Concept of storage and diversion
schemes
• Storage structure (usually Dam): acts like a reservoir
for storing excess runoff of a river during periods of
high flows (as during the monsoons) and releasing it
according to a regulated schedule.
• Diversion structure (weir or a barrage): raises the
water level of the river slightly, not for creating
storage, but for allowing the water to get diverted
through a canal situated at one or either of its banks.
– Since a diversion structure does not have enough storage, it
is called a run-of-the river scheme
– The diverted water passed through the canal may be used for
irrigation, industry, domestic water needs or power
generation.
• Weir: An impervious barrier which is constructed across a
river to raise the water level on the upstream side is known as
a weir.
– Here the water level is raised up to the required height and
the surplus water is allowed to flow over the weir.
Generally it is constructed across an inundation river.
• Barrage: When adjustable gates are installed over a weir to maintain
the water surface at different levels at different times is known as a
barrage.
– The water level is adjusted by operating the gates or shutters.
– The gates are placed at different tiers and these are operated by
cables from the cabin.
– The gates are supported on piers at both ends. The distance
between the pier to pier is known as Bay.
Difference between Weir and Barrage
• Gravity Weir: when weight of weir (its body and
floor) balances the uplift pressure caused by the head
of water seeping below it is called gravity weir.
• Non-gravity weir: if weir floor is designed continuous
with divide piers such as reinforced structure such that
the weight of the concrete slab together with the
weight of the divide pier keep structure safe against
uplift then it is called non-gravity weir.
Types of weirs
• Masonry weirs with vertical drop
• Rock-fill weirs with sloping aprons
• Concrete weirs with sloping glacis
Masonry weirs with vertical drop
• Consist of horizontal floor and masonry crest with vertical or nearly
vertical downstream.
• Raised masonry does maximum ponding of water, part of it usually
done by shutter.
• Suitable for hard clay and consolidated gravel foundations.
• This type of weir is becoming obsolete and now replaced by new
modern concrete weir.
Rock-fill weirs with sloping aprons
• also called dry stone slope weir
• Suitable for fine sandy foundations like alluvial area in North India
• Old Okhla weir across Yamuna river in Delhi
• Requires huge quantity of stones and is economical if the stones are
available easily
• Also becoming obsolete after development of concrete glacis weirs
Concrete weirs with sloping glacis
• Design is based on modern concept of sub-surface flow (Khosla
theory)
• Sheet piles of sufficient depth are driven at the end of upstream and
downstream floor. Sometime intermediate piles are also provided
• The hydraulic jump is formed on the sloping glacis to dissipate the
energy of flowing water
• Now exclusively used especially on permeable foundations.
Layout of diversion headworks and its components
Components of diversion head works:
• Under Sluice: It controls entry of silt into canal. It ensures easy
diversion of water into the canal through the canal head regulator
• Divide Wall: It separates under sluices from weir.
• Fish ladder: It allows free movement of fish from upstream side to
downstream side and vice versa.
• Silt exclusion devices: It prevents entry of silt particles into canal.
• Silt ejectors: It is a structure constructed across canal to eject silt
accumulated in canal section.
• Guide bank: It force the river into a restricted channel and thus
ensuring a smooth and almost axial flow near weir site.
• Marginal embankment: It protects land and property which is likely
to be submerged.
Cross-Drainage Works
Introduction
• Cross drainage work is a structure which is constructed at the
crossing of a canal and a natural drain, so as dispose of drainage
water without interrupting the continuous canal supplies.
• This type of structure is costlier one and needs to be avoided as
much as possible.
• In order to reduce the cross drainage work, the artificial canals
are generally aligned along the ridge line called watershed line.
• Once the canal reaches the watershed line, cross drainage works
are generally not required unless the canal alignment is deviated
from the watershed line.
