Control and training of rivers or River Engineering Works

River training , its wider aspects , covers all those engineering

works which are constructed on a river, so as to guide and confine
the flow to the river channel, and to control and regulate the river
bed configuration , thus ensuring safe and effective disposal of
floods and sediment loads.
Objectives of river training :
•To prevent the river from changing its course and to avoid out
flanking of structures like bridges , weirs, aqueducts,
•To prevent flooding of the surrounding land providing a safe
passage for the waters without overtopping the banks.
•To protect the river banks by deflecting the river away from the
attacked banks.
•To ensure effective disposal of sediment load.
•To provide minimum water depth required for navigation
 Classification of river training
River training works may be classified depending up on the purpose for which a
river training programme is under taken. The river training works may be
classified in to the following three categories :
•High water training or training for discharge: This type of river training work is
under taken with the primary purpose flood control. Such type of river training
work aims of providing sufficient river cross section for safe passage of maximum
flood and is covered with making the adjoining area flood proof by construction
of dykes or levees etc.
•Low water training or training for depth: Low water training is undertaken with
the primary purpose of providing sufficient water depth in navigable channels
during low water periods. It may be accomplished by concentrating and
enhancing the flow in the desired channel by closing other channels, by the
process of bandalling , by contracting the width of the channel with the help of
groynes etc.
•Mean water training or training for sediment: Mean water training aims at
efficient disposal of suspended load and bed load and thus to preserve the
channel in good shape.
The following are generally adopted methods for
training rivers including bank protection:
•Marginal embankments or Levees
•Guide banks
•Groynes or spurs
•Artificial cut-offs.
•Pitching of banks and provision of launching aprons
•Pitched islands
•Miscellaneous methods, such as sills, bandalling
etc.
 River Training and Behavior of Rivers
The chief aim of river training is to achieve ultimate stability of the
river with the aid of river training measures.

The stability of a river does not mean that changes like scouring and
silting of bed, advancement of delta in to the sea etc. will not take
place. It only means, that the river attains an equilibrium stage, and
no significant change occurs in its alignment, slope, regime, etc.

The regime may change within a year but shows little variation from
year to year.
A river adjusts its alignment, perimeter, area, slope etc with respect
to the discharge and sediment load, either by aggrading, meandering
or by degrading. Aggrading and meandering is one and the same
thing except that aggrading is the initial stage and meandering is the
final stage.
How does a river behave on a straight reach and on a bend?
The chief factors which is responsible for determining the behavior of
rivers is the silt and sediment that flows in the river.
The sediment carried by the rivers poses numerous problems, such as :

•Increasing of flood levels

•Silting of reservoirs
•Silting of irrigation and navigation channels
•Meandering of rivers
•Splitting up of a river in to a number of interlaced channels,
etc.
Bends: Every alluvial river tends to develop bends, which
are characterized by scouring on concave side and silting
on the convex side as shown in Figure:

The silting and scouring in a bend may continue due to the

action of centrifugal force.
Causes of Meandering
 Causes of Meandering

Problems associated with meandering

Factors governing the meandering parameters:
A large data on sub-continental rivers was collected by a
scientist named Jefferson and analyzed by Inglish, on
the basis of which, the following tentative relationship
between different parameters were obtained by them:
DOMINANT DISCHARGE OF A RIVER
CUTOFF
CUT-OFF RATIO
 Design Consideration
Their sections should be designed in such a way as to
keep the seepage gradient inside the body of the
embankment by at least one meter from below the top
surface of the embankment.

The normal value of usually adopted seepage gradient

varies between 4:1 to 6:1 (i.e. H : V) depending up on
the character of the soil which may necessitate river side
slope varying between 2:1 to 5:1, land side slope
between 2:1 to 7:1, and top width between 2.5 to 10 m.
The top level of the levee should be decided by leaving a
sufficient freeboard varying between 0.3 to 1.5 m above
the high flood level.
Hydraulics In an undyked river

Hydraulics In a dyked river

 SPURS or GROYNES
Groynes are the embankment type structures, constructed
transverse to the river flow, extending from the bank in to the
river. That is why, they may also be called “Transverse Dykes”.
They are constructed, in order to protect the bank from which
they are extended, by deflecting the current away from the bank.
Alignment of groynes
 Types of groynes
Based up on their materials of construction, the groynes
may be divided in to two types, namely:
1. Impermeable groynes and
2. Permeable groynes
Besides, there are other types of groynes like:
T-shaped groynes: T-shaped groyne is a special type of
groyne provided with an extra cross groyne at the head
giving it a T-shape. The cross groyne protects the main
groyne on the same principles as the main groyne saves
the bank.
The longer arm (ab) of the T is provided on the
upstream, and the short one (bc), on the downstream as
shown in figure.
These groynes are usually
spaced at about 800 meters
apart
Hockey-shaped groynes: These groynes are shaped like a hockey
stick at their lower end as shown in figure:

These groynes exert an attracting type of

influence on the flow and hence are not
useful for bank protection for repelling
the current away from it.

Concluding Remarks: It is strongly suggested that the groynes should

be constructed after model studies. Their design is not much
amenable to theoretical investigation and has to be checked and
tested with model studies.

A series of groynes may be useful for general deflection of the River,

a single groyne placed suitably may best serve the purpose of
controlling a river at a certain work-site.
 Artificial Cut-off
When a meander goes on increasing and may endanger some valuable
land or property, then the river course may be straightened by inducing
an artificially or excavated small channel which is known as an artificial
cut off.

The newly developed course will be far away from the establishments
which otherwise would have been affected.

For inducing an artificial cut off, only a pilot channel is required to be

excavated in case of rivers having easily erodible beds. The flood water
will gradually enlarge the pilot cut to the required cross-section and will
abandon the old curved channel.

The pilot cut should be made as deep as possible. As tractive force is

directly proportional to depth, a deeper cut would be helpful for rapid
development. The width of the cut is relatively less important and is
governed by the minimum working space required for the excavating
machines, etc.
GUIDE BANKS
Importance of Guide Banks