ABE 3205

CONVEYANCE OF IRRIGATION WATER

 Introduction
• Conveyance channels in the Philippines today are
mostly constructed from cheap, untreated earth
canals because they are much easier and cheaper
to build.
• Like all other open channels, earth canals are
designed to provide:
1. velocity of flow such that neither serious
scouring or sedimentation will occur
2. sufficient capacity to carry the design flow
 Introduction
3. hydraulic grade at the proper level to provide for good
water management
4. side slopes that are stable,
5. minimum initial cost and maintenance
Figure 1 shows a typical earth canal illustrating
the total depth D, operating or design depth d,
side slope angle Z, freeboard allowance (D-d),
berm,
and base b.
Figure 1. Elements of a Canal Cross Section
 Disadvantages of Earth Canals
• Excessive seepage losses.
• Large cross sectional area needed as a result
of low velocities.
• Subject to damage by burrowing of animals
and erosion.
• Favorable to growth of weeds and moss
which retard the velocity, increase water
losses due to evapotranspiration, and cause
high annual maintenance costs.
 Major Causes of Earth Canals Failure

• Sedimentation in the channel.

• Improper location and alignment.
• Erosion and burrowing of animals.
• Improper depth or width.
• Excessive vegetative growth.
• Lack of interest in maintenance by parties
concerned.
 Lining Canals
• Canal linings are for the
purposes of minimizing
conveyance losses,
preventing breaks and
weed growth,
decreasing erosion,
retarding moss growth,
reducing drainage
problems, and
decreasing the capacity
of the canal to convey
water.
 Lining Canals
• Canal linings may be
constructed from a
wide variety of
materials such as
concrete rock
masonry, brick asphalt,
colloid clay mixtures,
soil cement, rubber
and plastic.
 Lining Canals
• Materials that should be considered for canal
linings should meet all the requirements describe
above.
• Concrete lining proved to be most satisfactory but
has the disadvantages of having high initial cost.
• Asphalt lining may not be all together satisfactory
as it has a shorter life and is more subject to
physical damage than concrete. It is, however,
considerably lower in initial cost.
 Conveyance and Control Structures

• Many structures are necessary for the

effective operation of completed system of
canals in an irrigation project.
• Conveyance and control structures are
needed in order to maintain and control
conduit discharges through all parts of the
distribution system.
 Conveyance and Control Structures

• Conveyance structures includes flumes,

inverted siphons, drops, transitions and
culverts. Control structures on the other
hand includes division works, turnouts,
checks and wasteways.
• The complete description of the different
irrigation facilities and structures in typical
gravity irrigation system are as follows.
A. MAJOR STRUCTURES AND
FACILITIES
 1. Dam
• This is the structure constructed across the
river to raise the water level and divert such
to the intake. The two most common kinds
are concrete dams and earth dams.
• Other kinds include masonry, timber, steel
and rubber dams.
• The intake has a headgate for regulating the
inflow of water into the canal.
1. Dam
1. Dam
1. Dam
1. Dam
1. Dam
 2. Intake
• This is the structure wherein water supply is
diverted from the river to the main canal of
the system.
• It is provided with control structures such as
steel gates or wooden flash board to control
the amount of water to be diverted.
2. Intake
2. Intake
 3. Main Canal
• The channel/canal used
in converting irrigation
water from the dam to
the farms or to smaller
canals.
 4. Lateral Canals

• These are canals

branching-out from
the main canal. At
the head or junction
of these canals and
the main canal, a
control structure
resembling the
intake is provided.
 5. Sub-Lateral Canals
• These are canals branching out from the
lateral canals.
 6. Checks
• Structures to regulate the flow upstream of
the structures and control the downstream
flow. It is also used to raise the water
elevation upstream.
6. Checks
6. Checks
 6. Checks

Portable Metal Check

 7. Headgate

• A structure built at
the point where a
lateral canal
branches out from
a main canal or sub-
lateral from a
lateral, to regulate
or control water
inflow.
 8. Inverted Siphon

• A structure for
carrying water
under pressure of
gravity beneath
roads, railroads,
rivers, streams,
creeks and
depressions.
8. Inverted Siphon
8. Inverted Siphon
 9. Road Crossing
• A structure used to carry water under roads
or railroads. It is usually built with
check/control structures.
 10. Drops
• Structure used to conduct water from a
higher to a lower elevation and to diffuse
the force of the falling water. The inlet
structure also serves as a control to regulate
the water depth in the canal upstream.
10. Drops
10. Drops
 11. Chutes
• Structure to carry water from a higher
elevation to a lower elevation like inclined
drops but carry water over longer distance,
over flatter slopes and through several
changes in grade.
 12. Flume
• It is a structure serving as an alternative to a
siphon crossing a depression stream, canal,
etc. It is a concrete rectangular structure
with a hollow through which water flows to
the other side of the depression.
12. Flume
12. Flume
12. Flume
 13. Bench Flume
• A flume constructed on a hillside.

