WATER RESOURCES SYSTEMS PLANNING & 2016

MANAGEMENT

PCE16136
WATER RESOURCES SYSTEMS
PLANNING & MANAGEMENT

LECTURE NOTES
Module-III

Prepared By
Dr. Prakash Chandra Swain
Professor in Civil Engineering
Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla

Branch - Civil Engineering

Specialization-Water Resources Engineering
Semester – 2th Sem

Department Of Civil Engineering

VSSUT, Burla

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MANAGEMENT

Disclaimer
This document does not claim any originality and cannot be
used as a substitute for prescribed textbooks. The information
presented here is merely a collection by Prof. P.C.Swain with
the inputs of Post Graduate students for their respective
teaching assignments as an additional tool for the teaching-
learning process. Various sources as mentioned at the
reference of the document as well as freely available materials
from internet were consulted for preparing this document.
Further, this document is not intended to be used for
commercial purpose and the authors are not accountable for
any issues, legal or otherwise, arising out of use of this
document. The authors make no representations or warranties
with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of
this document and specifically disclaim any implied warranties
of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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Course Content
Module III

Water Quantity Management: Surface Water Storage

Requirements, Storage Capacity and Yield, Reservoir Design,
Water Allocations for Water Supply, Irrigation, Hydropower
and Flood

Control, Reservoir Operations, Planning of an Irrigation System,

Irrigation Scheduling, Groundwater management, Conjunctive
Use of Surface and Subsurface Water Resources.

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Lecture note 1

Water Quantity Management

1.1 Reservoir Sizing

 Annual demand for water at a particular site may be less than the total inflow, but the time
distribution of demand may not match the time distribution of inflows resulting in surplus in
some periods and deficit in some other periods.
 A reservoir is a storage structure that stores water in periods of excess flow (over demand)
in order to enable a regulation of the storage to best meet the specified demands.
 The problem of reservoir sizing involves determination of the required storage capacity of
the reservoir when inflows and demands in a sequence of periods are given.

1.2 Mass diagram method

 It was developed by W. Rippl (1883). A mass curve is a plot of the cumulative flow volumes
as a function of time.
 Mass curve analysis is done using a graphical method called Ripple’s method.
 It involves finding the maximum positive cumulative difference between a sequence of pre-
specified (desired) reservoir releases Rt and known inflows Qt (as shown in figure).
 One can visualize this as starting with a full reservoir, and going through a sequence of
simulations in which the inflows and releases are added and subtracted from that initial
storage volume value.
 Doing this over two cycles of the record of inflows will identify the maximum deficit volume
associated with those inflows and releases.
 This is the required reservoir storage.

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(Typical mass curve)

1.3 Sequent Peak Algorithm

This algorithm computes the cumulative sum of differences between the inflows and reservoir
releases for all periods t over the time interval [0, T]. Let Kt be the maximum total storage
requirement needed for periods 1 through period t and Rt be the required release in period t, and Qt be
the inflow in that period. Setting 𝐾0 equal to 0, the procedure involves calculating Kt using equation
below for upto twice the total length of record. Algebraically,

The maximum of all Kt is the required storage capacity for the specified releases, Rt and inflows, Qt.

1.4 Formulation of reservoir sizing using LP

Linear Programming can be used to obtain reservoir capacity more elegantly by considering variable
demands and evaporation rates. The optimization problem is

Minimize 𝐾𝑎

Where 𝐾𝑎 is the active storage capacity

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1.5 Storage Yield

A complementary problem to reservoir capacity estimation can be done by maximizing the yield.
Firm yield is the constant (or largest) quantity of flow that can be released at all times. It is the flow
magnitude that is equalled or exceeded 100% of time for a historical sequence of flows. Linear
Programming can be used to maximize the yield, R (per period) from a reservoir of given capacity, K.
The optimization problem can be stated as:

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1.6 Reservoir Operation

Reservoir operation policies are developed to enable the operator to take appropriate decision. The
reservoir operation policy indicates the amount of water to be released based on the state of the
reservoir, demands and the likely inflow to the reservoir. The release from a single purpose reservoir
can be done with the objective of maximizing the benefits. For multi-purpose reservoirs, there is a
need to optimally allocate the releases among purposes. The simplest of the operation policies is the
standard operation policy (SOP). According to SOP, if the water available (storage, St+ inflow, It) at a
particular period is less than the demand Dt, then all the available water is released. If the available
water is more than the demand but less than demand + storage capacity K, then release is equal to the
demand. If after releasing the demands, there is no space for extra water, then the excess water is also
released. This is shown graphically in figure below.

