Land Drainage

A properly designed drainage system is an effective means to prevent land from

getting waterlogged as well as to relieve the land already waterlogged. The
importance of drainage is recognised that it is constructed an integral part of the
irrigation scheme.
Before undertaking a drainage project, investigations should be carried out which
include topographical, geological and soil surveys. The nature of soils and
subsoils should also be studied. A knowledge of water table and its fluctutations
in the area proposed for irrigation is also essential.
Types of drains

The various types of drains used as anti-waterlogging measure is classified into

two categories:
I Open drains
I Shallow surface drains - These drains are used to drain away excess
irrigation water supplied to fields and also to quickly dispose storm water.
They therefore help to reduce percolation of water to groundwater reservoir
by reducing the detention of surface water and thus prevent waterlogging of
irrigated land. However they provide very little underdrainage.
I Deep open drains - These drains are use to drain out the subsoil and hence
useful for prevention of watelrogging of land as well as for relieving the land
already waterlogged. These drains are commonly used as outlet drains for a
closed drain system for the reclamation of waterlogged land.
I Closed drains
Design and maintenance of open drains

I Layout - Aligned along the path of the natural drainage and should be provided with an outfall,
either into a bigger drain or natural stream
I Capacity - Drains are provided to carry storm runoffs, seepage water from subsoil and surface
flow resulting from excess irrigation of fields. Since storm runoffs are usually far in excess of
the other flows, the drains are designed for storm runoff only. A judicious estimate of surface
runoff should be made to obtain the design capacity of drains.
I Section - The drains have trapezoidal cross-section and are designed on the same principle of
irrigation channels. Since deep drains receive both seepage and storm water, a small drain in
the bed of larger drain is usually provided to carry the small seepage discharge. With this
arrangement, the full section of the drain would be operativeonly during te storm. This would
reduce the problem of maintenance because the seepage water which would otherwise have
flown at small depth and velocity over the entire width leading to weed growth over the entire
section would flow only thorugh the small drain and so only this sction would be required to
maintained. The depth and bottom width of deep drains generally varies from 0.6 to 1.5 m and
0.3 to 1.2m respectively.
I Maintenance - The main problem of maintenance is to keep from weeds. It may be retarded by
having larger velocities of flow in the drains.
Drawbacks of open drains

I For the construction of open drains, valuable agricultural land is wasted.

I These drains obstruct the farming operations.
I Bridges are required to be constructed to facilitate communication across wide
drains.
I Valuable plant nutrients are washed down in the open drains.
Closed Drains

Closed drains are useful for prevention of waterlogging of land as well as for
relieving the land already waterlogged. These are tile drains usually of porous
earthen ware which are laid below the ground level butting each other with open
joints and covered up by earth. Thus these drains do not put any area out of
cultivation and do not obstruct any farming operations. The usual spacing of
these drains is from 15 to 45 m, closer spacing being used for soils of low
permeability. The usual diameter of tile drains is 100 mm. The drains are usually
located about 0.3m lower than the desired water table. These drains are laid at
at a gradient steeper than 1 in 500. As far as possible, the closed drains should
be placed in a permeable stratum to ensure effective drainge. The closed drains
have their outlets in natural or artificial channels.
Closed drains are designed to carry only the seepage water and their capacity is
determined by the rate of infiltration which can be estimated theoretically if the
soil permeabilities are known.
Layout of closed drains system

A closed drain system in general consists of a number of lateral drains which

collect water from different areas and discharge into main drain which is usually
an open drain. Sometimes laterals discharge into submain which is a closed drain
and the submain dischrages into main drain. The main drain in turn discharge
into outfall drain which takes water to natural drain. The layout is goverend by
the topography of the are to be drained. The various layouts for closed drain
system are given below.
I Natural system - In this system, the main/submain and the connecting laterals
are provided in the natural courses.
I Grid-iron layout - Laterals are provided only on one side of the main/submain.
The system is used where the land is practically level or where the land slopes
away from the main/submain on one side and when the entire area has to be
drained.
I Herringbone pattern - Laterals join main/submain from each side alternately.
It is adopted when the main/submain is laid into a depression. In this case,
the land along the main/submain is double drained which is however necessary
because it is in depression and requires more drainage than the land on
adjacent slopes.
Layout of closed drains system

I Double main system - Two seperate mains/submains with seperate laterals are
provided. The system is provided when the bottom of the depression is wide.
This arrangement helps to reduce the length of laterals.
I Intercepting drain system - In this system, there are no laterals but only a
main/submain is provided at the toe of the slope. The arrangement is adopted
when the hilly land is to be drained.
Layout of closed drains system
Discharge and spacing of closed drains

Figure:

