WATER RESOURCES

ENGINEERING

Dr. P. JAGADEESH
Text Book

Mays L.W. (2001), Water Resources Engineering, first edition, John

Wiley Publications, Singapore
Garg. S.K. (1998), Irrigation Engineering & Hydraulics structures,
Khanna Publishers

Reference Books

1. Majumdar (2005), Irrigation Water Management, Prentice-Hall of

India.
2. Punmia. B.C. (1997), Irrigation and Water Power Engineering,
Laxmi Publications
3.Sharma, S.K. (1996), Irrigation Engineering, S. Chand & Co. Pvt.
Ltd
4.Modi, P.N., Irrigation Water Resources And Water Power
Engineering, Standard Book House.
LAB

Text Book

Satya Narayana Murty Challa (2014), Water Resource Engineering

Principles & Practices, New Age International Publishers.
 IRRGATION ENGINEERING
Irrigation: Irrigation may be defined as the process of supplying water to
land by artificial means for the purpose of cultivation.
The basic objective of irrigation is to supplement the natural supply of
water to land so as to obtain an optimum yield from the crop grown on
the land.
To achieve this objective of irrigation, an irrigation system is required to
be developed, which involves planning, designing, construction, operation
and maintenance of various irrigation works, i.e.,
A source of water supply
A distribution system for carrying water from the source to the
agricultural land and its application on the land, and
Associated works
Necessity of Irrigation
Inadequate rainfall
Uneven distribution of rainfall
Growing a number of crops during a year
Growing superior crops
Total Planning Concept of Irrigation Project
•Engineering aspect
•Agricultural aspect
•Management aspect
Engineering Aspect
Development of source of water for irrigation
Development of a system for the conveyance of water for irrigation
Agricultural Aspect

Proper leveling and shaping of the agricultural fields

Soil investigation and classification of the agricultural land
Consolidation of the small and scattered holdings of the farmers
Provision of field channels
Choosing the proper cropping pattern to suit the local soil and climatic
conditions
Introduction of improved hybrid and high-yielding verities of crops
Assessment of the water requirement of the crops and distribution of
water according to the needs of the crop grown
Conservation of soil against erosion
Provision of drainage system to control the water logging of the
agricultural land
Reclamation of saline and alkaline land to make it suitable for cultiviation
Plan the development of ancillary inputs such as fertilizers.
Management Aspect

The cultivation should be carried out in a scientific manner with due

control on all the inputs so as to obtain the maximum yield.
The farmers should be properly trained and educated through courses
organized regularly as a part of the management
The distribution of water to farmers should be managed properly by
using rotation system such as WARA BANDHI.
In order to increase the efficiency of irrigation the agricultural land
holdings of the small farmers should be consolidated. For this purposes
cooperative societies of the farmers may be formed which would solve
many operation problems.
The ill effects of irrigation should be as far as possible eliminated by
adopting suitable measures in the management of the project.
BENEFITS OF IRRIGATION

Increase of crop yield

Protection from famine
Cultivation of superior crops
Elimination of mixed cropping
General prosperity of the farmers
Increase in the wealth of the country
Generation of Hydro-electric Power
Domestic and Industrial water supply
Inland navigation
Additional facilities of communication
Canal plantation
Increase in ground water storage
Overall development of the country
ILL-EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION

 Water logging
 Breeding places for Mosquitoes
 Unhealthy climate
 Pollution of River flows and Groundwater

TYPES OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

I. Classification of irrigation system on the basis of the availability of
irrigation water
i. Flow irrigation system
a. Direct irrigation system
b. Reservoir or Tank or Storage irrigation system
ii. Lift irrigation system
II. Classification of irrigation systems on the basis of the duration of
irrigation.
i. Inundation irrigation system
ii. Perennial irrigation system
 METHODS OF IRRIGATION

 Surface irrigation methods

 Sprinkler irrigation methods
 Sub-surface irrigation methods.

