Drainage

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 Drainage

• Drainage is the natural or

artificial removal of surface
and sub-surface water from
a given area.
• Drains can be either surface
or subsurface.

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 Need For Drainage

• A landscape design that does not properly control runoff may

cause damage to and devaluation of the property.
• To prevent damage or devaluation of property, three questions
must be answered.
– What is the elevation of the design property in relation to adjacent
properties.
– Will water run onto the property, if so, were does it enter and were
does it exit?
– How will the landscape plan change the drainage at the site.
• Drainage is needed to handle rooftop, driveway, and overland
run off.
• Four main issues to consider when caring for soil and grass roots
are fertilization, drainage, and aeration, and soil type.

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 Eight Drainage Principles

1. Water flows downhill

2. Whenever it rains you have the potential for runoff.
3. The greater the intensity of the rain--the greater the potential for
runoff.
4. Reducing the permeability of the soil increases runoff.
5. Increasing the non-permeabile area will increase runoff.
6. Water or silt on walkways during, or after a rain, is an indication
of poor design.
7. A good landscape plan includes drainage in the plan.
8. Drainage plans rely upon slope, pipes, berms or other
structures to control the direction the water flows.

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 Slope

• Any area that is exposed to rainfall should always have some

slope to direct the flow of water.
• Water will puddle on flat, horizontal surfaces.
• The amount of slope varies with the surface and the conditions
of the site.
– Turf areas = 2 - 3% One recommendation is
– Paved areas = 2% a six inch drop within
– Foundations = special requirements the first 10 feet.

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Surface Drains

• Surface drainage is controlling the

flow of water using slope and
shaped surfaces.
• Shaped surfaces
– Swales
– Ditches
– Berms
• Surface drainage works best with
small sites or for sites with a small
amount of runoff.

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 Where is Subsurface Drainage
Used?
• Around the foundations of buildings with
basements.
• Under roads and highways:
– To control heaving due to frost or water pressure,
intercept side-hill water, reduce frost boils, etc.
• In the “toe” of earthen dams to control seepage
water.
• Many other locations where subsurface water is
a problem.
• On agricultural fields with high water table
and/or salinity problems.
 Soil Water Holding Capacity

Saturation
Drainable
Water
Field Capacity

Plant Available Water

Wilting Point

Oven Dry
 What is Subsurface Drainage?

Slide courtesy of Dr. Gary Sand, University of Minnesota

 How Water Flows into Tile Lines

Rain Runoff

Water Table Level in late July, August and September

How Water Flows into Tile Lines

Runoff

Water Table
How Water Flows into Tile Lines

Runoff

Water Table
How Water Flows into Tile Lines

Runoff

Water Table
How Water Flows into Tile Lines

Water Table
Water Table – No Tile

Runoff

Water Table
Confining Layers Below Tile Lines

Water Table
Confining Layers Below Tile Lines

Water Table
Gravity Flow Outlets
 Need For Lift Pump

• No Gravity Outlet
– Shallow ditch, No permission to make ditch deeper

Tile Mainline
 General Tile Spacing
Recommendations
(tile depth 3 to 4 feet)
Tile Spacing in feet
Soil Type Permeability DC = ¼” DC= 3/8” DC = ½”
Clay Loam Very Low 60 40 to 50 35
Silty Clay Loam Low 75 50 to 60 45
Silt Loam Moderately Low 90 60 to 70 60
Loam Moderate 100 70 to 80 70
Sandy Loam Moderately High 120 80 to 120 90
 Tile Line Spacing with Depth

2 ft. 28 ft.

3 ft. 48 ft.

4 ft. 62 ft.
 Tile Grade
Rise
Tile Grade = ------
Run

Rise
Run

Tile Grade is usually expressed in percent grade

For Example, 0.1 percent grade would be a 1 foot rise or drop in 1000 feet
and a 0.5 percent grade would be a 5 foot rise or drop in 1000 feet
Subsurface Drain

• Subsurface drain is a system of

collecting and disposing of rain water.
• Common means of collection are a drain
grate or perforated pipe.

