RESERVOIRS

A reservoir is created with the impounding of runoff from the catchment upstream
by the

Max. Elevation

Surcharge storage High flood level

Normal full elev.
Food Control
Normal. Res. Level
Active or Live storage
HydroPower
Buffer
Inactive Storage

Dead storage

construction of a dam across a river or stream. Storage is done during the period
the flow is in excess of the demand for release during the lean period.
Reservoirs are constructed for various purposes and depending on the purpose
served, reservoirs may be classified as:

Reservoir according to purpose

Storage Flood
Reservoir Control Distribution Balancing Multi-
Reservoir Reservoir Reservoir purpose

Auxiliary

Reservoir
1. Storage (impounding or conservation) reservoir: stores water during the
period of excess flow with the view of utilizing it when demand outstrips inflow
into the reservoir. Such reservoirs are usually provided with gate controlled
outlets.

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2. Flood control Reservoir: It is used to reduce the severity of flood in areas
downstream by holding back temporary part of the excessive runoff. When the
flood is over, it is released gradually downstream to prevent flooding. Flood
control reservoirs may be retarding or detention.

Retarding reservoir: In this type, controlling devices such as gates are not
provided in the outlets to regulate releases but with the rise in the reservoir level
they are designed to release such supplies as would not create flooding of the
areas downstream. The discharge capacity of the outlet and spillways is fixed so
that it is not in excess of the flood carrying capacity of the river channel
downstream. Advantages of such reservoirs include: i) Expensive gates and gate
controlling equipments are not required; ii) Automatic operation eliminates human
elements from reservoir operation.

Detention Reservoirs; are reservoirs in which the releases are controlled with
gates to provide greater flexibility in reservoir operations.

Advantages: i) better control on releases as outlet capacity can be regulated; ii)

greater utilization of available resources;

Disadvantages: High cost because of outlet controlling devices ii) Susceptible to

human errors in operation of gates.

3. Distribution Reservoirs: These are usually of small capacity and cater for the
water supply demand of a city or a town. They store water during the periods of
no demand or slack demand and meet the demand in excess of the constant
pumping rate from storage during the period of maximum demand. The reservoir
thus permits the pumping plants and water treatment plant to work at a uniform
rate.

4. Balancing Reservoir: It is a reservoir, usually of limited capacity, located

downstream of a main reservoir to store water let down from the main reservoir in
excess of that required for eg. Irrigation or additional power generation so as to
provide flexibility of operation to the distribution system and at certain locations
primarily for permitting regulated supply to power penstocks with a view to cater
for the fluctuation of water supply to turbines.

5. Auxiliary Reservoir ( Compensatory): A reservoir which supplements the

storage of a main reservoir.

6. Multipurpose (Multi-use)Reservoir: It is a reservoir constructed and equipped

to provide storage and release of water to cater for a combination of two or more
purposes such as irrigation, power generation, navigation, flood control, water
supply etc. Multipurpose reservoirs are often of large capacity. Flood control
reservoirs are now not built as a separate project but usually integrated into
multipurpose reservoirs.

Advantages of multipurpose reservoirs:

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i) Affords opportunity to get every possible benefit from the stored water.

ii) Usually financial viable

iii) Lot of indirect benefits(development of fisheries, recreation, transportation

etc).

Disadvantages: High capital investment; possibility of rapid silting up;

submergence of large agricultural lands.

Reservoir construction may be contemplated under one of the following

conditions:

i) Running water is available in sufficient quantity, but running to waste or

causing damage. In this case, an attempt is made to utilize the available water
for developmental purposes of the area.

ii) Water is needed all the time either for the generation of hydro-power to meet
the requirement of power for development or for irrigation; however the flow in
the stream is unable to meet the demand all the time.

Once it is decided to construct a reservoir, it is important to know that it is

cheaper to construct a larger reservoir and combine several functions than to
construct series of separate dams for each purpose. The following factors must
be investigated before deciding to put up a reservoir:

a) Availability of water

b) Availability of suitable site for the construction of a dam to create the

reservoir.

c) Availability of construction material in sufficient quantity, equipment,

labour, etc.

Investigations for reservoir planning

Investigations if carried out in details, will be time consuming and expensive.

Sometimes, it may happen that the investigations made may reveal that the
project is not economical or technically sound. In such a case, all the labour and
resources spent become a waste. Therefore an investigation should be planned
and executed such that the soundness of the project will be determined as early
and as cheap as possible. To achieve this aim, investigation may be divided as
follows:

1. Reconnaissance or preliminary investigations: which seeks to collect and

analyze the following information: i) A not very precise topographic map of the
site; ii) Some information of over burden; iii) Characteristics of the foundation
(few samples are needed); iv) A preliminary geological survey of site;

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v) Hydrological studies; vi) Investigation of the available construction materials;
vii) Checking of high flood marks and their use to determine spillway capacity.

The purpose of this preliminary investigation is to obtain sufficient data to carry

out the office studies and estimate cost sufficiently accurate to select the most
economical and suitable site amongst the several options that may be available.

2. Final investigations: Is limited to the point that is necessary to confirm the

relative merits of few selected options and working out details. The investigations
should include: i) to select the final option; ii) to determine the nature of
foundation; iii) to determine availability and quantity of construction materials; iv)
T obtain all other necessary information useful for the design purpose.; v)
requirement for coffer dam, pumping and other provisions for dewatering the site;
vi) transport facilities and accessibility to site; vii) suitable site for construction
camp and repair of construction equipments.

