing water within the confines of the water
body. During periods of high water levels, marginal bunds help prevent the overflow
of water onto adjacent lands, reducing the risk of damage to properties and
infrastructure.
 Erosion Control: Marginal bunds play a crucial role in controlling erosion along the
banks of water bodies. By stabilizing the shoreline and preventing soil erosion, these
structures help maintain the integrity of adjacent lands and protect them from
degradation due to water action.
 Land Reclamation: In some cases, marginal bunds are constructed as part of land
reclamation projects to reclaim land from water bodies for agricultural, residential, or
industrial purposes. By confining water within designated boundaries, marginal
bunds create dry land areas suitable for development and utilization.
 Habitat Enhancement: Marginal bunds can also provide habitat enhancement
opportunities by creating diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems along the water's
edge. These habitats support various plant and animal species, contributing to
biodiversity conservation and ecological sustainability.
 Water Management: Marginal bunds help manage water levels and regulate the
flow of water within the water body. By controlling the movement of water along the
margins, these structures assist in maintaining optimal water levels for irrigation,
navigation, and other water-related activities.
 Recreational Use: Marginal bunds may also serve recreational purposes, providing
spaces for activities such as walking, cycling, fishing, and birdwatching along the
water's edge. Well-designed bunds with amenities such as walking trails, viewing
platforms, and picnic areas can enhance public enjoyment of waterfront areas.
Dyke/Marginal bund is an earth embankment built parallel to river bank. It can be
constructed on one or both the banks.
Top width = 3 - 4 m
Side Slope = 1.5 : 1 (On River side)
2 : 1 (On Country side)
The height of the bank depends on the Highest Flood Level (HFL).
For the entire length of the dyke, wooden piles are driven into the river banks to
stop erosion.
Purpose of Dyke :
•Protects valuable agricultural land
•Keeps the towns and villages safe from flooding
•Restricts the flood water or storage water to a certain specific area.
•It is a structure built on both sides of the barrage
to prevent the failure of the barrage.
•It comprises of a slope made of dirt with curved
heads at each end.
•The upstream curved head of the guide bank
extends to a length of 1.5 L.
•The downstream curved head extends to a
length of 0.25 L.
•The width of the Crest is between 3 to 4 m.
Free Board = 1.5 m
Side slope = 1.5 : 1 (On the Riverside)
2 : 1 (On the Countryside)
•The side slope of the river is protected by boulder
pitching.
•The side slope of the countryside is protected by
turfing.
Purpose of Guide bank:
•It protects the barrage from erosion and scouring.
•Ensures a straight path for the barricade.
•Controls the river's tendency to change its course.
•Controls the speed of the water near the structure.
Design of weirs on permeable foundations

Data Required:
(i) Maximum flood discharge for the river at the weir site.
(ii) Maximum flood levels at and near the weir site
(iii) River cross-section at the weir site.
(iv) The stage discharge curve for the river at the weir site.

All this information to be obtained from topographical and hydrological surveys.

The estimation of the maximum flood discharge will follow the usual procedures
discussed in the chapter of Hydrology.

The Factors to be decided are:

(1) Afflux- Afflux means the rise in the maximum flood level of the river,
upstream of the weir as a result of its construction. In the design of the weirs
founded on alluvial sand, the afflux is limited to 1 to 1.2 m more commonly
1.0 m. In steep reaches of the river with boulder or rock bed the afflux may
safely be higher.
The amount of afflux will determine the top level of guide banks and
marginal bunds and the dimensions of the latter.
It will govern the dynamic action downstream of the work as well as the depth
and location of hydraulic jump.
By providing a high afflux, the waterway of the weir can be reduced but the cost
of training works will go up and the risk of failure will increase

(2) Pond level: The pond level is the water level required in the under sluices
pocket upstream of the canal head regulator to feed the canal with its full supply.
The full supply level of the canal at the head depends on the level of the area
which it has to irrigate and the slope of the canal.
The pond level should be obtained by adding 1.0 to 1.20 m to the canal F.S.L to
provide a working head through the canal head regulator, but the waterway in the
regulator should be sufficient.