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 Drain Outlet

• Both surface and sub surface drains must have an

outlet.
– Modification of existing outlets is usually not very
problematic, changing the location of an outlet may
cause problems.
• One alternative is to direct the water towards the
street.
– May require a permit.
– Greater problem if the drain is a redirect and not
the natural path.
• Part of drainage plan that most municipalities require
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for development.
 Controlled Drainage

➢ Water control structures, such as a

flashboard riser, installed in the
drainage outlet allow the water in
the drainage outlet to be raised or
lowered as needed known as
controlled drainage.
➢ It allows timely drainage but also
maximum storage of water within
the field for utilization by the crop.
Design Subsurface Drainage System
The Major Components are:
 Drainage Coefficient;
 Drain Depth and Spacing;
 Drain Diameters and Gradient; Drainage Filters
 Drainage Coefficient is the depth of water to be removed
within 24 hours over the area under consideration. It is
important for the desired protection of crops from excess
surface or sub-surface water, and can be expressed in
mm/day , m/day etc.
 Drainage is different in Rain-Fed Areas and Irrigated
Areas
 Key Design
Parameters
• A Successful Tile Project Starts with a Good Plan
– Field Characteristics
➢ Surface drainage
➢ Topography
➢ Soils
– Drainage Coefficient
– Drain Outlet
– Tile Grade
– Spacing between Tile
– Mains, Sub-Mains, Laterals
 Drainage
Coefficient
• Design amount of water to remove from the land in a 24
hour period (Maximum Flow)
– Field Crops
➢ With Good Surface Drainage – ¼ to ½ inches
– High Value Crops (Vegetables, Potatoes, etc.)
➢With Good Surface Drainage – ½ to ¾ inches
• ¼ inch per acre = 6,800 gallons (4.7 gpm)
• 3/8 inch per acre = 10,210 gallons (7 gpm)
• ½ inch per acre = 13,600 gallons (9.5 gpm)
Does removing 3/8th of an inch from the
soil make much difference?
• Drained depth in soil is the difference between
the volumetric water content at saturation (all
pore spaces are full) and the soil water tension
at “air entry value” (approximately 0.05 bar
tension)
– For a silty clay soil, about 7 to 8 inches
– For a silty loam soil, about 5 to 6 inches
• Remember: approximately 40% or the roots are
in the top ¼ of the root zone
Various drainage system layout alternatives
 Drain Depth and Spacing

L is drain spacing; h is mid drain water table height (m) above drain level;
Do is depth of aquifer from drain level to impermeable layer(m); q is the
water input rate(m/day) = specific discharge or drainage coefficient; K is
hydraulic conductivity(m/day); H is the depth to water table. Typically, it
varies from 0.5 to 1.5 m
 Tile Grade versus Full Carrying Capacity (gallons per
minute)

Tile Diameter (inches)

Slope
(%) 3 4 5 8 10 15
0.1 11 23 42 150 240 600

0.2 15 33 59 208 340 705

0.3 19 41 74 260 410 1030

0.5 24 53 95 334 530 1320

0.1 % slope = 1 foot vertical drop in 1000 feet of tile

 Design Depth of Drain

• The deeper a drain is put, the larger the spacing and the
more economical the design becomes.
• Drain depth, however, is constrained by soil and
machinery limitations.
•
• Typical Drain Depths

Soil Type Drain Depth (m)

Sand 0.6
Sandy loam 0.8 - 1.0
Silt loam 0.8 - 1.8
Clay loam 0.6 - 0.8
Peat .2 - 1.5
 Drain Spacing (L)
• This is normally determined using the Hooghoudt
equation. This equation is to for ditches reaching the
impermeable layer:
•
• L2 = 8 K Do h + 4 K h
• q q
• For tube drains which do not reach the impermeable
layer, the equation can be modified as:
• L = 8Kdh + 4 K h2
• q q
• Where d is called the Houghoudt equivalent d. The
equation for tube drains can be solved using trial and
error method or the graphical method.
 Drain Diameters and Gradients
• There are two approaches to design:
• (a) Transport approach: Assumes that pipes
are flowing full from top to end of field. Assumes
uniform flow. Widely used in United States,
Canada and Germany. Used to design collector
drains.
• (b) Drainage approach: Assumes that water
enters the pipe all down the length as it is
perforated. This is more realistic. Widely used
in United Kingdom, Holland and Denmark. This
is used to design lateral drainage pipes.
 Parameters Required to use
Solution Graphs

• (a) Types of pipes: Pipes can be smooth or

rough. Clay tiles and smooth plastic pipes
are smooth while corrugated plastic pipes are
rough.
• (b) Drainable area: The area drained by one
lateral and is equal to the maximum length of
a lateral multiplied by drain spacing.
• The whole area drained by the laterals
discharging into a collector represents the
drainable area of the collector.
 Parameters Required to use
Solution Graphs Contd.

 c) Specific discharge: Earlier defined. Same as

drainage coefficient.

 d) Silt safety factors: Used to account for the silting of

pipes with time by making the pipes bigger. 60, 75 and
100 % pipe capacity factors are indicated. This means
allowing 40, 25 and 0%, respectively, for silting.

