Canal Irrigation System

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Jimma Institute of Technology
Chapter 5
Canal Irrigation System
Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 1

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Conveyance of Irrigation Water
 A conveyance/distribution system refers to structures or

ways through which water is transferred from the source to
the irrigated area and to different farms within the irrigated
area.
 Two types of conveyance systems:
 Pressurized conveyance system
 Canal conveyance system
Pressurized Conveyance System
 This system consists of pressurized conduits or pipe lines.
 Pumps or boosters ensure the flow of water from the source
to the farm out let. This is mainly is used in lift irrigation
system.
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Cont…
Canal Conveyance System
 A canal conveyance system refers to open channel irrigation
systems that delivers water from the source up to the farm
gate.
 The theory of open channel hydraulics is applied to the
design of this system.
 The force of gravity is the one that ensures the flow in the
channel.

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Figure : Canal conveyance system

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Definition of Important Terms
Alluvial soils and Alluvial canals

 The soil which is formed by the agency of water,
over a course of time, is called alluvial soil.
 Alluvial soil is a soil which is formed by continuous
silt deposition is called alluvial soil.
 The canals when excavated through alluvial soils
are called Alluvial canals
.

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Cont…
Non-alluvial soils and Non- alluvial canals
 Non-alluvial area and soil: are area/soil formed from the
disintegration of mountainous regions, resulting in the
formation of a rocky plane area.
 It has uneven topography and hard foundations.
 The rivers passing through such areas have no tendency to
shift their courses & they do not pose much problems for
designing irrigation structures on them.
 Canals passing through non-alluvial soils are called Non-
alluvial canals.

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Cont…
Sediment (also known as silt or alluvium)
Sediment is defined as the loose and non-cohesive material
through which a river or channel flows.
Sediment is also defined as fragmental material transported
by, suspended in, or deposited by water or air, or accumulated
in the beds by other natural agents.

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Silt Factor( f)
In designing of a canal in alluvial soil, the suspended silt and
the deposited silt in the canal bed should be taken into
consideration with great importance.
Gerald Lacey established the effect of silt on the
determination of discharge and the canal section. So, he
introduced a factor which is known as silt factor.
The silt factor depends on the mean particle size of silt.
The silt factor is determined by the expression,
mr= mean particle size of silt in mm.

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Cont…
Table 1: Silt factor

Particle type Mean particle size, mr in mm Silt factor, f
Very fine silt 0.05 0.40
Fine silt 0.12 0.60
Medium silt 0.23 0.85
Coarse silt 0.32 1.00

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Cont…
Coefficient of Rugosity, N.
The roughness of the canal bed affects the velocity of the
flow.
It is caused due to the ripples formed on the bed of the canal.
It was introduced by R. G. Kennedy for calculating the mean
velocity of flow.
This coefficient is known as coefficient of rugosity and it is
denoted by ‘N’.
The value of N depends on the type of bed materials of the
canal.

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Table 2: Coefficient of rugosity, N

Bed material Value of N
Very fine silt 0.0225
Fine silt 0.02
Medium silt 0.23
Coarse silt 0.013-0.018

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Mean Velocity, V
The velocity of flow measured by surface flow is known as
surface velocity.
It is not constant at all depths of water in the canal or river.
It is found to be at a depth 0.6D, where ‘D” is the depth of
water in the canal or the river.
After along investigations in various canals, Chezy and
Manning’s have established the following expressions for
finding the mean velocity of flow.

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Cont…
a) Mean Velocity by Chezy’s expression
Where, V=mean velocity in m/sec, C=Chezy’s coefficient,

R=Hydraulic mean depth, S=Longitudinal slope of
bed(as in 1 in n)
b) Mean Velocity by Manning’s expression
Where, n= manning’s rugosity coefficient, V, R and S are as

defined above.
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Critical Velocity (Vo)
When the velocity of flow is such that there is no silting or
scouring action in the canal bed, then that velocity is known as
critical velocity. It is denoted by ‘Vo’.
According to Kennedy the value of VO was given by
Where, D= depth of water.

