SSC-JE 2025

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First Edition : 2022

First Reprint : 2023

Second Reprint : 2024

Ch. No. Chapter Name Page

1. Irrigation & Methods of Irrigation ................................. 01-07

2. Soil Moisture Plant Relationship .................................. 08-15

3. Water Requirements of Crops ....................................... 16-31

4. Water Logging & Reclamation of Saline soils ............ 32-37

5. Canal Design ................................................................... 38-60

6. Canal Regulation Works ................................................ 61-71

7. Canal Head Works & Seepage Theory ......................... 72-86

8. River Engineering ........................................................... 87-95

9. Cross Drainage Work ..................................................... 96-99

10. Dams and Reservoirs ..................................................... 100-126

11. Spillways, Energy Dissipators & Spillway Gates ........ 127-130

 SOIL MOISTURE PLANT
RELATIONSHIP

2.1 Soil Moisture 2.1 SOIL MOISTURE

2.2 Water Holding

Ground surface
capacity of soil
Soil water / Hygroscopic water
aeration
Zone of

2.3 Classification of soil

water Intermediate / Vadose zone

2.4 Soil Moisture Capillary water

Tension (SMT) GWT
saturation

Ground water
Zone of

2.5 Soil Moisture Stress

2.6 Soil Moisture

Constants
 Water added to a soil mass during irrigation is held in the pores of
2.7 Depth of water held the soil and is termed as soil moisture.
by soil in root zone
and available to 2.2 WATER HOLDING CAPACITY OF SOIL
plants
 Water Holding capacity of soil is one of the dominant factors
2.8 Frequency of
influencing irrigation. The water holding capacity of a soil mainly
irrigation
depends on its porosity and size of pores.
2.9 Methods Adopted to
Maintain Fertility of VV
Porosity, n = V
a Soil T

2.10 Irrigation Water where, VV = Volume of pores, VT = total volume

Quality
In general there are two types of soil pores viz.,

Capillary Pores Non-Capillary Pores

1. Small size of pores. 1. Large size of pores.

2. Large void ratio and porosity 2. Small void ratio and porosity.

3. Water is held tightly in these 3. Water is simply drained off under

pores by surface tension. gravity from these pores.

Ex. : Clayey soil. Ex. : Sandy soil.

2.3 CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL WATER

 Soil water may be classified in the following three categories.
CIVIL ENGINEERING SOIL MOISTURE PLANT RELATIONSHIP 9

Soil particles
Hygroscopic waters
Capillary waters

Gravitational water or air

S.No. Type of Water Descriptions

1. Gravitational Water  It is not held by soil, but drained freely under gravity force.
 Plants cannot use gravitational water for their growth.
 It is also known as Super Fluous water.

2. Capillary Water  Capillary water retained in the soil after gravitational water has
drained off.
 It is held in the soil by action of surface tension.
3. Hygroscopic Water  A thin film on the surface of the soil particles due to adhesion or
attraction between particles and water.
 It cannot be removed easily.
 It is generally not available for plant use.

2.4 SOIL MOISTURE TENSION (SMT)

 Soil moisture tension is defined as the force per unit area that must be exerted in order to extract
water from the soil.

 In other words, it is a measure of the tenacity with which water is retained in the soil.

 Soil moisture tension is usually expressed in terms of atmospheres.

 For a soil of given texture and structure, soil moisture tension is inversely proportional to its moisture
content.

2.5 SOIL MOISTURE STRESS

 Soil moisture stress is defined as the sum of the soil moisture tension and osmotic pressure of soil
solution.

 The force with which water moves across cell membrane is called osmotic pressure and is measured in
atmospheres.

 Plants growth is a function of both soil moisture tension as well as osmotic pressure (i.e. a function of
soil moisture stress).

2.6 SOIL MOISTURE CONSTANTS

2.6.1 Saturation Capacity

 Saturation capacity is defined as the total water content of a soil when all the pores of the soil are filled

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 10 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING

with water.

 At saturation capacity, soil moisture tension is almost equal to zero as it is equal to the surface tension
at free water surface.

2.6.2 Field Capacity (FC)

 Field capacity is defined as the maximum amount of moisture which can be held by a soil against gravity.
After the gravity water has drained off.

 Field capacity is the upper limit of the capillary water.

 The soil moisture tension at field capacity ranges between 1/10 to 1/3 atmospheres.