(3) The waterway and the discharge per meter run: The width of the
waterway would be the minimum stable perimeter of Lacey for the highest flood
discharge.
It is quite obvious that the regime conditions are disturbed after the construction
of the weir.
A larger discharge intensity involves greater risk of outflanking and damage due
to local concentration of flow.
Most existing weirs have clear water way from 10% to 50% more than Lacey’s
regime perimeter.
(4) Crest levels: The level of the crest of the weir will be determined by the permissible
afflux during the maximum flood, the discharge per meter run and the pond level.
The pond level can be maintained by a permanent masonry crest with its top at pond level
or one at a lower level supplemented by falling shutters or counter balanced gates.
The downstream total energy line is the maximum flood level at the weir site
before the construction of the weir plus the velocity head at that time.
The permissible afflux is decided as above and is generally limited to 1.0 m.
The upstream total energy line is therefore, obtained as the downstream energy
line plus afflux.
The discharge intensity, q, the crest level can be worked out as below:
q =ck3/2
where c is 1.71 and k is the intercept between the upstream energy line and the crest,
or the static head + velocity head over the crest.

HL= Afflux +3.0 m

Effects of construction of a weir on the regime of river:
The effect of the construction of a weir is a flattening of the water surface slope
for some distance behind the weir due to ponding up of supplies.

This results in reduction of sediment transporting power in that reach so that the
river drops a part of its sediment load resulting into the formation of shoals and
islands in the pond.
Basis of Design: The design of weirs on permeable foundations has to be carried
out from two considerations viz. surface flow and subsurface flow.

By surface flow, we determine :

(i) Depth of sheet pile lines in relation to scour.
(ii) Level and length of the horizontal part of the downstream floor.
(iii) Thickness of floor on the sloping glacis with reference to hydraulic jump.
(iv) Length and thickness of upstream and downstream loose aprons.
(v) Length, shape, and free board of guide banks.

By sub surface flow, we determine,

(i) Total length of the impervious floor and depth and location of sheet pile
lines.
(ii) Exit gradient at the end of the impervious floor.
(iii) Thickness of downstream impervious floor with reference to uplift pressures.
(iv) Provision of inverted filter.
Design for surface flow: The depth of downstream pile line will be
determined by two considerations-

(i) That with a suitable length of floor it gives a safe exit gradient under the
maximum head. This is to be dealt with in treatment of subsurface flow.
(ii) That its bottom is nearly at or below the level of the flood scour for that
section of the work for which the depth is being determined.

For a discharge intensity q, the normal depth of scour is given by Lacey’s

equation,
R=1.34(q2/f)1/3
This value of q will be different for the weir and the under sluices section and
should be determined separately for each.
Lacey’s depth of scour, R is applicable to regime flow only.

Class Reach Depth of scour

A Straight 1.25R
B Moderate bend 1.50R
C Severe bend 1.75R
D Right angled bend 2.00R
Special works to control silt entry
Some important works may also be constructed to control the sediment entering into the
canal. These works are of two types:
1. Silt excluders : Such type of works are constructed in the river in front of the head
regulator to prevent coarse silt from entering into the canal.
2. Silt extracters or silt ejectors: Such type of works are basically constructed on canal,
a little distance downstream from the head. They serve to remove some of the silt
which has already entered into the canal from the head.
Both types of work are important from the point of consideration of canals.

The fundamental principle of silt control is that basically bottom water carries more silt
than top water and most of the coarse silt is in the bottom layers. The problem of
exclusion or removal of silt is to separate the top and bottom layers so that distribution of
silt remains normal.

Further the silts are kept in suspension by the vertical force of eddies generated by
friction of flowing water against the bed. It follows that if this friction can be reduced by
provision of a smooth cross-section, concentration of silt in the bottom layers can be
increased.
A good approach channel towards the works free from disturbance due to any masonry
work will also help in reducing turbulence and hence increase concentration of silt
towards the bottom layers. In such condition, type-II work becomes more suitable and
best solution for the silt removal.
SILT EXCLUDER