Generally the critical velocity depends on the nature of the
soil formation in which the water flows. Table 3 below shows
the critical velocity for different soil formations:
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Table 3: Critical velocity of different soil formations

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Critical Velocity Ratio (CVR)
The ratio of the mean velocity ‘V’ to the critical velocity ‘V O’ is
known as the critical velocity ratio. It is denoted by m.
It
is given by
By finding the value of m, the condition of the canal can be predicted
whether it will be silting or scouring.
When m=1 there will be no silting or scouring.
When m>1, scouring will occur.
When m<1, silting will occur.
Bed Slope (S)

Itis the slope of the bed of the channel due to which water flows
under gravity.
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Stable Channel
A stable channel is an unlined earth channel : (a) which
carries water, (b) the banks and bed of which are not scoured
objectionably by moving water, and (c) in which objectionable
deposits of sediment do not occur’’.
In stable channel
 Over a long period, the bed and banks of a stable channel
remain unaltered even if minor deposition and scouring occur
in the channel.
 Silting and scouring in a stable channel balance each other
over a long period of time.
 Also called as non-silting & nonscouring channel.
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Regime Channel: is a channel
 In which the bed and bank materials of the channel are
the same as that of the transported materials
 In which the silt charge and silt grade are constant
 This ideal condition is not practically possible.
Full Supply Discharge (FSD) and Full Supply Level (FSL)

The maximum discharge capacity for it a canal is designed is
known as Full Supply Discharge.
The water level of the canal corresponding to the full supply
discharge is known as Full Supply Level (FSL).

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 Economic section
 If a canal section is such that the earth obtained from cutting
( i.e., excavation) can be fully utilized in forming the banks,
then that section is termed as economical section.
 No extra earth is required from borrow pit and no earth is in excess
to form the soil bank.
 This condition can only arise in case of partial cutting and banking.
 An economical section is also defined as a section in which
 the discharge is maximum with minimum cross-sectional area.
 the conveyance of the channel will be efficient when the channel
section have minimum perimeter for a given area, slope and
roughness coefficient are fixed.

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Types and Classification of Canals
 The canals can be classified into different types based on

different criteria.
(a) Classifications based on permanency.
(b) Classifications based on size.
(c) Classifications based on alignment.
(d) Classifications based on canal surface.
(e) Classifications based on purpose.

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(a) Classifications based on permanency

 1. Permanent canals 2. Temporary canals
Permanent canals
 A canal is said to be permanent when it is a regular-shaped channel
and has suitable masonry structures for regulation and
distribution.
 Such canals take off from permanent canal headworks.
 The permanent canals are usually perennial canals as these carry
water throughout the year.
Temporary canals
 A canal is said to be temporary (or non-perennial) if it carries
water only for a part of the year just after the rainy season.
 Temporary canals, for their supplies, depend upon the
periodical rise of water level of the river during floods.
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(b) Classification based on size
 Based' on the size, the canals can be divided into the

following types as per the Indian and British System.

Indian System British System
Main canal Feeder Canal
Branch Canal Main coveyer
Major distributary/Majors Main canal
Minor distributary/Minors Secondary canal
Water course Tertiary canal

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(c) Classification based on alignment
Based on the alignment, canals are classified

as follows:
1. Watershed (or ridge )canals
2. Contour canals
3. Side slope canals.

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(d) Classification based on canal surface

 Based on the canal surface, the canals can be classified into
the following types:
1. Lined canals
2. Unlined canals
Lined canals
 A lined canal is the one which has its surface lined with an
impervious material on its bed and sides to prevent seepage
of water. Therefore, the seepage losses in a lined canal are
none or very small.
 On such canals a relatively high velocity can be permitted
and, therefore, the cross-sectional area is less. However, the
lined canals have high initial cost.
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Cont…
2. Unlined canals
 An unlined canal is the one which has the surface of
the natural material through which it is constructed and
it is not provided with a lining on its surface.
 The seepage losses are large.
 The unlined canals may be further subdivided into the
following types:
(i) Alluvial canals (ii) Non-alluvial canals

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(i) Alluvial canals
 These canals are constructed through the alluvial soils deposited
by rivers.
 The alluvial soils are incoherent silty soils which can be easily
scoured as well as deposited.
 These canals are designed so that there is neither silting nor
scouring. The velocity in these canals is quite low and. therefore.
the cross-sectional area is large.
(ii) Non-alluvial canals
 These canals are constructed through hard soils or disintegrated
rocks. As the canal surface is quite hard, scouring normally does
not occur, and, therefore, the velocity in the canal can be made
high.
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(e) Classification based on purpose
Based on the purpose served, the canals can be

classified as follows:
1. Irrigation canal
2. Power canal
3. Navigation canal
4. Water supply canal
5. Feeder canal
6. Carrier canal
7. Multipurpose canal.

