River stages and need of river training

A river originates from mountain and reaches the sea. If passes through various stages as
explained below:
• Rocky or incised stage
• Boulder stage
• Alluvial stage
 Aggrading
 Degrading
 Stable
 Braided
 Meandering
• Deltaic stage
• Tidal stage
Estuary (the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream.)
Rocky or incised stage
• First stage and river takes from mountain and hilly region.
• Flow channel is formed by the process of degradation
• Bed slope of River reaches are highly steep 1:100 to 1:500 and flow velocity is also very high
• Ideal stage for dam construction
• Water is clear
Boulder stage
• Second stage and river flows from rock to boulder
• River in this stage consists of mixture of boulders, gravels and sand deposits
• Bed slope is steep but less than rocky stage i.e. 1:500 to 1:1000.
• Rivers have straighter courses.
Trough stage
Delta stage
• Also known as alluvial river
• River, before joining sea gets divided into
• Bed slope is flatter 1:1000 to 1:2000 branches forming triangular shaped delta
• Most suitable location of Headworks • The velocity of rivers approaching sea gets
River in flood plains are further classified as: reduced
Aggrading (Deposition in river bed) • Channel gets silted and water level rises
Degrading (Erosion of river bed) forming new channel branches
Stable (neither silting nor scouring) • The branches multiply in number as river
Braided (forms many branches within channel approaches sea
network) Tidal stage
Meandering
• Tail reaches of river adjoining the sea are
affected by the tides
• The sea and ocean water enters the river
during flood tide and goes out during low
tide
• The periodic rise and fall in water level takes
place
River training works:
• Structure constructed in the river so as to guide and regulate the flow of a river in a desired way
• River training work is generally required when the river is meandering type.
• Meandering occurs due to scouring on concave face and silting on convex face.
• Meandering of river occurs due to dominant discharge (1/2 to 2/3 of peak discharge)
Meander length: Axial length of one meander
Meander Width/Belt: Distance between outer edge of loop
Meander Ratio: Ratio of meander width to meander length
Sinuosity: Ratio of actual length to straight length of river
• It’s value is always greater than 1
Turtuosity: It measures degree of sinuosity.(greater than 1)
Types of river training works
High water training or training for discharge
• The primary purpose is to control flood
• Flood is controlled by providing sufficient river cross section for safe passage of
maximum flood
• E.g marginal bund
Low water training or training for depth
• The primary purpose is to provide sufficient water depth for navigation
• E.g groynes, bandalling
Mean water training or training for sediment
• The primary purpose is to efficiently dispose suspended and bed load and preserve the
channel geometry
• Example: Check dams
 Methods of river training
1. Marginal embankments or leeves
• Earthen embankments running parallel to the rivers at some distance from it that confines the flood
water within given cross section and prevent it from spreading into the nearby lands
• May be constructed on both sides of river or only one depending upon topography
2. Guide banks or guide bunds
• Structures constructed to give direction to river.
• Also called as Bell bund.
6.4 Components of guide bank and their design
Waterway
The clear waterway is given by Lacey’s regime
equation.
𝑃 = 4.75 𝑄
This value is increased by 20 % extra for pier thickness)
Length of guide bank
(Recommended by Gale)
Total length of guide Bank u/s
= 1.25 L for Q up to 20,000 cumecs
=1.50 L for Q > 20,000 cumecs
Length of guide bank d/s
= 0.25 L
Where, L= length of structure
Radius of curve head of guide bank (u/s and d/s)Launching apron
Generally, Radius R for u/s head = 0.45L When the slope is protected against scouring, pitching is
Radius of d/s head is kept to one half extended beyond the toe of bed in the form of packed
stones known as Launching apron.
of the d/s head radius = 0.225 L
Shank portion
Straight portion of guide bank is called shank.
Cross Section of bund
The top width of the guide bank should not be less
than 4 m.
Side slope should not be steeper than 2:1.
Minimum free board of 1.2 to 1.5 m is generally
provided.
Slope protection (Stone pitching)
• Side slope of guide bank is pitched with stone
Thickness of stone pitching is calculated as:
𝑡 = 0.06𝑄1/3 (𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝐼 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡)
Design considerations,
Width of the launching apron = 1.5*Scour depth (D)
Where, scour depth = x* Lacey’s Scour depth=x*Rr’
’
𝑄 1
R = Rr = 0.473( )3
𝑓
Location Values of x,
Noses of guide bank 2.25
Transitions from nose to straight part 1.5
Straight 1.25
Note: Scour depth is measured from water surface level

So, scour depth below original ground level (D)=x*R-water depth about bed(y)
Also, thickness of unlaunched apron is given by (T)= 1.9t
3.Spurs or groyne
- Structures constructed transverse to the direction of river flow
- Also called transverse dykes
- Main function is bank protection
- Generally designed for 50 year return period flood.
Depending upon the function spurs are classified as:
a.Normal spur/Deflecting spur:
• Spur perpendicular to the direction of flow
• Mostly used spur in Nepal
b. Attracting spur:
• Spur at acute angle to the direction of flow
• Points downstream (450 to 600)
• Attracting spurs are generally not preferred.
c. Repelling spur:
• Spur at obtuse angle to the direction of flow
• Points upstream (600 to 800)
• They are more effective than attracting spurs
Some other spurs are:
Deheny’s spur: T-shaped spur
Hockey Groynes: Curve shaped groynes
Permeable spur: Allows Significant flow through
them
Impermeable spur: Do not allow significant flow
through them
4 Artificial cutoff
-Meandering river attains straight reach by means
of cutoff
-May be developed by itself or artificially induced
-Meandering increases length of river whereas
cutoff decreases length of river
5. Pitched Island:
• Pitched island is an artificially created island in the river bed.
• It is protected by stone pitching from all sides.
6. Bandalling
• It is one of the method of confining low water in a river to increase its depth.
• Bandalling is the frame of bamboos driven into the soil and kept at certain angle to flow
direction to decrease the channel width and increase the depth

