DRAINAGE

•Drainage is the removal and disposal of excess water from

the agricultural lands.

•The removal of this excess water can be either natural or

artificial.

•Natural drainage means excess water flows from fields to

swamps or lakes or sea or rivers.

•Artificial drainage is man made systems to remove excess

water due to inadequate natural drainage.

•There are two types of artificial drainage: surface drainage

and subsurface drainage.
Surface Drainage
• It is the removal of excess water from the
surface of the land which is accomplished by
open drains.

• The field is shaped to eliminate minor

differences in elevation done by cutting and
filling of shallow depressions.

• Artificial slope is then created by means of

land grading in order to facilitate the flow of
excess water to the drains.
Subsurface Drainage

Subsurface drainage is the removal of water from

the root zone. It is accomplished by deep open
drains or buried pipe drains.

(i) Deep open drains

• Excess water from root zone flows into the open drains.
The disadvantage of this type is that it makes the use of
machinery difficult.

(ii) Pipe drains

• Pipe drains are buried pipes with openings through which
the soil water can enter. The pipes convey the water to the
main collector drain.
Deep open and pipe drains
 Aims of Drainage

i. Enhance plant growth (aeration, nutrients)

• By bringing down soil moisture from saturation
to field capacity.
• At field capacity, air is available to the soil.
• Greater roots development is possible

ii Proper management of structures/equipments

• Structures or equipments can be managed very if
not subjected to wet conditions
• They can be collapsed or damaged under very
wet conditions.
 Aims of Drainage cont…..

iii. Control of salt intrusion

• In some areas especially with salt disposition,
drainage is used for leaching excess salt.
• Accumulated salts are usually washed down from
the upper soil layers.

iv. Overcome poor application efficiency

In highly irrigated areas, drainage is needed due to poor
application efficiency.

v. Shorten operations
Operations like harvesting are shorten as a waiting time
Sources of excess water
Sources of excess water that necessitate
drainage are:
i. Precipitation
ii. Irrigation water
iii. Surface flow or underground
seepage
iv. Artesian flow from deep aquifers
v. Flood water applied for purposes
such as leaching salts from the soil
Excess water due to irrigation

Excess water due to irrigation occurs due to the

following reasons:

(i) Flat Lands

• Resulting lower uniformity of irrigation
• As a consequence water is collected in surface
depressions leading to ponding i.e border system
• Causes damages to plants in ponded areas

(ii) Accumulation of Water at Lower Ends

• Excess water is accumulated at the lower ends of the
agricultural fields
Excess water due to irrigation cont..

(iii) Mismatching Application versus Infiltration

• Rate of application exceeds infiltration rate of
the soil leading to runoff in sloping fields
• May also lead to soil erosion on slopes and
ponding on lowlands

(iv) Unforeseen factors

• Surplus water due to unforeseen factors such
as system failure eg leakage in supply ditch or
busting of a pressure pipe
 Effects of Poorly Drained Fields
Poor drainage of agricultural field has the following effects
on crops development:
i. Stops adequate air circulation in the soil thus affecting plant
growth
ii. Limit deep and wide penetration of plant roots causing weak
crop structural support
iii. Lowering soil temperature which affects plant metabolism
and other plant process
iv. Preventing bacterial life and activities in the soil which are
very essential for creating favorable conditions for the plants
growth
v. May encouraging certain plant diseases
vi. Limiting rooting penetration due to high water table
Designs of Drainage System
(a) Estimation of Peak Flows

This can be done using the Rational formula

or other methods like Cook's method

Rational Formula: Q= (CIA)/360

where:
Q is the peak flow (cubic meters/second)
C is dimensionless runoff coefficient
I is the rainfall intensity for a given return period
Designs of Drainage System cont….
The following needs to be determined prior applying
he rational formula:
i. Obtaining catchment area by surveying or from
maps or aerial photographs
ii. Estimating rainfall intensity using intensity
estimation curves eg Hudson's Field Engineering
Curves.
iii. Predicting runoff coefficient.

Cook’s Method
It involves considerations of three factors. These are:
Vegetation, Soil Permeability and Slope.
Design of Drainage System cont..
(b) Design of Channels
It involves surface or subsurface drainage designs

Surface Drainage Channels

• The drainage channels are normally designed
using the Manning’s formula.
• The required capacity of a main drainage
channel is calculated from the summation of the
inflowing streams
Design of Drainage System cont..
Surface Drainage Channels cont…
The major considerations include: drainage coefficient, drain
depth and spacing; drain diameters and gradient; drainage
filters.

Sub-surface drainage
It can be done by open ditches or buried drains.

(i) Using Ditches

• Ditches have lower initial cost, ease of inspection and are
applicable in some organic soils where drains are
unsuitable.
• Ditches, however, reduce the land available for cropping
and require more maintenance that drains due to weed
Design of Drainage System cont..
(ii) Using Buried Drains
• Have open joints or perforations which collect and
convey drainage water.
• They can be fabricated from clay, concrete,
corrugated plastic tubes or any other suitable
material.

(c) Drainage Coefficient

• Used to obtain the desired protection of crops
from excess water
• It is obtained by determining a peak rainfall with a
certain probability depending on the value of crops
or grounds to be protected
Design of Drainage System cont..
(d) Water table depth
• Minimum depth at which the water table should
be controlled
• It is determined by farming needs especially crop
tolerance to water.

(e) Depth of Drain

• Deeper drain, larger spacing and more
economical the design becomes.
• Drain depth, however, is constrained by soil and
machinery limitations.
Design of Drainage System cont..
(f) Drain Diameters and Gradients
There are two approaches to design:
(i) Transport approach:
• Used to design collector drains.
• Assumes that pipes are flowing full from top
to end of field.

(i) Drainage approach:

Assumes that water enters the pipe all down
the length as it is perforated. This is more
realistic.
Design of Drainage System cont..
(g) Filters
• Permeable materials eg. gravel placed around the
drains for improving the flow and bedding
conditions.
• Provide a high hydraulic conductivity around the
drains.
• Prevent small particles from entering the lateral
drains.

(h) Plastic Pipes:

A Trench is excavated, the pipe is laid in the trench,
permeable fill is added, and then the trench is filled.