Intake / Diversion

Structures
 Intake / Diversion Structure
• Definition
A hydraulic structure which takes water (controlled or uncontrolled) from the river
into the canal for irrigation purpose; for example – free / side intake, weir structures
& barrage structures

• Free Intake Structure: proportional flow diverted into a canal by constructing an

approach/side channel in the river bed, either controlled or un-controlled. Mostly use
for irrigation purpose - requires a stable river bed

• Weir Structure: a continuous solid barrier built across a river to raise u/s water level
to supply a canal / canals taking off above it and to pass over its top the excess flow.
Mostly use for irrigation purpose – suitable for un-stable river beds.

• Barrage Structure: a structure provided with a series of gates installed across a river
to raise and regulate the water surface level and flow upstream extending right across
the river with the crest of the weir at one uniform level. Also called as a gate
controlled low weir, a Regulator or Diversion Dam - opted when we need regulation
of water level on the upstream for irrigation purpose and to some extent for power
generation

• Dam: a structure built across the river to store water. Mostly used for irrigation,
supplying drinking water and power generation
Free Intake Structure
Weir Structure

Toiwar Headworks
Band-e-Sultan Dam
 Weir Structure

•expensive structures
•Usually are not designed to withstand large flood
events of long return periods, for economic
reasons
•Finite life

Question: Why we opt weirs?

 Why Weir Structure
• it provides a stable river bed level to abstract flow from the
river;
• it provides an impermeable cut-off to bed rock and drive
sub-surface flow to the surface;
• to increase the level of command by raising the water level
in the river;
• to channel perennial or flood flow towards the off take;
• to reduce the beneficiaries work load in constructing locally
made intakes / channel inlets; and
• to increase the reliability of supply.

If none of the above parameters are particularly important it may well be

possible to do away with the weir and make a considerable saving.
 Weir Option Considerations
A - Social & Economic Aspect
B - Technical Considerations
 A- Social & Economic Aspects
Whenever decisions on constructing a vital irrigation structures are taken for other
than socio-economic reasons, the result is always a failure. To avoid failure one has to
seek answer to following questions about the community

Coherence of Farming Society: some sort of farming community should be present in the
area who have strong bonds with the agricultural lands and have some system of
cooperation on tribal or traditional basis or more developed Water User’s
Associations – indicates that development is likely to be operated and well
maintained.

Will the propose structure create any Conflict: Water rights of the downstream water
users – extensive consultation with the community and the local authorities is needed
to understand the traditional water rights – water rights directly affects the design of
the main canal intake and the size of the irrigated area
The need of miscellaneous structure: Community or social structures like, foot bridge,
animal drinking structure, wuzu structure washing structures with little extra cost can
make the farmer’s life a lot easier. This helps in the sustainability of the whole scheme
as the farmers observe benefits other than availability of water for irrigation purpose
only
 B. Technical Considerations
1. Hydrological Aspect – Flood Estimation
2. Weir Location
3. Weir Configuration
4. Site Investigations
5. Construction Materials
6. Hydraulic Characteristics
7. Structural Design
 2. Weir Location
Features keep in mind during the Reconnaissance Survey for the
selection of the weir site are;

1. Command
2. Stable river
3. Floods must not by-pass the weir
4. Ownership of the site
5. Width of the weir
6. Location of the off take

Alternate site should be sought if it does not satisfy all the above
features
 Command

• Weir must be able to command the area, ie level of the off take
be higher than the top most command area level.
 Stable River
River must be stable, it must not be meandering nor must
the river bed be degrading or agrading

