FLOOD CONTROL AND RIVER TRAINING WORKS

Apart from direct loss of life, properties and crops, floods damage roads, railways and other communication
systems, which cannot be assessed so easily. All these have after effects in the country’s economy. Epidemics
which spread out during the post-flood season have to be fought on a war-footing at the expense of large sums of
public money. It is not possible to assess all the human suffering and misery resulting from a flood in monetary
terms.

The assessment of flood is important because in any flood control scheme the government has to be satisfied that
the benefits arising out of the contemplated scheme (i.e., the damages prevented) will be more than the cost of
the project. Such economic justification of flood control scheme can be made only if the flood damage data are
available for the different floods of varying magnitude occurring over a period of time.

CAUSES OF FLOODS

1) Excessive rainfall leading to extraordinary run-off

2) Poor drainage system and drains of inadequate capacity
3) Silting up of the natural drains and river bed from sediments due to erosion in the catchment area
4) The construction of embankments, spurs, bridges, weirs, etc. on the riverbank and bed, leading to the
constriction of the normal width of a river.
5) Gradual encroachment of flood plain area by human settlement and other activities, leading to a loss in
the draining capacity of the river and a consequent rise in the flood level
6) Highly meandering rivers often change their course, resulting in a great loss of life and property
7) Sudden failure of water-retaining structures, e.g., dams, barrages, embankments, etc., can cause untold
damage to life and property
8) In deltaic areas, floods are caused due to sudden diversion of flow from an existing channel into another
channel of poor conveying capacity.
9) In tidal rivers, the seawaters start moving up during high tide, leading to a complete blockage of the
upland flow in the river. This causes a rise in the water level and consequent flooding.
10) Sea waves from extraordinary storms can flood and cause substantial loss of life and property in the
coastal areas.
11) Excessive snowmelt combined with rainfall, run-off can cause flood.

REMEDIAL MEASURES
The various measures which are often thought of and implemented can be broadly sub-divided into:

A) Engineering measures for the protection of areas prone to flood

B) Administrative measures of flood plain regulation and management
C) Flood forecasting and flood warning
D) Engineering and administrative measures for flood fighting

A) Engineering measures for the protection of areas prone to flood

a) Reduction of flood peak

 Construction of storage reservoir in hilly and sub-hilly regions

These storage reservoirs constructed in the unproductive hilly and sub-hilly areas can detain a large
part of the run-off (coming from catchment areas upstream) for a certain period of time during the
 critical storm period to substantially reduce the run-off in the lower reaches affected by flood. As the
storm subsides (or its intensity decreases), the stored flow is released in a regulated way so that the
storage space can be kept vacant for the absorption of flood during subsequent storm.

 Increasing infiltration by natural or artificial recharges

Due to the increasing pressure of population, more and more areas are being paved for human
habitation, industries, roads, etc. this has resulted in a reduction in the natural infiltration. The loss of
vegetative cover and forests is also largely responsible for the greater surface run-off. Afforestation
and vegetation increase natural infiltration. Diversion and spreading of the flood water into areas
where aquifers can be recharged naturally or artificially not only help preserve the water resources
for subsequent pumping, but help in the substantial reduction of the surface run-off and the
corresponding flood peak. It is known that there are underground reservoirs in the form of aquifers,
which have a storing capacity much larger than even the biggest man-made surface reservoirs such as
the Aswan Dam over the river Nile in Egypt.

 Diversion of run-off
The diversion of run-off through subsidiary channels of the same river or to selected depressions or
lakes can relieve the flood intensity in a given channel. It has often been experienced that when a
certain basin is threatened with flood due to excessive run-off, some adjoining basin has a drought
situation.

(b) Improving conveyance

 Construction of levees
During constant silting of the river bed, it gets shallower every year. During the peak flood, the water
level rises above the bank since the shallow section up to the natural bank level is totally inadequate
to convey the required flood flow.
The provision of a flood embankment not only prevents spilling, but also offers much greater area
and hydraulic radius within the banks, thereby increasing the conveying capacity.

 Dredging of channel
The removal of silts form the bed and bank to deepen and widen the channel can improve the
capacity of the channel substantially. Dredging may be done to improve the capacity of small reach
which might have silted owing to some local factors. But when a large length of a river gets silted up,
dredging will be prohibitively costly.

 Soil conservation and sediment control

It is largely due to deposition of sediments eroded from hilly areas that the channels lose their
conveying capacity in its downhill reaches. Sediments may be trapped through check dams and made
to deposit in storage reservoirs upstream, allowing comparatively clear water (free from
objectionable sediments) to flow downstream. The most effective means of sediment control is to
check the process of erosion in the catchment areas through afforestation and other popular soil
conservation measures. This will definitely lead to substantial improvement of the channel capacity in
the long run.