2.6.3 Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)

 Permanent wilting point is the moisture content at which the films of water around the soil particles are
held so tightly that the plant roots cannot extract enough moisture at sufficiently rapid rate to satisfy
transpiration requirements thus resulting in the wilting of the plants.

 Permanent wilting point is the lower limit of the capillary water.

 The soil moisture tension of a soil at the permanent wilting point ranges from 7 to 32 atmospheres
depending on soil texture, kind and condition of the plants etc.

2.6.4 Available Moisture Content (AMC)

 The difference in moisture content of the soil between the field capacity and the permanent wilting point
is termed as the available moisture.

 This water is available for plant growth.

2.6.5 Readily Available Moisture Content (RAMC)

 It is that portion of the available moisture which is most easily extracted by plant roots.

 Only about 75% to 80% of the available moisture is usually readily available.

 Lower limit of this is known as “optimum moisture content”.

Satuation
(SMT = 0 atm) Gravitational Water
W3
(Rapid Drainage)
Field Capacity
0.75W 2

(SMT = 1/10 to 1/3 atm) Capillary Water

W2 (Useful for Plant)
Optimum Moisture Content

Permanent Wilting Point

(SMT = 7 to 32 atm) Hygroscopic Water
W1 (Essentially no drainage)
Oven dried/absolute wilting

2.6.6 Moisture Equivalent

 Moisture equivalent is defined as the percentage of moisture retained in an initially saturated

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CIVIL ENGINEERING SOIL MOISTURE PLANT RELATIONSHIP 11

sample of 10mm thick soil after being subjected to a centrifugal force of 1000 times gravity for a period
of 30 minutes.

 The moisture equivalent of a soil can be quickly determined in a laboratory and it is used as an approximate
measure of field capacity.

Note: 1/3rd atmospheric moisture point is the percentage of moisture retained in soil sample when placed on a porus
plate and subjected to a pressure of 1/3rd atmosphere.

2.6.7 Soil Moisture Deficiency

 It is water required to bring soil moisture content of a given soil to its field capacity. It is also called
as field moisture deficiency.

2.7 DEPTH OF WATER HELD BY SOIL IN ROOT ZONE AND AVAILABLE TO PLANTS
Assume, Depth of root zone = D meter

Unit weight of soil =  d KN m3

Unit weight of water =  w KN m3

Equivalent depth of water = dw
Porosity = n

Weight of water retained in certain volume of soil

We know, Field Capacity =
Weight of same volume of dry soil

A × dw ×  w
 FC =
A ×D ×  d

w
 FC = n × 
d

d
 dw = ×D  FC 
w
It is the depth of water stored in the root zone for full load capacity. But this entire depth of water
cannot be extracted by the plant. Hence,
The depth of water stored in root of zone at available moisture content is given as below :
d
dw =  × d FC – PWP 
w

The depth of water stored in root zone at readily available moisture content is given below :
d
dw =  × d  FC – OMC 
w

The depth of water stored in root zone at permanent wilting point is given below :
d
dw =  × d × PWP
w

2.8 FREQUENCY OF IRRIGATION

 Frequency of irrigation refers to the number of days between irrigation periods.

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 12 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING

 It is defined as the ratio of available soil moisture depletion to rate of consumptive use.

Field Capacity

Moisture Content
in Soil
Optimum Moisture Content
F.I.
Permanent Wilting Point

Time

Illustration 1: The field capacity of a soil is 25%, its permanent wilting point is 15% and specific dry unit
weight is 1.5. If the depth of root zone of crop is 80 cm, the storage capacity of the soil
is
Solution: Given:
Field capacity, FC = 25%
Permanent wilting point, PWP = 15%
Specific dry unit weight, Gm = 1.5
Depth of root zone = d = 80cm
Find depth of water, dw = ?
 d 
dw = d × Gm (FC – PWP)  Gm = 
  w 
= 80 × 1.5 × (0.25 – 0.15)
dw = 12cm
Water storage capacity of the soil = 12cm

Illustration 2: Calculate the permanent wilting point if the depth of water in the root zone at the permanent
wilting point per meter depth of soil is 0.4 m. The dry density of the soil is 16 kN/m3.
Solution: Given that :
Depth of water in the roof zone at the permanent wilting point (d PWP) = 0.4 m

Dry density of soil (  d ) = 16 KN/m3

Root Zone Depth (D) = 1 m
d
 dWP =  × D × PWP
w

 16 
 0.4 =   ×1 × PWP   w = 9.81KN m3 
 9.81 
Then, PWP = 0.24525
i.e. PWP = 24.525%
Hence, the permanent wilting point (PWP) is 24.525%

Illustration 3: Consider the following data

Root zone depth = 2 m
Existing water content = 5%

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3.7 FEW IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

1. Commanded area

 It is defined as the area which can be irrigated (or commanded) by a canal system.