Factors affecting the choice of the method of irrigation

 Soil characteristics of the land to be irrigated

 Topography of the country
 Size of the stream supplying irrigation water to the land to be irrigated
 Available water supplies and the rate of advance of irrigating water
 Length of run and time required for wetting the total area of the land
 Rate of infiltration of the soil
 Depth of the root zone of the plants
 Depth of the water table
 Possible erosion hazard
 Amount of water to be applied during each irrigation.
 SURFACE IRRIGATION METHODS

Flooding Furrow Contour

Methods Method Farming

Uncontrolled Controlled
flooding
Or wild flooding

Flooding Border Check or Basin

from field method
strips levees
channels
FLOOD IRRIGATION

FURROW IRRIGATION
CONTOUR FARMING
FLOODING FROM FIELD CHANNELS
BORDER STRIP METHOD
 CHECKS OR LEVEES METHOD
(Most common method in India & other countries)
RING BASIN METHOD (for Orchards)
FURROW METHOD
CONTOUR FARMING
i. Fixed nozzle pipe
ii. Perforated pipe
iii. Rotating sprinkler

ROTATING SPRINKLERS
 SUB-SURFACE IRRIGATION METHODS

 Natural sub-irrigation
 Artificial sub-irrigation
 Drip or trickle irrigation (where water scarcity & salt problems)

Natural sub-irrigation
Artificial sub-irrigation

Drip irrigation
SOIL TEXURAL CLASSIFICATION
EXTRACTION OF SOIL MOISTURE
CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL WATER
Water present in the soil may be classified under three heads:
Hygroscopic water
When an over-dried sample is kept open to the atmosphere, it absorbs
some amount of water from the atmosphere. This is known as
hygroscopic water, and is not capable of movement by the gravity or
capillary forces.
Capillary water
Capillary water is that part in excess of hygroscopic water which exists in
the pore space of the soil by molecular attraction.
Gravitational water
Gravitational water is that part in excess of hygroscopic and capillary
water which will move out of the soil if favourable drainage is provided.
Saturation capacity: This is also be called as maximum moisture holding capacity
or total capacity. It is the amount of water required to fill all the pore spaces between
soil particles by replacing all air held in pore spaces.
Field capacity: The field capacity is the moisture content of the soil after free
drainage has removed most of the gravity water.
Permanent Wilting Point/Wilting Coefficient: Is that water content at which
plants can no longer extract sufficient water from the soil for its growth.
Available moisture: The difference in water content of the soil between field
capacity and permanent wilting is known as available water or available moisture.
Readily available moisture: It is that portion of the available moisture that is most
easily extracted by plants, and is approximately 75% of the available moisture.
Moisture equivalent: It is the percentage of moisture retained in a small sample
of wet soil 1 cm deep when subjected to a centrifugal force 1000 times as great as
gravity, usually for a period of 30 minutes.
Soil moisture/field moisture deficiency: It is the water required to bring the soil
moisture content of the soil to its field capacity.
Depth of water stored in root zone of soil containing water upto field capacity:

d
Available moisture depth   Field capacity Wilting coefficient
w
 = density of soil
w = unit weight of water
d = depth of root zone in metres
DUTY & DELTA

Duty (D) represents the irrigating capacity of a unit of water. It is the relation
between the are of a crop irrigated and quantity of irrigation water required during
the entire period of the growth of the crop.
Ex: 5 cumecs for water supply for irrigating 4500 hectares of land.
Duty = 4500/5 =900 hectres/cumecs

Delta () is the depth of water supplied during the base period of the crop.
RELATION BETWEEN DUTY & DELTA:
Let D = duty in hectares/cumecs
 = total depth of water supplied (in metres)
B = base period
If we take a field of area D hectares, water supplied to the field corresponding
to the water depth  meters will be = xD hectares-metres =
xDx104 cubic-metres ---- (1)
Again for the same field of D hectares, one cumec of water is required to flow
during the entire base period.
Total water supplied to the field = (1) x (Bx24x60x60) ----- (2)
Equating equations (1) & (2), we get

D104  B  24 60 60

B
  8.64 metres
D
 B
In F .P.S :   1.985 feet
D
Problem: Find the delta for a crop if the duty for a base period of 110 days is
1400 hectares/cumec.
B
  8.64
D
110
 8.64   0.68m
1400

Problem: A crop requires a total depth of 29.2 cm of water for a base period of
120 days. Find the duty of water.