Preliminary Investigations for Reservoir Planning

1. Engineering Surveys; 2) Geological Surveys; 3) Hydrological surveys

1. Engineering surveys of the reservoir and work areas are required to determine
the capacity and spread of the reservoir at various elevations; for laying out the
lines of communications and other various works and for estimating quantities of
materials and their cost.

The contour interval is 2.5 m but at the site of dam an interval of 1.5 m is used
and a map on a scale of 1/250 to 1/500.

Area Capacity Curves.

From the contour map of the reservoir area, the water spread of the reservoir at
any elevation may be directly determined by measuring the area at that contour
with a planimeter. From these measurements, an area – elevation curve can be
drawn. The capacity of the reservoir may be determined by taking contour areas
at equal interval and summing up these areas by any of the following methods:

Trapezoidal formula: In this formula, the volume between and two successive
contours is given by:

V = H/3(A1 + A2 + A1.A2) or

V = H/3(A1 + 4A2 + A3), where there are three horizontal sections.

Simpson Formula: In this formula, the volume between any odd number of
contours is given by:

V = H/6 (2x area of each odd contour + 4x area of even contours + area of first
and last contour)

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V = H/6 [2(A3 + A5 +…..An-2) +4(A2+ A4 +…..An-1) + (A1 + An)]

Where A1, A3 areas of odd contours

And A2, A4 – areas of even contours.

Prismoidal formula: V = H/6(A1 + A2 +4Am), where A1, A2 = areas at contour

level interval; Am = area within a contour line midway between the two adjacent
contours, H = contour interval.

Simple average method: V = ½(A1 + A2)

Elevation, H(m)

V = f(H)

A = f(H)

Area (Km2)

Volume ( Km2 –m)

2. Geological Surveys is essential to determine 1) the suitability of foundation; 2)

the tightness of the reservoir basin and 3) seismic conditions of the area;
4) location of quarry sites.

3. Hydrological investigation is the main essence of planning a storage project

with regard to the availability of supplies so essential for the determination of the
size of the reservoir. It is necessary to 1) have accurate estimate of the run-off
pattern at the proposed dam site for the purposes of determining the height of
dam, reservoir size, 2) estimate yields for reliabilities of 75, 90, and 100 per cent
for irrigation, hydro power and water supply (capacity of power house and other
installations) and 3) to determine the hydrograph of the worst flood to estimate
the spillway size.

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4. Sediment Studies: Loss of storage capacity by silting is very vital for
determining the useful life of the reservoir. Sediment observations shall be
carried out for both bed and suspended load as well as natural soil conditions
including catchment characteristics from the point of view of erosion.

Site Selection for Reservoir

The storage capacity of site should be sufficient to the meet the requirement for
which it is designed.
i) Site where the width of river is narrow but rapidly widening upstream
ii) Site where sufficient quantity of water is available. This will depend on the
intensity of rainfall, run-off and catchment area.
iii) As much as possible, site should be such that water can flow under gravity
from reservoir to demand points
iv) Site must be close to demand points
v) The geological conditions at the site should permit minimum percolation
losses, with maximum run-off.
vi)Site must be close to useful construction materials.
vii) The topography should be favourable for site for spillway.
viii) Site should be such that the run-off water has minimum percentage of
sediment
ix) Site must be free from such minerals and salts, which may make the water
unfit for the purpose, for which the dam built.

STORAGE ZONES AND LEVELS OF A RESERVOIR

1. Dead Storage: us about 10 – 25 % of the gross storage and it is provided to
cater for sediment deposition by the impounded sediment –laden waters. Usually
this volume is below sluiceway, and therefore below it, the reservoir is not
susceptible to release water by the built in outlet means. The dead storage is
equivalent to the volume of sediment expected to be deposited in the reservoir
during the design life of the reservoir.
2. Live (Active or Useful) Storage: It is the storage capacity above the inactive
storage, which constitutes useable portion of the total storage.It is thus the
difference of gross storage capacity and the sum of dead storage capacity and
inactive capacity Live storage has to be sufficient so that the project is successful
for i) 75% of its life period in an irrigation project; ii) 90% for hydro- power and iii)
100% for water supply.
3. Flood Storage: is the storage contained between the normal reservoir level
and the full reservoir level. It is the storage space provided in a reservoir for
storing flood water temporary to moderate the releases downstream.

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4. Valley Storage: is the storage in the river in floods after it gas overflowed its
banks. It is important element in the design of large size flood control reservoirs
where it could be a significant proportion in respect to the reservoir storage
volume.
5. Surcharge Storage: It is the storage between the Normal full reservoir level
and the maximum possible level in the reservoir. This storage is usually difficult
to control since it depends on maximum floods, rains and the resulting run-offs.
6. High Flood Level (Maximum Pool Level): The level to which the water will rise
during the design flood
7. Full Reservoir Level The level to which water will rise during ordinary
conditions of operation of reservoir.
Minimum Pool Level: The level to which water from the reservoir in ordinary
conditions may be drawn.
Storage Capacity and Yield
Yield: It is the volume of water that can be supplied from the reservoir in a
specific interval of time. The time interval may vary from a day to a year.
Dependable or Firm Yield: The maximum guaranteed supply of water during the
worst dry period.
Secondary Yield: The quantity of water available in excess of dependable yield
during the flood period.
Designed Yield: It is the quantity of water for which the project is designed after
ascertaining the availability of water. It is usually kept lower than firm yield.
Average Yield: It is the arithmetic average of safe yield and secondary yield
over a long period.
Active Capacity: is the storage available for project purpose
Reservoir Storage Capacity Determination
The storage capacity of a reservoir to meet the demand of continuous supply is
determined with the help of observed discharge data of a stream on which the
dam is to be constructed. The flow values for the driest years in as long a period
as is available, eg, 25 to 30 years are used.
There are two approaches for the determination of the size of reservoir storage.
The simplified method, which are commonly used in planning stage studies,
comprise mass curve analysis.
The detail method, used at the time of developing reservoir operating plans,
performs a sequential reservoir routing of the historical flows, which will not be
treated here.
A third, by Bar Graph Method. In this method, the inflows of the driest year are
plotted as ordinates against time as abscissa to get a stepped graph as bar
graph. The area under the bar graph represents total volume of inflow into
reservoir. The average demand is likewise plotted. The area between the two

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plots indicates either surplus or deficit volume. The area of maximum deficit
between the demand and inflow represents the minimum storage required.