2. Gross commanded Area (GCA)

 The gross commanded area is defined as the total area which can be irrigated by a canal system if water
is available in abundance or the total area within the limits of an irrigation project.

 It includes culturable as well as unculturable area for example ponds, residential area, roads forest etc.

3. Culturable Commanded Area (CCA)

 The culturable commanded area is that portion of the gross commanded area which is culturable or
cultivable.
Thus, C.C.A = G.C.A. – unculturable area (area not fit for cultivation)

 The culturable commanded area may be subdivided into the following two categories.
(a) Culturable cultivated area: It is that portion of the culturable commanded area which is actually
cultivated during a crop season.
(b) Culturable uncultivated area: It is that portion of the culturable commanded area which is not
cultivated during a crop season.

4. Intensity of Irrigation

 The intensity of irrigation is defined as the percentage of the culturable commanded area proposed to
be irrigated annually.

 The yearly intensity of irrigation may be obtained by adding the intensities of irrigation for all the crop
seasons.
e.g., If the intensity of irrigation for Rabi is 50% and that for Kharif is 60% then the yearly intensity
of irrigation will be 110%.

5. Crop Ratio

 Crop ratio is defined as the ratio of the areas of the land irrigated (or anticipated to be irrigated) during
the two main crop seasons viz., Kharif and Rabi .

 It is also called Kharif / Rabi ratio.

6. Paleo Irrigation (or Paleo)

 It is defined as the watering done prior to the sowing of a crop. This is done to prepare the land for
sowing & to add sufficient moisture to the soil which would be required for the initial growth of the crop.

7. Kor Watering, Kor Depth and Kor Period

 The first watering after the plants have grown a few centimeters high is known as kor watering.

 The depth of water applied during this watering is known as kor depth.

 The kor watering must be done in a limited period which is known as kor period.

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CIVIL ENGINEERING WATER REQUIREMENT OF CROP 21

Note: Since during kor watering large quantity of water is required to be applied in a certain duration, the discharge
capacity of the canal supplying irrigation water has to be maximum during this period.

8. Outlet Factor

 The duty of water at the outlet is known as the outlet factor.

 In other words, outlet factor is the duty of water at the head of a field channel. (Also called outlet
discharge factor)

9. Capacity Factor

 A canal is designed for a certain maximum discharge capacity, but it need not to carry the same discharge
at all the time.

 Hence, ratio of the mean supply discharge of a canal for a certain duration to its maximum discharge
capacity is defined as capacity factor.

10. Duty on Capacity (Full supply coefficient)

 It is design duty at the head of canal for full capacity of canal.

Area estimated to be irrigated during base period

Full supply Coefficient =
Design full supply discharge at the head of canal

11. Time Factor

 The ratio of number of days the canal has actually run during a watering period to the total number of
days of the watering period is known as time factor.

Qif continuous
Q0 = , Q0 = discharge required at outlet
Time factor

12. Cash Crops

 A cash crop may be defined as a crop which has to be encashed in the market for processing, etc. as
it cannot be consumed directly by the cultivators.

 All non-food crops are included in cash crops.

13. Transpiration ratio

 Transpiration ratio is defined as the ratio of the mass of water transpired by the plant in its full growth
period, to the mass of the dry matter produced.

Total mass of water transpired by the plant during its full growth
Thus, T.R. = Mass of dry matter produced

“Mass of dry matter produced,” is generally taken as the entire mass of the plant including its
roots.

 Different plants will transpire different amount of water; and, hence, their water consuming characteristics
are compared by transpiration ratio.

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14. Crop calender

 It gives us the information about various agronomic practices of the crops grown by farmers.

 Crop calendar is a tool that provides information about planting, sowing and harvesting period of locally
adopted crops in an area.

15. Crop factor

 Ratio between crop evapotranspiration and reference crop evapotranspiration.

16. Carry-over storage

 The storage of water (say, about 5% of live storage) required for the next crop-year as a protection
against the late monsoon break is called carry-over storage.