(Standard operating policy)

Along OA: Release = water available; reservoir will be empty after release.

Along AB: Release = demand; excess water is stored in the reservoir (filling phase).

At A: Reservoir is empty after release.

At B: Reservoir is full after release.

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Along BC: Release = demand + excess of availability over the capacity (spill)

The releases according to the SOP need not be optimum. The optimization of reservoir operation is
done often by linear programming (LP) and dynamic programming (DP).

1.7 Derivation of optimal operating policy using LP

Consider a reservoir of capacity K. The optimization problem is to determine the releases Rt that
optimize an objective function satisfying all the constraints. The objective function can be a function
of storage volume or release. The typical constraints in a reservoir optimization model include
conservation of mass and other hydrological and hydraulic constraints, minimum and maximum
storage and release, hydropower and water requirements as well as hydropower generation
limitations.

(Single reservoir operation)

Consider the objective of meeting the demands to the extent possible i.e., maximizing the releases.
The optimization model can be formulated as:

∑
Maximize 𝑡 𝑅𝑡

Subject to

(i) Hydraulic constraints as defined by the reservoir continuity equation

Where Ot is the outflow. The constraints for outflow are

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Large LP problems can be solved very efficiently using LINGO - Language for Interactive General
Optimization, LINDO Systems Inc, USA.

1.8 Ground water management

Ground water is the common pool resource used by millions of farmers in the country and remains the
predominant drinking water source for rural water supply. It also supports industrial usages. The
scarcity of water resources and ever increasing demand of these vital resources require identification,
quantification and management of ground water in a way that prevents overexploitation and
consequent economic and environmental damage, while satisfying demand for water supply of
competing sectors. Participatory ground water management is envisaged to make a significant step in
ground water management at grass root level to enable the community and stake holders to monitor
and manage the ground water as common pool resources themselves.

It is imperative to have the aquifer mapping activity with a road map for groundwater management
plan to ensure its transition into a participatory groundwater management programme for effective
implementation of the Aquifer Management Plans (AMPs). This would require a coordinated effort
involving government departments, research institutes, PRIs, civil society organizations and the
stakeholders at the village level who would guide collective sharing and use of groundwater based on
a careful understanding of the storage and transmission characteristics of different aquifer units. A
National level identified consortium of NGOs is desirable for developing benchmark for this activity
and facilitating its implementation.

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The implementation of AMPs is proposed through collaborative approach amongst government
departments, research institutes, PRIs, civil society organizations and the local community. The
stakeholders would include farmers, landless farm workers with appropriate SC, ST and Women’s
representatives. Consensus based decision making is the goal of local water users association (WUA).
Social audit by members not involved in the implementation process is inbuilt within the participatory
ground water management. Gram Sabha is proposed to be the final arbiter in case of disputes and for
establishing some basic regulatory norms under PRI system. A national level independent agency
shall be entrusted for evaluation of the project. The programme envisaged activities towards building
capacity, skills and knowledge to ground water users. Programme will be executed by engaging
suitable youth, women etc as grass root ground water workers after providing necessary trainings to
them to function as facilitators, trainers and data managers at the village level. Two major issues to be
addressed by the proposed programme are:–

 Management of Groundwater
 Monitoring leading to sustainability of Groundwater

Even though Aquifer mapping is a fairly complex exercise involving profound knowledge of
Hydrogeology and other disciplines, the role of grass root workers (para-hydrogeologists) cannot be
understated. They shall be responsible for collection of primary Hydrogeological data, periodic
monitoring of identified key wells, and sensitization of the villagers regarding ground water trends,
extensive usage and its ramification. The Central and State organizations shall be assisted by the
designated NGOs to identify and facilitate training of grass root workers for the implementation of
AMPs. The program will catalyse and scale up the PGWM process to facilitate the field level outreach
of ground water development measures.

1.9 Water allocation problem

Consider a canal supplying water to three fields in which three different crops are being cultivated as
shown in figure 1. The maximum capacity of the canal is given as Q units of water. The three fields
can be denoted as i=1,2,3 and the amount of water allocated to each field as 𝑥𝑖 .