• Meandering; outside of the bends eroded and signs of

river banks collapsing during or following recent floods
• Degrading; gradually lowering of river bed-locals can
inform with respect to any existing structure remain
high & dry
• Agrading; gradually raising of river bed – any existing
structure being buried by the river
 Floods must not By Pass the weir
• Weir must not be positioned such that large
floods outflank the weir
• u/s marginal bunds by blocking alternate
routes – result in high costs
• Breachable bund are constructed to breach
during high flood events and relieve the main
weir- breaching section should not
undermined
 Ownership of the Site
• Weir site should belong to the beneficiaries or
to the Government
 Width of the Weir
• Width should be reasonable, nor being too narrow nor too
wide
• Narrow sites results in complex and expensive hydraulic
design. High velocities can cause the concrete surface to be
worn away
• In narrow gorge it is often difficult to find a satisfactory route
for the off take channel which will not be damaged by floods
• Wide weir are safe but Expensive.
• Narrow weir in a wide valley can often be placed by using
marginal bund to block the rest of the water way. Marginal
bunds should be adequately designed to prevent overtopping
and erosion, unless it is the intension by using a breaching
section
 Location of Offtake
• The off take from the weir must be located in such a way that
the channel can be led away from the weir without being
vulnerable to river flood flows or to being damaged by rock falls
from adjacent hills.
• If the weir is built in a gorge then it may be necessary to provide
substantial flood protection to the off take channel, or to
provide a separation wall, or even to construct a tunnel.
• If the weir is on a flood plain, then flood protection works for
the initial portion of the channel may be required
• If the weir is located on the bend of a river, the off take must be
located on the outside of the bend
• Off takes set on the outside of bends tend to remain clear,
whilst those sited on the inside of bends tend to silt up
 3. Weir Configuration
• Weir Width
• Perennial Irrigation Weir
• Flood Irrigation Weir
• Weir Shape
 Weir Width
• Lacey’s Regime Flow;
P = 4.75*Q0.5; where, Q = discharge in cumec
• Estimate of maximum level which the water can back
up and the height of the abutments. A height of 3m
above weir is often considered maximum desirable. Or
maximum flow intensity 11.1cumec/m
• Desirable width = between above two
• If Rivers are naturally constrained by rocks then river
width should be taken as weir width. Hydraulic
conditions will be difficult and expensive to design due
to high flow intensity
 Perennial Irrigation Weirs
Three main components

1. A main weir across the river

2. A gated off take
3. A scour sluice
• Main weir site across the river must be designed to take the full force of
the flood flow. Usually designed to withstand 1 in 50 yrs or 1 in 100 hrs
floods, exact design based on the economic criteria
• Off take should be gated to be closed during floods to control silt entry
into the canal. Level of the off take should be sufficient below the main
weir crest level so that full design flow to enter the off take and should
maintain a 15cm freeboard to the crest of the weir. Off take level should
be higher than the invert level of the scour sluice
• Sluices are provided to ensure that following the flood event, the
perennial flow re-established in front of the off take. For effective
operation width of the sluice should be 10% of the weir width. Generally
suggested to design scour sluice to take 5 to 10% of the design flood.
Invert of the sluice should be 0.5 to 0.6 m below the crest of weir. Sluice
should be gated and the gates should be closed after the flood event
Typical Perennial Irrigation Weir
 Flood Irrigation Weir
Two main components

1. A main weir across the river

2. A combination of scour sluice, silt ejector and off take channel

• Most frequent causes of failure is the silting up of the delivery

channels
• Life and effectiveness can be improved by sound design of the
offtake/sluice channel and incorporation of silt excluder
• 75% of the silt entering can be reduced through this model
tested arrangement
• 33% of the off take flow is required for sluicing
Model Tested Flood Irrigation Weir
 Weir Shape
Cross sectional shape of the weir has to be decided from a combination of
hydraulic and structural conditions. Four commonly used shapes are;

•Ogee crested weir; high coefficient of discharge, difficult to construct

•Vertical drop weir; simple to construct - but wall sections result in a thicker
section for small unit discharge - vertical drop on the downstream face has the
advantage that river boulders may safely discharge over the weir without
impacting and damaging the weir, however, dissipating the energy of flow safely
is often problematic. Stilling basins may be badly damaged by impacting
boulders.

