Canal Headworks Headwork

Hydraulic Structure: Canal Headworks
CANAL HEADWORKS
Headwork
 An irrigation channel takes its supplies from its source which can be either a river (in case of
main canal) or a channel (in case of branch canals and distributaries).
 The structures constructed across a river source at the head of an off taking main canal are
termed “canal headworks” or “headworks”.
 The headworks can be either diversion headworks or storage headworks.
Diversion headwork
 Diversion headworks divert the required supply from the source channel to the off taking
channel.
 The water level in the source channel is raised to the required level so as to divert the required
supplies into the off taking channel.
 The diversion headworks should be capable of regulating the supplies into the offtaking channel.
If required, it should be possible to divert all the supplies (at times of keen demand and low
supplies) into the offtaking channel.
Storage headworks
 Storage headworks, besides fulfilling all the requirements of diversion headworks, store excess
water when available and release it during periods when demand exceeds supplies.
Weir and Barrage
 If the major part or the entire ponding of water is achieved by a raised crest and a smaller part or
nil part of it is achieved by the shutters, then this barrier is known as a weir [Fig. 9.1 (a) and (b)].
 On the other hand, if most of the ponding is done by gates and a smaller or nil part of it is done
by the raised crest, then the barrier is known as a Barrage or a River Regulator.
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Advantages of Barrages over weirs
 Barrages offer better control on the river outflow as well as discharge in the offtaking canal.
 With proper regulation and with the help of undersluices and sediment excluders, the upstream
region in the vicinity of the headworks can be kept free of sediment deposition so that sediment-
free water enters the offtaking canal.
 Because of the lower crest level of a barrage, the afflux during floods is small.
 It is possible to provide a roadway across the river at a relatively small additional cost.
Because of these advantages, barrages are usually constructed at the site of headworks on all
important rivers. At some barrages, the raised crest may not be provided at all and the complete
ponding is obtained only by means of gates.
Gravity and Non-Gravity Weirs
 When the weight of the weir (i.e. its body and floor) balances the uplift pressure caused by the
head of the water seeping below the weir, it is called a Gravity weir.
 On the other hand, if the weir floor is designed continuous with the divide piers as reinforced
structure, such that the weight of concrete slab together with the weight of divide piers, keep the
structure safe against the uplift ; then the structure may be called as a Non-gravity Weir.
 In the latter case, RCC has to be used in place of brick piers, but in particular cases, considerable
savings may be obtained, as the weight of the floor can be much less than what is required in a
gravity weir.
Layout of a Diversion Head Works and its Components
A typical layout of a canal head-works is shown in Fig. 9.5. Such a head-works consists of
(1) Weir proper.

(2) Under-sluices.
(3) Divide wall: dividing the river width into
two portions; one is called the weir portion,
and the other portion from which the canal
takes off, is having openings* and called the
under-sluice pocket' or 'under-sluices' or
'weir scouring sluices'. If there are two
canals, taking off from each flank, then there
will be two divide walls and two under-
sluices.
(4) River training works, such as marginal
bunds, guide banks, groynes, etc.
(5) Fish Ladder.
(6) Canal Head Regulator.
(7) Weir's ancillary works, such as shutters, gates, etc.
(8) Silt Regulation Works.
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Weirs are of the following three types:
1. Masonry weirs with vertical drop,

2. Rockfill weirs with sloping apron
3. Concrete weirs with glacis
1. Masonry weirs with vertical drop

 Consists of a horizontal masonry floor and a masonry crest with vertical (or nearly vertical)
downstream face.
 Shutters provided at the top of the crest raise the water level further.
 During floods, these shutters are dropped down to pass the floods effectively and reduce the
afflux upstream.
2. Rockfill weirs with sloping apron

 Main body consists of dry boulders packed in the form of glacis with few intervening walls.
 This type of weir is the simplest one, but requires a large quantity of stones for construction
as well as maintenance.
 As such, this type of weir is suitable in areas where a large quantity of stones is available in
the vicinity of the site and where labour is cheap.
3. Concrete weirs with glacis

 The excess energy of overflowing water is dissipated by means of a hydraulic jump which
forms near the downstream end of the glacis.
 Barrages are also constructed like concrete weirs.
 Design of such weirs is mainly based on the method proposed by Khosla’s theory.
 On pervious foundations, only concrete weirs are constructed these days.
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Afflux and Pond Level.
Afflux
 Due to the construction of a weir across a river, the high flood level of the river upstream of
the weir rises.
 This rise is termed the afflux and is usually represented as the difference in the total energy
levels of the upstream and downstream of the weir.
 In the beginning, the afflux is confined to a short reach of the river but, extends gradually
very far upstream in case of the alluvial rivers.
 In the case of weirs located on alluvial rivers, an afflux of 1 m is considered satisfactory in
the upper and middle reaches of the river.
 In the lower reaches with flat gradients, the afflux should be limited to about 0.3 m.
The pond level
 The pond level is the water level which must be maintained in the undersluices pocket (i.e.,
upstream of the canal head regulator) so that full supply level can be maintained in the canal
when full supply discharge is fed into it.
 The pond level is kept about 1.0 to 1.2 m higher than the full supply level of the canal so that
sufficient working head is available even when the head reach of the canal has silted up, or
when the canal has to be fed excess water.
 If under certain situations, there is a limitation of pond level, the full supply level is fixed by
subtracting the working head from the pond level.
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Undersluices
 The construction of weir across a river results in ponding up of water and causes considerable
sediment deposition just upstream of the canal head regulator. This sediment must be flushed
downstream of the weir. This is done by means of undersluices (also called sluice ways or
scouring sluices).
 A weir generally requires deep pockets of undersluices in front of the head regulator of the
offtaking canal, and long divide wall to separate the remaining weir bays from the
undersluices.
 The undersluices are the gate-controlled openings in continuation of the weir with their crests
at a level lower than the level of the weir crest.
 The undersluices are located on the same side as the offtaking canal. If there are two canals
each of which offtakes from one of the banks of the river, undersluices are provided at both
ends of the weir.
 The undersluices help in keeping the approach channel of the canal head regulators relatively
free from deposition of sediment, and minimise the effect of the main river current on the
flow over the head regulator.
 In addition, the undersluices are also useful for passing low floods, after meeting the
requirements of the offtaking canal, without having to raise the gates or drop the weir
shutters.
 With the provision of the undersluices, the weir shutters have to be dropped (or the gates
have to be raised) only to pass the high floods which occur only during the monsoon.
 The shutters are again raised (or the gates are lowered) at the end of the monsoon.
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Canal Headworks Headwork

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Hydraulic Structure: Canal Headworks

Weir and Barrage

Advantages of Barrages over weirs

Gravity and Non-Gravity Weirs

Layout of a Diversion Head Works and its Components

(1) Weir proper.

Weirs are of the following three types:

1. Masonry weirs with vertical drop,

1. Masonry weirs with vertical drop

2. Rockfill weirs with sloping apron

3. Concrete weirs with glacis

Afflux and Pond Level.

The pond level

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