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(Water allocation process)

The net benefits from producing the crops in each field are given by the functions below.

The problem is to determine the optimal allocations xi to each field that maximizes the total net
benefits from all the three crops. This type of problem is readily solvable using dynamic
programming.

The first step in the dynamic programming is to structure this problem as a sequential allocation
process or a multistage decision making procedure. The allocation to each crop is considered as a
decision stage in a sequence of decisions. If the amount of water allocated from the total available
water Q, to crop i is xi, then the net benefit from this allocation is NBi(xi). Let the state variable Si
define the amount of water available to the remaining (3-i) crops. The state transformation equation
can be written as 𝑆𝑖+1 = 𝑆𝑖 + 𝑥𝑖 defines the state in the next stage. Figure below shows the allocation
problem as a sequential process.

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(Fig – Sequential process of allocation)

 The objective function for this allocation problem is defined to maximize the net benefits,

Let 𝑓1 𝑄 Q be the maximum net benefits that can be obtained from allocating water to crops 1, 2 and 3.
Thus,

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Lecture note 2

2.1 Conjunctive use of ground and surface water

Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water in an irrigation setting is the process of using water
from the two different sources for consumptive purposes. Conjunctive use can refer to the practice at
the farm level of sourcing water from both a well and from an irrigation delivery canal, or can refer to
a strategic approach at the irrigation command level where surface water and groundwater inputs are
centrally managed as an input to irrigation systems. Accordingly, conjunctive use can be characterised
as being planned (where it is practiced as a direct result of management intention – generally a top
down approach) compared with spontaneous use (where it occurs at a grass roots level – generally a
bottom up approach). The significant difference between unplanned and planned conjunctive use, and
the approach governance must take to maximise the potential benefits from such use, is explored
within this paper. Where both surface and groundwater sources are directly available to the end user,
spontaneous conjunctive use usually proliferates, with individuals opportunistically able to make
decisions about water sources at the farm scale.

The planned conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water has the potential to offer benefits in
terms of economic and social outcomes through significantly increased water use efficiency. It
supports greater food and fibre yield per unit of water use, an important consideration within the
international policy arena given the critical concerns for food security that prevail in many parts of the
world. At the resource level, groundwater pumping for irrigation used in conjunction with surface
water provides benefits that increase the water supply or mitigate undesirable fluctuations in the
supply (Tsur, 1990) and control shallow water table levels and consequent soil salinity.

In most climates of the world, precipitation, either rain or snow, and consequently peak runoff
corresponding to a significant part of the total discharge of the rivers, occur during a particular season
of the year which usually coincides with the smallest water demand. The water development problem
therefore consists of transferring water from the high supply season to the high demand season. The
most obvious and the most common solution to that problem consists of storing surface water behind
dams, but storage of water in the ground may be a valuable alternative to surface storage systems,
although not always systematically considered when planning water development. Yet surface
reservoirs have many drawbacks, especially:

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• Evaporation: large open water areas are exposed, during several months and even years, to high
evaporation rates leading to water losses sometimes exceeding 20 percent of the average annual
runoff. Losses may be even higher when the width of the impounded valley is considerable, and
induces a larger open water area.

• Sedimentation: soil erosion in the catchment results in siltation in the surface reservoirs and in the
equivalent reduction of the storage capacity. The soil vulnerability to erosion, and therefore the
importance of the siltation problems in surface reservoirs, grows as the vegetation cover shrinks, so
the more arid the climate, the less the vegetation cover, the higher the probability of sediment
accumulation in the surface reservoirs. Draining part of the mud from the reservoirs is occasionally
possible through specially designed pipes placed at the bottom of the dam, but each operation is water
consuming (to flush the mud) and may be detrimental to downstream environment.

• Environmental impact: of surface reservoirs may often be highly undesirable for human health,
flooding of inhabited, or good agricultural land.
• Distribution of water: from the reservoir may be expensive and requires the construction of costly
canals because of the distance between dam and utilization areas

MOROCCO - MOHAMED V RESERVOIR: Reduction of storage capacity

In contrast, groundwater is not exposed to evaporation; does not suffer from reduction of storage
capacity because of siltation; is seldom harmful to environment and offers a natural water distribution
up to the users.

