Intakes for Collecting Surface Water

™Intake structure function -To help in safely withdrawing water trom the source over
a predetermined range of pool levels and then to discharge this water into the
withdrawal conduit , then flows to the water treatment plant (WTP)
™ Constructed at entrance of conduit and thereby helping in protecting conduit from
being damaged or clogged by ice/ trash, debris, etc.
™This construction vary from a concrete block supporting the end of conduit pipe to
huge concrete towers housing intake gates, screens, pumps, etc. and even sometimes,
living quarters and shops for operating personnel.
Factors Governing the Location of an Intake- site selection depends on
¾Site should be near WTP to reduce conveyance cost water to the city is less
¾ Located in the purer zone of the source (of river ) to tap best quality ofwater &
thereby reducing the load on the WTP.
¾ Should not be located at the downstream or near the wastewater disposal.
¾ Should never be located near the navigation channels as otherwise, there are chances
of intake water getting polluted by the discharge of waste from ships
¾ Site should be abe to permit greater withdrawal of water for future requirements ,
and have sufficient scope for future additions & expansions.
¾ Located at a place from where it can draw water during driest period of the year
¾ Intake must be located in deep waters, sufficiently away from the shore line As
otherwise. during dry periods, when water level goes down and the water recedes
inside, the intake may be left dry without any water to be drawn around it.
1
 Simple Submerged Intakes
Submerged intake consists of a concrete block or a rock filled timber crib
supportingfrom starting end of the withdrawal pipe which is generally taken
up to the sump well at shore, from where, the water is lifted by pumps.
™ The intake opening is generally covered by screen so as to prevent the
entry of debris, ice, etc. into the withdrawl conduit.
™ In case of lakes, where silt tends to settle down, the intake opening is
generally and Kept at about 2 to 2.5 m above bottom of the lake and thus to
avoid the entry of large amounts of silt and sediment.
™ Intake structures should be placed in streams or in lakes at a place where
they may not get buried under sediment and where there are deep waters.
™ These submerged intakes are cheap and generally do not obstruct
navigation.
™ They are, therefore, widely used for small W/S projects drawing water
from streams or lakes having relatively little change in water surface
elevation throughout the year.
™ These intakes are not used on bigger projects on rivers and reservoirs, as
their main disadvantage is the fact that they are not easily accessible for
cleaning, repairing, etc.
2
3
 Intake Towers
™ Intake towers are used on large projects and on rivers or reservoirs
where higher fluctuations occurredin the WL and provided with gate
controlled openings at various levels, called ports,
™ They are generally provided in these concrete towers, which may help in
regulating the flow through the towers and perm it some selection of the
quality of water to be withdrawn.
™ Access to these towers is generally provided for operating the gates, etc.,
by means of a foot bridge from the tower up to the dam or upto the shore
™ If the entry ports are submerged at all levels, then there is no problem of
any clogging or damage by ice or debris, etc.
™ However, the level ofthe lowest port should be high enough above the
reservoir bed, so that the sediment is not drawn into them. There are two
major types of intake towers:
(i) Wet intake towers; and
(ii) Dry intake towers

4
5
 Wet Intake Towers. ( Fig. 5.3)
™ Consists of a conc. circular shell water filled upto reservoir level & A verticalshaft is
connected to the withdrawal pipe which can have withdraw water and take directly to
WTP in case no lift is required or to the sump well if low lift is required.
™ Withdrawal conduits lie onriver bed or may be a water tunnels below the river bed.
™ Openings are made into the outer concrete shell, as well as into the inside shaft & Gates
are in the shaft to control water flow o into the shaft and the withdrawal conduit.
™ Withdrawal conduit carry water to pump house for lift, Or may be taken directly to
WTP depending on their elevaion & location.
Dry Intake Towers Difference between a dry & wet intake tower
¾ Wet intake tower- water enters through entry ports into the tower & it enters into
conduit pipe through separate gate controlled opening and in Dry intake tower, Water is
drawn into withdrawal conduit through the gated entry ports, as shown & they have no
water inside the tower if its gates are closed, whereas the wet intake tower will be full of
water even if its gates are closed.
¾ When the entry ports are closed, a dry intake tower will be subjected to additional
buoyant forces & hence, must be of heavier construction than the wet intake towers Dry
intake towers are useful and beneficial in the sense that water can be withrawn from any
level of the reservoir by opening the port & are huge structures of various designs standing
in river,and located not to interfere with navigation & also designed to withstand the worst
possible combinations of forces, such as hydrostatic pressures, wind, earthquake forces,
wave forces debris forces etc. Dry intake towers are useful and beneficial in the sense that
water can be withrawn from any level of the reservoir by opening the port. 6
 Medium Sized Intake Wells
™ These are generally adopted for withdrawing water from rivers/ canals
™ A via media between the submerged intakes and intake towers. Fig)
™ It is adopted when fluctuations of WL & meandering tendencies are either less or have
been nullified by a diversion weir
™ Consists of a chamber, circular/rectangular made of brick/ R.C.C./stone masonry.
™ Located either inside the river in deep waters, or in the under sluice pocket near the bund
if the river is provided with a diversion weir.
™ Water enters the chamber through an opening which is covered by bar screens so as to
prevent the entry of ice, debris, etc.
™ Water from chamber is taken through a withdrawal conduit to a sump well, from where
it is lifted to WTP
™ This chamber is connected to the sump well by a bridge arrangement, as shown.
™ Also facilitate the inspection, repairs, etc., in the intake chamber.
™ If river is provided with the diversion weir, water may not be separately collected into the
intake chamber inside the river, but may be taken out through offtake channel up to the sump
well at the shore and when fluctuations and meandering tendencies are less, a small pickup
weir constructed across the river instead of constructing a full fledged diversion scheme.
™ A cross approach channel is excavated in the river bed, which leads the water up to the
sump well, as shown in Fig. 5.6.
™ In case, the lowest water level in the river is higher than the city level water may not be
taken to the sump well, and may be directly taken to the city either by channels or by
pressure pipes laid on the surface or below the surface.
7
8
 Canal intake
™ It is generally located in canal bank & water enters the chamber through an inlet pipe covered
with a fine screen & water coming out of chamber through outlet conduit which can be taken to
the sump well or city, . Area in the canal is obstructed by the construction of intake well,
™ Velocity in the canal increases due to reduction in waterway, and hence pitching is generally
provided on the upstream as well as downstream portions of the canal near intakes.
™ The entry of water in the intake well takes through a coarse screen, the top of which is
generally provided at minimum water level in the canal, and bottom is about 0.15 m above the
canal bed to avoid entry of bed load.
™ An additional fine screen is provided at the inlet end of the withdrawal conduit. This inlet end
is of bell mouth shape with perforations of fine screen on its surface.

outlet valve, operating from the top, is

provided to control the entry of water into
the outlet pipe. The flow velocity through
the outlet conduit is generally kept as about
1.5 m/sec, and this helps in determining the
area and dia of the withdrawal conduit