Canal Irrigation

A canal is an artificial channel, generally

trapezoidal in shape constructed on the ground
to carry water to the fields either from the river
or reservoir for various purposes.

Classification of Canals :
(A) Classification based on the nature of source of supply.
(B) Classification based on financial output.
(C) Classification based on the function of the canal.
(D) Classification based on canal surface boundary.
(E) Classification based on the discharge and its relative
importance in a given network of canals.
(F) Classification based on canal alignment.

Classification Based on the Nature of Source of

Supply :
Permanent canal
it is fed by a permanent source
of supply through out the year.
It has permanent masonry
work of regulation and
distribution of supplies.
When the sources are an ice
fed Perennial River
then
called as Perennial canal.

Inundation canal
Also called as Temporary
canal.
Draw their supplies form rivers
whenever there is a high stage
in the river. That means carries
water in the rainy season.
They are provided with a canal
head regulator, which may
change according to river
course pattern.

Classification Based on Financial Output :

PRODUCTIVE CANAL

Productive canals are those

which yield net revenue to
the nation after full
development of irrigation
in the area.

It must be maintain
minimum
rate
of
return(about 6% to 8%).

Entire cost must be return

in 12 to 16 years.

PROTECTIVE CANAL

Protective canal is a sort of

relief work constructed with
the idea of protecting a
particular area from famine.

Classification Based on the Function of the Canal :

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE

FUNCTION OF CANAL
Irrigation canal

Carries water for

agricultural field

Carrier canal

Carries water for

another canal

Feeder canal

Feeding two or
more canal

Navigation canal

It provide for
inland
navigation. Small
ships and
steamers can ply.

Power canal

It carrying water
for hydropower
generation. A
power called as
hydel power.

Water supply
canal

Multipurpose
canal

It serves two or
For drinking and
more purpose,
industrial
such as irrigation,
purpose.
water supply etc.

Irrigation canal :

Feeder canal :

Carrier canal :

Navigation canal :

Classification Based on Canal Surface :

Classification
Based on
Canal Surface

Alluvial canals

Non-alluvial
canals

LINED CANAL

This canal has lined surface

with an impervious material on
its bed and sides to prevent the
seepage of water.
High velocity can be permitted
Cross sectional area is less.
Initial cost is high.

Rigid boundary
canals

UNLINED CANAL

This canal has the surface of

natural material through which
it is constructed and it is not
provided lining on its surface.
Seepage losses are large.
Subdivided in two parts
Alluvial canal
Non alluvial canal

Lined Canal

Unlined Canal

Classification Based on the Discharge :

CLASSIFICATION
BASED ON THE
DISCHARGE

Main canal

Branch canal

Major distributary

Minor distributary

Water course

Carries water directly

from the river.. It is used
to feed supplies to
branch canal and major
distributaries. Doesnt
use for irrigation .

It is branches of the
main canal. Branch
canal are usually feeder
channels for major and
minor distributaries.

Usually called Rajbha,

take off from a branch
canal. They are real
irrigation channels.
Discharge varies from
to 5 cumecs.

Minor distributaries
called minors take off
from branch canals.
Discharge is usually less
than cumecs.

It is a small channel
which ultimately feeds
the water to irrigation
fields depending upon
the size.

Classification Based on Canal Alignment :

CLASSIFICATION
BASED ON
CANAL
ALIGNMENT

Ridge canal

Contour canal

Side slope canal

Ridge Canal :
It is also called as watershed canal is aligned along a
watershed.
When a channel is on the watershed, it can command the
areas on both banks and so a large area can be brought
under cultivation.
When the watershed takes a very sharp loop, the canal
should be aligned straight to save considerable idle length.

Contour Canal :
A channel aligned nearly parallel to the contour of the country is
called a contour canal.
It is not possible to align the canal on the watershed as the
watershed on the top of the hill may be very high and the areas
which need irrigation are concentrated in the valley.
The contour channel can irrigate only on one side.
Contour canal is sometimes constructed, with one bank only, and is
known as a single bank canal. However, when both the banks are
provided, it is known as a double bank canal.

Side Slope Canal :

It is a channel aligned roughly at right angles to the
contours of the country.
It is neither on the watershed nor in the valley.
It does not intercept any cross drainage. However, it has
very steep bed slope.

General Considerations for Alignment :

1. The alignment of the canal should be such as to ensure
the most economical way of distributing the water to the land.
as high a command is possible.
minimum number of cross drainage works.
2. The length of the main canal from the point where it takes off from a
river to a point where it mounts on a watershed should be minimum.
3. The contour alignment should be changed in appropriate way in
order to reduce the number of cross-drainage works.
4. The alignment should not be made in rocky, brackish or cracked
strata.

5. The alignment should avoid villages, roads, cart tracks, cremation

places, place of worship and other valuable properties.
6. The alignment should pass through the balanced depth of cutting.
7. The number of kinks and acute curves should be minimum.
8. Idle length of canal should be minimum and branches.etc. should
be economically planned.

