3/13/2019

7. Drainage of Irrigated Lands

Sources/Cause of water logging

• Over and intensive irrigation:
– When irrigated maximum irrigable area of a small region leads
to, too much irrigation resulting in heavy percolation and
subsequent rise of water table.
• Seepage of water from the adjoining of high lands:
– Water from adjoining high lands may seep into the sub-soil of
the affected land and may rise the water table.
• Seepage of water through canals or reservoirs
– Seepage through bed and sides- situated at a higher level than
the affected land- resulting in high water table.
• Existence of impervious obstruction
– Water seeping below the soil moves vertically/laterally, if it finds
an impervious obstruction- causes the rise of water table on the
up stream.

1
 3/13/2019

• Inadequate natural drainage

– Soil having less permeable sub-stratum (clay) below
top layers of pervious soils will not able to drain the
water deep into the ground- resulting in high water
table.
• Inadequate surface drainage
– If proper drainage is not provided, the water will
constantly percolate and will raise the water table.
• Excessive rains
– Rainfall may create temporary water-logging and in
absence of good drainage-may lead to continued
water logging.

• Submergence due to flood

– If continuously submerged by floods:
– Water loving plants, weeds obstruct the natural
surface drainage – increases the chances of water
logging.
– Seepage and percolation increases the water table.
• Irregular flat topography
– In steep terrain- water is drained quickly but in flat or
irregular terrain having depressions drainage is very
poor.

2
 3/13/2019

Drainage
• Drainage is a reverse process of irrigation.
• It is broadly defined as the removal (disposal) of excess
water from a land (usually agricultural land).
• The terms ‘drainage’, ‘land drainage’, ‘agricultural
drainage’ and ‘field drainage’ are used as synonyms in
practice.
• a precise definition of drainage has been given by the
constitution of the International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage (ICID, 1979).
• According to ICID (1979), land drainage is defined as
“the removal of excess surface and subsurface water
from the land to enhance crop growth, including the
removal of soluble salts from the soil”.

Need of drainage
• When rain or irrigation continues, pools may
form on the soil surface.
• Part of the water present in the saturated
upper soil layers flows downward into deeper
layers and is replaced by water infiltrating
from the surface pools.
• When there is no more water left on the soil
surface, the downward flow continues for a
while and air re-enters in the pores of the soil.
• This soil is not saturated anymore.

3
 3/13/2019

• However, saturation may have lasted too long for

the plants' health.
• Plant roots require air as well as water and most
plants cannot withstand saturated soil for long
periods (rice is an exception).
• Besides damage to the crop, a very wet soil
makes the use of machinery difficult, if not
impossible.
• The water flowing from the saturated soil
downward to deeper layers, feeds the
groundwater reservoir.

• As a result, the groundwater level rises.

• Following heavy rainfall or continuous over-
irrigation, the groundwater table may even
reach and saturate part of the root-zone.
• Again, if this situation lasts too long, the
plants may suffer.
• Measures to control the rise of the water table
are thus necessary.

4
 3/13/2019

• In very dry areas there is often accumulation of

salts in the soil.
• Salts can be washed out by percolating irrigation
water through the root-zone of the crops.
• To achieve sufficient percolation, farmers will
apply more water to the field than the crops
need.
• But the salty percolation water will cause the
water table to rise.
• Drainage to control the water table, therefore,
also serves to control the salinity of the soil.

Drainage requirement of crop

• The drainage requirement is the amount of
water that must be removed from an area
within a certain period so as to avoid an
unacceptable rise in the levels of ground
water or surface water.

5
 3/13/2019

Drainage coefficient
• The drainage coefficient is defined as the
depth of water in cm (or inches) to be
removed in 24 hours period from the entire
drainage area.
• It is also expressed as the flow rate per unit
area (cumec/sq. km).

# A watershed of 1500 ha is discharging through

a drain at an average rate of 2.5 cumec.
Calculate the drainage coefficient. If the
drainage coefficient should be 3 cm what
should be the discharge through drain?

6
 3/13/2019

Solution:
Discharge in 24 hrs = 2.5x24x60x60=216000 m3
Drainage coefficient =216000/(1500x10000)
=1.44 cm.
If the drainage coefficient is 3 cm,
Discharge coefficient=Discharge in 24 hrs/Area
Or, (3/100) = Qx24x60x60/(1500x10000)
• Q=5.21 cumec (m3/s)

Types of drainage system

• Three most commonly used techniques for
removing excess water are:
(a) surface drainage,
(b) subsurface drainage, and
(c) vertical drainage (also known as ‘tubewell
drainage’).
• Besides these conventional drainage
techniques, there is an emerging non-
conventional drainage technique known as
bio-drainage.