B
D  8.64

120
 8.64   3550.68 hectares / cumec.
0.292
High and Low Duty:
Duty is being referred to as being high or low according to number of
hectares/cumec irrigated is large or small.
Gross Commanded Area (G.C.A): The gross commanded area is thus the total
area lying between drainage boundaries which can be commanded or irrigated by
a canal system.
Culturalble Commanded Area (C.C.A): The gross commanded area also
contains unfertile barren land, alkaline soil, local ponds, villages and other
area as habitation. These area are known as unculturable areas. The remaining
area on which crops can be grown satisfactorily is known as culturable
commanded area (C.C.A).
Culturable cultivated Area: It is the area in which crop is grown at a particular
time or crop season.
Culturable Uncultivated Area: It is that area in which crop is not sown in a
particular season. Such area is kept under no cultivation due to the following
reasons.
1. To increase the fertility of the soil which has been reduced due to intense
cultivation.
2. To provide pasture land for animals.
3. The crop to be sown in that land has a different crop season.
4. To protect the land from the possible danger of water logging.
Factors Affecting Duty:
 Method and system of irrigation
 Mode of applying water to the crops
 Methods of cultivation
 Time & frequency of tilling
 Types of crop
 Base period of crop
 Climatic conditions of the area
 Quality of water
 Climatic conditions of the area
 Quality of water
 Character of soil & sub-soil of the canal
 Character of soil & sub-soil of the irrigation fields.
METHODS OF IMPROVING DUTY
 Suitable method of applying of water to the crops should be used
 The land should be properly ploughed and leveled before sowing the crop
 The land should be cultivated frequently
 The canals should be lined
 Parallel canals should be constructed
 The idle length of the canal should be reduced
 The alignment of the canal either in sandy soil or in fissured rock should be
avoided
The source of supply should be such that it gives good quality of water
The rotation of crops must be practiced
Volumetric method of assessment should be used
The farmers must be trained in the proper use of water
The land should be redistributed to the farmers so that they get only as much as
they are cable of managing it
Research stations should be established in various localities to study the soil, the
seed and conservation of moisture
The canal administrative staff should be efficient, responsible and honest.
DEFINITIONS
Kor Depth and Kor Period: The first watering is known as kor watering, and the
depth of water applied is known as kor depth.
Outlet factor: It is defined as the duty at the outlet.
Time factor: It is the ratio of the number of days the canal has actually run to the
number of days of irrigation period.
Capacity Factor: This is the ratio of the mean supply (discharge) to the full supply
of a canal.
Cumec Day: The quantity of water flowing for one day at the rate of 1 cumec is
known as a cumec-day.
Paleo: It is the first watering before sowing the crop. This is done in order to add
sufficient moisture to the unsaturated zone of the soil and is required for the initial
growth of the crop.
Full Supply Coefficient: It is defined as the area estimated to be irrigated during
the base period divided by the design full supply discharge of the channel at its
head during maximum demand.
Nominal Duty: This is the ratio of the area of which the permit has been granted for
the period divided by the mean supply for the base period.
Open discharge: It is the ratio of the cumec-days to the number of days the canal
has actually been used for irrigation.
Root Zone Depth: Root zone depth is the maximum depth of soil strata in which
the crop spreads its root system and derives water from the soil.
FUNCTIONS OF IRRIGATION WATER
It act as a solvent for the nutrients
The irrigation water supplies moisture which is essential for the life of bacteria
beneficial to the plant growth
Irrigation water supplies moisture which is essential for the chemical action within
the plant leading to its growth
Some salts present in soil react to produce nourishing food products only in the
presence of water
Water cools the soil and the atmosphere, and thus makes more favorable
environment for healthy plant growth.
Irrigation water, with controlled supplies, washes out or dilutes salts in the soil
It reduces the hazard of soil piping
It softens the tillage pans.
QUALITY OF WATER
Irrigation water may be said to be unsatisfactory for its intended use if it contains:
Chemicals toxic to plants or the persons using plant as food
Chemicals which react with the soil to produce unsatisfactory moisture
characteristics
Bacteria injurious to persons or animals eating plants irrigated with water.