•Steep glacis weir

•Shallow glacis weir: Sloping glacis weirs have the inherent advantage of
stability. On rivers subject to high velocity flows carrying boulders, weirs be
made as low as possible and a shallow glacis weir would best transport boulders
safely over the weir. Glacis weirs with an upstream slope of 1V : 1H and a
downstream slope of 1V : 2H or 1V : 1.5H may generally be adopted
 4. Site Investigation
• Topographic Survey
• Geotechnical Investigation
• Construction Material Survey
 Topographic Survey
• Area should be properly defined before commencing survey works
• Engineer’s should define the scheme components first and then send the
surveyors
• Proper appraisal of the scheme should be undertaken before survey works
• Appraisal should involve discussions with the beneficiaries on the location of
the scheme and in particular the areas to be commanded
• Bench Mark Establishment, clearly marked on the ground and on drawings
• Plan is contoured with 0.6m contour interval
• All physical details must be shown, including any major features in the river
• River banks must be shown and contoured
• River bed must be surveyed at weir site and sections must be taken at
regular intervals both u/s and d/s to assess maximum flood level
• Level of any trash marks should be carefully noted for flood estimation
 GeoTechnical Survey
These investigations are often required at and around
weir site to determine;

• depth of bed rock; to determine cutoff depth- if close then

profile of the rock surface to found the weir directly on
• Depth of water table
• Amount, if any, of sub-surface flow
• Grading and type of material the weir is to be founded upon,
together with the allowable bearing pressure
 Construction Material Survey
Available material should be considered in the design of the weir
in order to control the cost of the structure

Presence of following construction material should be checked

during the survey

• Sand or fine aggregate for concrete

• Gravel or coarse aggregate for concrete
• Stone for masonry construction
• Water for concrete and compaction of Embankment
• Aggregate and material for filter layers should be tested for
grading, strength and shape for the intended use
 5. Construction Materials
Construction material for weir and abutment is usually limited
to concrete, plain or reinforced, stone masonry and gabions.
Common types of weir are;

• Reinforced Concrete Weir: strongest and expensive – best used where, due
to poor foundation conditions or other reason, the weight of the material in
the weir has to be limited- thinner sections are adopted
• Un-reinforced Concrete Weir: good in creating weight against the uplift or
overturning moments
• Masonry weirs: strong advantage is resistance against abrasion
• Gabion weir: maximum flow intensity should not be more than 5 cumec/m –
comparatively less in cost but needs high maintenance – not suitable for
aggressive rivers with high flow velocity carrying boulders
 6. Hydraulic Characteristics
Deals with various criteria which need to be assessed to
ensure that flood flows will safely pass over a weir without
substantial damage, and the problem of flows passing beneath
weirs constructed on permeable foundations
 Weir Design Steps
1. Available Field Data for Design; Flood flows, required flow to be diverted,
command level required, river details (width, slope, sides, river bed level,
type of reach), River bed material (type, bulk density, cohesion, shear
resistance, soil grading D85, D50 & D15), roughness coefficient, depth of
impermeable layer, depth of water
2. Selection of the Width of Weir
3. Selection of width of Scour Sluice
4. Selection of weir shape
5. Selection of weir levels
6. Flow over the weir and through Orifice
1. Q = 1.7 Cd b h11.5
2. Q = Cd Cv A 2g(h1 –  a) [in metric units]
7. Stage discharge relationship to check the free board
8. Stilling basin design of weir, sluice and head regulator
9. Scour depth calculation
10. Exit Gradient
11. Creep length
12. Uplift pressure and floor thickness
13. Downstream protection
 7. Structural Design
Structural design provides appropriate
concrete thickness and reinforcement steel
patterns for structural members to resist
bending moment, thrust and shear stresses
imposed by loads on the structure
 Forces Acting on Weir
• Static water pressure on weir
• Uplift water pressure
• Soil reaction at the weir base
• Friction forces at the base which develop to
balance the horizontal forces
• Weight of the weir and water wedges
• Seismic considerations
Forces Acting on Weir
 General Condition of Stability
For a structure to remain stable following conditions must be
fulfilled

• Summation of all moments about a point must be equal to

zero
• Summation of all horizontal forces must be equal to zero
• Summation of all vertical forces must be equal to zero

Factor of Safety:
Unpredictable situations are likely to occur to cause the
toppling moment to exceed the balancing one and hence the
structure fails. Usually a factor of Safety of about 1.5 to 2 is
applied, in some cases up to 3 is applied
 Hydraulic Design of an Intake
K-211 Zarin Canal Intake Site-1.xls