 Revetment (mattressing)
A natural channel bed and bank is extremely rough owing to its irregular shape of cross-section
(arising from local scour and deposition). If the same channel can be paved with concrete or a similar
other material, it can offer much smoother surface offering very little resistance.

For large rivers, however, paving of the entire bed and bank is not practicable. Even partial revetment
in a part of the channel banks can improve conveyance, besides the prevention of erosion of banks.
  Natural and artificial cut-offs
All natural channels are found to meander within a certain belt of area. The meandering channels
develop sharp bends by eroding the outer bank and depositing on the inner banks. As the degree of
tortuosity increases, the resistance of the flow increases and conveyance decreases. The increased
resistance is due to the head losses in separation pockets around the channel bends. The gradually-
increasing resistance owing to increasing meandering raises the flood level upstream. The natural or
artificial cut-off helps in straightening the river by avoiding dangerous loops. This results in increased
conveyance (partly due to shorter length, but mostly due to avoiding head loss in the loops and
consequent lowering of the high flood level (HFL).

 Clearance of weeds and other vegetative matter from channel bed

The roughness of a channel increases many folds owing to the growth of weeds and other jungles on
the channel bed and banks. Before the flood season such obstructions should be cleared in order to
improve conveyance.

 Removal of artificial obstructions and careful design of waterway for river structures
All artificial obstructions in the natural bed of the river constructed during the off-flood dry season
(e.g., temporary roads, farms, etc.) should be removed before the flood season. Where permanent
structures of public utility, such as road and rail bridges, weirs, intake works, navigation locks, etc. are
to be constructed, their hydraulic design should be made very carefully. It should be understood that
any constriction of natural stream, either in the vertical or horizontal plane, unless carefully designed
from the point of view of greater hydraulic efficiency, is bound to increase afflux which spreads over a
long distance upstream. As the flow velocity decreases upstream due to afflux, there is more of
sediments deposition causing a further loss of conveyance and consequently more and more rise of
the HFL than what it was prior to the construction.

 Maintenance of river training works

The various constructions, viz. dams, weirs, embankments, guide bundhs and other training works
constructed for training the river and for other public utility services, should be carefully maintained.
Negligence in proper supervision and maintenance of such works has often caused sudden failure of
such works resulting in catastrophic loss of life and property.

B) Administrative measures of Flood Plain Regulation and Management

The magnitude of peak flood varies from year to year. Floods of very high magnitude are of rare occurrence.
Owing to the availability of water and fertile soil in the flood plain area, people tend to gradually shift their
activities within the flood plain during the years of low flood intensity. This tendency is more in urban and
semi-urban areas, where land is limited and the population density is very high. Many new cities have their
expansion in areas which once belonged to the river. The loss of such areas to the river for natural storage in
its own valley has resulted in an increasing flood peak and consequent rise in flood level.

However, the more important aspect which is to be carefully considered is the risk of damage to such areas
built within the flood plain during the passage of an extraordinary flood. Based on economic considerations, a
certain zone of the flood plain should not be allowed to be encroached upon by regulations. Even the types of
development which may be allowed in the encroached areas should be carefully regulated, so that there is no
overall loss, considering the benefits on the one hand and the probable damages on the other. These being
very intricate subjects involving statistical analysis of probable floods and associated damages, the
responsibility of flood plain regulation and management should be left to people specialized in these areas.

C) Flood Forecasting and Flood Warning

All rivers that are susceptible to flood should have adequate arrangements of flood forecasts and flood
warning. Based on observations of storms and river gauge readings in the upstream catchment areas, it is
 possible to forecast the magnitude, stage, and the duration and time of occurrence of flood at any
downstream point in the river. With the help of modern fast communication techniques, it is now possible to
instantly transmit the data observed in the upper catchment to some centrally located flood forecasting
station. Based on hydrologic computations the forecasting unit can predict the exact timing, magnitude and
duration of the flood at different points in the river valley. Forecasts have great social and economic value,
and help avoid unnecessary expense in business, industry and agriculture. Not only that much valuable
property can be saved by timely action. People get sufficient time to prepare for fighting flood and plan
activities accordingly. River forecasts are of great help to navigators, shipping interests, power plant operators
and other innumerable agencies operating in the river.

Flood warnings are issued much later after the verification of forecasts from the actual river gauge data
upstream.
Since a great deal of public inconvenience is related to such warnings, these should be carefully planned after
systematic and scientific evaluation of data.