Irrigation water may contain various types of salts such as sodium, Calcium,
Magnesium and Potassium etc. A high concentration of these salts may prove to
be injurious to the crops. The salt content of irrigation water is usually expressed
by one of the following ways:
Parts per million (ppm) or milligram per litre (mg/l)
Milli equivalent per litre (MEQ/L)
Electrical conductivity, expressed in micromhos per centimetre (ECx106)
Classification of Irrigation Water based on Total Concentration of Soluble
Salts:
The soluble concentration of soil solution (Cs) can be determined from the
following formula.

C.Q
Cs 
Q   Cu  Peff 

where, C = concentration of salt in irrigation water

Q = total quantity of water applied to the soil
Cu = consumptive use of water
Peff = useful rainfall
 CLASSIFICATION OF IRRIGATION WATER BASED ON SALT
CONCENTRATION
S.No. Types of water
1 Low salinity water (C1)
Conductivity between 100 to
250 micr-mhos/cm at 25C
2 Medium salinity water (C2)
Conductivity between 250 to
270 micr-mhos/cm at 25C
3 High salinity water (C3)
Conductivity between 750 to
2250 micr-mhos/cm at 25C
4. Very high salinity (C4)
Conductivity between 2250
micr-mhos/cm at 25C
Suitability for Irrigation
Suitable for all types of
crops and all kinds of soil.
Can be used, if a moderate
amount of leaching occurs.
Unsuitable for soil with
restricted drainage. Only
high-salt tolerate plants can
be grown.
Unsuitable for irrigation
Classification based on Sodium concentration

100 Na
Percentage of sodium 
Ca  Mg  Na  K

Irrigation water is classified on sodium concentration, on the basis of a

factor called Sodium-Absorption Ratio (SAR), given by the following
formula,

Na 
SAR 
Ca   Mg 
2
 CLASSIFICATION OF IRRIGATION WATER BASED ON SODIUM
ABSORPTION RATIO

S.No. Types of water Suitability for Irrigation

1 Low Sodium water (S1)
SAR: 0 TO 10
2 Medium Sodium water (S2)
SAR: 10 TO 18
Suitable for all types of crops and all types
of soil, except for those crops which are
highly sensitive to sodium.
Suitable for coarse texture of organic soil
with good permeability. Relatively unsuitable
in fine textured soild.

3 High Sodium water (S3) Harmful for almost all types of soils.
SAR: 18 TO 26 Requires good drainage, High leaching,
gypsum addition.
4. Very high Sodium water Unsuitable for irrigation
(S4)
SAR: above 26
 STANDARDS OF IRRIGATION WATER
Water Electrical Total salt Sodium Boron Chloride Sulphate Applicabili
Class conductivity content (%) concen Concen Concen ty
(ECX106) (ppm) tration tration tration
(ppm) (ppm) (ppm)

1 0-1000 0-700 60 0.0 – 0.5 0-142 0-192 Excellent to

good for
most plants

2 1000-3000 700-2000 60-75 0.5-2.0 142-355 192-480 Good to

Injurious ,
may be
harmful to
sensitive
crops

3 Over 3000 Over 2000 Over 75 Over 2.0 Over 355 Over 480 Unsuitable
for most
conditions
 CROPS

Wet Dry crop Garden Summer Winter

crop crop crop crop
(Rabi)