Surplus
Deficit

Surplus
Max. deficit

STORAGE

Bar Graph Method

Simplified Procedure for Reservoir Storage Capacity.

There are two methods of analyses: i) the sequential mass-curve method and ii)
the non-sequential mass-curve method.
Mass curves are useful in reservoir studies since they provide a ready means of
determining storage capacity necessary for a particular average drawoff.

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Properties of the mass curve
1. Any point on the curve indicate the total inflow from the beginning of the
period up to the given point.
2. The slope of the tangent to the mass curve at any time gives the inflow
rate at that time
3. The slope of a line joining any two points on the mass curve gives the
average inflow rate withi the period
4. Dry spells (periods) are indicated as hollows on the curve.
A sequential mass-curve method (Rippl Method) considers the most critical
period of recorded flow, which might be a severe drought period. The cumulative
difference between the inflow and outflow to the reservoir during successive
periods are evaluated, the maximum value of which is the required storage.

S = maximum ∑(It –Ot) -------------------------R-1

Where S – required storage capacity
It – inflow during period dt, Ot – outflow (draft) during period dt
Equation (R–1) can be solved either analytically or graphically.
Analytical Method: In this method, the inflow and demand values in each month
are determined. The demand includes prior rights, if any, evaporation, seepage,
etc. The deficit and surplus of water which is the departure of inflow volume from
demand volume is determined. The maximum value of cumulative excess of
demand over inflow represents the minimum storage necessary to meet the
demand. The cumulative excess inflow volume starting from each demand
withdrawal from the storage is also determined which indicates the filling up of
the reservoir and the volume in excess of storage to be spilled over.

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Example: In the table below, (col. 2) gices the yield of a river, (col. 3 & 4) gives
total losses including evaporation, percolation, etc., and total estimated
consumption of water. Determine the storage capacity of the proposed reservoir.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Month Yield of Total Total Total Surplus Total
River Losses consumption (3 + 4) surplus
(2 – 5)
June 0.0385 0.0863 0.1883 0.2746 - -
July 0.4013 0.0784 0.1851 0.2633 0.1378 -
Aug 0.4327 0.0678 0.1782 0.2460 0.1863 -
Sept. 0.4832 0.0615 0.1513 0.2128 0.2704 -
Oct 0.3384 0.0482 0.1482 0.1964 0.2902 -
Nov. 0.3156 0.0257 0.1215 0.1472 0.1684 -
Dec. 0.2983 0.0173 0.0987 0.1160 0.1823 -
Jan 0.2357 0.0195 0.1142 0.1337 0.1020 -
Feb. 0.2013 0.0202 0.1348 0.1550 0.0463 1.3837
Mar. 0.1605 0.0823 0.1562 0.2085 - -
April 0.1114 0.0845 0.1732 0.2577 - -
May 0.0713 0.1032 0.1784 0.2816 - -
June 0.0401 0.0975 0.1895 0.2870 - -
July 0.3247 0.0767 0.1883 0.2650 0.0597 -
Aug 0.3652 0.0681 0.1790 0.2471 0.1181 -
Sep 0.2830 0.0600 0.1551 0.2151 0.0679 -
Oct 0.2218 0.0515 0.1503 0.2018 0.0200 -
Nov 0.1943 0.0301 0.1284 0.1585 0.0358 -
Dec 0.1814 0.0165 0.1010 0.1175 0.0639 -
Jan 0.1703 0.0183 0.1186 0.1369 0.0334 -
Feb 0.1415 0.0197 0.1207 0.1404 0.0011 03997
Mar 0.1137 0.0515 0.1531 02046 - -
April 0.0945 0.0726 0.1802 0.2528 - -
May 0.0687 0.0985 0.1854 0.2839 - -
June 0.0312 0.1013 0.1903 0.2916 - -

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July 0.4215 0.0695 0.1900 0.2595 0.1620 -
Aug 0.4183 0.0603 0.1805 0.2408 0.1775 -
Sept. 0.3967 0.0587 0.1570 0.2157 0.1810 -
Oct 0.3818 0.0494 0.1525 0.2019 0.1799 -
Nov 0.2323 0.0286 0.1312 0.1598 0.0725 -
Dec 0.1738 0.0108 0.1135 0.1243 0.0495 -
Jan 0.1621 0.0143 0.1218 0.1361 0.0260 0.8484
Feb 0.1358 0.0195 0.1256 0.1451 - -
Mar 0.1148 0.0613 0.1583 0.2196 - -
April 0.0887 0.0688 0.1831 0.2519 - -
May 0.0595 0976 0.1867 0.2843 - -

