1

Surface and Sub - Surface

Drainage
 CHAPTER OUTLINE
2

 Salt Problems in Irrigation Agriculture

 Saline and Alkaline Soils, Quality of irrigation water

 Water Logging and Land Reclamation Process

 Surface and Sub Surface Drainage Design and Construction

3
 Salt Problems in Irrigation Agriculture
4

The application of irrigation water can import salts when present in

soils and water.
Excess presences of salts in soils salinization
Salinity can affect plant growth depending on salt concentration and
susceptibility of plant or crop to salt
Due to presence of salts in the soil layers
•crop yield is considerably low
•Gradually soils become unsuitable for cultivation
 Rising Up Of Salts
5
 6
SALINITY
Soil salinity is appraised by measuring the electrical conductivity or
salt concentration in soil water extracts*.
Most reliable appraisal of soil salinity is obtained by measuring the salt
concentration in soil water at field capacity
In order to reclaim saline soils, it is necessary to reduce soluble salt
concentration to acceptable limits and this can be done by leaching,
provided there is adequate drainage either natural or artificial
 7
SODICITY
 Sodicity refers to the presence of sodium (Na) ions in the soil solution
The soil aggregates are unstable and are likely to disperse
The presence of sodium in soil causes
Collapse of open drains
Silt-up of pipe drains
Reduction of soil permeability,
Disturbance of nutrient equilibrium and toxicity to plants.
Sodicity can be reduced by using chemicals like gypsum(calcium sulphate ) so as to
increase soluble calcium
Expressed by
•Exchangeable sodium percentage(ESP)
•Sodium absorpition ratio(SAR)
Soil Acidity & Alkalinity
8

Acidity is a general term that refers to the amount of hydrogen ions in

the soil solution.
 Acidity is indicated by PH, which is negative logarithm of hydrogen
ion(H-ion) concentration. A neutral solution has PH =7.0, an acid
solution a PH<7.0 and an alkaline solution a PH > 7.0.
The PH of the soil strongly affects the availability of nutrients to
plants.
Water Logging
9

 Is phenomenon associated with rise in the ground water table. (usually

1.5 m to 2.0 m from ground surface )
 Associated with poor drainage, and excessive surface irrigation
practices
Basic causes for water logging:
A) Factors responsible for excess inflow:
 High Infiltration -from excess rainfall
 Land Flooding
 Induced seepage -from reservoir, river or unlined canal
 Over irrigation - deep percolation
 Sub-Soil flow
B) Factors responsible for poor outflows
 Inadequate surface drainage
 Natural & artificial obstructions to subsoil & surface out flow
 Poor topography -inadequate land slope
 Effects of Water Logging
10

 Increased evaporation - lowers soil temperature

Stops air circulation in the soil and prevents bacterial activity
 High water table limits root penetration
 Soil structure is adversely affected
 salts will be accumulated at the root zone
 Wet spots in the field ,delay farm operations
 Excess water on surface breeds mosquitoes, insects and encourage
weed growth
 Soil Reclamation
11

 The process and practices involved in bringing saline and alkali soils
into productive condition are known as reclamation measures.
General considerations for reclamation :
 Does the soil contain soluble salts and what is the exchangeable
sodium percentage
 What is the cause of salinization.
 What are the physical characteristics of the soil. (hydraulic
conductivity and leaching
 Check depth of water table
 Install drainage system
 Quality of water
 Technical feasibility
 Economical justification
 Design and construction

12
 DRAINAGE
13

Removal of excess water from the field/ crop root zone is termed
as drainage
Importance of drainage system
Facilitate ploughing and planting

Drainage lowers underground water table so as to facilitate

increase root zone depth

Increase soil aeration

Avoid toxicities due to lack of air

Organic matter decomposition

Favor growth for soil organisms

Leaches excess salts

 Methods of Drainage
14

(1) Surface drainage

 Excess surface water is removed from the cropped area
by a network of surface drains
 Network of drains include
 Field drains
 Lateral drains
 Main drains
(2) Subsurface drainage
 In this method the soil profile water is removed by underground
perforated pipe drains or tile drains

Can use natural drainage lines when making drains

 Development of Drainage - Design
Criteria
15

Different crops have widely differing tolerances for excess water both in
amount and time
Criteria for drainage design system
The rate of water removal necessary to provide certain degree of crop
protection
The optimum depth to water table
Elements of Drainage design:
The principal elements of drainage design are
 Crop requirements
 Site investigations
 Design criteria
 Plans & specifications
 Drainage Coefficient :
16

 It is the depth of water to be removed in a particular period,

usually 24 hours.
Normally a drainage coefficient of
 10 mm to 50 mm may be adopted for surface drainage.
 6 mm to 25 mm may be adopted for sub-surface drainage

The drainage coefficient for a particular drainage system should be

based on :
 the water tolerance of crops to be grown and
 the physical characteristics of the area.
Discharge rate Q = Dc x A
 Cont……
17

 In irrigated areas, where there is in sufficient experience to establish

acceptable drainage coefficients for general use, they can be computed
from the following formula based on irrigation application.
q = { ( p + c )/100 x i }/ 24 F
where q = D.C in inches/hr
p = deep percolation from irrigation including leaching
requirement,%( based on consumptive use studies)

c = field canal losses, %

i = irrigation application, inches
F = Frequency of irrigation, days
18
Drainage system and layout

Collector drain

Field drain

Main drain

19
Drainage system and layout

20
Drainage system and layout
Subsurface drainage systems

Singular pipe drainage Composite pipe drainage

21
 Construction of pipe drainage systems
22

 Pipe installation consists of

 marking the alignments and levels,
 excavating the trenches by manual labour,
 placing the pipes and envelope material, and
 backfilling the trenches
 Construction of pipe drainage systems

23
24