SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE DESIGN

A. The following are the data available for the given farm area.

1. Depth of water table

2. Hydraulic Conductivity from Auger hole test
3. Topographic survey map
4. Layout of the area to be drained

B. Conditions/ Requirements

1. Lower the water table depth to 3ft or more

2. Determine and present the following output:
a. Drainage Coefficient
b. Depth and spacing of drains
c. Design capacity of the drainage system
d. Drain size
e. Design envelop material
f. Drain appurtenances
g. Other outputs
3. Drain depth should not be less 6 feet

C. Assumptions

1. Average daily evapotranspiration (ET) is 7mm per day

2. Irrigation efficiency of 70 percent
3. Percolation is 10 percent of the water requirement of the crops in the
area.
 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE AREA

Topographic Map in three dimensional view of the farm area (Using Surfer 10 software)
Condition #1. Lowering the water table to 3 feet to establish the area to be drained.

In order to do this, water depth observations must be plotted on each points. The
highest water table observed on each point will be used (that is the distance that is
nearest to the ground surface).

Water Well No. Water Depth Surface Elev. Water

Well No. Surface Elev. Water
Depth (frm Table 1) (frm Fig.1) Elev.
(frm Table 1) (frm Fig.1) Elev.
26 5.0 4417.80 4,412.80
1 2.8 4423.00 4,420.20
27 2.2 4422.00 4,419.80
2 2.6 4423.80 4,421.20
28 2.3 4422.60 4,420.30
3 2.5 4424.30 4,421.80
29 2.4 4423.10 4,420.70
4 2.5 4424.90 4,422.40
30 2.5 4423.25 4,420.75
5 2.5 4425.40 4,422.90
31 2.4 4424.10 4,421.70
6 2.4 4426.00 4,423.60
32 2.4 4424.80 4,422.40
7 2.0 4426.80 4,424.80
33 2.4 4417.50 4,415.10
8 1.9 4427.40 4,425.50
34 4.9 4416.50 4,411.60
9 2.0 4422.30 4,420.30 The35
following map was generated
2.5 4420.00using 4,417.50
10 2.1 4423.45 4,421.35 Surfer
36 10 software.
2.4 4420.30 4,417.90
11 2.0 4424.20 4,422.20
37 2.6 4421.00 4,418.40
12 1.8 4424.80 4,423.00
38 2.5 4422.00 4,419.50
13 1.9 4425.30 4,423.40
39 2.4 4423.20 4,420.80
14 1.8 4425.60 4,423.80
40 2.3 4424.00 4,421.70
15 2.2 4425.95 4,423.75
41 2.5 4416.80 4,414.30
16 1.8 4426.80 4,425.00
42 4.8 4415.80 4,411.00
17 2.0 4420.50 4,418.50
43 2.5 4418.50 4,416.00
18 4.9 4419.90 4,415.00
44 2.3 4418.60 4,416.30
19 2.0 4423.20 4,421.20
45 4.0 4418.40 4,414.40
20 2.1 4423.80 4,421.70
46 4.0 4421.00 4,417.00
21 1.9 4424.30 4,422.40
47 3.7 4422.00 4,418.30
22 2.0 4424.80 4,422.80
48 2.5 4416.00 4,413.50
23 2.0 4425.30 4,423.30
49 4.6 4415.25 4,410.65
24 1.8 4426.00 4,424.20
50 2.8 4417.25 4,414.45
25 2.2 4419.20 4,417.00
51 3.4 4415.10 4,411.70
Establishing the different service areas
in order to compute for the design considerations and requirements.

Assumptions: 1 unit of measurement is equal to 830 feet.

Therefor 1 = 830ft x 830ft
Area per square unit is equal to 688,900 ft2

Area 1

Area 2 Area 3 Area 4

Table 1.
Location Area kave (in/hr)
ft
2
Acre
A1 10,333,303.20 237.22 1.48
A2 861,181.20 19.77 0.91
A3 4,594,769.00 105.48 0.98
A4 7,116,337.00 163.37 0.98

Assumptions:
Average Daily Evaporation (ET) = 7 mm/day
Irrigation Efficiency (Ieff) = 70 %
Drainage Coefficent = 10% of water requirement

a. Drainage Coefficient (v)

Water Requirement (Wr) = ET/Ieff = 7/0.70 = 10 mm/day

Drainage Coefficient (v) = 0.10 (10) = 1 mm/day = 0.04 in/day

b. Design Capacity of the Drainage System (Qmain)