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Geometric Elements of Channel Section
Geometric elements
 Geometric elements are properties of a channel section that
can be defined entirely by the geometry of the section and
the depth of flow.
 These elements are very important in the design of canals
analysis of the capacity of a canal conveyance system.
 For artificial channels these can usually be defined easily
using simple algebraic equations.

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Depth of flow
 The depth of flow, y/d is the vertical distance of the lowest
point of a channel section from the free surface.
Surface width, b, t :
 The surface width is the width of the channel section at the
free water surface. It is the top width of the channel at the
water surface.
Cross – sectional Area/ Wetted Cross-sectional Area, A
 It refers to the area of the wetted section of the channel.
 It is the cross-sectional area of the flow normal to the
direction of flow.
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Wetted perimeter , P:
 The wetted perimeter, P is the sum of the length of that part
of the channels sides and bottom, which are in contact with
water.
 As wetted perimeter increases the resistance to flow i.e.,
friction increases.
 Hydraulic mean depth, Dm : the ratio of area to surface
width.
 Hydraulic radius, R: The hydraulic radius, R is the ratio of
the water area/cros sectional area to its wetted perimeter.
A
R
P Civil Engineering Department 32
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 Hydraulic slope (s) of a channel is the ratio of its vertical
drop, h for a length, l of a channel. It refers to the longitudinal
slope of a canal.
 The steeper the slope of a canal, the faster will flow the water
and thus the larger will be its capacity.
Side slope- ( 1:Z)
 In straight sided channels it is convenient to define the side
slope of the channels. The channel side slope is expressed
as the vertical to horizontal ratio. Thus a side slope of 1:2
would be setout by measuring one meter vertically and 2m
horizontally. The ratio is given as 1:Z i.e., vertical to
horizontal. Z refers to the horizontal.
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Cont…
 In earth channels/ unlined channels the side slopes should
be as steep as possible without being unstable in water.
 The water surface width, depends on the side slope, SS.
 The water surface width, becomes closer to bed width (b) as
SS becomes larger.
 The side slope depends on the material, which is used for
constructing the canal, and canals constructed.
 A canal in heavy clay can have steeper side slopes than
those built with sandier material.

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 Lined canals which are constructed from bricks or concrete
can even have vertical side slopes.
 The side slopes are selected nearly equal to the angle of
repose of the soil so that no earth pressure is imposed on
the lining.
 The side slope X (=vertical /horizontal) should be selected
depending on the type of canal, soil type and the expected
vegetation cover on the slopes.

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Table 4 : Recommended channel side slopes and maximum velocities for earth channels.
Channels less than 1.3m Channels great than 1.3
deep(H:V) m deep
Soil Max. Velocity
Heavy clay 1: 1 1:1 1.5
2
Clay or silt loam 1 :1 1:1 1 1.0
2
Sandy loam 1:1 1 0.75
2 1:2
Sand 1:2 0.75
1:3

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Most Efficient Channel Section or Best hydraulic
section
 A section that gives maximum section factor, AR2/3, for a
specified flow area, A,
 A section that yields the minimum wetted perimeter, P for a
given A, since Q is proportional to AR2/3 for a given channel
(i.e., n and S are specified) and R = A/P,
 OR Examination of Mining's velocity formula shows that from
purely hydraulic stand point, the most efficient channel cross-
section is the one with the smallest wetted perimeter, P.
 It is the one that will have the greatest capacity for a given
slope, area & roughness condition.
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Cont…
 They are those cross- sections with maximum benefit and

with minimum cost of construction.
 For open channels the section with the least wetted
perimeter is the semicircle.
 But this type of section is difficult to construct.
 In general the most efficient cross-section (except for
triangular crosssection) is one in which the hydraulic radius
is equal to half the depth of flow.
y d
R 
2 2
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Free Board
 In order to avoid overtopping of canal embankments and
thus spillage of water and possible destruction of the banks
by water erosion, a buffer is needed to accommodate
fluctuations in water levels in canals. This buffer is called the
free board.
 It is defined as the difference between the water level and
the level of the crest of the embankment.
 The height of the minimum required free board depends on
the water depth and on the material used for constructing
the embankments.