Hot weather Monsoon

crop crop (Kharif)

Kharif corps: Kharif corps are sown by the beginning of the sothwest monsoon and
are harvested in autum.
Ex: Rice, Makai, Bajra, Jowar, Pulses, Groundnut
Rabi Crops: Rabi crops are sown in autum and are harvested in spring.
Ex: Wheat, Gram, Barley, Peas, Mustard, Tobacco, Potato, Vegetables
Eight Months Crops: Cotton
Perenial crops: Sugar-cane
SOWING AND HARVESTING SEASONS OF PRINCIPLE
CORPS IN INDIA
Problem: The left branch canal carrying a discharge of 20 m3/s has cuturalble
commanded area of 20,000 hectares. The intensity of Rabi crop is 80%, and the
base period is 120 days. The right branch canal carrying discharge of 8 m3/s has
cultural commanded area of 12,000 hectares, intensity of irrigation of Rabi crop
is 50%, and the base period is 120 days. Compare the efficiencies of the two
canal systems. Also determine Delta for Rabi crop under each canal.
.
Solution:
a.For the left canal
Area under Rabi crop = 20000 x 0.8 = 16000 hectares
Discharge = 20 cumecs
Duty = 16000/20 = 800 hectares/cumec
Delta =1.296m

b. For the right canal

Area under the Rabi crop = 12000 x 0.5 = 6000 hectares
Discharge = 8 cumecs
Duty = 6000/8 = 750 hectares/cumec
Delta =1.382m

Inference: Since the left canal system has higher duty, it is more
efficient
Problem: An irrigation canal has gross commanded area of 80,000 hectares out of
which 85% is culturable irrigable. The intensity of irrigation for Kharif season is 30%
and for Rabi season 60%. Find the discharge required at the head of the canal if the
duty at its head is 800 hectares/cumec for Kahrif season and 1700 hectares/cumec
for rabi season.
Solution:

Culturable irrigable area = 80000 x 0.85 = 68000 hectares

Area under Kharif season = 68000 x 0.30 = 20400 hectares
Area under Rabi season = 68000 x 0.6 = 40800 hectares
Crop ratio = Area irrigated in Rabi season/Area irrigated in kharif season
For present case crop ratio = 2, so as to keep discharge in canal both
seasons may be uniform.
Water required at the head of the canal to irrigate Kharif season
= 20400/800=25.5 m3/s
Water required at the head of the canal to irrigate Rabi season
=40800/1700=24 m3/s
Note: Actually canal designed to carry peak discharge and not average
discharge.
In generally the peak discharge may be taken as 20% to 25% higher than the
average requirement.
Problem: After how many days will you supply water to soil (clay loam) in order to
ensure efficient irrigation of the given crop, if
i. Field capacity of soil = 27%
ii. Permanent wilting point = 14%
iii. Density of soil = 1.5 g/cm3
iv. Effective depth of root zone = 75 cm
v. Daily consumptive use of water for the given crop = 11mm
Solution:
Available moisture = Field capacity – Permanent wilting point = 27-14 = 13%
Let readily available moisture = 80% Available moisture
Readily available moisture = 13x0.8=10.4%
Optimum moisture = 27-10.4=16.6%
Therefore, irrigation water should be applied to raise the moisture from 16.6 to
27%.
Depth of water stored in root zone, during each watering
d
  Field capacity Wilting coefficient
w
1.5 0.75
 0.27  0.166  0.117 metres  11.7 cm
1
Thus, depth of water available for evapo-transpiration = 11.7 cm
Daily consumption use of water = 1.1 cm
Watering frequency = 11.7/1.1 = 10 days
Hence water should be applied after every 10 days
Problem: A loam soil has field capacity of 22% and wilting coefficient of 10%. The
dry unit weight of soil is 1.5 g/cm3. If the root zone depth is 70 cm, determine the
storage capacity of the soil. Irrigation water is applied when moisture content falls to
14%. If the water application efficiency is 75% determine the water depth required
to be applied in the field.
Solution:
Maximum storage capacity = Available moisture
d
  Field capacity Wilting coefficient
w
1.5 0.70
 0.22  0.10  0.126 metres  12.6 cm
1
Depth of irrigation water =