With reference to the figure, let L be the spacing of the drains and a be their height above the
impervious stratum. Let b be the maximum height of the drained water table above the
impervious stratum. At a distance x from the centre of drain, let the drained water table be at a
height y above the impervious stratum. The various assumptions are as follows:
i) The hydraulic gradient at a distance x from the centre of the drain is (dy/dx).
ii) Flow lines are parallel and area of flow section at a distance x from the centre of the drain per
unit length of drain is y×1=y
iii) Discharge towards the drain is inversely proportional to the distance from the drain.
Discharge and spacing of closed drains

With the above assumptions according to Darcy’s law,

dy
Qy = ky (1)
dx
where Qy is the discharge passing throguh the section at a distance x from the centre of drain per
unit length of the drain.
If QD is the total discharge per unit length carried by the drain, then (QD /2)enters the drain from
either side. Since discharge is inversely proportional to the distance from the drain, discharge = 0
when x=(L/2) and discharge = (QD /2)when x=0.
Thus
QD (L/2) − x
Qy =
2 (L/2)

or
QD
Qy = (L − 2x) (2)
2L
Discharge and spacing of closed drains

Equating the value of Qy from equations 1 and 2, we get

QD dy
(L − 2x) = ky
2L dx

or
QD
(L − 2x)dx = ydy
2kL

Integrating we get,

QD y2
(Lx − x 2 ) = +C
2kL 2

When x=0, y=a

∴
a2
C =−
2

Making this substitution, we get

Lk(y 2 − a2 )
QD =
Lx − x 2

When x=(L/2), y=b.

4k(b2 − a2 )
∴ QD = (3)
L

and
4k(b2 − a2 )
L= (4)
QD
Discharge and spacing of closed drains

From equations 3 and 4, discharge and spacing of closed drains can be determined. For a given
drainage system, equation 3 can be used to predict the inflow. However, to determine the spacing
for new drainage system, by equation 4 we can get if QD is known which will depend on infiltration
discharge into the ground which should be removed by drain. Different values have been
suggested for QD out of which the commonly adopted value being 1% of the average annual rainfall
drained in 24 hours.
Example 1

In a system of closed drains, the drains are placed with their centres 7.7 m above the impervious
stratum and the maximum height of the drained water table above the impervious stratum is 8m.
If the spacing between the drains is 25m and discharge entering the drain per unit length is
4.5×10−6 cumec/m, find the coefficient of permeability of soil.
Solution

4k(b2 − a2 )
L=
QD

or
LQD
k=
4(b2 − a2 )

L = 25m, QD = 4.5 × 10−6 cumec/m,

b = 8m, a = 7.7m
Substituing these values, we get,
k = 5.97 × 10−6 m/s
Example 2

In a drainage system, closed drains are to be placed with their centres 2 m below the ground level
to keep the highest position of the water table 1.7m below the ground level. The impervious
stratum is at a depth of 9.6m below the ground level. If the average annual rainfall in the area is
850 mm, find the spacing of drains. Assume 1% of the average annual rainfall to be drained in 24
hours and coefficient of permability k=1×10−5 m/s
Solution

850×A×1 3
1% of average annual rainfall over an area A km2 catered by each drain = 1000×100 m = 85 × 10−4 A m3
This is to be drained in 24 hours and hence the volume of water to be drained per second
−4
= 85×10 A
24×3600 cumec
If L is the spacing beyween the drains, then the area catered by drain per unit length = L m2

85 × 10−4 × L
∴ QD = = 9.84 × 10−8 L cumec/m
24 × 3600
From the equation (4), we have,
4k(b2 − a2 )
L=
QD
b=(9.6-1.7) = 7.9m and a = (9.6-2) = 7.6m
Subtituing these values,
4 × 1 × 10−5 [(7.9)2 − (7.6)2 ]
L=
9.84 × 10−8 L

L2 = 1890.24

∴ L = 43.48m = 43.5 m

Hence the drains hould be provided at a spacing of 43.5m.

Example 3

In a drainage system, closed drains are to be placed with their centres 10.5 m above the
impervious stratum and the maximum height of the drained water table above the centre of drains
is 0.3m. If the spacing of drains is 36m and the drrains carry 1% of the average annual rainfall in
24 hours, find the average annual rainfall. Take coefficient of permability k=5×10−6 m/s.
Solution

From the equation,

4k(b2 − a2 )
QD =
L
k= 5×10−6 m/s, b= (10.5+0.3) = 10.8m, a = 10.5 m and L= 36m

QD = 3.55 × 10−6 cumec/m

If the average annual rainfall is x mm, then the volume of water drained per second
x×A x×L
= 1000×100×24×3600 cumec = 1000×100×24×3600 cumec
Substituing the value of QD , we get

x × 36
3.55 × 10−6 =
1000 × 100 × 24 × 3600
∴
∴ x = 852mm

The average annual rainfall is 852 mm.