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 Embankments constructed using sandy material should have
more free board than where clay has been used to make the
embankments.
 When embankments are also used as pathways, free board
should be increased to help protect them from destruction.
 As a rule of thumb, the following minimum required free board
levels for small and medium canals should be respected: Fb =
0.10 m for water depths of 0.40 m or less. Fb = 0.15 for water
depths more than 0.40m.
 The freeboard can also be calculated using the following
equation:

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Channel Geometry
 Open channels could be prismatic or non prismatic.

 prismatic channel is a channel built with unvarying cross
section and constant bottom slope.
 Otherwise, the channel is non prismatic.
 Natural channel sections are in general very irregular,
usually varying from an approximate parabola to an
approximate trapezoid.
 Artificial channels are usually designed with sections of
regular geometric shapes.
 Channel cross-sections: Trapezoidal, Rectangular,
Triangular, and Parabolic
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Cont…
Cross-section Area, A Wetted Hydraulic Surface Hydraulic
Perimeter, Radius, Width, mean Depth,
P R B or t D
t/T by
by b  2y b y
y b  2y
b
Rectangular
T b  2 zy (b  zy ) y
1:z
y ( b  zy )y ( b  zy )y
b  2y 1  z 2 b  2 zy
b  2y 1  z 2
b
Trapezoid
B
zy 2
1 zy
2y 1  z 2
z y 2 zy y
2 1 z 2
2
Triangular

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Cont…
T
zy 2
1 zy
z y 2y 1  z 2
2 zy y
2 1 z 2
2
Triangular
T
2T 2 y 2y
y 2Ty 8y 2 3A 3
T 3T 2  8y 2
3 3T 2y
Parabolic

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Factors Affecting Flow in Channels

 There are three important factors which affect the way water
flows in channels. These are SLOPE, ROUGHNESS and
SHAPE.
Slope
 Water will flow only downhill in an open channel or through pipes.
 The steeper the slope the faster the water will flow.
 Excessive slope in earth channels can cause scour or erosion to
the channel surface.
 Velocity increases with an increase in gradient or longitudinal
slope. It therefore follows that a canal with a steeper gradient but
with the same cross-section can discharge more water than a
canal with a smaller gradient.
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Cont…
Roughness
 The roughness coefficient is a measure of the resistance of
flow in the channel due to friction.
 The roughness of the channel or pipe surface can slow down
the flow as friction slows down an object as it is pushed across
some rough surface.
 It influences the amount of water that passes through a canal.
 A canal lined with smooth concrete has much less friction than
an earth canal.
 This means that a lined canal can be much smaller than an
earth canal and still carry the same discharge.

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Cont…
 Unlined canals with silt deposits and weed growth and lined
canals with a rough finish tend to slow down the water velocity,
thus reducing the discharge compared to that of a clean canal
with a smooth finish.
 Canals that slow down the movement of water have a low
Striker Coefficient, Km or a high Mannings roughness
coefficient, n.
 It should be understood that the higher the roughness
coefficient Km, or the lower n, the higher the ability of the
canal to transport water, hence the smaller the required
cross-sectional area for a given discharge.

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Cont…
 The roughness coefficient depends on:

 The roughness of the canal bed and sides
 The shape of the canal

 Canal irregularity and alignment
 Obstruction in the canal
 Proposed maintenance activities

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Shape
 Channels can have the same slope and be made from the
same material but carry different amounts of discharge if
their shape is different.
 That is to say, canals with the same cross-sectional area,
longitudinal slope and roughness, but with different shapes,
will carry different discharges because of different wetted
perimeters and hydraulic radii.
 This shape factor is directly related to the contact area
between the flowing water and the channel surface.
 There will be more friction if the contact area is high.
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Cont…
 Canals with narrower beds and higher water depths have a
smaller wetted perimeter, and thus a higher discharge, than
canals with larger beds and lower water depths, for the
same cross-sectional area.
 This is due to the fact that the hydraulic radius R (= A/P)
increases if the wetted perimeter decreases, while keeping
the wetted cross-sectional area the same.
 This relationship between area and wetted perimeter, which
has extensive value in open channel flow is termed
HYDRAULIC RADIUS, R, defined simply as the ratio of the
cross-sectional area, A, to the wetted perimeter, p.