Fig. Bandalling
 Watershed Management
• Watershed management can be defined as the process of water and landuse management to improve
the quality of the water and other natural resources within the watershed by managing the use of
those land and water resources in an effective way.
• Main objective of watershed management is the efficient use of all available resources.

Factors affecting watershed management:

Principles/objectives of watershed management:
• Topography
• Conservation of soil, plant and water resources of the
watershed. • Area
• Utilization of land • Shape
• Erosion control • Landuse
• Flood control • Soil type
• Efficient drainage of excess water • Climate
• Groundwater recharge
 Water logging
• Rise of water table to top by saturating root zone of plant is Effects of water logging
called as water logging
• Ill aeration is reached
• A cultivate land is called water logged if its productivity
decreases due to rise in water table. • Reduced in soil temperature
• In fact productivity decreases when root zone of plant becomes • Salinity of soil occurs
ill-aerated (pores are filled with water replacing oxygen).
• Growth of weeds
• Area up to 2 m below G.L is considered as prone to water
logging. • Plant Disease
• Area 2 m to 3 m below G.L is at risk of water logging. • permanent wilting of plant
Causes of water logging preventive measure
• Over and intensive irrigation • Reducing intensity of irrigation
• Seepage of water through adjoining high lands • Adopting crop rotation
• Seepage of water through the canals
• Optimum use of water
• Excessive rains
• High intensity of irrigation
• Providing good drainage system
• Inadequate drainage • Ling of the canal and water course
• Irregular or flat topography • Introduction of lift irrigation
• Impervious obstruction
Salinity of soil
• The process of increasing the salt concentration of soil is called as salinity of soil.
• The harmful salts are:
a)Sodium carbonate
High concentration and very harmful.
Also called as black alkali
a)Sodium chloride
b)Sodium sulphate
• Maximum permissible salt concentration for crop production is 2000 ppm
• Maximum permissible boron concentration for crop production is 2 ppm
Effloresence
• The formation of white patches on ground surface after evaporation of water form water
containing salts that comes up during water logging is called as efflorescence.
Reclamation of soil: It is the process by which an unfit land is made fit for cultivation.
Leaching: It is the process by which the soil is made free from salts by washing it off with
water.
• Generally gypsum (caso4) is added as soil amendment for alkaline soil.
• Limestone (caco3) is added as soil amendment for acidic soil.
Drainage
• Process of removing and controlling excess water either on the surface soil or in the root zone
beneath the soil is called as drainage.
Type of drainage system
1. Surface drainage system: Also called as open drainage system
The removal of excess water falling on the field or the excess irrigation water applied to the field,
by constructing open ditches fields drain, and other related structure is called surface drainage.
There are two types of surface drainage system.
a) Shallow drainage system
• To remove the excess irrigation water collected in depressions in the field as well as rain water
• Trapezoidal in shape
• Manning’s formula used in the design of shallow surface drainage.
b) Deep drainage system
• Relatively deeper than shallow surface drain
• Dug up to the level of ground water table
• These drains are designed to carry discharge form shallow drain as well as seepage coming
from underground tile drainage.
Design consideration of surface drainage
There are different assumptions in designing the drainage system in Terai and Hilly region.
1. Assumptions in Terai Region:
• Rainfall with return period of 5 to 10 years should be considered.
• Initial water level in the field = 40mm
• Maximum allowable water level = 300mm which remains for 24 hours
• Depth in excess of 200mm may remain for 3 days
• Evaporation and transpiration is neglected
• Irrigation inflows are neglected.
2. Assumptions in Hilly Region:
• Rainfall with return period of 5 to 10 years is considered.
• Initial water level in the field = 40mm
• Maximum of 100 mm depth of water is allowed for 1 day
• Evaporation and transpiration loss are neglected.
• Irrigation flows are neglected.
2. Sub-surface drainage system: Depth of tile drains
Sub surface drainage is obtained by reducing the • For most plants the top point of WT must be
ground water table by constructing structures at least 1.0 to 1.5m below the GL
underground.
• Tile drains are widely used. • The tile drains is placed at 0.3m below the
• Laid at longitudinal slope of 0.05% to 3 % desired highest level of WT
• Minimum size of tile drainage is 10 cm to 15 cm • The depth of tile drainage is given by
Advantages 4𝑘 (𝑏2 − 𝑎2 )
• Reduction in water logging S=
𝑞
• Increases air circulation Where k is coefficient of permeability
• Reduces soil erosion q is discharge per unit length
• Removes toxic substances

Drainage Coefficient:
• The rate at which water is removed by the drain is called as drainage coefficient.
• It is expressed in depth of water cm, m per day from the drainage area.
 Depth and spacing of drain pipes
Y
Ground level

Ground water table

1 to 1.5 m generally
Depth of the New water table
drain (D)

0.3 m

y b
x
a

X
s/2 Impervious strata
s s