D) Engineering and Administrative Measures for Flood Fighting

As in the case of a fire-fighting agency, there is a need for scientific, organized and systematic agency for flood
fighting which can be depended upon and readily put into immediate action in times of emergency. A
substantial amount of administrative and engineering planning is required for the successful fighting of flood.
Some of the basic requirements to be met are:

 Prediction of flood stage

 Areas threatened
 Assistance required
 Quick dissemination of these information to all concerned
 Evacuation of persons from areas that have been or will be flooded
 Saving of some of the tidal areas from flooding by emergency reinforcing or construction of
protective works
 Care of evacuated persons, including disease prevention
 Assessing the extent of damage
 Repair of damages and rehabilitation

Some of the emergency construction methods in flood fighting are:

 Drainage of landslide levee slope

 Mattressing of sloughs and slides
 Ringing of sand boils
 Heightening to stop overtopping
 Protection against scouring and caving of banks
 Closure of crevasses and breaches

RIVER TRAINING WORKS

Water flowing in streams and rivers is one of the most important natural resources of a nation. This wealth can
only be effectively utilized if rivers are trained and controlled to the best advantage of mankind. Some of the
important uses of river and river water are:

 Municipal use
 Most modern cities as well as old ones have been built by the side of rivers. Rivers provide a natural source
of water which can be diverted for human consumption and other domestic uses after some amount of
treatment.

 Industrial use
Water is required by almost all kinds of industries, e.g., steel, jute, paper and pulp, fiber, food processing,
fertilizer, and so on. One of the most important facilities to be provided for industrial growth is easy and
cheap availability of water.

 Agricultural use
With the increasing pressure of population, the same land has to be cultivated twice or thrice in a year for
more food. Off-season supply of stored river water has been utilized for irrigation purposes.

 Generation of hydro-power
River water is the input raw material for all hydro-electric plants, constructed either on the river or away
from the river, which utilizes the natural head of the terrain or the head created by storage dams for the
generation of cheap electric power. Water has the unique feature in that there is no loss of resources and
the same water can be used over and over again for as many numbers of hydro-plants as can be
constructed along a river.

 Transportation
Inland waterways through a river offer the cheapest mode of transport and communication. It is for this
reason that most of important cities have come up along a river for its commercial benefit.

 Disposal of run-off
A river being the natural drain, all the municipal and industrial wastes ultimately find its exit in the river
where it gets self-purified through the process of oxidation and other bio-chemical reactions. The natural
run-off from the land mass is quickly drained through the river system. Areas having poor drainage are
susceptible to waterlogging and flooding.

 Fisiculture, afforestation, health resorts, recreation, etc.

Because of biowastes and other minerals present in river water, fish grow in river naturally and provide
cheap protein for human consumption. Forestries are usually made by river banks upstream owing to the
availability of water and for checking erosion of soil. Health resorts are preferred along river banks in hilly
and sub-hilly areas because of fresh air and the natural scenario. The river side has also a unique
recreational value,

Necessities and Objectives of River Training Works

If the river does not follow a given course, the various structures made on the river or by its side are of no use. The
necessity of river training arises owing to the fact that a natural river without any control is often found to change
its course, meander, scour its bank, silt its bed and inundate adjoining areas, bringing untold misery to the local
inhabitants in the form of loss of life and property. The various objectives of river training are summarized below:

 To reduce flood hazards

 To control meandering and bank erosion
 To control sediment movement
 To maintain a safe and good navigable channel
 To guide the river to follow a given course

Engineering Principles and Methods of River Training

River training broadly covers all engineering works constructed on a river to guide and confine the flow to the river
channel, control and regulate the flow of water and sediments to make the best possible use of the river and river
water, and also to fulfill the various objectives, e.g., flood control, navigation, etc. The training measures are so
diverse and serve equally diverse purposes that laying down any rigid rules is impracticable. The training principles
and practices are bound to vary from river to river and form one reach of a river to another, depending on the local
conditions and objectives. Some of the important objectives and methods of river training and their underlying
principles are given in Table 9.1.
Levees (or Embankments)
A levee or dyke maybe defined as an earthen embankment extending generally parallel to the river channel and
designed to protect the area behind it (levee) from damage due to the overflowing flood water. Owing to easy
availability of materials of construction and easy method of construction, levees have been used exclusively in
flood protection and river training works all over the world.

Spurs (or Groynes)

Spurs are structures constructed transverse to the river flow and extend from the bank into the river. They serve
one or more of the following functions:

1. Training the river along a desired course by attracting, deflecting or repelling the flow in a channel.
2. Creating a slack flow with the object of silting up of the area in the vicinity.
3. Protecting the river bank from erosion by keeping the main river flow away from it.
4. Contracting a wide river channel for the improvement of depth of navigation.