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Design of Open Channels
 The design of channels is influenced by the functions the

channel is required to perform (main canals, branch canals,
distribution channels etc.
 A channel is said to be designed when its longitudinal & cross-
sections are worked out to suit the requirements i.e., the
various channel dimensions are to fixed in the design.
 Irrigation channels are designed to take maximum required
discharge safely which is called Full supply discharge (FSD).
 To calculate FSD, it is essential to proceed with discharge
calculation from the tail of a canal system upwards up to the
head. In this calculation, proper allowances are to be made for
various losses which may occur in transit.
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 When determining the appropriate dimension of

channels the following points need to be
considered.
A. Design Flow:
B. Channel Gradient
C. Velocity of flow
D. Roughness Coefficient (see table 6)
E. Free Board

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Network of Canals for Canal Irrigation System
 A direct irrigation scheme which makes use of a weir or a

barrage, as well as a storage irrigation scheme which makes
use of a dam or a reservoir requires a network of irrigation
channels.
 The entire net work of irrigation canals is called canal
system.
 It may consists of a canals which brings water from the
source and a distribution system which distributes water
within the various irrigation fields.
 There are various classification, layout and naming systems
adopted throughout the world.

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The Indian System
 According to the Indian Code of practice the canal

system is divided based on their size and consists
of the following.
 Main canal
 Branch canal
 Major Distributaries/Majors
 Minors Distributaries/Minors
 Water courses/Field channels

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8. Canal Head Regulator
Main Canal
 The main canal is the largest canal in the system.
 It takes off water directly from the canal headworks which
may be a diversion or storage headworks.
 It may take off from one side or from two sides of the
headwork.
 No direct irrigation is normally done from a main canal.
 Preferably be aligned along the main watershead or ridge
line.

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Branch canals
 When a main canal leaves the high ground & must therefore
bifurcate in to branches covering the whole/ tract required to
be irrigated, the canal in such portions are called branch
canals.
 A branch canal takes off from a main canal or another branch
canal.
 The discharge capacity of branch canal is usually more than
5.0 cumecs.
 Generally, no or very little irrigation is done from them.
 Attempts should be made to align them along subsidiary water
sheds.
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Distributaries/Major Distributaries
 A major distributary takes off from a main canal, a branch
canal or another major distributary and supplies water to the
minor distributary or water courses.
 They are aligned either as watershed or side slope canal.
 Their discharge capacity is usually between 0.25 to 5.0
cumecs.
 They are generally used for direct irrigation.

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Minors/ Minor Distributaries

 A minor distributary takes off from a main canal, a branch
canal or another distributary and supplies water to water
courses.
 The discharge capacity is usually less than 0.25 cumecs.
They are generally used for direct irrigation.
 When the distance between the major distributaries outlet &
the field is very high, a small channels called minor
distributaries are taken off from the distributaries so as to
supply the water to the cultivators at the point near to the
fields.
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Water courses /Field channels
 Water courses are small channel which takes off water from
a branch canal, a major or minor distributary and supply to
agricultural fields.
 They are small channels excavated by farmers/cultivators so
as to take from the distributaries or the minor.
 They are not government channels & belong to the
cultivators.

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Sediment Control in Canals

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British System
In the British system canal networks are classified

and named as shown below.
 Feeder
 Main conveyor
 Main canal
 Secondary canal
 Tertiary canal

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 Feeder : This is a channel which takes off water from a head
work and feeds to other reservoir or a main conveyor
directly.
 Main conveyor : This connects either the source or feeder
to the distribution system. The size depends on the size of
the irrigation system. Direct supply of water to the farms
from the main canals is not recommended.
 Main canal - connects the feeder or main conveyor or
sometimes the source to the secondary or territories. Direct
water supply to farms is not recommended. Main canals are
not usually lined except in some cases such as in sandy and
sandy loam areas or if the capital permits to do so.
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 Secondary canal - connects the main with the tertiary and
again direct supply to the farm is not recommended.
 Tertiary canal - these type of canals take off from the
secondary and convey the water to different major parts of the
irrigated areas.
 Distribution System : This is part of the irrigation system
which connects the main conveyor or the feeder or the intake
structure to the farm outlets. It is made up of main, secondary
and territories and all ancillary structures and equipment.
 Farm Outlet - this is an outlet on the distribution system
serving one farm. It is usually equipped with a water meter
for control of water entering to the field.
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Cont…