14. Si - Flume
 A combination of siphon and flume to
convey water across a depression usually
from a higher to a lower elevation
 15. Drainage Channel/Canal
• Channel or canal used to convey or collect
excess water from farms. These are usually
constructed canals, creeks, streams, rivers,
etc.
15. Drainage Channel/Canal
B. MEASURING DEVICES/
STRUCTURES
 1. Parshall Flume
• An open channel measuring structure in
which water flows over a wide, flat
converging section through a sloping neck
and out to a diverging section.
1. Parshall Flume
 1. Parshall Flume
• A Parshall flume is a specially shaped open
channel flow section which may be installed
in a canal, lateral, or ditch to measure the
flow rate. The Parshall flume is a particular
form of venturi flume and is named for its
principal developer, the late Mr. Ralph L.
Parshall (Water Measurement Manual, U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, 1984
 1. Parshall Flume

• The most widely known

flume and still the most
widely used for
permanent installations.
Used in monitoring
sewage, plant effluent
and irrigation water.
1. Parshall Flume
 2. Cutthroat Flume

• It resembles the
parshall flume but
minus the neck and
the bottom is flat
through-out the
converging and
diverging section.
 2. Cutthroat Flume

• Similar to the Parshall

flume except that the
bottom is at the same
elevation as the
channel invert
throughout the length
of the flume. The
cutthroat flume's
greatest advantage is
in its use where head
loss is limited.
 3. Weir
• A measuring structure built across open
channels with a rectangular trapezoidal or
triangular opening through which water pass
through. Near the upstream side of the
opening is a staff gage showing the depth of
water passing through.
3. Weir
3. Weir
3. Weir
 4. Staff Gage
• A calibrated 2" x 4" wood painted or
enameled which is installed in an open
channel to measure the depth of water.
When calibrated using current meter the
discharge at different water depths could be
readily known.
4. Staff Gage
4. Staff Gage
C. FARMER-LEVEL FACILITIES
AND STRUCTURES
 1. Turn-Out
• This is the water intake point of a rotational
area. TSA in national systems with an area of
more or less 50 hectares. It is the connecting
point of a main canal, lateral or sub-lateral to
the main farm ditch. This usually consists of an
inlet with a mechanically operated gate to
control or regulate the flow of water. Pipes are
usually used to carry the water through the
bank of the canal.
 1. Turn-Out

Pipe Turn-out
 2. Division Box
• A rectangular structure constructed in
the junction of main farm ditch
supplementary farm ditches which is
used to control or regulate water flow.
2. Division Box
2. Division Box
 3. Main Farm Ditch
• The canal branching-out from a turn-out
where the source of water to a rotational
area is conveyed.
 4. Supplementary Farm Ditch
• The canal branching-out from a main farm
ditch.

5. Internal Farm Ditch

• The canal branching-out from the supplementary
farm ditch and where individual farmers take
their water supply.
 6. Off - Take
• The opening in main farm ditch,
supplementary farm ditch or internal farm
ditch where farmers draw water for their
farms. In national systems, this is a pre-
fabricated concrete resembling a triangular
or rectangular weir, while in communal
systems bamboo tubes are sometimes used.
 7. Paddy Drain
• A structure built to convey excess water
away from the paddy fields of a drainage
canal or reservoir. It is a concrete structure
cutting through the embankment separating
the rice field and the drainage channel or
reservoir.
 Hydraulics of Flow
• Irrigation water is conveyed in either open or closed
conduits.
• Hydraulically, the two methods are similar, however,
slightly different forms of the equations are used
because with pipe flow, pressure head and elevation
head differences are usually measured to determine the
flow rate while in an open-channel flow the pressure
head does not change and the slope of the water surface
is the criterion of flow.
 Hydraulics of Flow
• Derivation of hydraulic equations and details
of application are thoroughly covered in
hydraulics texts.
• Only those results applicable to irrigation
and drainage are summarized.
• The following are some of the basic
equations of water flow.
 a. Continuity Equation
Q = AV

where:
Q = discharge
A = cross-sectional area of flow
V = average velocity
 b. Manning Equation
1.00
V = --------- R 2/3 S1/2
n

where:
V = velocity in meters/second
n = roughness coefficient (see Table 1)
R = hydraulic radius in meters
S = slope of water surface or
piezometric head line
 c. Chezy Equation