7
 3/13/2019

Surface Drainage system

• “Surface drainage is the removal of excess water
from the soil surface in time to prevent damage
to crops and to keep water from ponding on the
soil surface, or, in surface drains that are crossed
by farm equipment, without causing soil erosion”.
(ASAE, 1979)
• Surface drainage problems occur in flat or nearly
flat areas, in the areas having uneven land
surfaces with depressions or ridges preventing
natural runoff, and in the areas where there is no
outlet.

8
 3/13/2019

• Surface drainage is the removal of excess

water from the surface of the land.
• This is normally accomplished by shallow
ditches, also called open drains.
• The shallow ditches discharge into larger and
deeper collector drains.
• In order to facilitate the flow of excess water
toward the drains, the field is given an
artificial slope by means of land grading.

1. Random Field Drain System

• Random field drains are best suited to the drainage of
scattered depressions or potholes where the depth of
cut is not more than 1 m.
• The design of field drains is similar to the design of
grass waterways.
• The depth is determined primarily by the topography
of the area, outlet conditions, and capacity of the
channel.
• The grade in the channel should be such that the
velocity does not cause erosion or sedimentation.
• Since most field crops are able to withstand inundation
for only a short period without damage, it is desirable
to remove surface water within 12 to 24 hours.

9
 3/13/2019

Fig.: Random Field Drain System.

2. Bedding Field Drain System

• Bedding is a method of surface drainage
consisting of narrow-width plow lands in which
the dead furrows run parallel to the prevailing
land slope.
• The area between two adjacent dead furrows is
known as a bed.
• Bedding is most practicable on flat slopes less
than 1.5%, where the soils are slowly permeable
and pipe drainage is not economical.

10
 3/13/2019

Fig.: Bedding Field Drain System

• The depth and width of the bed depend on

land slope, drainage characteristics of the soil,
and cropping system.
• The length of the beds may vary from 90 to
300 m.
• Tillage practices parallel to the beds have a
tendency to retard water movement to the
dead furrows. Plowing is always parallel to the
dead furrows.

11
 3/13/2019

3. Parallel Field Drain System

• Parallel field drains are similar to bedding
except that the channels are spaced farther
apart and may have a greater capacity than
the dead furrows.
• This system is well adapted to flat, poorly
drained soils with numerous small depressions
that must be filled by land grading.

Fig.: Parallel Field Drain System

12
 3/13/2019

4. Parallel Lateral Ditch System

• The parallel lateral ditch system is similar to the
field drain system except that the ditches are
deeper.
• These drains cannot be crossed with farm
machinery.
• For clarity, the minimum size for open ditches is
0.3 m deep and side slopes are steeper than 6:1.
• The purpose of lateral open ditches is to control
the water table and to provide surface drainage.
• For the same depth to water table, ditches
provide the same degree of surface drainage as
pipe drains.

Fig.: Parallel Lateral Ditch System.

13
 3/13/2019

• Since these ditches are too deep to cross with

farm machinery, farming operations must be
parallel to the ditches.

5. Cross slope ditch system (Terracing

or contour farming)
• When the slope is steeper i.e., >8-10%
• Topography is altered

14
 3/13/2019

Interception method
• Interception drainage is used to intercept
surface and subsurface water.

Diversion method
• In the hilly areas agricultural field is located at the
foot of the hill
• The rainwater flows from the hills to the field in
the rainy season.
• When rainwater flow excessively, there is danger
of damage to the field which are at the foot of
the hill.
• There is necessity to stop rainwater flowing to
the field so as to prevent damage to the crop and
also to stop this rainwater from going waste.

15
 3/13/2019

• Which controlled by constructing diversion

canals across the slope at the foot of hill and
divert this drain to natural drains or to water
tanks or ponds.
• It protects the field and controls the erosion
also.

16
 3/13/2019

Sub surface drainage methods

• Subsurface drainage is defined as ‘the removal of
excess soil water in time to prevent damage to crops
because of a high water table’.
• Subsurface drainage problems occur in the areas
having shallow water table (e.g., canal commands),
which occurs due to substantial groundwater recharge
and sluggish subsurface outflow.
• Subsurface field drains can be either open ditches or
pipe drains, but nowadays they are mostly pipe drains.
• Excess groundwater enters the perforated field drains
and flows by gravity to an open or closed collector
drain.