Alignment of a Field Channel or Water Course :

Features :
1. They should be laid along field boundaries.
2. They should be capable of supplying sufficient water to the tail
end.
3. Separate field channels should be provided for high and low
lands.

Inundation Canals
An Inundation canal is similar to a permanent canal. The
major difference between them is that while in the case of
permanent canal a headwork (such as weir, barrage or a
dam) is constructed, and no such works are needed for an
Inundation canal.
But instead, an open cut in the river bank is provided for
the inundation canal to take off from the river.
The bed level of the cut is kept much above the bed level
of the river.

Design Considerations for Inundation Canals :

1. A head regulator, generally known as flood regulator, may be
provided a few miles downstream of the offtake point.
2. An escape channel with an off-take at d/s of the flood regulator
and joined to the river may be provided to discharge the flood
water back into the river when the regulator is closed.
3. Vertical lift gates in tiers may be provided at the flood regulator
which may be helpful in excluding silt.
4. Full supply level of inundation canal should be kept equal to the
fair irrigating level. It is kept at a level at which water is steady in
the river for 40-50 days during an inundation season.

5. Canal bed level is kept as low as practicable to take advantages of

the depth of water for more period even when the river is in low
stage.
6. Full supply discharge of the canal is fixed, based on the
requirements of rabi and kharif crops.
7. Bed slope may be fixed depending upon the slope of the country,
keeping in view that non-scouring velocities are not generated. The
slope of the canal bed is generally in the range of 0.10 to 0.25
m/km.
8. Bed width may be calculated thereafter. The cross-section may be
kept liberal. B/D ratio is kept small. Inundation canal is made
deeper and narrower than other irrigation channels.

Advantages of Inundation Canal :

1. The cost of construction for inundation canal system is
very low because of absence of a headwork.
2. Since the silt and fine sand find its way into the canal,
the water carried by inundation canal system has a good
manurial qualities.
3. Since the water supply in the canal is intermittent and
hence irrigation in particular area is also intermittent.
Therefore, there is less trouble of water logging and
other bad effects of over irrigation.

Disadvantages of Inundation Canal :

1. As there is no headwork the head of the canal is liable to be washed away during floods.
2. The water supply available from the canal is not reliable. As water is available only
during floods, there is no water for irrigation during other seasons. The cultivator lacks
interest.
3. Duty achieved by inundation canal water is low.
4. The inundation canal is constantly under silt trouble.
5. The size of the canals will have to be of larger dimensions in order to fulfil the water
requirements in a limited time factor.
6. The cross section of the canal is not defined.
7. The channel alignment is also not very precise. Many a times there will be sharp bends
where silting or scouring may occur.

DESIGN STEPS FOR UNLINED CANALS

Case 1 : Given Q, N, m and S

3.Get area of section A from the continuity equation

4.Knowing D and A, calculate the bed width B from geometry of canal section. The side
slope of canal in alluvial soil is assumed to be 0.5 : 1 when the canal has run for some
time.
; Calculate B

5.Calculate the perimeter and the hydraulic mean depth from the relations :

1
1/2

1/2
B

6.Calculate the actual mean velocity of flow (V) from Kutters equation. If this value of
velocity (V) is the same as V0 found in step 2, the assumed depth is correct. If not,
repeat the calculations with a changed value of D till the two velocities are the same.

Case 2 : Given Q, N, m and B/D ratio

1. Calculate A in terms of D.
let,
..
2. The value of velocity

substitute the values of

Thus,

is known in terms of D by Kennedys equation :

and A in the continuity equation and solve for D.

Hence,
In the above eqtn. Q, m and x are known. Hence D is determined.

3. Knowing D, calculate B and R from the following relations :

4. Calculate the velocity

from Kennedys equation

5. Knowing
and R, determine the slope S from Kutters flow equation.
The equation can be solved by trial and error method.

Drawbacks in Kennedy's Theory :

1. Kennedy did not notice the importance of B/D ratio.
2. He aimed to find out only the average regime conditions for the design
of channel.
3. Silt grades and silt charge were not defined.
4. Kennedy did not give any slope equation.
5. No account was taken of silt concentration and bed load, and the
complex silt carrying phenomenon was incorporated in single factor m.
6. Kennedy used kutters equation for the determination of mean velocity
and therefore , the limitation of kutters equation got incorporated in
Kennedy theory of channel design.

Laceys Regime Theory :

Dimensions, width, depth and slope of regime channel to carry a
given discharge loaded with a given silt charge are all fixed by
nature. This idea was first put forward by Lacey.

Regime channel: Lacey defined regime channel as a stable channel

transporting a regime silt charge . A channel will be in regime if it
flows in unlimited incoherent alluvium of the same character as that
transported and the silt charge are all constant.

Incoherent alluvium : It is a soil composed of loose granular

graded material which can be scoured with the same ease with which
it is deposited.

Regime silt charge : It is the minimum transported load consistent

with fully active bed.

Regime silt grade : This indicates the gradation between the small
and the big particles. It should not be taken to mean the average
mean diameter of a particle

Regime conditions : A channel is said to be in regime when the

following conditions are satisfied.
I. The channel is flowing in unlimited incoherent alluvium of the
same character as that transported.
II. Silt grade and silt charge are constant.
III. Discharge is constant.
If the above three condition are met with fully , then the channel is said
to be in TRUE REGIME.