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2.2 Why is surface water storage always preferred to groundwater

development?

When looking at these advantages and disadvantages, groundwater seems to be a better alternative
that should be preferred, but this not the case; large and concentrated water demand such as that from
large irrigation schemes is usually supplied from surface water storage, and there are various reasons
for that choice:

• groundwater aquifers seldom offer large storage capacity able to absorb large volumes of flood in a
short period of time, and are unable to return them as significant discharge per unit production system
of well or borehole,

• surface water storage, because of the large investments involved, is often preferred because it offers
a much higher political visibility and because high construction costs give an opportunity for private
profit and corruption, opening the way for improper influence on decision making.

2.3 A reasonable solution

Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater consists of harmoniously combining the use of both
sources of water in order to minimize the undesirable physical, environmental and economical effects
of each solution and to optimize the water demand/supply balance. Usually conjunctive use of surface
and groundwater is considered within a river basin management programme - i.e. both the river and
the aquifer belong to the same basin.

Assuming that the mixed solution is part of the national policy, several problems need to be carefully
studied before selecting the different options and elaborating a programme of conjunctive use of
surface and groundwater:

• Underground storage availability to be determined,

• Production capacity of the aquifer(s) in term of potential discharge,

• Natural recharge of the aquifer(s)

• Induced natural recharge of the aquifer(s)

• Potential for artificial recharge of the aquifer(s)

• Comparative economic and environmental benefits derived from the various possible options.

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2.4 Underground Storage Availability and Production Capacity of the

Aquifer

In order to use the underground reservoir to store a significant volume of water - possibly of the same
order of magnitude as the annual runoff - with the intent to use it at a later stage, it is necessary to
ascertain the potential storage capacity of the groundwater reservoir as well as its suitability for being
recharged by the surface water and for easily returning the stored water when needed. The
groundwater reservoir should present sufficient free space between the ground surface and the water
table to accommodate and retain the water to be recharged, for the period during which water is not
needed. This condition requires accurate hydrogeological investigations including geological
mapping, geophysics and reconnaissance drilling, in order to determine the configuration and the
storage capacity of the underground reservoir.

The suitability of an aquifer for recharging may be estimated from the following parameters:

• Surface material has to be highly permeable so as to allow water to percolate easily;

• The unsaturated zone should present a high vertical permeability, and vertical flow of water should
not be restrained by less permeable clayey layers;

• Depth to water level should not be less than 5 to 10 m;

• Aquifer transmissivity should be high enough to allow water to move rapidly from the mound
created under the recharge basin but should not be too high (as in karstic channels) so that water
cannot be recovered.

An adequate transmissivity for recharge is also a good indicator of the aquifer capacity to produce
high well discharge and therefore easily to return the water stored.

2.5 Natural And Induced Recharge of the Aquifer

Should a significant natural recharge of the aquifer occur from the surface runoff and the deep
percolation of rainfall, and should the average annual amount of recharge be of the same order of
magnitude as the water demand, there would not be the need for any additional human intervention.
On the contrary, any tentative modification of the natural course of surface water may significantly
alter the groundwater renewable resources. There are many examples of double counting of water
resources as if surface and groundwater were independent. Because of this wrong approach, dams
have been built with the intent to store the surface water and to create an additional resource. The

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resulting situation has often been catastrophic with rapid depletion of the aquifer not recharged any
more, destruction of the ecosystem based on the groundwater and extreme difficulty to go back to
initial conditions.

Induced natural recharge occurs when intensive exploitation of groundwater close to a river results in
an important depression of the groundwater level and in a water inflow from the river. This
phenomenon is well known in temperate climate where rivers flow all year long; but it may also occur
in semi-arid climates where a depression of the piezometric level of an aquifer underlying a temporary
river creates the empty space in the aquifer which facilitates its recharge during floods.

2.6 Artificial Recharge

Artificial recharge of aquifers can be achieved using three different methods, namely surface
spreading, watershed management (water harvesting) and recharge wells.

2.6.1 Surface Spreading

Artificial recharge by the spreading method consists of increasing the surface area of infiltration by
releasing water from the source to the surface of a basin, pond, pit or channel. This is certainly the
most efficient and most cost-effective method for aquifer recharge. However, only phreatic
(unconfined) aquifers can be recharged by the spreading method, which also requires large surface
areas to accommodate the recharge scheme, allowing water to evaporate if percolation in the ground
is slow.