Singular and Composite Drainage

Systems
• In a singular pipe drainage system, each field
pipe drain discharges into an open collector
drain.
• In a composite pipe drainage system, the field
pipe drains discharge into a pipe collector,
which in turn discharges into an open main
drain.
• The collector system itself may be composite
with sub-collectors and a main collector.

17
 3/13/2019

Types of subsurface drainage

1. Relief subsurface drains
– Open ditches
– Buried ditches
– Random subsurface drains
– Herringbone system
– Double main system
2. Interception Subsurface drains
3. Special subsurface drains

Random System
• The layout of a pipe drainage system is called a
‘random system’ when only scattered wet spots
of an area need to be drained, often as a
composite system.
• A regular pattern can be installed if the pipe
drainage network uniformly covers the project
area.
• Such a regular pattern can either be a ‘parallel
grid system’ wherein the field drains join the
collector at right angles, or a ‘herringbone
system’ wherein they join at sharp angles.

18
 3/13/2019

Fig. : Different layout patterns for a composite pipe drainage system: (A) Random system;
(B) Parallel grid system; and (C) Herringbone system.(Source: Cavelaars et al., 1994)

• However, in irrigated areas with a rather complex

infrastructure of roads, irrigation canals, and small farm
plots , composite systems are generally preferred.
• Open collector drains can interfere too much.
• Singular systems with open collector drains are feasible in
the areas where the infrastructure has been fully
remodelled under a land consolidation scheme, or in newly
reclaimed areas.
• Such considerations have led to a general practice of
selecting singular systems in the flat areas of temperate
climates and, occasionally, in the irrigated land of arid
regions, whereas composite systems are selected in sloping
land and, commonly, in the irrigated land of arid regions.

19
 3/13/2019

Natural system

20
 3/13/2019

2. Interception subsurface drains

3. Special Subsurface drains

1. Relief well (vertical drainage):

21
 3/13/2019

2. Mole Drains

3. Combination drains
• More than one type of drains
• Combination of surface and surface drainage

22
 3/13/2019

Hooghoudt’s expression fro subsurface

drains
• Applicable for homogeneous soils with an
impervious layers below.
• Darcy’s law is applicable.
• Derive equation.

23
 3/13/2019

Design of Surface drainage Channel

• They are designed as trapezoidal channel
• Generally by applying the rational method
• Peak discharge, Qp=CiA
• Where,
C=runoff coefficient, runoff/rainfall, depends upon the
land use pattern of the basin, slope, soil type, etc.
i=rainfall intensity for a duration tp=tc
where, tc=time of concentration=longest travel time to
reach the outlet.

tc= 0.0195 K0.77 (in minutes)

K=L/√S
S=H/L
L=maximum length of drainage channel in the
basin, m
H=height difference corresponding to L, m

Q=Qp=AR2/3S1/2/n

24
 3/13/2019

# Estimate the peak rate of runoff for a 25 year

return period form a forest area with 5 to 10%
of slope consisting of clay and silty loam soil
for which the runoff coefficient is 0.35. The
maximum length of flow is 1000 m and the
difference in elevation between the most
remote point and the outlet is 58m. The
rainfall intensity for 25 year return period and
for a duration equal to time of concentration
may be obtained from the following table
Rainfall duration (min) 5 10 15 20 30
Rainfall intensity (cm/hr) 12 7 5.5 4.8 4

Solution
A=50 ha
C=0.35
L=1000m
H=58 m
Slope=H/L=58/1000=0.058
K=L/√S=1000/√0.058=4152.27
Time of concentration=0.0195xK0.77
=0.0195x4152.270.77
=11.92 minutes
From table, i=6.424 cm/hr (by interpolation)
Qp=0.35x(6.424/100)x50x10000/3600=3.12 m3/s

25
 3/13/2019

# for an irrigated land compute the approximate

depth of placement of the drains if the
spacing is 55 m. allowable WT height is 0.3 m
above the centre of the drains. Tests indicate a
hydraulic conductivity of 0.5- m/day above an
impervious layer at a depth of 6.7 m. the
access irrigation rate is equivalent to a
drainage coefficient of 1.2 mm/day.

26
 3/13/2019

• Refer: Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic

Structure by SK Garg (for examples)

27