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Structures on a Canal System
 The water enters the main canal through a head regulator at

the canal headworks.
 A large number of structures, sometimes called masonry
works (or pucca works), are constructed on the canals for
the various purposes. These include
(a) Regulation works
(d) Canal outlets and other works
(c) Cross-drainage works (C.D.W)
(b) Canal falls
(e) Measuring structures

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(a) Regulation works
 The water which enters the main canal is distributed into branches
and distributaries and ultimately reaches the agricultural fields
through water courses. This process of distribution is called
regulation. Different types of regulators are provided for effective
regulation.
 The structures which are constructed to control and regulate the
discharge, depth, velocity, etc. in the canal are called the
regulation works.
 The main regulation works are as follows
– Head regulator
– Cross regulator
– Canal escapes
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Cont…
Head regulator
 A head regulator/distributary head regulator is provided at the head of
each canal/distributary and branch canal. It controls the entry of the
water into the offtaking channels. It regulates the discharge or flow rate
entering the canal.
Cross regulator
 It is provided on the parent channel just downstream of the offtake/ point
of the offtaking channel to raise water level in the parent channel so that
the full supply can be taken into the offtaking channel even when the
parent channel is running partly full. It regulates the water level.
Canal escapes:
 These are the structures which are designed to remove the water from
the canal when excess rainfall. These are a sort of safety valves in the
canal system to remove the excess water or to empty the canal.
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(b) Canal drops/falls and Chutes
 Drop structures and chutes are flow control structures that
are installed in canals when the natural land slope is too
steep compared to the design canal gradient to convey
water down steep slopes without erosive velocities.
 If a canal were allowed to follow a steep natural gradient, the
velocities would be too high. This in turn would cause
erosion and make water management difficult.
 Thus, the canal is divided into different reaches over its
length. Each reach follows the design canal gradient.

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(c) Croos-drainage works (C.D.W)
 The cross-drainage works (or C.D. works) are the structures
which are constructed at the crossings of the canal with
natural drainages.
 The cross-drainage works are aqueduct, syphon aqueduct,
superpassage, canal syphon, level crossing, and inlet and
outlets.

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(d) Canal outlets and other works
 When the canal water has reached near the fields to be irrigated,
it has to be transferred to the watercourses.
 At the junction of the watercourse and the distributary, an outlet is
provided.
 An outlet is structures constructed on the distributary canals/or
other canals for supplying water into the water courses. It may
also acts as a discharge measuring device. The discharge though
an outlet is usually less than 0.085 m3/s.
(e) Measuring structures
 These are structures which are constructed to measure the
discharge in the canals
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Alignment of Canals
 Before designing & constructing, a canal irrigation system

should be sited well so as to reduce the number of branch
canals and to economically convey the water to the entire
command area i.e. the water to satisfactorily flow by gravity.
 Depending upon the nature of the ground the canals may be
aligned in either of the following.
 as a watershed/ridge canal.
 as a contour canal.
 as a side slope canal.

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Water-shed canal
 The dividing line between the catchment area of the two
drains (streams) is called a watershed/ridge.
 Between two major streams, there is a main watershed
which divides the drainage areas of the two.
 Similarly, between any tributary and the mainstream
and also between any two tributaries there are
subsidiary watersheds, dividing the drainage between
the two streams, on either side.

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Water-shed canal

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Water-shed canal

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 For canal system in plain areas, it is often
necessary as well as advantageous to align all
channels on the water sheds of the areas, they are
designed to irrigate.
 The canal which is aligned along a watershed (or
ridge) is called a watershed/ridge canal.
 As far as possible, a canal should be aligned on a
ridge line so that it can irrigate on both sides of the
ridge by gravity, and, therefore, it has a large
commanded area.
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 On a watershed canal, the number of cross-drainage works
is a minimum because most of the drainages (or streams)
originate from the ridge and do not cross the canal.
 However, .when the watershed line takes a sharp loop, the
canal is usually aligned straight to effect economy and,
therefore, it has to deviate from the watershed line and it
may cross a few small drainages (Fig. 6(b).
 Naturally rivers are found in valley portion. Therefore, the
head of the canal is also in the valley portion & not on the
ridge. So, first thing to be done after take-off is to bring the
canal on the ridge of the catchment. See Fig 8a.