 Initial regime: One of the condition of attaining regime of a channel is that there should be
freedom for the channel to form its own section. Intial regime is the state of channel that has
formed its section only and yet not secured the longitudinal slope.

Final regime : When a channel is constructed with defective slope , it tries to throw off
incoherent silt on the bed to increase their slopes. To attain the final regime, the channel forms its
section first before the final slope. The channel after attending its section and longitudinal slope
will be said to be in final regime.

Permanent regime : When a channel is protected on the bed and side with some kind of
protecting material, the channel section cannot be scoured up and so there is no possibility of
change of section or longitudinal slope ; the channel will then be said to be in permanent regime .
Regime theory is not applicable to such channels.
* Lacey also states that the silt is kept in suspension due to the force of vertical eddies.

Laceys Regime Equations :

1. Perimeter Discharge (P-Q) relation :
2. Velocity-discharge-silt factor (V-Q-f) relation :

3. Regime slope equations :

4.

Regime scour depth relation :

Laceys theory applied to channel design : The design procedure

involves no trial and error steps. For the channel design, the discharge Q
and mean diameter of silt particles md or silt factor f should be known..

Procedure :
1. Calculate the silt factor :

2. Compute velocity :

3. Determine area :

4. Compute perimeter :
5. Find out bed width B and depth D of the channel section since A and P
are known. The side slope of an irrigation channel is usually : 1.

6. Compute :
Both values of R should be same ; this will provide a numerical check .
7. Find the slope :

Comparison of Kennedy's and Laceys Theories :

1.

Kennedy introduced the term C.V.R.(m) in his equation to make it

applicable for channels of different grades of silt but he did not give any
idea to measure the value of m. lacey introduced the concept of silt factor f
in his equation and suggested a method of determining the value of f by
relating it with particle size.

2.

Kennedy assumed that silt is kept in suspension because of eddies

generated from the bed only, and so he proposed a relation between V and
D. lacey assumed that silt is kept in suspension because of the normal
components of eddies generated from the entire perimeter and so proposed
a relation b/w V and R.

3.

Kennedy assumed Kutter's formula for finding the value of mean velocity
where in the value of N is to be assumed arbitrary. Lacey gave his own
formula for the velocity and thus a designer has not to chose anything
arbitrary.

4. Kennedy gave no formula for determination of longitudinal slope of the

canal.lacey gave a formula for the longitudinal slope of a regime channel.
5. Lacey proposed that the shape of regime channel should be semi ellipse.
Kennedy simply gave the idea that a non- silting and non-scouring channel
will be a regime channel.
6. Laceys theory as applied to channel design does not involve any trial and
error procedure whereas Kennedy's theory involves a trial and error
procedure for design of channel.
7. Lacey made a distinction between two types of resistance in alluvial
channels, one determined by grain size and the other due to irregularities
of the channel. Kennedy did not make any such distinction.
8. Basic concept of the theories is the same that the silt remains in suspension
due to the force of vertical eddies.

Defects in Laceys Theory :

1.

The theory does not given a clear description of physical aspects of the
problem.

2.

It does not define what actually governs the characteristic of an alluvial

channel.

3.

The derivation of various formulae depends upon a single factor f and

dependence on single factor f is not adequate.

4.

Laceys equations do not include a concentration of silt as variable.

5.

Lacey did not take into account the silt left in channel by water that is
lost in absorption which is as much as 12 to 15% of the total discharge
of channel.

6. The effect of silt attrition was also ignored.

7. Lacey did not properly define the silt grade and silt charge.
8. Lacey considers that a regime channel is inherently free from external
restraint and shock. But this statement is unlikely to be correct.
9. Lacey introduced semi-ellipse as ideal shape of a regime channel
which is not correct.
10. Strictly speaking an artificial channel is not a regime channel, and
regime theory is not applicable to it.

Design of Non-Alluvial Channels :

The design of non-alluvial channels is done on the basis of the
following two flow equations :
1. Chezys formula :
Where C is Chezys coefficient usually determined by :

K = Bazins coefficient
The value may be taken as 1.2 to 1.4 for earth channels in good
condition and between 1.7 to 1.8 for earth channels in poor condition.
2. Mannings formula :
Where N is Mannings coefficient ; the values of which depends upon
the type of surface of channel.

Design Procedure :
For a channel design, the discharge Q and bed slope S are
generally known. The value of maximum permissible velocity
and side-slopes (r : 1) are chosen on the basis of type of soil
through which the channel has to flow. Generally, Mannings
formula is selected as the flow equation.
Step 1 : Determine the area.

Step 2 : Determine hydraulic mean radius.

Step 3 : Determine wetted perimeter.

Step 4 : For a trapezoidal channel with side-slopes r :1, the

area of cross-section A and wetted perimeter P are given as..

Hence, B and D can be computed by solution of the above

two equations.

Canal Sections :

Thank You !!