 The silt excluder (or sediment excluder) is a structure constructed in the river bed
upstream of the barrage in the pocket adjacent to the canal head regulator to prevent
the entry of silt of sediments into the canal.
 A typical tunnel type silt excluder (Figure given in the next slide) has a number of
tunnels which flush the sediments. These tunnels are parallel to the axis of the canal
head regulator and are of varying lengths. The ends of the tunnels terminate at the
end of the under sluice bay while the positions of their entry points vary.
 The longest tunnel is the one nearest the regulator, and is of the same length as the
canal head regulator and the shortest one is situated the farthest.
 The tunnels carry the lower-level sediment laden water and dispose them off
downstream of the under sluice while the silt free top layers are fed into the off taking
canal.
 The minimum discharge passing through the tunnels of the silt excluder is kept at
about 20 % of the canal discharge.
 Depending upon the sediment size, the self-flushing velocity through the tunnels
should be of the order of 1.8 m/s to 4 m/s.
 The height of the tunnels is determined by the level difference between the crest of
the canal head regulator and the under sluice floor and keeping in view the
convenience of inspection, manual cleaning and repairs.
 The width of each tunnel and the waterway required is determined from the flushing
velocity and the height considerations.
 The width of the tunnel is kept sufficient enough to ensure that the roof slab does not
become very large.
 The total waterway is divided into a suitable number of tunnels and divide walls that
can be accommodated in one bay of the under sluice. The entry of the tunnel is in the
form of a bell mouth entry while the section of the tunnel is rectangular. Care is taken
to see that the entrance of the adjacent tunnel falls within the suction zone of the next
tunnel, in order that no dead zone is left between adjacent tunnels which would result
in sediment deposition.
 The roof slab of the tunnels is designed to withstand the maximum water load over
the slab with nu water inside the tunnel. This condition will arise when the tunnels are
closed on the upstream end for repairs. Grooves are provided at the entrance to the
tunnels for installing stoplogs. After broadly designing the tunnels, final details are
worked as per model studies.
SILT EJECTOR

 A silt ejector (or extracter) is a curative measure to remove tile silt or sediment that has
entered the canal.
 It takes the advantage of the characteristics of sediment concentration in a vertical
plane while the sediment charged water is flowing. The layers of water nearest the bed
being the heaviest sediment-concentration layers are separated from the upper layers,
and the latter alone are allowed to pass down the canal.
 The sediment ejector is located at a suitable distance from the head regulator, arid
where the approach channel upstream of the ejector (which is a part of the canal itself)
is a straight reach, since a curved approach would disturb the uniform distribution of
flow and thus the sediment concentration across the canal in front of the ejector.
 Locating the ejector too close to the regulator would keep the sediment particles in
suspension owing to the residual turbulence (which is still intense), and thus prevent its
extraction from water to the desired extent.
 However, locating the ejector too far downstream of the regulator, would cause
the deposition of the sediment in the canal lying between the regulator and the
ejector, and in turn reduce the carrying capacity of the canal.
 Further, a longer reach between the regulator and the ejector would mean a
larger and longer canal to carry the extra discharge required to flush the
sediments through the ejector, and consequent, increase in the cost of the canal.
 Figure (next slide) shows a tunnel type sediment ejector. The ejector consists of
a diaphragm, tunnels, control structure and an outfall channel.
 The shape of the diaphragm is such that it creates minimum disturbance in the
sediment distribution that exists in the bottom layers of flow upstream of the
ejector.
 The level of the diaphragm is determined from considerations of the sediment
size to be ejected, u/s and d/s bed levels of canal, size of tunnels and the
thickness of the diaphragm.
 The under side of the diaphragm at the u/s end is given a bell-mouthed shape.
The ejector covers the full width of the canal and is divided into a number of
main tunnels, which are further subdivided with turning vanes that converge
gradually so as to accelerate the escaping discharge.
 About 10 % - 20 % of the full supply discharge of the canal is sufficient to flush out
the desired size and amount of sediment and also flush out the individual tunnels.
 The dimensions of the tunnels at the entry and exit ends are such that the resulting
flow velocities are sufficient to carry the sediment of the desired size. Furthermore, the
sub-tunnels are contracted so that the exit velocities increase by 10 - 15 % over and
above the normal and remain in the vicinity of 2.5 - 6 m/s depending on the size of the
particles to be eliminated.
 The height of the tunnels are kept between 1.8 m and 2.2 m to facilitate inspection and
repairs. The discharge through the ejector is controlled by means of regulator gates
located at the exit end of the tunnels. The sub-tunnels are turned through right angles
and taken across the canal bank on the river side so that the outflow from the ejector is
led to a natural drainage through an outfall channel of sufficient slope to ensure self-
cleansing velocity. Adequate drop between the full supply level of the outfall channel
and the high flood level of the natural drainage is essential for efficient working of the
outfall channel. It is usual to keep the tunnel height as 20 % - 25 % of the depth of
flow in the main channel with an escape discharge of 20 % of the full supply discharge
below the ejector.
Chapter-4