Surface spreading usually needs two structures: the diversion structure and the infiltration scheme.

Diversion structures are the same as those used for spate irrigation. The traditional methods, based
on centuries of experience, are well adapted to the conditions of arid land wadis. They consist of the
construction of earthen bunds (ogmas) and deflectors across the wadi to divert the flow into the fields.
But large spates usually destroy the ogmas and reduce irrigation of the fields. Furthermore, the very
high sediment content of spate water tends to fill the diversion canals, which have to be cleaned
regularly. So, although the ogmas are relatively inexpensive to rebuild, the overall cost of seasonal
maintenance and repair of the scheme is high.

Several techniques have been tested with the objective of achieving a better control and regulation of
spate and reducing sediment transport in the canals. Due to the hydrological characteristics of wadis,
it soon became evident that it is not economic to provide diversion weirs which will control the
probable maximum flood. Thus, the tendency nowadays is to build diversion structures with a canal

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head regulator, sediment excluder and a spillway on one flank and a fusible dyke across the wadi.
Unfortunately, present design and feasibility studies are often hampered by lack of adequate data on
spate runoff. These techniques were developed with the intention of improving the spate irrigation
systems, but the results can apply to the diversion structures (diversion weirs) needed for artificial
recharge by surface spreading.

The infiltration scheme may consist of basins, channels or pits depending on the local topography
and on land use. The most common system consists of a number of basins each one having an area
ranging from 0.1 to 10 ha according to space availability. Each basin must have its own water supply
and drainage so that each basin can be flooded, dried and cleaned according to its best schedule.
Basins should never be in series, because in such a system, they cannot be dried and cleaned
individually. Often the first basins are used as pre-sedimentation facilities.

In the vicinity of urban agglomerations, pits may have been dug in ancient paths of wadis in order to
extract construction material (gravel, sand). The depth of these pits may range from 2 to 3 m up to 30
to 40 m. Pits may also be excavated for the specific purpose of artificial recharge. Aquifer recharge
simply consists of diverting water from the main channel to the pit. Even with a deep pit, it may be
advisable to have a smaller settling pit between the main channel and the larger recharge pit. Both
recharge and settling pits should be fenced and have a suitable inlet so that the inflowing water does
not erode the walls of the pits.

Other techniques may also be identified with the surface spreading method: spate irrigation, check
dams, underground dams and sand dams.

Spate irrigation is a well known traditional technique in the Near East consisting of watering
terraced fields which flank the wadi, by diverting flood flows into them. Although the primary
objective of spate irrigation is not aquifer recharge, this technique usually contributes significantly to
increasing the infiltration of water into the underlying groundwater reservoirs. The storage of excess
water into the aquifer and its subsequent retrieval alleviates some of the risks inherent to runoff based
irrigation in arid zones.

Check dams are small structures built across wadis with a view to slowing down the velocity of
water, allowing it to percolate into the alluvial aquifer. When the wadi usually flows into a narrow
channel surrounded by plains located a few metres above the bottom of the channel, check dams may
be built in the channel, raised 1 to 2 metres above the ground level of the plain and extended laterally
by two wings crossing most of the valley. The flood is then forced to expand over a large area, thus
facilitating the infiltration of water.

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Underground dams apply in shallow depth alluvial deposits to prevent groundwater (underflow of
the wadi) from flowing away immediately after it is stored in the aquifer. They consist of digging a 1
to 1.5 m wide trench across the valley, down to the bedrock (which should be impervious) and then
filling the trench either with loose impervious material (clay) or by building a wall made of local
bricks. Underground dams may be complemented by sand dams consisting of raising the dam above
ground by 1 or 2 metres so that the solid transport (usually sand and gravel) of the floods can
accumulate behind the surface dam and thus increase the storage capacity of the alluvium.

2.6.2 Watershed management and water harvesting

Watershed management offers an effective method to intercept dispersed runoff. Many techniques of
water conservation have been developed along hill slopes with the intention of preventing soil erosion
and reducing surface runoff, then increasing the infiltration in the ground, thus recharging the
aquifers. Traditional terraced agriculture is certainly one of the most common water harvesting
methods in arid areas and particularly in the Near East. Where the terraces are well maintained, they
effectively control runoff and improve aquifer recharge but, once allowed to fall into disuse, they
progressively lead to gully erosion, collapse of the retaining walls, destruction of the whole system
and severe modification of the hydrological regime. Therefore, whatever the economic virtues of such
terraces, it should be recognized that their abandonment on a large scale can upset the hydrological
conditions within a basin for a considerable period of time.

