SHAIINEE DELLE L.

PALMERA
BSCE – VA
CE 159

WATERLOGGING

THINK AND TRY

1. What do you understand by waterlogging? Explain its causes.

An area is said to be waterlogged when the soil infiltration capacity is lessen because of too
much saturation which generally leads to permanent or temporary stagnancy of water on the surface.
Water logging is commonly caused by natural condition and human induced activities.

 Natural causes of waterlogging

o Physiography of the Watershed – or the physical geography which involves the
topography, slope, shape and drainage pattern of an area
o Geology – identifies the structure of soil beneath the surface whether it will be prone or
resistant to waterlogging.
o Weather – where rainfall intensity is mostly responsible of over saturation on the soil
o Soil Type – soil types such as black cotton are prone to water logging
o Seepage Inflows – when there is too much seepage from other bodies of water
o Flat topography – flat terrain are prone to water logging because water cannot easily
flow to different areas unlike sloping terrains.
 Human-induced causes of waterlogging –not well planned irrigation system
o Over irrigation – when there is excesses application of water on a soil with less
infiltration capacity
o Seepage from canals – water will easily seep through a simple ditch like an unlined
canal that doesn’t have concrete protection on its sides and base
o Land locked parches having no outlets – waterlogging that is caused by lack of planning
of discharge outlets
o Occasional spills by flood – flooding that frequently occurs will lessen the infiltration
capacity of soil
o Closed/contour water conservation structures - impounding too much water that
exceeds the capacity of the structure causes waterlogging.

2. Describe the undesirable effects of waterlogging.

 Lack of aeration – too much soil saturation expels the air needed by the plants to grow
 Reduced soil temperature – reduced soil temperature results to decreased water and nutrient
uptake by the plants
  Salinization – salt soluble can easily buildup from waterlogging which negatively affects the
growth of plants if there is excessive accumulation
 Inhibiting activity of soil bacteria – soil bacteria can easily accumulate in stagnant water and (if
not rehabilitated) later on affects the plants by restricting root growth
 Denitrification. – decreases plant nutrient uptake as a result of reduction of nitrogen within the
soil
 Retards cultivation. – decreased ability of soil to nurture vegetation that is caused by nutrient-
restricting activities

3. Write the soil properties relevant to land drainage.

 A healthy soil consists of mineral and organic particles, water, air and certain microorganisms.
 Water logged soil- a soil property where most of the air is expelled from the soil because of too
much soil saturation
 Unsaturated soil - partly filled with soil and partly with air.
 Soil moisture – is the amount of water present within the soil

4. What is drainage? Explain its need.

Drainage is the removal of excess water beneath and on the surface. Phenomenon like heavy
rainfall and over irrigation causes water accumulation (mostly in forms of flood and ponds) on the soil to
become evident until it would reach to a point were saturation becomes excessive and will most likely
affect the vegetation and soil structure negatively. Problems in plant growth, salinity, accumulation of
soil bacteria and denitrification are some issues to be expected. When this happens, installing drains/
drainage system is highly needed to reduce its negative effects. With the use of drainage, the water
table can be controlled, therefore, also serves to control the salinity of the soil.

5. Explain the types of drainage.

TYPES OF DRAINAGE
A.SURFACE DRAINAGE (OPEN DRAINAGE) – involves the removal of excess water on the surface using
surface drains or open ditches

 SHALLOW SURFACE DRAIN – its main features are: broad, shallow and trapezoidal in cross-
section. It usually carries normal storm water from field but if designed properly, it can also
carry excess irrigation water.
 DEEP SURFACE DRAIN – These drains are large enough to carry the storm water discharge
drains, shallow surface drains, and the seepage water coming from the underground tile drains.
 BEDDING DRAIN – this type makes use of a sloping ploughed bed (to retard the movement of
water) and a dead furrow that is located parallel to the bed to collect and drain excess water.
B. SUB-SURFACE DRAINAGE (TILE DRAINAGE) – focuses on removing water beneath the surface for
water table control and for maintaining a favorable salt balance in crop root zone.

 SURFACE INLET – makes use of an inlet pipe directing the pit water into the sub-surface or a
connecting sub-surface outlet pipe. This type of drain is commonly used to drain water from
roads and farmsteads.
 FRENCH DRAIN – this type is used when the quantity of water to be removed is small. It is
constructed by back filling the trench of the drain with graded materials.

LINED CANALS

THINK AND TRY

1. What is canal lining? Write its objective.

A canal lining is a protective layer that preserves the canal’s over-all structure from erosion,
seepage and pressure exerted by the water. Its sides and base is mostly made of concrete to minimize
filtration losses, improve durability and prevent growth of wild plants.