 e) Average hydraulic gradient(%): normally the soil

slope.
 Drainage Filters
 Filters for tile drains are permeable materials eg. gravel
placed around the drains for the purpose of improving the
flow conditions in the area
 Provide a high hydraulic conductivity around the drains
which stabilizes the soil around and prevent small
particles from entering the lateral drains since they are
perforated.
 Clays have high cohesion so cannot be easily moved so
require no filters.
 c) Big particles like gravel can hardly be moved due to
their weight.
 Fine soils are then the soils that will actually need filters
especially if they are uniform.
 Uniform soils will cause problems while non-uniform ones
since they are widely distributed.
 Drainage Variables
Dc = I(P + S)/100T
Where Dc = Drainage coeff., mm/day
P= Deep percolation based on the maximum area to be
irrigated at the same time in percent of the irrigation
application
S= Field canal seepage loss, %
I = Irrigation depth of application, mm
T = Time between irrigation, day
Spacing
S= [4k(b2-de2)/i]1/2
K = Hydraulic conductivity, m/day
i = Drainage rate, m/day

Drain diameter
d= 51.7(Dc × A× n)0.375 S-0.1875
Nomograph for CPT(Fig. 14.10b)
Flow in Channels
 Lesson Objectives

• 1. Understand the effects of waterway slope,

shape, and roughness on the flow velocity of
water.
• 2. Know how to determine the area and
hydraulic radius of the three major channel
cross section shapes used in waterways.
• 3. Be able to use the Manning Equation and
the Continuity Equation to predict flow-
velocity and flow-rate in a waterway.
Open Channel Flow

Q=AV

Cross-Section
Area

Wetted Perimeter
 MANNING EQUATION

C 2 3 12
V R S
n
• V = velocity of flow in feet per second (meters per second)
• C = Constant = 1.49 for English units (1.00 for metric units)
• R = Hydraulic Radius in feet (meters)
 MANNING EQUATION

C 2 3 12
V R S
n

• S = channel slope in ft/ft or m/m

• n = Manning roughness coefficient
 MANNING EQUATION

C 2 3 12
V R S
n
• More roughness in the channel (n) will slow
down the water
• Smaller R (flow depth) will slow down the
water
• Smaller slope (S) will slow down the water
 MANNING ROUGHNESS COEFFICIENTS

• Smooth concrete n = 0.012

• Corrugated pipe n = 0.025
• Smooth soil n = 0.03
• Cultivated soil n = 0.04
 CHANNEL HYDRAULIC RADIUS

• R = A / P (the average flow depth)

• A = Area of the flow cross-section
in sq. ft (sq. m)
• P = Length of the line of contact
between the channel and the water
on the area in feet (meter)
 Manning Equation
Simple Example:
Rectangular cross-section
• A = BD
• P = B + 2D
• For
D – B = 5 ft.,
– D = 2 ft.
B
• A = 10 ft.2
• P = 9 ft.
• R = 10 / 9 = 1.11 ft.
MANNING EQUATION

2
R 3
 R
3 2

1
S 2
 S
 Manning Equation
Simple Example: continued
Rectangular cross-section

• A = 10 ft.2
• P = 9 ft.
D • R = 10 / 9 = 1.11 ft
• For
B S = 1% = 0.01 ft/ft
n = 0.04
 Manning Equation
Simple Example: continued
Rectangular cross-section

149
.
111
.  0.01
2
v 3

0.04
 (37.25)(1072
. )(0.1)
 3.99 ft / sec
Q = AV = (10)(3.99) = 39.9 CFS
 PRINCIPLES OF WATER FLOW

Trapezoidal Open Channel

• A = BD + ZD2
D 1 • P = B + 2D(Z2+1)1/2
Z • R = A/ P
B
 PRINCIPLES OF WATER FLOW

Round pipe flowing full

• A = pD2 / 4
• P = pD
• R = A/ P = D/ 4
D 2
1.49  D 
3
V   S
n  4
 Example for Trapezoidal Channel

• B = 10 feet
• D = 3 feet
• n = 0.04
• S = 0.1% = 0.001 ft/ ft
• Z = 2 feet horizontal for each foot vertical on the side slopes.
• Estimate the Velocity and Capacity
 Example for a full pipe

• D = 12 inches = 1 foot
• p = 3.1416
• n = 0.015
• S = 0.1% = 0.001 ft/ ft
• Estimate the flow velocity and the capacity of this pipe.
 Parabolic Channel Cross-section

A
D

A  2 / 3(TD) P  T R  (2 / 3)D