RIVERS AND RIVER TRAINING METHODS

Introduction

Rivers have always played an important role in human development and in shaping
civilizations. The main function of rivers is to convey water and sediment. It serves
as a source of water supply for domestic, irrigation, and industrial consumption.
Apart from this it is quite useful for navigation, hydropower generation, and waste
disposal.

Due to the disturbance in the conveyance of flow and sediment continuity, rivers face
the major problems such as flooding, change of course, banks erosion etc.

What is morphology of rivers?

The structure and form of rivers including plan-forms, channel geometry (i.e., cross
sectional shape of river), bed form, and profile characteristics together form.

Nowadays due to the anthropogenic activities, the morphology of the river changes
abruptly.
Classification of rivers: Rivers can be classified as follows:

(i) Based on the variation of discharge in river, as follows:

(a) Perennial rivers;
(b) Non-perennial rivers;
(c) Flashy rivers, and
(d) Virgin rivers.
(ii) Based on stability of river, as
(a) Stable rivers,
(b) Aggrading rivers, and
(c) Degrading rivers.
(iii) Based on the location of reach of river, as
(a) Mountainous rivers;
(b) Rivers in flood plains,
(c) Delta rivers, and
(d) Tidal rivers
(iv) Based on the location of reach of river, as
(a)Straight rivers
(b)Meandering rivers, and
(c)Braided rivers
 Perennial Rivers: Those rivers which convey water through the year. These
rivers obtain their water from melting snow for the larger part of any year
besides getting precipitation water during the rainy season.

 Non Perennial Rivers: Non- perennial rivers are not snow-fed rivers and hence
get completely dried up or carry insignificant flow during the summer season.

 Flashy Rivers: In case of flashy rivers, the river stage rises and falls in a very
short period of a day or two due to steep flood hydrograph.

 Virgin Rivers: In arid regions, water of some rivers may get completely lost due
to evaporation and percolation. Such rivers become completely dry much before
they join another river or sea, and are called virgin rivers.

 Stable Rivers: If the alignment of a river channel, river slope and river regime
are relatively stable and show little variation from year to year except that the
river may migrate within its permanent banks (i.e. khadirs), the river is said to be
stable.

 Aggrading Rivers: when the sediment load depositing in a river reach is greater
then the sediment load eroding in that reach becomes an aggrading river due to
the deposition of excess sediment.
Degrading Rivers: When the sediment load entering a river reach is less than that
leaving the river reach, the river in that reach becomes a degrading river due to
erosion of the bed and bank material.

Mountainous Rivers: Rivers in mountainous reaches are further divided into incised
rivers and boulder rivers. Incised rivers have a steep bed slope and high velocity of
flow.

Tidal Rivers: All rivers ultimately meet the sea. In the reach of a river just upstream
of the sea, there would occur periodic changes in water levels due to tides. This reach
of the river is called tidal river and receives sea water during flood tides and raises its
level.

Delta Rivers: A river, before becoming a tidal river, may split into number of
branches due to very flat bed slopes resulting in shoal formation and braiding of the
channel.