Guide Banks (or Bell’s Bundh)

Guide banks are, as the name implies, artificial embankments meant for guiding the flow past a bridge, weir or
barrage, without causing any damage to the structure and their approaches. They are placed in the direction of the
flow both upstream and downstream of the abutment, on one or both the banks, as required,

Revetments (or Mattresses)

Revetments (or mattressing) are the direct protective works on the river banks against caving which is one of the
common causes of failure of river banks, be it natural or man-made. Meandering and change of course are
intimately related to caving of banks. Bank protection, therefore, forms an important part of river training works.

Cut-off
It is a natural (or artificial) process by which an alluvial river abandons (or is made to abandon) its ever-increasing
length along the meandering loop and follow (or made to follow) a shorter and comparatively straighter path.

Dredging
Among the methods of regulation of a river for navigation, dredging is a common remedy. Natural scour is useful in
its own way. However, it may not be able to maintain depths throughout the year because the flow changes form
season to season. Dredging is useful when there is sand-bar formation during falling stage of a river. Estuaries and
coastal areas subjected to tidal effect need to be constantly maintained by systematic dredging. Harbours in the
river mouth to the sea require extensive dredging.
The simplest form of dredging is that in which the material is merely broken up, loosened and disintegrated, and
let to be transported out of the channel by the tractive force of the current. In another case, the material is
pumped and raised by buckets and discharged by pipes onto adjacent lands. Occasionally, the material is
discharged into barges, transported and dumped in pre-selected low lying spots. Sometimes, the dredger itself can
lift and transport the materials.

Table 9.1 Objectives, Methods, Principles of River Training

Objectives Methods of Training Underlying Principles

Flood Control Storage and detention reservoirs, recharging of Reduce peak flood

Prevention of erosion of banks
Prevention of hill slips
Sediment control:
(a) Preventing
aggradation of river
bed
(b) Exclusion of sediments
from diverted flow for
irrigation, power, etc.
(c) Prevention of
sedimentation of
storage reservoirs
Navigation:
Protection of structures, e.g.,
weirs, bridges, etc.
Prevention of pollution
ground water, diversion of flood flow
Dredging, levees, soil conservation, revetment,
cut-off, clearing weeds and obstructions
Levees, spurs (or groynes0, revetment,
mattressing, bank soil stabilization
Stone spurs, sausages, retaining walls,
intercepting surface drains, sub-surfaces drainage,
plantations
Storage reservoir, soil conservation in catchment
areas through afforestation, checks, grassing,
contour bunding, cultivation practices. Gully
control, prevention of bank erosion. Dredging,
diversion of sediment to offtaking channel.
Intensity flow per unit width by construction of
embankment and spurs; fresch upland discharge
through feeder canals
Proper location of offtake; proper layout of
offtaking channel; construction of sediment
excluders and ejectors, divide wall, scouring
sluices, dredging, etc.
Soil conservation measures in the catchment
areas; use of density current for removal of
sediment through outlets and sluices; less of solid
obstruction and move flexible obstruction by
providing high head gates as in the case of
barrages; dredging
Weirs and locks; spurs; embankment; walls;
bandalling; bottom paneling; cut-off; increased
flow (diverted) through feeder canal; lateral
diversion canals with or without locks for
bypassing rapids and other major obstructions in
river
Guide banks; embankments and spurs; revetment;
pitched islands
Storage dams; treatment of effluents before
disposal to river
Improve conveyance of channel
Artificially strengthen the banks,
spurs deflect high velocity current
away from banks and encourage
siltation in eddy pockets in between
spurs
Prevent erosion of toe; deflect high
velocity currents away from bank;
drainage controls seepage, gullying
and piping and improves shear
strength; plantations stabilize the soil
and prevent erosion
Arrest sediment flow into river;
control erosion of bank material;
remove sediments from the bed;
spurs trap sediments in the dead
pockets between them; tractive
power of river flow is increased by
narrowing it with embankment and
spurs or by increasing the discharge
intensity, i.e., flow per unit width.
Offtake from concave side (outer
bank) will have less sediments as the
sediments move away from outer
bank to inner bank; maintaining deep
channel near offtake point; causing
settlement of sediments and flushing
out; physical removal of sediments
entering the canal.
Arresting sediment inflow into
reservoir; removal of sediments
entering the reservoirs; periodic
flushing of deposited sediments by
lifting high head gates during floods
Series of weirs tames the river due to
afflux and backwater effect; depth
increases; spurs, embankments and
walls confine the flow to a narrow
reach and thereby increases depth of
flow; cut-off reduces meandering
Guide the course of river to make it
flow in the defined course, without
causing out-flanking and damage to
such structures
Reduce concentration of pollution by
supplying fresh water from storage
reservoirs during lean season