8 9 10 11 12 13
Deficit Total deficit Cumulative Cumulative Difference Carry over
(5-2) yield Draft (10-11)
0.2361 - 0.0385 0.2746 0.2361 Emptying
- - 0.4398 0.5381 0.0983 of reserv.
- - 0.8725 0.7481 0.0884 Filling of
- = 1.3557 1.9969 0.3588 Reservoir
- - 1.6941 1.1933 0.5008 Overflow
- - 2.0097 1.3405 0.6692 Overflow
- - 2.3080 1.4565 0.8515 Overflow
- - 2.5437 1.5902 0.9535 Overflow
- - 2.7450 1.7452 0.9998 Emptying
0.048 - 2.9055 1.9537 0.9518 Emptying
0.1463 - 3.0169 2.2114 0.8055 Emptying
0.2103 - 3.0882 2.4930 0.5952 Emptying
0.2469 0.8876 3.1283 2.7800 0.3483 Emptying
- - 3.4530 3.0450 0.4080 Emptying
- - 3.8182 3.2921 0.5261 Emptying
- - 4.1012 3.5072 0.5940 Emptying

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- - 4.3230 3.7090 0.6140 Emptying
- - 4.5173 3.8675 0.6498 Emptying
- - 4.6987 3.9850 0.7137 Emptying
- - 4.8690 4.1219 0.7471 Emptying
- - 5.0105 4.2623 0.7482 Emptying
0.0909 - 5.1242 4.4669 0.6573 Emptying
0.1583 - 5.2187 4.7197 0.4990 Emptying
0.2125 - 5.2874 5.0036 0.2838 Emptying
0.2604 0.7221 5.3185 5.2952 0.0234 Emptying
- - 6.7401 5.5547 0.1854 Filling
- - 6.1584 5.7955 0.3629 Filling
- - 6.5551 6.0112 0.5439 Filling
- - 6.9369 6.3121 0.7238 Filling
- - 7.1692 6.3729 0.7963 Overflow
- - 7.3430 6.4972 0.8458 Overflow
- - 7.5051 6.6333 0.8718 Overflow
0.0093 - 7.6409 6.7784 0.8625 Overflow
0.1048 - 7.7557 6.9980 0.7577 Emptying
0.1632 - 7.8444 7.2499 0.5945 Emptying
0.2248 0.5021 7,9039 7.5342 0.3697 Emptying

Graphical Method: there are two graphical procedures. In the first method,
(Mass Curve method), It is accumulated separately as a mass inflow curve and
Ot as a mass yield curve. For a constant draft rate, the yield curve is a straight
line having a slope equal to the draft rate. At each high point on the mass inflow
curve, a line is drawn parallel to the yield curve and extended until it meets the
inflow curve. The maximum vertical distance between the parallel yield line and
the mass inflow curve represents the required storage. Assuming the reservoir is
full at A; and going from A to F along the inflow curve. From A to B, the draft is
more than inflow resulting in a lowering of reservoir; from B to C, the inflow is
higher than the draft, but not enough to refill the reservoir; from C to D, the draft
is more, once again causing a drop in reservoir level; from D to E, however, the
inflow is very high, thus filling the reservoir at E.

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 Cumulative volume F
Inflow curve
G

C
Storage
D Yield/demand
Curve
A
B

Time

The second graphical procedure plots the difference of successive accumulated

values of inflow and yield ∑(It - Ot) against time. The maximum vertical difference
is the storage.

∑(I –O)

Storage volume

Time

RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION

Every stream (river) carries some sediment load along with the flow. The larger
solid particles roll along the bed as bed load. Smaller particles are kept in
suspension by the upwards component of the turbulent forces and will only settle

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by gravitational force when velocity reduces. Such particles are called
suspended load.
When sediment laden water reaches a reservoir, in the vicinity of a dam, the
velocity and the turbulence are greatly reduced due to enlarged area of the
channel. The larger suspended particles and most of the bed load gets deposited
in the head reaches of the reservoir. The smaller particles remain in suspension
for longer periods and are deposited further down in the reservoir. Very fine
particles may remain in suspension for still longer period and some may pass
over the dam along with the water discharged through spillway or sluiceways.
If the water stored in the reservoir is clear and the inflow is charged with
sediment or is muddy, the heavier water with sediment will flow along the
channel bottom towards the dam under the influence of gravity and the clear light
water will flow on the upper surface of the turbid water. This condition is known
as stratified flow and the under flow of sediment laden water is known as density
current. The process whereby sediments are deposited at the bed of the
reservoir due to reduced turbulence and velocity is known as reservoir
sedimentation. The deposition of sediments will reduce the water storing capacity
of the reservoir and if this process continues for a long time, a stage will be
reached when the whole reservoir will be silted and would be rendered useless.

Mechanism of Sedimentation in Reservoirs

Silt deposition in reservoirs follow a typical pattern just like the formation of deltas
at the confluence of a river at the sea or lake. There are four patterns:
1. Top set bed; 2) Fore set bed; 3) Bottom set bed; and density currents.
1. Top set bed: The velocity of a river is reduced considerably as it
approaches the reservoir even before the river enters the reservoir due to
back water effect. Due to the reduction of velocity of flow, the silt carrying
capacity of the river reduces and it deposits the heavy sediment particles
in the channel above the highest level, just at the entry into the reservoir.
This is called the top set bed.
2. Fore set bed: As the river water enters the relatively calmer waters of the
reservoir, the coarser particles and most medium size sediment particles
settle down at the toe of the top set bed. This is called the fore set bed.
3. Bottom set bed: The fine particles (silt) do not settle till they have moved
through a sufficient distance into the reservoir where they may settle and
get deposited in thin layers as bottom set bed.
4. Density current: is the turbid water which flows under the clear water of
the reservoir due to its relative dense nature
In reservoir engineering, a special storage is allocated to sediment called the
dead storage under the lowest sluice-way. The dead can be as much as a fourth
of the total capacity of the reservoir.