V = RS x C

where:
V = velocity of flow
C = coefficient of roughness
(Figure 1)
R,S= as defined above
 d. Hydraulic Radius

A
R = -----
P
where:
R = hydraulic radius
A = cross-sectional area of flow
P = wetted perimeter
 e. Best Hydraulic Cross-Section

b = 2 d tan ----
2
where:
b = bottom width of channel
d = depth of water in canal
 = angle between the side
slope and horizontal
 f. Bernoulli Equation
V12 P1 V 22 P2
----- + ----- + Y1 = ----- + ------ + Y2 + hL
2g w 2g w

where:
P = pressure intensity at any point
Y = elevation of the point above common
datum
w = weight of unit volume of water
hL = head loss, energy loss per unit weight
of fluid between points 1 and 2
g = acceleration due to gravity
V = velocity at any point
 g. Darcy - Weisbach Equation
L V2
hL = f ----- ------
d 2g

where:
hL = as defined above
f = coefficient of friction loss
L = the length between the two points
d = diameter of the conduit
V = average velocity
 h. Coefficient of Friction, f

185 n2
f = ------------
d 1/3

where:
n = Manning's roughness
coefficient
d = diameter of the conduit
 i. Piezometric Head, h
P
h = -----
w
where:
P = pressure intensity
w = weight of unit volume of
water
 Channel Cross-Sections
• The cross-sectional shape of the channel as it is
constructed may be parabolic, trapezoidal, or triangular.
• The parabolic cross-section approximates that of natural
channels. Under the normal action of channel flow,
deposition and bank erosion, the trapezoidal and
triangular sections tend to become parabolic.
 Channel Cross-Sections
• A number of factors influence the choice of
the shape of cross-section.
• Channels built with a blade-type machine
may be trapezoidal of the bottom width of
the channel is greater than the minimum
width of the cut.
 Channel Cross-Sections
• Triangular channels may also be readily
constructed with such equipment. Broad-bottom
trapezoidal channels require less depth of
excavation than do parabolic or triangular shapes.
• During low flow periods, however, sediment may
be deposited in trapezoidal channels with wide,
flat bottoms.
 Channel Cross-Sections
• Triangular channels reduce sedimentation, but high
velocities may damage the bottom of the
waterway.
• A trapezoidal section with a slight V bottom is most
easily constructed where the waterway is
artificially located as in a terrace outlet along a
fence line.
• The geometric characteristics of the shapes of
cross sections are given in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Channel Sections, Notations &
Formulas.
Table 1. Manning Roughness Coefficients for Various Boundaries.

Boundary Manning Roughness

1/8
n, ft
Very smooth surfaces such as glass, 0.010
plastic, or brass
Very smooth concrete and planed timber 0.011
Smooth concrete 0.012
Ordinary concrete lining 0.013
Good Wood 0.014
Vitrified clay 0.015
Shot concrete, untroweled, and earth 0.17
channels in best condition
Straight unlined earth in good condition 0.020
Rivers and earth canals in fair condition- 0.025
some growth
Winding natural streams and canals in 0.035
poor condition - considerable moss
growth
Mountain streams with rocky beds and 0.040-0.50
rivers with variable sections and some
vegetation along banks
Alluvial channels, sand beds, no
vegetation
1. Lower regime
Ripples 0.017-0.028
Dunes 0.018-0.035
2. Washed-out dunes or transition 0.014-0.024
2. Upper regime
Plane bed 0.011-0.015
Standing waves 0.12-0.016
Antidunes 0.012-0.020
(Source: Handbook of Applied Hydrology by V.T. Chow.)
Figure 3. Roughness Values for Turbulent Flow in Conveyance
Structures. Source: Handbook of Applied Hydrology by V.T.
Chow.)
 References
• Butlig, Felipe T., et. al. 1998. Handbook of Applied
Engineering Formulas: Irrigation and Soil & Water
Conservation. National Book Store, Inc.
• Caoili, Abraham, A., et. al. 1967. Irrigation and
Drainage: Principles and Practices. Department of
Development Communication: College, Laguna.
• Hansen, Vaughan E., et. al. 1962. Irrigation
Principles and Practices. 4th Edition. John Wiley
and Sons, Inc.
 References
• Schwab, Glenn O., et. al. 1992. Soil and
Water Conservation. 4th Edition. John Wiley
and Sons, Inc.
• Training Handout for Irrigators Organization
Worker. 1987. Iloilo: National Irrigation
Administration, Region VI.