Because of the siltation problems in the surface reservoirs resulting from soil erosion in the upper
catchment, large programmes of soil and water conservation as well as forestation are being
undertaken in several semiarid countries. Although the primary objective of the watershed
management is to limit the soil erosion and therefore to reduce sediment accumulation in the surface
reservoirs downstream, the effect of these practices may become significant on the aquifer recharge
when large areas are included in the programmes. However there are few examples of quantitative
analysis of the modification of the water cycle in a catchment where soil and water conservation has
been practiced.

2.6.3 Recharge wells

Artificial recharge by injection consists of using a conduit access, such as a tubewell, shaft or
connector well, to convey the water to the aquifer. It is the only method for artificial recharge of
confined aquifers or deep-seated aquifers with poorly permeable overburden. The recharge is
instantaneous and there are no transit or evaporation losses. The method is very effective in the case
of highly fractured hard rocks and karstic limestones.

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Recharge wells or "injection" wells are similar in construction to pumped wells, using screened
sections.

The great difficulty in using recharge wells is always their rapid clogging. While a basin may clog
within years and in any case may easily be reconditioned, a recharge well may clog in a few days or
weeks and is always difficult to keep in good operating condition. There are many possible causes of
clogging.

• First there is suspended matter present in the water; it reduces the pore space in the gravel pack and
in the formation at the interface with the gravel pack. This causes clogging to be more severe in
aquifers with finer grain size.

• High content of organic matter may result in bacteriological growth. This is why clogging
phenomena vary during the year as temperature of injected water changes.

• Clogging may also occur due to gas or air bubbles in the water, especially in shallow wells with low
water pressure. It is essential to prevent underpressure in recharge pipes, valves and connections. This
problem can be overcome by the use of small diameter recharge pipes in order to ensure the "pipe-full
conditions

• Mixing of chemically dissimilar waters causes these waters to react and to form precipitates.
Another form of clogging is caused by the swelling of clay particles which may be present in the
target aquifer.

The most economical way to operate artificial recharge by injection consists of using dual purpose
wells (injection and pumping) so that cleaning of the aquifer may be achieved during the pumping
period. However, a pretreatment to eliminate the suspended matter is always necessary.

2.6.4 Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater As Part Of Integrated

River Basin Management

The increasing acuteness of water scarcity problems, worldwide, requires the adoption of a
double approach of water supply management and water demand management.

Governments tend to consider river basins as water resources management units and as a
spatial basis for the formulation of water management strategies integrating all cross-sectoral
issues such as water resources conservation, environment, water resources allocation, water
demand management, etc. The conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is one of the

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strategies of water supply management which has to be considered to optimize the water
resources development, management and conservation within a basin, and artificial recharge
of aquifers is certainly one of the tools to be used for that purpose.

The use of the river basin as the spatial unit for analyzing the interactions and interrelations
between the various components of the system, and for defining the water management
policy, is well justified, and is increasingly becoming common practice:

• In China, river basin plans have legal status and development projects are required to be
consistent with the provisions of the plans;

• In Indonesia, the Government recently adopted new water management policies in order to
prepare spatial management plans and to link water and land use through river basin plans, to
centre water management at the river basin level, and to centralize water management
responsibilities through a more effective participation and collaboration of beneficiaries;

• In Italy, a 1989 law introduced the river basin as a management unit to regulate the
programmes of the various sectoral and regional institutions;

• In the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and in most European countries, water resources
management is now essentially centred on river basins.

The adoption of an integrated river basin management approach for elaborating policies and
strategies of water resources development, management and conservation would help
consider the water resources as one system and would avoid a water resources development
approach focused only on surface water. This approach also facilitates the management of the
resource itself, allowing a better understanding, by water users, of the hydrological issues
involved.

Research is still needed, however, to understand better, and to quantify the role of watershed
management and particularly of soil and water conservation practices in the water cycle. The
development of GIS techniques could certainly help assess the overall water resources within
a river basin and the effect of various human interventions such as water conservation
practices over large areas, large dams or small dams.