Sediment Measurement
Suspended load: which comprises the greatest part of total sediment load is
classified in terms of sediment diameter into:
i) Coarse sediment – particles above 0.20 mm diameter

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 ii) Medium sediment – particles between 0.20 – 0.075 mm
iii) Fine sediment -- particles below 0.075 mm.

Periodic samples from the river are taken at various discharges and the
suspended sediment concentration is measured. A sediment rating curve, which
is a plot of sediment concentration against discharge is prepared and is used for
approximate estimation of suspended sediment load.

Bed load: are the particles moving on or near the bed. Movement takes place by
rolling, sliding and hopping depending on the velocity of flow.
Bed load is not amenable to theoretical treatment. Two methods used for
estimation of bed loads are analytical and stream sampling. Quite a few
samplers have been devised of which the Russian type bed load sampler is
considered more suitable for alluvial channels. Generally, however, the bed load
is taken as a certain percentage of suspended load which is susceptible to
sufficiently accurate measurement. This percentage usually varies from 3 to 25
% of the total suspended load depending on the nature of bed material, its grade,
concentration of suspended materials etc. A 10 %value is the more commonly
acceptable figure. The table below gives the % of bed load in terms of total
suspended load.

Concentration of Type of material Texture of %bed load in

Suspended load forming channel suspended terms of
(ppm) of stream material measured (total)
suspended load
Low: less than 1000 Sand Similar to bed 25 to 30
material
Low: less than 1000 Gravel, rock or Small amount of 5 to 12
consolidated sant
clay
Medium: Sand Similar to bed 10 to 35
1000 to 7500 material
Medium: Gravel, rock or 25% sand or less 5 to 12
1000 to 7500 consolidated
clay
High: over 7500 Sand Similar to bed 5 to 15
material
High: over 75090 Gravel, rock or 25% sand or less 2 to 8
consolidated
clay

ANALYTICAL METHOD
1. Tractive force theory: the tractive force theory and flume laboratory studies
have been used to estimate bed load. Du Boys on assumption that sand is
moved in layers subject to uniform tractive force and the rate of sediment

15
transportation is proportional to the excess of prevailing tractive force over the
critical value required to initiate movement gavethe following:

qs = Cs τ0 (τ0 – τc)
where qs = rate of transportation of (in volume) of bed load per second per unit
width
Cs = coefficient depending on shape and size of sediment particles = 0.173/(d) 3/4
where d is in mm
τ0 = average shear stress on channel boundary
τ0 = critical shear stress
qs , τ0 and τc arein F.P.S units

2. Shield’s formula: Sheld’s dimensionally homogeneous equation for sediment

of uniform size is given by:

where Ss= specific gravity of the grain

S = slope of bed
q = discharge per unit width
qs = rate of transportation (in volume) per second per unit width
r = unit weight of fluid
d = diameter of grain

3. Meyer Peter’s formula:

kg/m/hr

where gs = rate of bed load transport per unit width

of channel in kg/m/hr or gs = qs.r.Ss
qs = volume of sediment transported per metre width of channel per hour.
r = unit weight of fluid
Ss = specific gravity of grain
N’ Manning’s coefficient for plain bed
where d = effective grain diameter in m
N = actual value of Manning’s N for the bed. Generally taken as 0.020 for
discharge over 11 m3/s and 0.0225 for lower discharges
ττ0 = unit tractive force produced by flowing water= rRS taken as 0.97rRS
τc = critical shear stress required to move the grain.

Estimation of the Rate of Sedimentation

The amount of sediment load carried by a stream is determined by taking
samples of water carrying silt at various depths. The samples are filtered,
sediment removed and dried. The sediment load per day may be computed by:

16
 tones per day
where Wd = dry weight of sediment
Q = mean daily discharge in cumecs
C = dry sediment weight in grams per litre of water.

Khosla’s Studies.
In the absence of any information on sediments, one could use the studies of Dr.
A. N. Khosla. On the basis of studies on some catchment areas, Khosla
suggested the rate of silting per 100 square kilometer of catchment to be 0.036
million cubic metres.
Recent studies have shown that Khosla’s value is on the low side. The average
sediment rate of reservoirs in USA is given below:

No. Area of watershed No. of Average annual sediment rate

(Km2) measurement (in mil m3 per 100 sq. km area).
1 Under 25 650 0.180
2 25- 250 205 0.076
3 250 – 2500 123 0.048
4 Above 2500 118 0.029

TRAP EFFICIENCY AND LIFE OF A RESERVOIR

Trap efficiency η of a reservoir is defined as the ratio of sediments retained in
reservoir to the total sediment brought in the reservoir by the stream.

Trap efficiency (η) = Sediment deposited in reservoir .

Total sediment brought into reservoir by river
It has been observed that most reservoirs trap about 95 – 100% sediment
brought to it. It is not possible to reduce it below 90 % irrespective of sediment
control measures taken.

Capacity-Inflow Ratio
Capacity inflow ratio is the ratio of the capacity (volume) of a reservoir to the total
inflow (volume) of water in a given time (usually one year).It is an important factor
as detailed observations of reservoir sedimentation has shown that trap
efficiency is a function of this factor.
Thus: η
trap efficiency(η) = f (Reservoir capacity)
Total inflow
The figure below shows a graph of trap efficiency and capacity inflow ratio based
on observations of existing reservoirs. From the figure, it will be noted that for a
given inflow rate, the trap efficiency decreases with age of reservoir as the
capacity of the reservoir reduces due to sediment deposition. Hence, the rate of
silting is higher in the initial stages and it decreases as silting takes place.
Complete filling of the reservoir may take a long time, but actually the useful life

17
of the reservoir is terminated when its capacity is reduced to 20 % of the
designed capacity or sediment is so much as to prevent the from serving
intended purpose.