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Contour canal
 A contour canal is a canal aligned almost parallel to the
contours of the terrain.
 In hilly areas, the river flows in the valley, while the
watershed or the ridge line may be hundred meters above it.
 Provision of water shed canals is not possible in hill areas.
 It is uneconomical to take the canal on top of such a ridge.
 The canal in such cases is generally aligned almost parallel
to the area except that the longitudinal slopes required to
generate sufficient flow velocities are given to it. Here the
canal is aligned along a falling contour.
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 In the initial reach, a main canal is usually a contour canal.

 As a drainage flow is always at right angles to the ground
contours, such a channel would definitely have to cross
drainage lines.
 Suitable cross drainage works are then provided.
 Thus in a contour canal, there are a large number of cross-
drainage works because all the drainages are at right angles
to the contours.
 A contour canal can irrigate land only on one side because
the land on the other side is higher.
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Side Slope Canal
 A side-slope canal is a canal aligned at right angles to the
contour lines along the side slopes of the terrain.
 Due to nature of the ground, canals may be aligned at right
angles to the contours. i.e., parallel to the drains. In such
cases side slope canals are used .
 Because drainages also run at right angles to the contours,
a side slope canal does not normally intercept drainages,
and therefore, no cross-drainage work is required.

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Factors Affecting the Canal Alignment

 A canal should be aligned on a watershed (or ridge) as far as
possible because it ensures irrigation on both sides of the canal and
it avoids cross-drainage works.
 Attempts should be made that the main canal mounts the ridge in as
small length as possible from the point of ofttake.
 As far as possible, the canal should run through the heart of the
commanded area to keep the cost of distribution system to a
minimum.
 The canal alignment should avoid inhabitated areas, religious
places, valuable property and other important monoments.
 The canal should run straight even when the watershed makes a
sharp loop
 etc
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Factors affecting the alignment of a watercourse
 The water course should be laid along the boundaries of the
agricultural fields.
 The water course should be capable of supplying water to the tail
end of the field with sufficient head.
 Separate water courses should be provided for fields at a high level
and those at a low level.
 The water courses should be as few as possible to minimize the
losses.
 Generally, a separate water course is provided for a village or a
group of cultivators. The water course runs full whenever it gets its
supplies. The cultivators take water turn by turn during that period.

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Investigation for Conveyance System
 The investigations for a conveyance system (or a canal

project) can be divided into 3 parts:
1.Reconnaissance survey
2.Preliminary survey
3. Detailed survey.
 1. Reconnaissance survey
 (i) Water table (ii) Rainfall records
 (iii) Type of soil (iv) Topography of the area
 (v) Crop patterns (vi) Existing irrigation system
 (vii) Skill of cultivators

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2. Preliminary survey
 The following statistics should be obtained from the revenue
records.
(i) Total available area (ii) Cultivated area
(iii) Culturable area (iv) Areas under different crops
(v) Areas irrigated by existing wells and ponds.
 The following records should be obtained and studied.
(a) Settlement maps:
(b Topographical details
(c) Contour lines
(d) Canal alignment
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3. Detailed survey
 The detailed survey is conducted for the design and
estimates of the canal.
 The longitudinal levelling is done along the final alignment of
the canal already marked in the field. The levels are taken at
close intervals and more accurately.
 Transverse leveling is also done for a suitable distance
across the centre line of the canals. These levels are useful
for marking the full supply levels, the bed levels and the bank
tops after the canal has been designed. The quantity of
earthwork can also be estimated after the channel cross-
sections have been determined.
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Curves in Canals
 As far as possible, the canal should be aligned straight.
 Curves are unavoidable in a canal system.
 Wherever provided, the curves should be quite gentle.
Sharp curves lead to the disturbance of flow.
 There is a tendency of the unlined canal to cause silt on
the convex (the inner) side and scour on the concave
(the outer) side.
 Pitching is sometimes done on the concave side to
prevent scouring of the bed and sides.

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 The curves in the canal are generally simple circular curves.
 The greater the discharge, the larger is the radius of the curve.
 The radius of the curve is generally kept 10 to 15 times the bed
width of the canal.
 The IS: 5968-1970 recommends the minimum radius of curves for
the canals of different discharge capacity as given in Table 3 on
your handout.
 Because the velocity in the unlined canals is small, the
super-elevation of the water surface on the outer side is
quite small and is generally neglected and therefore the
outer banks are not raised.