Q= Area x Drainage coefficient

For A1
Q1=10,333,303.20( 0.04∈¿ day)(day /86400 sec)¿
Q1 = 0.3924 cfs

For A2
Q2=861,181.20 (0.04∈¿ day )(day /86400 sec)¿
Q2 = 0.0327 cfs

For A3
Q3=4,594,769.00(0.04∈¿ day )(day /86400 sec)¿
Q3 = 0.1745 cfs

For A4
Q4 =7,116,337.00(0.04∈¿ day )(day /86400 sec)¿
Q4 = 0.2702 cfs

Summary of Discharge in Mainline

Location Discharge of Mainline
(Qmain) , m3/sec
A1
A2
A3
A4
 c. Depth and Spacing of Drains

Lateral Spacing, S2=(4 kH /v )(2 d e + H )

d
d e=
Depth of Drain, 8d 8d
1+ ln 3
S π r

Assumptions:
H = 3 ft
k = hydraulic conductivity
v = drainage coefficient = 0.04 in/day
d = maximum depth on a certain area
A1 = 27 ft (324 in)
A2 = 23 ft (276 in)
A3 = 33 ft (396 in)

Assumed K
LOCATIO Effective Assumed (in/hr)
N radius, r S (in) d (in) v(in/day) H (in)
A1 8.0625 5235 324 1.48 0.04 324
A2 7.0625 3373 276 0.91 0.04 276
A3 = A 4 8.0625 4875 396 0.98 0.04 396

By several iterations using the formula above, the following values were obtained:

Depth and Spacing of Lateral Drains

de SPACING
LOCATION (in) (ft) (in) (ft)
A1 123.002 10.25 5,234.786 436.23
A2 89.004 7.42 3,374.572 281.21
A3 = A 4 109.352 9.11 4,876.361 406.36

Number of Laterals

Length of mainline
Number of Laterals=
Spacing

Using the above equation, the following values for number of laterals per location were
obtained:
 Location Length Of Main SPACING NO. OF LATERAL
Line (Ft) (in) (ft)
A1 7,470.00 5,234.786 436.23 17.12 17
A2 3,818.00 3,374.572 281.21 13.58 14
A3 3,569.00 4,876.361 406.36 8.78 9
A4 1,992.00 4,876.361 406.36 4.90 5

Discharge per Lateral (Q/lat)

Qmain
(Q/lat )=
number of Laterals

Using the equation above, the following values for the discharge per lateral were
obtained:

Location Discharge per Number of Laterals Discharge per

Mainline (Qmain) Lateral pipe
(cfs)
A1 0.3924 cfs 17.12 0.02180
18
A2 0.0327 cfs 13.58 0.00273
14
A3 0.1745 cfs 8.78 9 0.01939
A4 0.2702 cfs 4.90 5 0.05513

d. Drain Size

Solving for Slope

difference∈elevation of mainline(Elev1 −Elev 2)

Slope=
Total length of mainline

Using the formula above, the slope of mainline were obtained:

Location Mainline Elevation Diff. in elevation Length of Slope

Elev1 Elev2 ( Elev 1−Elev 2) Mainline (ft)
A1 4416.75 4412.05 4.7 7,470.00 0.00063
A2 4413.08 4408.08 5 3,818.00 0.00131
A3 4412.89 4406.89 6 3,569.00 0.00168
A4 4414.89 4410.19 4.7 1,992.00 0.00236
Drain Size for Laterals

Location Q/lat n for corr.plastic pipe Slope, S

A1 0.02180 0.016 0.00063
A2 0.00273 0.016 0.00131
A3 0.01939 0.016 0.00168
A4 0.05513 0.016 0.00236

1.486 2 /3 1/ 2
q= R S
n

Solving for d1

( )( )
2/ 3
1.486 d 2 d 1/ 2
0.02180= π ( 0.00063 )
0.016 4 4
d 1=0.1278 ft=1.53∈¿ 2∈¿

Solving for d2

( )( )
2/ 3
1.486 d 2 d 1 /2
0.00273= π ( 0.00131)
0.016 4 4
d 2=0.1079 ft=1.30∈¿ 2∈¿

Solving for d3

( )( )
2 2/ 3
1.486 d d 1/2
0.01939= π ( 0.00168 )
0.016 4 4
d 3=0.2145 ft=2.58∈¿ 3∈¿

Solving for d4

( )( )
2/ 3
1.486 d 2 d 1/ 2
0.05513= π ( 0.00236 )
0.016 4 4
d 4 =0.2978 ft =3.57∈¿ 4 ∈¿
Summary of Effective Diameter of Drains
Assumption: Envelop material = 10 in
Pipe thickness = 0.125
Effective Diameter = Internal radius + pipe thickness + envelop material

Location Mainline Laterals

Internal Effective Internal Effective
radius radius radius radius
A1
A2
A3
A4
Design Layout of the Drainage System