Objective of canal lining

 TO CONTROL SEEPAGE – seepage naturally occurs when water and soil come into contact. For
structures whose main purpose is to store water, seepage can greatly reduce its operating
capacity. To prevent this from happening, the sides and base of a canal are mostly made of
concrete to prevent water loss.
 TO PREVENT WATER-LOGGING – by placing a protective concrete layer on the sides of the canal,
it becomes less permeable ,thus, seepage which is the main cause of waterlogging is prevented
 TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF CANAL – lined canals usually delivers better performance
because water cannot easily penetrate through the concrete sides and base. As a result, flow
velocity will be increased thus discharge will also be increased with a minimum cross-sectional
area.
 TO INCREASE THE COMMAND AREA – the command area or the area around the water-storing
structure/ project where people gets benefits (such as: irrigation, electricity, etc) from will be
enhanced because losses (mostly caused by seepage) is decreased.
 TO CONTROL THE GROWTH OF WEEDS – weeds are a common threat to the canal structure
because it decreases the velocity of flow and capacity of the canal and increases the
maintenance cost on removing these weeds. Such problem is remedied by using a lined canal
because weeds cannot grow on the concrete surface.
2. What are different types of lining? Explain.

 CEMENT CONCRETE LINING – a type of lining that’s known to be durable enhances the canal
performance by reducing loss due to seepage by 90% to 95%
 SHOTCRETE LINING – a type of lining that is made by spraying the slurry concrete mixture
(composed of Portland cement, sand and water) on the subgrade. A cement-sand mixture of 1:4
is generally used to achieve the slurry consistency
 PRECAST CONCRETE LINING – a type of lining that is made from precast concrete blocks with
dimensions of 50 x 30 cm having a thickness ranging from 5 to 6.5 cm. The ends of these blocks
must be manufactured with interlocking arrangements
 CEMENT MORTAR LINING – this type of lining is known to be expensive because it requires more
cement on the concrete mixture. The sand requirement from this type should range from fine to
course to maintain durability and appearance. The thickness of this type of lining may vary from
9 mm to 38 mm
 SOIL CEMENT LINING – a type of lining that is made from soil-cement mixture. Since this
structure is made from soil, the type of soil to be used should be carefully analyzed beforehand.
 BRICK LINING – a type of lining that is constructed with bricks. It is recommended that a mortar
cement layer of 12mm thick should be laid out over the subgrade first before putting the brick
layer.
 CLAY PUDDLE LINING – clay puddle as a lining material that can be used in canal structure
because of its impervious property. Clay puddle lining has been proven to prevent 80% of
seepage loss
 STONE MASONRY – this type of lining is made from dressed stone block that is laid out over the
mortar. The constructing may come costly because stone blocks must be chipped and dressed to
a standard requirement
 PLASTIC LINING – this type of lining is mostly made of lightweight material which makes the
construction easy and fast. The plastic material (commonly has a 3m width) must be first laid out
over the subgrade then topped with soil layer.

3. Explain the parameter for the design of lined canals.

 SIDE SLOPES (INNER SLOPES OF LINED CANALS) – the canal’s durability primarily depends on the
soil where it is laid over to. Most canals are built with its sides sloping for water accumulation to
be collected efficiently. Therefore, the side slopes must be designed such that no earth pressure
or any other external pressure is exerted over the back of the lining. A method like the slip circle
analysis is usually used to check the slope stability.
 FREE BOARD – distance between the highest water level and the top of the canal. Free board is
necessary to prevent flood or water from spilling out of the canal during unexpected flow
surges.
 BERM – is the horizontal distance left at ground level between the toe of the bank and top edge
of cutting. For canals with discharge capacity greater than 10m^3/s, it is recommended to
 provide a berm of 3 – 5 m width on each side for stability, facility of maintenance, silt clearance,
etc.
 BANK TOP WIDTH – the dimension of bank width is determined according to the importance and
capacity of the canal
 DOWEL – also known as “dowla” is an elevated pavement-like structure that provides additional
safety to the service road and nearby sidewalk from unexpected water surges from the canal.

4. Discuss about the maintenance of lined canals.

After two irrigation seasons of a canal, generally, it would require maintenance to preserve its optimum
serviceability and prolong the life of the structure. There are some of the maintenance activities:

 Existing bushes and trees should be removed along the canal because it disrupts the flow of
water. Also, its roots have the tendency of penetrating through the concrete layer which may
result to leakage.
 It should be handled with care in removing silts, debris and plants to preserve the original shape
of the canal.
 Holes and cracks along the canal lining must be treated by filling with compacted soil. If these
are not treated well, water may seep through and cause structural damage to the canal lining
and soil base
 Weak canal sections that are more susceptible to live loads should be designed well so that it
will not cause immediate/unexpected through its service life
 Do not neglect small damages such as cracks and rat holes. Repair these damages as soon as
possible where the repair cost is still small

5. Write short notes on:

a. Shotcrete lining

 A slurry concrete mixture is used in construction

 The slurry concrete mixture is applied by spraying over the subgrade to form the lining
 1:4 ratio is used for the cement-sand mixture
 The thickness of this type of lining generally varies from 2.5 –6.5 cm
 It works equally successfully on smooth, uneven or cracked sub-grade surfaces
 This type of lining is quite costly because it requires more cement

b. Plastic lining

 A 3m width plastic film is usually used to cover the subgrade

 This type of lining is not very costly
 This type of lining is mostly made of lightweight material which makes the construction easy and
fast.
 The plastic sheets can be welded together at site to increase the width
 Has three types of plastic membranes:
o Low density polyethylene (LDPE), thickness: 250 micron
o High molecular high density polythene (HM), thickness: 100 micron
o Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thickness: 15 micron