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Command Areas and Related Terms

 The area served by a canal is called the command area or
the command of the canal.
 It is the total area, bounded with in the irrigation boundary of
a project, which can be economically irrigated without
considering the limitation of the quantity of available water.
 It includes the cultivable as well as the non-cultivable area.
 Cultivable area is that part of gross command area on which
cultivation is possible.
 All of this culturable area may not be sown or cultivated at a
time.

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 Pastures & fallow lands which can be made cultivable are included in
this area.
 Non-cultivable area includes populated areas, ponds, reserved forests,
roads etc. which are not cultivated at any time in the system
 Intensity of Irrigation (I.I)
 The intensity of irrigation is defined as the ratio of the
actually irrigated area during a crop season to the net
culturable irrigable (culturable commanded) area.
 The entire cultivable commanded area is not proposed to be
irrigated at one time.
 There are several reasons for not irrigating the whole area.

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 One reason for this is that intensive irrigation (i.e., irrigating
all the fields of the same area at the same time) causes over
irrigation and water logging.
 Secondly due to shortage of irrigation water, extensive
irrigation is preferred to intensive irrigation which is confined
only to a particular pocket/area.
 Due to such reasons, only a certain percentage of the
culturable land is brought under irrigation seasonally say
hardly 30% to 40% of C.C.A will be irrigated every season.
This percentage of C.C.A proposed to be irrigated
seasonally is called the intensity of irrigation (I.I)

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 Annual Irrigation Intensity
 It is the ratio of the area irrigated during the entire year (i.e., gross
irrigated area) to the total C.C.A expressed in percentage.
 Net and Gross Sown Areas
 Sometimes two crops are grown during a particular year on a
certain area. Hence such an area will be sown more than once. If
this area is added to the area which sown only once (and called
net sown area) then we get what is called the gross sown area or
the total cropped area. Hence
 Total cropped area = Gross sown area=
Gross sawn area  Net sown area  Area sown more than once during a year

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 Net and Gross Irrigated Areas
 Based on the above analogy, the area which is irrigated only
once during a year is called Net irrigated Area. When to net
irrigated area is added the area irrigated more than once in
a year it gives the gross irrigated area.
Gross Irrigated  Net Irrigated Area  Area irrigated more than once once during a year

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 Area to be irrigated
 The area proposed to be irrigated at any one time is called
the area to be irrigated. It is obtained by multiplying
culturable commendable Area C.C.C by intensity of irrigation
(I.I)
Area to be irrigated  CCA * II
 It is usually worked out separately for each crop season,

b/se the water requirement of the crop of two seasons are
quite different

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Cont…

Canal Irrigation System

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Canal Irrigation System

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Jimma University

Jimma Institute of Technology

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 1

Conveyance of Irrigation Water

 A conveyance/distribution system refers to structures or

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 3

Figure : Canal conveyance system

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 4

Definition of Important Terms

Alluvial soils and Alluvial canals

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 5

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 6

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 7

mr= mean particle size of silt in mm.

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Table 1: Silt factor

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Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 10

Table 2: Coefficient of rugosity, N

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 11

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 12

Where, V=mean velocity in m/sec, C=Chezy’s coefficient,

Where, n= manning’s rugosity coefficient, V, R and S are as

Where, D= depth of water.

Table 3: Critical velocity of different soil formations

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 15

Bed Slope (S)

Full Supply Discharge (FSD) and Full Supply Level (FSL)

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 18

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 19

Types and Classification of Canals

 The canals can be classified into different types based on

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 20

(a) Classifications based on permanency

(b) Classification based on size

 Based' on the size, the canals can be divided into the

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 22

(c) Classification based on alignment

Based on the alignment, canals are classified

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 23

(d) Classification based on canal surface

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 25

(e) Classification based on purpose

Based on the purpose served, the canals can be

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 27

Geometric Elements of Channel Section

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Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 29

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 30

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 34

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Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 36

 They are those cross- sections with maximum benefit and

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 39

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 40

 Open channels could be prismatic or non prismatic.

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 42

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 43

Factors Affecting Flow in Channels

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 45

Irrigation Engineering Civil Engineering Department 46

 The roughness coefficient depends on:

 The shape of the canal