d
  Field capacity Wilting coefficient
w
1.5 0.70
 0.22  0.14  0.084 metres  8.4 cm
1
Field irrigation requirement = 8.4/0.75 = 11.2 cm
Prob: Table below gives the necessary data about the crop, duty of water and the
area under each crop commanded by a canal taking off from a storage reservoir.
Taking a time factor for the canal to be (12/20), calculate the discharge required at
the head of the canal. If the capacity factor is 0.8, determine the design discharge.

Crop Base Period Area Duty of water at

(days) (hectares) the head of the
canal
(hectares/cumec)
Sugar cane 320 900 580
Overlap for 90 150 580
sugar cane in
hot weather
Wheat (Rabi) 120 750 1600
Bajra (Kharif) 120 600 2000
Vegetables (Hot 120 320 600
weather)
Sol:

Discharge required for sugarcane=900/580 = 1.552 cumec

Discharge required for overlapping sugarcane=150/580 = 0.259 cumec
Discharge required for wheat=750/1600 = 0.469 cumec
Discharge required for Bajra=600/2000 = 0.3 cumec
Discharge required for vegetables=320/600 = 0.553 cumec

Since sugarcane has a base period of 320 days, it will require water during
Rabi, Kharif and Hot-weather. Thus,

Discharge required in rabi = 1.552 + 0.469 = 2.021 cumec

Discharge required in kharif = 1.552 + 0.3 = 1.852 cumec
Discharge required in hot weather = 1.552+ 0.250+0.533 = 2.344 cumec
Out of the three demands the maximum demand is 2.344 cumec which is
during the Hot-weather.
The time factor is the ratio of the number of days the canal has actually run
to the number of days the canal was supposed to run. In this case time
factor is (12/20)

Discharge required at the head of the canal = 2.344x(20/12)=3.907 cumec

Design discharge = Mean discharge required/Capacity factor
= 3.907/0.8 =4.884 cumec
Problem: The gross commanded area for an irrigation canal is 20000 hectares
out of which 75% is culturable commanded area. The intensity of irrigation is 40%
for rabi and 10% for rice. If kor period is 4 weeks for rabi and 2.5 weeks for rice,
determine the outlet discharge. Outlet factors for rabi and rice may be assumed as
1800 hectares/cumec and 775 hectrares/cumec. Also calculate delta for each
crop.
Sol:

Gross commanded area = 20,000 hectares

Culturable commanded area = 20000x0.75=15000 hectares
Area to be irrigated in rabi at 40% intensity = 15000x0.4=6000 hectares
Outlet discharge=6000/1800 = 3.33 cumec

Area to be irrigated for rice at 10% intensity = 15000x0.1=1500 hectares

Outlet discharge=1500/775 = 1.94 cumec

B
  8.64 metres
D
8.64 4 7
Rabi   0.134m  134mm
1800
8.64 2.5 7
For Rice   0.195m  195mm
775
Problem: An area of 300 ha is to be irrigated from a minor channel with one outlet,
C.C.A. is 80% of total area. The intensity of irrigation is 50% for rabi crop and 30%
for kharif crop. Taking loss in conveyance system as 5% of outlet discharge,
determine the head discharge of the channel. Take outlet discharge factor for wheat
season as 1500 ha/m3/sec and for rice season 1000 ha/m3/sec.
 Sol:

Crop CCA Area under Outlet Conveyan Head

(ha) irrigation discharge ce loss discharge
(m3/s) @5% (cumec)
Rabi 300x0.8= 240x0.5=120 120/1500= 0.004 0.084
240 0.08
Kharif 240 240x0.3=72 72/1000= 0.004 0.076
0.072