For small reservoirs on large rivers having large inflow rates, the trap efficiency
trap efficiency is low, because the capacity inflow ratio is very small. The silting in
such reservoirs is low, because most of the sediments are passed to the
downstream.
The procedure for determination of the life of a reservoir is as follows:
i) The capacity of the reservoir is determined. Next, the capacity inflow ratio and
the trap efficiency are determined for the full capacity of the reservoir with the
help of the curve.
ii) Divide the total capacity into 10 parts. Assuming that 10% capacity has been
reduced due to deposits of sediments, determine the trap efficiency for the
reduced capacity (90% of the total capacity) and the inflow ratio.
iii) For the above 10% interval of capacity, determine the average trap efficiency
by taking into account the trap efficiency (η) obtained in the above steps.
iv) By collecting water samples and drying the sediments, determine the
sediment inflow rate. The total annual sediment collected in the reservoir per
year is multiplied with the trap efficiency determined in step (iii) above. The
sediment quantity so obtained is converted into hectare-metre units deposit per
year.
v) Now the reservoir volume interval ( i.e. 10% of the capacity is divided by the
sediment deposited per year, obtained in step (iv) above. It will give the number
of years required to fill this volume interval of 10% capacity.
vi) Now repeat the procedure (i) to (v) above for further capacity intervals i.e.
80%, 70%, 60%etc of the total reservoir capacity. The total life of the reservoir
will be the total number of years required to fill each of the volume intervals.

18
Examples
The following data is available from a reservoir regarding its trap efficiency and
capacity inflow ratio;

Cap Inflow 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Ratio
Trap 87 92 93 95.5 96 96 96.5 97 97.5 98
efficiency

Find the probable life of reservoir with an initial reservoir capacity of 40 million
cubic metres and with an annual average flood inflow of 80 million cubic metres.
The annual sediment inflow is found to be 22 x 10 4 tonnes. The specific weight of
sediment may be taken as 1.15 tones per m3. The useful life of reservoir may be
assumed when its capacity is reduced to 20% of its designed capacity.

Solution.
Initial reservoir capacity = 40 x 106 m3
Average annual inflow = 88 x 106 m3
Therefore capacity inflow ratio = 40/80 = 0.5
Average annual sediment inflow = 22 x 104 tonnes

Let’s assume that 20%of the initial capacity is filled in the first interval, i.e. 20/100
x40 = 8 x 106m3 capacity is filled at a time.

For 0.5 C-I-R the trap efficiency is 96%.

At the end of the first interval, the capacity of reservoir = 40 - 8 = 32 x 10 6m3
At the end of the first interval the C-I-R = 32/80 = 0.4
From the curve, this correspond to a trap efficiency of 95.5%
Therefore the average trap efficiency for the entire period = (96 + 95.5)/2 =
95.75%
Weight of sediment deposited annually = 22 x10 4 x 0.975 = 0.2107 x 106 tonnes
Volume of sediment deposited annually = (0.2107 x 10 6)/1.15 = 0.1823 x 106 m3
Therefore No. of years to fill 20% (8 x 106m3) capacity = (8 x106)/0.1823 x106 =
43.9 years.
Similarly, the silting period for the other intervals can be calculated. The rest of
the calculations are done in the table below

Capacity Capacity Trap Efficiency Sediment Incrementa Years to

x 106m3 Inflow Trapped l Volume fill
Ratio At Average Tonnes Volume (x 106m3) (Col.7)/
(C-I-R) indicated for x 10 6
x 10 6
(Col. 6)
% volume increment tonnes m3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

19
 40 0.5 96.0
32 0.4 95.5 95.75 2.107 0.1831 8 43.70
24 0.3 95.0 95.25 2.095 0.1822 8 43.93
16 0.2 92.5 93.75 2.062 0.1793 8 44.61
8 0.1 87.5 90.0 1.98 0.1722 8 46.46
178.9
179years

Example 2.
Below are data regarding trap efficiency and capacity inflow ratio of a reservoir
Capacity 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Inflow ratio
Trap 85 86 92 94 95 95.5 96 96.5 97 97.5 97.7
efficiency

Determine the probable life of the reservoir with an initial reservoir capacity of 25
million m3, if the annual inflow is 50 million m3 and the average annual sediment
inflow is 300,000 tonnes. Assume the density of the sediment as 1250kg/m 3. The
useful life of the reservoir will terminate when 85 % of the initial capacity is filled
with sediment.

Solution:
Average annual sediment inflow = 300,000 x 1000 kg
Volume of sediment inflow = 300,000,000/1250 = 0.24 x 10 6
Initial reservoir capacity = 25 x 106m3
Annual inflow = 55 x 106m3
Therefore Initial capacity = 25 x 106 = 0.5
Capacity 50 x 106

The capacity inflow ratio goes on decreasing as the sediment takes place and
trap efficiency also decreases. The volume of interval chosen is 5 x 10 6 i.e. 20%
of initial capacity. To obtain the 85% filling of initial capacity the volume interval in
last two readings is taken as 5%.
Similarly, for the calculation of the years to fill the last 5% capacity is determined
by taking 1 = . 1 . = 4.87 years
St 0.2.52