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2.6.5 Irrigation scheduling

Irrigation scheduling is the process used by irrigation system managers to determine the correct
frequency and duration of watering.

The following factors may be taken into consideration:

 Precipitation rate of the irrigation equipment - how quickly the water is applied, often expressed
in inches or mm per hour.
 Distribution uniformity of the irrigation system - how uniformly the water is applied, expressed
as a percentage, the higher the number, the more uniform.
 Soil infiltration rate - how quickly the water is absorbed by the soil, the rate of which also
decreases as the soil becomes wetter, also often expressed in inches or mm per hour.
 Slope (topography) of the land being irrigated as this affects how quickly runoff occurs, often
expressed as a percentage, i.e. distance of fall divided by 100 units of horizontal distance (1 ft of
fall per 100 ft (30 m) would be 1%).
 Soil available water capacity, expressed in units of water per unit of soil, i.e. inches of water per
foot of soil.
 Effective rooting depth of the plants to be watered, which affects how much water can be stored
in the soil and made available to the plants.
 Current watering requirements of the plant (which may be estimated by
calculating evapotranspiration, or ET), often expressed in inches per day.
 Amount of time in which water or labour may be available for irrigation.
 Amount of allowable moisture stress which may be placed on the plant. For high
value vegetable crops, this may mean no allowable stress, while for a lawn some stress would be
allowable, since the goal would not be to maximize production, but merely to keep the lawn green
and healthy.
 Timing to take advantage of projected rainfall
 Timing to take advantage of favourable utility rates
 Timing to avoid interfering with other activities such as sporting events, holidays, lawn
maintenance, or crop harvesting.

The goals in irrigation scheduling is to apply enough water to fully wet the plant's root zone while
minimizing overwatering and then allow the soil to dry out in between watering, to allow air to enter
the soil and encourage root development, but not so much that the plant is stressed beyond what is
allowable.

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In recent years, more sophisticated irrigation controllers have been developed that receive ET input
from either a single on-site weather station or from a network of stations and automatically adjust the
irrigation schedule accordingly.

Other devices helpful in irrigation scheduling are rain sensors, which automatically shut off an
irrigation system when it rains, and soil moisture sensing devices such as capacitance
sensors, tensiometers and gypsum blocks.

2.7 Flood control

Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters.
Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels.

Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged
heavy rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated
snowmelt, severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis, or failure of dams, levees,
retention ponds, or other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be exacerbated by
increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which
reduce the supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall. Periodic floods occur on many rivers,
forming a surrounding region known as the flood plain.

During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass
and vegetation, some evaporates, and the rest travels over the land as surface runoff. Floods
occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water. Water
then runs off the land in quantities that cannot be carried within stream channels or retained
in natural ponds, lakes, and man-made reservoirs. About 30 percent of all precipitation
becomes runoff and that amount might be increased by water from melting snow. River
flooding is often caused by heavy rain, sometimes increased by melting snow. A flood that
rises rapidly, with little or no warning, is called a flash flood.

Coastal areas are sometimes flooded by unusually high tides, such as spring tides, especially
when compounded by high winds and storm surges.

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 Water resource systems Planning and Management 2016

Prof P. C. Swain Page 12

 Advanced Fluid Mechanics 2016

References:
1. Loucks, D.P., Stedinger, J.R. and Haith, D.A. (1982) “Water Resources
Systems Planning and Analysis”, Prentice Hall Inc. N York
2. Chaturvedi, M.C. (1987), “Water Resources Systems Planning and
Management”, Tata McGraw Hill Pub. Co., N Delhi.
3. Hall. W.A. and Dracup, J.A. (1975), “Water Resources Systems”, Tata
McGraw Hill Pub. N Delhi
4. James, L.D. and Lee (1975), “Economics of Water Resources Planning”,
McGraw Hill Inc. n York
5. Kuiper, E. (1973) “Water Resources Development, Planning, Engineering
and Economics”, Buttersworth, London
6. Biswas, A.K. (1976) “Systems Approach to Water Management”, McGraw
Hill Inc. N York
7. Taha H A, (1996), “Operations Research”, Prentice Hall of India, N Delhi.

Prof P.C.Swain