Types of Cross drainage works
The drainage water intercepting the canal can be
disposed of in either of the following ways:
– By passing canal over drainage
• Aqueduct
• Syphon aqueduct
– By passing canal below drainage
• Super passage
• Canal syphon / Syphon
– By passing drain through the canal
• Level crossing
• Inlets and Outlets
Aqueduct or Syphon aqueduct
• Canal is run over the natural drainage such that the drainage water
runs below the canal either freely or under syphoning pressure.
• Canal water is taken across the drainage in a trough supported on
piers.
• An inspection road is generally provided along with the trough.
• Canal remains open to inspection throughout, and the damage
caused by floods are rare.
• However, during heavy floods, the foundations of the work may be
susceptible to scour; or waterway of the drain may get choked with
debris, trees, etc
Aqueduct
• When HFL of the drain
is sufficient below the
bottom of the canal so
that drainage water
flows freely, the
structure is known as
Aqueduct
• Just like a bridge except that instead of carrying roads or railway, it
carries canal at its top.
• Provided if sufficient level difference is available between natural
drain and canal, and the canal bed level is sufficiently higher than
torrent level. E.g. Aqueduct in Sirsa, Punjab.
Syphon Aqueduct
• If HFL of the drain is higher than the canal bed and water passes
through the aqueduct barrels under syphonic action, the structure
is called Syphon aqueduct.
• Drain bed is generally depressed and provided with pucca floor.
• On the upstream side, the drainage bed may be joined to the
pucca floor either by a vertical drop (when drop is of the order of
1 m) or by a glacis of 3: l (when drop is more).
• The downstream rising slope should not be steeper than 5 : 1.
Super Passage or Syphon
Drain
• Drain is taken over the canal such that
the canal water runs below the drain
either freely or under syphoning
pressure.
• The inspection road cannot be provided
along the canal and a separate bridge is
required for the road-way.
• For affecting economy, the canal may
be flumed, but the drainage trough is
never flumed.
Super Passage
• When the FSL of the canal is sufficiently below the bottom
of the drain trough, so that the canal water flows freely
under gravity, the structure is known as a Super passage.
Syphon
• If FSL of the canal is sufficiently above the bed level of the
drainage trough, so that the canal flows under syphonic action
under the trough, the structure is known as a Canal Syphon or a
Syphon.
• Canal bed is depressed and a ramp is provided at the exit so
that the trouble of silting is minimized.
Level Crossing
• Canal water and drain water are allowed to intermingle with each other.
• Generally provided when a large canal and a huge drainage (such as a
stream or a river) approach each other practically at the same level.
• During dry season, when there are no floods, the torrent regulator is
generally kept closed and the outgoing canal regulator is kept fully
open, so that the canal flows without any interruption.
• During floods, however, the torrent regulator is opened so as to pass the
flood discharge.
Inlets and Outlets
• An inlet is a structure
constructed in order to allow
the drainage water to enter the
canal and get mixed with the
canal water and thus to help in
augmenting canal supplies.
• Such a structure is generally adopted when the drainage discharge is
small and the drain crosses the canal with its bed equal to or lightly
higher than the canal F.S.L.
• Drain water must not admit heavy load of silt into the canal.
• when the drainage discharge is high or if the canal is small, so that the
canal section cannot take the entire drainage water, an outlet may
sometimes be constructed to escape out the additional discharge at a
suitable site, a little downstream along the canal.
• There may be one outlet for two or three inlets.
Various Types of Aqueducts and Syphon-Aqueducts
depending upon its sides
• Type I: The sides of the aqueduct are earthen bank with
complete earthen slopes.
– The length of the culvert through which the drainage water has to pass
under the canal should not only be sufficient to accommodate the water
section of the canal but also the earthen banks of the canal with
adequate slopes
• Type II: Canal continues in its earthen section over the
drainage, but the outer slopes of canal banks are replaced by
retaining walls, thereby, reducing the length of the drainage
culvert by that much extent.
• Type III: Earthen section of the canal is discontinued and
the canal water is carried in a masonry or a concrete trough.
The canal is generally flumed in this case, so as to effect
economy in construction