Straight Rivers: In the straight reach of a river, its section has the shape of a trough
and maximum velocity of flow occurs in the middle of the section. It is very difficult
to find the straight reach of an alluvial river over large lengths.
• As water flowing under gravity
not often flows straight for any
long distance, a winding course
develops. The irregularities of the
ground force the river to swing in
loops, forming meanders.
• The term derived from the Great
Meanders river in Turkey which
follows a winding or intricate
course.
• The mechanism of meander
formation is illustrated in figure
• When the flow of water PQ(above figure)
enters the bend of the river, it dashes straight
into Q, eroding the outer bank into a
steep river-cliff at Q. The water piles up on
the outside of the bend because of centrifugal
force. A bottom current RS is set up in the
cork-screw motion and is hurled back into
mid- stream and the inner bank. Shingle is
thus deposited here at S. where the slip-off
slope is very gentle.
• The outer bank is therefore the bank of
continuous erosion and the inner bank is
bank of continual deposition.
• In the same way meanders are formed in
river Narmada
• The aerial image of Narmada river is
shown below
Several attempts have been made to understand the mechanism of meander
development. According to Inglis, “Meandering is nature’s way of damping out
excess energy during a wide range of varying flow conditions, the pattern depending
on the grade of material, the relation between discharge and charge (sediment load)
and the rate of change of discharge and charge”. Thus a channel having excess energy
attempts to increase its length by meandering thereby decreasing its slope.

Joglekar and other Indian engineers do not agree with the theory of excess energy.

According to them, the primary cause of meandering is excess of total sediment load
during floods. A river tends to build a steeper slope by depositing the sediment on the
bed when the sediment load is in excess of that required for equilibrium. This
increase in slope reduces the depth and increases the width of the river channel if the
banks do not resist erosion. Additional flow is immediately attracted towards the
former bank, leading to shoaling along the latter, accentuating the curvature of flow
and finally producing meanders in its wake.
Meanders can be classified as regular and irregular or, alternatively as simple and
compound.
Regular meanders are a series of bends of approximately the same curvature and
frequency.

The geometry of meanders can be described by the meander length ML and the
width of meander belt MB , or by sinuosity or the tortuosity.
Many Investigators have attempted to relate the geometry of meanders with the
dominant discharge.

Inglis proposed the following relationships for ML and MB (in meters) in terms
of the dominant discharge ( or the bankful discharge) Q (in m3/s) for rivers in
flood plains:
ML = 53.6 Q1/2= 6.06 WS
MB = 153.4 Q1/2 = 17.38 WS

Here WS is the bankful width of river.

The purpose of training a river may be to achieve one or more of the following
objectives :
(a) Guiding the flow appropriately,
(b) Flood protection,
(c) Efficient navigation,
(d) Sediment control,
(e) Stabilisation of the course and cross-section of river channel.

METHODS OF RIVER TRAINING

Model studies are carried out to finalise the plans and design of river training
structures. The common methods of river training include the use of the
following works :
(1) Levees,
(2) Spurs or groynes,
(3) Guide banks,
(4) Bank protection,
(5) Pitched islands, and
(6) Other river training methods.
Types of River Training Works
1. High water training
• It is used for training the river water for discharge.
• The main goal of high training works is to dispose off the flood water accumulated due to
flooding and thus provide protection against a catastrophe.
• It mainly relates to the elevation of the marginal embankments for suitable alignment and
flood disposal.
• It also used for taking appropriate measures for the improvement of the channel
improvement.
2. Low water training
• It is used for training the river water for depth.
• The main objective of low river training work is to provide a sufficient water depth
suitable for inland navigation, especially during dry weather seasons in summers.
• It is achieved through the contraction of the channel width in low water by the use of
groyne.
3. Mean water training:
• This is performed for training of sediments.
• Mean water training is done for ensuring a smooth disposal of the bed load for
maintaining the suspended sediment load as well as the channel size.
• Mean water training is the most important type of River water training.
• In such a river training work, the water should be maintained to alter the cross-section
and alignment such that it is appropriate for the young river phase.
• The maturation stage and the old age of the river at which maximum sediment
movement occurs are taken into consideration.
• Although the maximum sediment speed is attained in the young stage, this stage lasts
for only a short span of time.
1. Levees
A levee (also termed as bund, dike, dyke or embankment) is an embankment
constructed parallel, or nearly so, to the river, to protect the area on one side of it from
flooding. Construction of levees on one or both sides of a river to contain the floods
within the leveed portion is the oldest and the most common method of flood control.