Capacity Cap. Trap Efficiency η Sediment Trapped Incre- Years

% Volume Inflow @ Average Tonnes Volume mental to fill
x 106m3 Ratio indicated for x 106 x106 Vol. col 8
Volume interval =300,000 (m3) x 106 /col 9
x col(5) =col(6)/ (m3)
1.25

20
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
100 25 0.5 0.955
80 20 0.4 0.95 0.9525 2.8575 0.2286 5 21.7
60 15 0.3 0.94 0.945 2.835 0.2268 5 22.04
40 10 0.2 0.92 0.93 2.79 0.2232 5 22.40
20 5 0.1 0.86 0.89 2.67 0.2136 5 23.40
15 4 0.08 0.85 0.855 2.565 0.2052 121.7 4.87
Total 94.58

Example 3. A reservoir has a drainage area of 49,000 acres. The reservoir has a
capacity of 10,000 acre-ft. Streamflow runoff averages 15.5 in. per year. The
annual sediment production is 9.5 x 106 ft3. Determine the life of the reservoir,
assuming that the life is over when 80% of the original capacity is lost

Solution
1. Annual inflow I = (49,000) (15.5/12) = 63,290 acre-ft
2. Annual sediment production = 9.5 x 106 ft3 or 218.5 acre-ft
3. Unfilled capacity (20%) = (20/100) (10,000) = 2,000 acre-ft
4.

Capacity Cap. Trap Efficiency η Sediment Incre- Years

Inflow Trapped mental to fill
% Volume Ratio @ Average Tonnes Volume Vol. col 8
6
Acre-ft =col2 indicated for Acre-ft x 10 /col 9
/63,290 Volume interval =col(5)x (m3)
218.5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
100 10,000 0.16 0.92
80 8,000 0.13 0.88 0.90 197 2,000 10.1
60 6,000 0.09 0.85 0.865 189 2,000 10.6
40 4,000 0.06 0.80 0.825 180 2,000 11.1
20 2,000 0.03 0.68 0.74 162 2,000 12.3
Total 44.1

Control of Silting in Reservoirs

It is utmost necessary to reduce the depositions of sediments in the reservoir bed
for increasing its life. Sediment control methods may be classified as:
Pre-construction methods
Post-construction methods.
1. Pre-construction Methods includes:
i) Site Selection: For silting control, the site of reservoir should be such that the
catchment area should have firm soil which would not be easily erodable.

21
ii) The ratio of reservoir capacity and drainage size: If the storage capacity of the
reservoir is much less than the annual inflow into reservoir, large quantity of
water will flow out of reservoir and with it large volume of sediment.

iii) Design of Reservoir: For the release of density currents, adequate outlets
such as sluices should be provided in the design of the dam. I this way, sufficient
quantity of sediment may be flashed fro the reservoir.

iv) Vegetation Screen: If the ground around reservoir is covered by vegetation,

grass, etc., it will prevent the erosion of soil particles as well as it will trap large
amount of sediments. Therefore, if vegetations are grown in the catchment area,
the silting will be reduced to considerable extent. The vegetations covering the
ground are known as vegetation screens and are the cheap and effective means
of silting control.

Post-Construction Methods:
i) Mechanical Stirring of Sediment: The sediments which are deposited in the
reservoir bed are scrapped and stirred by mechanical equipments and kept in
moving state. The sediments mixed water is pushed towards the sluices and is
flashed out.
ii) Excavation: It is a very expensive method. Iy is expensive to excavate and
also expensive to dispose of excavated material.
iii) Dredging: It is also expensive as it require the purchase and maintenance of
costly machines as dredger.

Watershed Erosion Control

a) By afforestation: In this method, vegetation is planted to provide a cover to
soil, which reduces the scoring effect of the soil in three different ways:
i) It provides a cushion to the falling rain drops and reduces their impact
and consequent damage due to erosion.
ii) The roots of the plants penetrate deep into the soil and bind soil
particles enabling it resist water and wind erosion.
iii) Plants offer resistance to flow and thereby reduces the velocity of flow.
b) Controlling Overgrazing

22
FLOOD ROUTING
Flood routing is the process whereby the shape of a flood hydrograph is modified as it
passes through a hydraulic system (such as a river channel, reservoir, lake, etc). The
hydrograph resulting after passing through the hydraulic system is one with considerably
reduced peak and enlarged time base. The process can be represented as:

Flood routing in fact is a technique of determining the extent of change in the inflow
hydrograph as it passes through a hydraulic system and it is done for the purposes of:

1. Studying the effect of a hydraulic system on the modification of a flood peak

2. Determining the design elevations of flood walls and levees
3. Determining the site for a spillway
4. Derivation of unit hydrograph and synthetic hydrographs
5. For flood forecasting
6. Any other flood flow-related objectives.

In flood routing, all the components of the routing process (inflow, storage and outflow)
are connected by the storage (continuity) equation in the form:

[ Inflow volume in time Δt] + [Change in volume of water stored by the hydraulic
system during time Δt] = [Outflow volume in time Δt]

------------------------- (1)

where I and O are the average inflow and outflow rates within the time Δt.
The hydraulic system can be a reservoir (lake) or a section of a river channel, and so the
routing process is, accordingly classified into two namely: reservoir routing and channel
(streamflow) routing.
In the above equation (1) I- the inflows are known quantities but the outflows, O and the
storage, S are unknown parameters. To solve the equation, either both O and S have to be
related to a common unknown parameter or S has to be defined in terms of d to a
common unknown parameter or S has to be defined in terms of O. The former approach
is applicable to reservoir routing whiles the latter to channel routing.
Equation (1) when expressed in the differential form can be integrated, however, the
terms in the equation have a form that is not amenable to direct solution. Therefore, the
numerical solution expressed as numerical approximation can be written as :