No drainage needed

No drainage needed
Proposed Sub-surface Water Management

Source: Drainage Water Management for the Midwest, Purdue Extension Service,
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/new

Only release the amount of water necessary to insure trafficable conditions for field
operations and to provide an aerated crop root zone any drainage in excess of this rule
likely carries away nitrate and water that is no longer available for crop uptake .
DRAIN ENVELOPE

Porous material placed around a subsurface drain, to protect the drain from
sedimentation and improve its hydraulic performance. Mineral envelopes mainly consist
of coarse sand, fine gravel and crushed stone, which are placed under and around the
drainpipe during installation. If well designed and installed, mineral granular envelopes
are quite reliable because they are voluminous and can store comparatively large
quantities of soil material without noticeable malfunctioning. As such, they have
provided satisfactory long-term service under most circumstances. Traditionally, pit run
naturally graded coarse sand or fine gravel containing a minimum of fines is the most
common and widely used drain envelope material. Such material can be as permanent
as the soil itself. Properly designed graded gravel envelopes fulfill all the mechanical
and hydraulic functions of a drain envelope and are the ideal envelope from a physical
standpoint.
Drainage System Components

A drainage system consists of the following elements:

• Field drains. Field drains (in this handbook we only consider subsurface pipe drains)
control the watertable and collect the excess water in the soil or from the groundwater
and convey this drainage effluent towards the collector drain;

• Collector drains. Collector drains can be either open or piped. Open drains convey rain
and groundwater towards the main drainage system and piped collectors only convey
the drainage water from the field drains towards the main drainage system;

• Sub main and main drains. The main drainage system, which consist of several sub
mains (if applicable) and a main drain, conveys the drainage water from the collectors
towardsthe discharge site. Main drains are normally open drains, although theoretically
these main drains can be pipes, the required diameters are generally very large and
therefore prohibitively expensive;
• Discharge site. The discharge site or outlet is the terminal point of the entire drainage
system from where the discharging is done into a river, lake or sea. The outlet can be a
gravity outlet structure or a pumping station. A gravity outlet structure is a drainage
structure in an area with variable outer water levels where drainage can take place by
gravity when outside water levels are low. In delta areas, drainage by gravity is often
restricted to a few hours per day during low tide. In the upstream regions of a river,
drainage by gravity can be restricted for several weeks during periods of high river
discharges. A pumping station will be needed in areas where the required water levels
in the drainage system are lower than the water level of the river, lake or sea.

Post construction performance assessment

Once the drainage system has been operational for a number of years the
performance of the system can be assessed to determine if the system is still functional
and if not which measures have to be taken to correct the situation. The performance
assessment can be done periodically (monitoring) or ad hoc if there are indications that
the system is not functional.

The following periodic assessments are often carried out:

• A periodic assessment of the functionality of the system can be carried out to
determine whether the system is functioning in accordance with the design. The
assessment can give indications on the need of maintenance or rehabilitation and over
time a knowledge base for the frequency and nature of maintenance can be built up.

• A periodic assessment of the effect of the system. The rational behind this assessment
is to determine if the system functions according to the design criteria, i.e. if the design
Groundwater tables and discharges are realized with the installed system, i.e. are the
drain spacing, drain depth, drain envelope and dimensions of the drainage system
correct. This assessment basically consists of the periodic, and according to pre-
determined protocols, measuring of groundwater levels in between the drains and
where relevant soil salinity levels;

• A periodic assessment of the impact of the drainage system. This assessment is to

check if the expected benefits of the drainage system are realized. This assessment will
focus on increases of yields, farmer income and possibly effects on the environment.
Next to these periodic assessments, the following ad hoc assessments are often made:

• Complaint based ad hoc assessment. These assessments can be carried out if there
are substantial complaints made by the beneficiaries of the system about the
functionality of the system. These assessments will focus on those parts of the system
that are subject of the complaints;

• Assessment to determine the need for rehabilitation. During this assessment the main
indicators studied are the frequency and cost of maintenance and repairs and the
impact of the malfunctioning of the system on yields and income. It may be rational if
these costs and loss of incomes surpass a certain threshold to replace the system.
A performance assessment is based on a comprehensive list of indicators. An indicator
is defined as a value derived from two or more parameters that describe conditions and
changes in time and space relationship with other indicators. Ideally, the monitoring
programme should contain a minimum of activities at the lowest possible cost, but
resulting in a maximum insight in the performance of the system. Depending on the
objectives of the monitoring programme, one or more of the following performance
indicators should be measured:
• Crop yield;
• Water ponding in the fields after heavy rainfall or irrigation;
• Depth of the groundwater midway between the drains;
• Discharge at the outlet;
• Discharges in some selected manholes;
• Water levels in manholes;
• Sedimentation in manholes.