3.8 IRRIGATION EFFICIENCIES

 The ratio of the water available for use to the water applied is defined as irrigation efficiency. Various
types of irrigation efficiencies are:

3.8.1 Water Conveyance Efficiency ( c )

 It is defined as the ratio of the quantity of water delivered to the fields or the irrigated land to the
quantity of water diverted into the canal system from the river or reservoir.

 Thus, if Wf is the quantity of water delivered to the field and Wr is the quantity of water diverted into
the canal system from the river or reservoir then
Wf
c = W × 100
r

Note: The water conveyance efficiency accounts for the water losses which occur in conveyance from the point of
diversion into the canal system to the fields.

3.8.2 Water Application Efficiency ( a )

 It is defined as the ratio of the quantity of water stored in the root zone of the plants to the quantity
of water delivered to the field.

 Thus if Ws is the quantity of water stored in the root zone and Wf is the quantity of water delivered
to the field then
Ws
a = W × 100
f

Note: The common sources of loss of water during its application to the field are evaporation, surface runoff from
the field and deep percolation.

3.8.3 Water Use Efficiency ( u )

 It is defined as the quantity of water used beneficially including the water required for leaching to the
quantity of water delivered.

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CIVIL ENGINEERING WATER REQUIREMENT OF CROP 23

 Thus, if Wu is the quantity of water used beneficially and Wf is the quantity of water delivered to the
field then

Wu
u = × 100
Wf

3.8.4 Water storage Efficiency ( s )

 It is defined as the ratio of the quantity of water stored in the root zone during irrigation to the
quantity of water needed to bring the moisture content of the soil to the field capacity.

 Thus, if Ws is the quantity of water stored in the root zone during irrigation and Wn is the quantity of
water needed to bring the moisture content of the soil to the field capacity (i.e., Wn = Field capacity –
Available moisture in the soil prior to irrigation), then

Ws
s = W × 100
n

3.8.5 Water Distribution Efficiency ( d )

 It is determined from the following expression

 y
d = 1 – d  × 100
 

where, ‘y’ is the average numerical deviation in depth of water stored from the average depth of water
‘d’ stored in the root zone during irrigation.

 Water distribution efficiency evaluates the degree to which water is uniformly distributed throughout
the root zone during irrigation and hence it is also known as uniformity coefficient.

 Higher is the value of d , more uniformly is the water distributed in the root zone which in turn will
result in a better crop response.

3.8.6 Consumptive use Efficiency  

cu

 It is defined as the ratio of the normal consumptive use of water to the net amount of water depleted
from the root zone.

 Thus, if Wcu (or Cu or Etc ) is the normal consumptive use of water or evapotranspiration and Wd is the
net amount of water depleted from the root zone then

Wcu
cu = W ×100
d

Note: The consumptive use efficiency, therefore, accounts for the loss of water by deep percolation and any excessive
evaporation following an irrigation.

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 24 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING

Illustration 1: A stream of 150 liters per second was delivered from a canal and 110 liters per second
was delivered to the field. An area of 2.2 hectares was irrigated in eight hours. The
effective depth of root zone was 1.5m. The runoff loss in the field was 445 m3. Available
moisture hol ding ca pa ci ty of the soi l is 20 0 mm per metre depth of
soil. Determine the water conveyance efficiency, water application efficiency, and water
storage efficiency, Irrigation was started at a moisture extraction level of 50%.
Solution: Given Data, Qcanal = 150 liters/sec;
Qfield = 110 litre/sec
Area (Afield) = 2.2 ha.;
Irrigation duration (T) = 8 hrs.
depth of water penetration (at the head end),
dh = 1.5 meter
depth of water penetration (at the tail end)
dt = 1.1 meter
Moisture holding capacity = 200 mm/meter;
Run off loss = 445 cum.
Irrigation was started at a moisture extraction level of 50%

Wf 110
(i) Water conveyance efficiency, c = W × 100 = 150 ×100
r

= 73.33%
Ws
(ii) Water application efficiency, a = W × 100
f

110 × 60 × 60 × 8
Water delivered to the plot =
1000
= 3168 m3; Runoff loss = 445 m3
 Water stored in the root zone,
Ws = (3168 – 445) = 2723 m3

2723
 a = × 100 = 86%
3168
Ws
(iii) Water storage efficiency, s = W × 100
n

Water holding capacity of the soil = 200 × 1.5 = 300 mm

 300 × 50 
Moisture required in the root zone=  300 – 100  = 150 mm
 
150
= × 2.2 × 10 4 = 3300m3
1000
2723
 s = ×100 = 82.52%
3300

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