23
 ------------------ (2)
where subscript 1 and 2 denote beginning and end of routing period Δt

RESERVOIR FLOOD ROUTING

Reservoir routing is the process of determining the reservoir stage, storage volume and
outflow rate corresponding to a particular hydrograph of inflow. The flood routing
procedure is used in the detention and storage reservoir for studies related to the
variations in reservoir levels with inflow and outflow discharge with time with a view to
deciding the location and capacity of proposed reservoirs, determining the spillway outlet
capacities, height of dam, extent of land submergence in the reservoir area.
In reservoir routing, the volume of storage can be expressed as a function of water
surface elevation in the reservoir, so also is the outflow, which can be expressed as a
function of elevation.
In routing through a reservoir, equation (2) is re-organised to the form:

-------------- (3)

Since the outflow and the storage are both functions of water surface elevation, the
storage equation becomes a relation between the known inflow and the unknown
elevation, from which elevation can be computed as a function of time.

Procedure
1. What is available at the beginning.
i) An inflow hydrograph I =f(t)
ii) An elevation –capacity curve H =f(S) or elevation – area curve of the reservoir
H =f(A)
iii) An elevation – outflow curve H = f(O)

2. From the above, the routing curve is prepared and plotted

3. At the initial time, t = 0 (start of the routing, just before flood arrives, we assume a
steady state condition, so that I1 = I2 = O1 and S1 corresponds to the storage corresponding
to elevation of O1.

4. Select the time interval Δt for the routing. This is usually taken as the interval of time
given for the inflow hydrograph. Otherwise, the time interval is so chosen so that one
does not miss the peak values.

5. At the beginning of the routing, I1 = I2 =O1. With O1 known, read off H from H =f(O)
curve. With H now known, read off 2S/ Δt +O from the H = f(2S/ Δt + O) curve. So at

24
time t = 0, the following quantities are known; H, O2 and (2S2 + O2) and they will become
the quantities at the end of a fictitious previous period.

Time Inflow (I1 + I2) (2S/ Δt + O) -2O1 (2S2/ Δt+O2) H O

0 I1 - - - X* H* O*
6 I2 I1+I2 X* -2O* X H O
16 I3
18 I4
26 I5
30 I6

6. The values in row corresponding to time t = 0, being the values at the end of a routing
period is transferred to become the initial values on the left hand-side of the routing
equation (3) for the next time step of the routing period.

7. The left hand side of the routing equation now has known values that yield a value for
(2S2 + O2). With this known, H is read from the plot and O is also determined.

8. The procedure is repeated until all the inflow values are used up.

Example: Given an inflow hydrograph and storage vs elevation data for a reservoir
below. The spillway discharge Q = 3LH3/2. The crest height of the spillway is 50 ft and
the length of the spillway is 35ft

Time(days) 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Flows(cfs) 70 185 360 480 300 165 80 0

Storage data
Elevation(ft) 50 50.5 51.0 51.5 52.0 52.5 53.0 53.5
Storage(acre-ft) 231 247 277 313 353 400 452 509

Solution:

1. The discharge data, which is the outflow, is computed from the given equation
Q = 3 x (35) x H2/3 and the storage data are listed in tabular form.
Water surface Head on crest Storage Outflow (cfs) (2S/ Δt + O)
Elevation (ft) (ft) (acre-ft) Q=3 x (35) x H3/2 Δt = 0.5 day
50 0 231 0 465.6
50.5 0.5 247 37.1 536.4
51.0 1.0 277 105.0 664.4
51.5 1.5 313 192.9 825.3
52.0 2.0 353 297.0 1009.4
52.5 2.5 499 415.0 1224.3
53.0 3.0 452 545.6 1459.5
53.5 3.5 509 687.5 1715.7

25
The routing is done in the table below

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Time Inflow I1 + I 2 (2S1+O1) -2O1 (2S2+O2) H O
0 0 - - - 465.6 50 0
0.5 70 70 465.6 0 535.6 50.45 35
1.0 185 255.0 535.8 -70 720.6
1.5 360 545.0 720.6
2.0 480
2.5 300
3.0 165
3.5 80
4.0 0
4.5 0

i). Column 1 & 2 are the given inflow hydrograph

ii) Column 3 is obtained by adding the two successive values in column (2)
iii)Column 4 is obtained by transferring col. 6 of the previous routing period
iv)Col. 5 is obtained by transferring 2 times col. 8
v)Col. 6 is obtained by adding columns (3)+(4)+(5) to obtain the right hand side of eq.(3)
vi. Col. 7 is obtained by reading off H from the plot of H = f(2S/Δt + O)
vii Col 8 is obtained by reading off O from the plot of H = f(O)

5. After the computation, a plot of the inflow and the outflow hydrographs are made from
which the extent of peak reduction can be seen and when the peak occurs.

Example: An impounding reservoir enclosed by a dam has a surface area that varies with
elevation as given below. The dam is equipped with two circular gated discharge ports
each of 2.7 m diameter, whose centres are at elevation 54.0 with discharge coefficient
cd=0.8 and a free overflow spillway 72.5 m long with crest level at elevation 66.0. Live
storage at elevation 54 is 5.5 x 106 m3 discharge gates are opened and the surface water
level is at elevation 63.5 at time t=o. The flood hydrograph table below is forecast.. What
will the maximum reservoir level be and when will it occur.

Elevation (m) 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72
Surface area (km2) 4.12 4.19 4.28 4.36 4.45 4.58 4.71 4.88 5.05 5.22

26