Levees are usually made of earth. The natural movement of a body of water
pushes sediment to the side, creating a natural levee. The banks of a river are often
slightly elevated from the riverbed. The banks form levees made of sediment, silt, and
other materials pushed aside by the flowing water. Levees are usually parallel to the
way the river flows, so levees can help direct the flow of the river.
Levees can also be artificially created or reinforced. Artificial levees are usually built by
piling soil, sand, or rocks on a cleared, level surface. In places where the flow of a river
is strong, levees may also be made of blocks of wood, plastic, or metal. Where the area
beside a river or other body of water is in particular danger, levees may even be
reinforced by concrete.
People have been building and reinforcing levees since the beginning of civilization. As
early as 2500 B.C., the Indus Valley Civilization, with urban centers in what is today
Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, used levees to protect land near the Indus River. Farmers
were able to grow crops like cotton and rice.
Groynes

• The objective of groyne in river training works is tantamount to the spur.

• However, Groynes are impervious permanent structures that are constructed on the
curves.
• They are constructed for protecting the river bank from erosion.
• Groynes generally make an angle of 60 to 75 with the bank.

Types Of Groynes
Repelling Groynes

•Groynes in river training works can be aligned either perpendicular to the bank or in
the inclined direction that may be pointing either upstream or downstream.
•When the groyne is pointing upstream, it is called a repelling groyne.
•This groyne has a property of repelling the river flow from the bank.
•This is made possible by the creation of a still pond at the upstream end.
•The river also follows beyond the still pond and the river starts flowing away from the
bank.
Attracting Groynes
• A Groyne that is pointing in the downstream direction of the river flow it is called an
Attracting groyne.
• This Groyne has a tendency of attracting the river flow towards the bank.

Deflecting Groynes

•A Groyne of shorter length that is perpendicular to the bank is

called a Deflecting Groyne.
•A Deflecting Groyne deflects the flow locally.

Functions of Groyne
Groynes in river training works serve following purposes:
•They help in the protection of the river bank by restricting the
flow of water near the river bank.
•They aid in the creation of a still pond along the bank for silting
the area in the immediate vicinity.
•Groynes also train the river to make it flow along a desired
course by attracting, deflecting or repelling the flow.
•They aid in the contraction of the wide river channel in order to
improve the depth of navigation depth.
Reservoir Planning
1. Water tightness of reservoir
2. Suitability of foundation for dam
3. Geological structural features such as
folds, faults, fissures etc.
4. Location of permeable and soluble rocks
5. Groundwater conditions
6. Location of quarry for materials required
for dam construction
 Selection of site for Reservoir
I. Low percolation losses in catchment area
II. Quantity of Leakage should be minimum
III. Percolation below dam should be minimum
IV. Reservoir basin should have narrow opening
V. Cost of material and property should be less
VI. Less submerging of land & other properties
VII. Deep reservoirs are preferred to avoid evaporation loss and weed
growth
VIII. Silt from tributaries should be minimum
IX. Rocks and soils at reservoir must not contain any objectionable
minerals and salts
 Storage Capacity and Yield
Yield is the amount of water that can be supplied from reservoir in a
specified interval of time.
1. Safe Yield
2. Secondary Yield
3. Average Yield
Quantity of water available in excess of safe yield during periods of
high flood
Max. quantity of water that can be guaranteed during a critical dry
period

Arithmetic average of safe yield and secondary yield over a long

period of time
 Reservoir Sedimentation

Density Current is gravity flow of a fluid under another fluid.

 Clear water is in upper layer
 Muddy or turbid water flows along the channel bottom towards
dam.
 River catchments carry silt during heavy rains.
 Higher intensity of rainfall causes greater runoff and
more erosion

Factors affecting erosion and silt load are

 Soft soil leads to Sheet Erosion

 Hard soils carries less silt
 High velocity erodes surfaces easily
 Steep slopes give rise to high velocity

 If a catchment area has sufficient vegetation cover the

higher velocities are checked and erosion is very much
reduced.
 Life of Reservoir
 The useful life of reservoir is terminated when its
capacity is reduced to 20% of the designed capacity.
 This will occur over a time period when the dead
storage is reduced by siltation.
 Probable rate of siltation should be considered in
reservoir planning.
 The reservoir sedimentation is measured in terms
of its Trap Efficiency (η)
 It is a percent of inflowing sediment which is
retained in reservoir
Measurement of Sediment:
 Filter sample and measure dried silt in the units of
‘ppm’
 Collect sample from various depths

No. of Years = Reduced Capacity / Annual Sediment

Trapped

*Trap Efficiency decreases

with decrease in Capacity-Inflow Ratio