Quality and Quantity of Surface Water and Their Usefulness For Public Water Supplies Quantity
Quality and Quantity of Surface Water and Their Usefulness For Public Water Supplies Quantity
Quality and Quantity of Surface Water and Their Usefulness For Public Water Supplies Quantity
Quality and Quantity of Surface Water and Their Usefulness for Public water
Supplies
Quantity.
The quantities of available surface waters are dependent upon rainfall. Since on an average, in
India, rainfall is sufficient and considerable, there should, therefore, be no scarcity of water in
these surface sources.
But since the rainfall is not uniformly and regularly spread throughout the year, considerable
variations in the available flows do occur during the year or years, Thus, the available flow in a
stream channel or a river may be too high to be controlled or may be too less to fulfill the
demand.
Storage reservoirs, therefore, provide good means of storing and utilizing rain waters.
Quality.
The rain water, though pure in the beginning, gets considerably polluted till it reaches the river
streams. The gases, dusts, etc., from the atmosphere, get added to the rain water till it reaches the
ground; from where onward, it flows on earth’s surface and also through drains, channels, etc.,
which add a lot of organic as well as inorganic impurities to it. Many a times, sewage and
industrial wastes get added to this water, making it s contaminated.
Inorganic impurities like silt, clay, etc., get added due to erosion from the beds of the stream
channels. The organic impurities get added in the form of vegetable washings, dead organic
matters, and dead animals, etc.
The inorganic suspended matter, though largely present in direct river or stream waters, get
settled considerably in still waters of lakes, ponds and reservoirs. However, the algae weed and
plant growth in still waters increase enormously, thus giving colors and tastes to these waters.
Surface waters are, however, generally soft and less corrosive than ground waters.
On the whole, it can be stated that the surface supplies are generally contaminated and cannot be
used with minor treatment or without any treatment.
They, therefore, need building up of proper water treatment plants (WTP s)and other connected
works before being used for public supplies. They are useful for big cities and large industrial
towns where huge quantities of water are required by the public.
OR
Surface sources are those sources of water in which the water flows over the surface of the earth, and is
thus directly available for water supplies. The important of these sources are these sources are:
2
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Rivers are the most important sources of water for public water supply schemes. It is a well
known fact that most of the cities are settled near the rivers, and it is generally easy to find a
river for supplying water to the city.
The quality of water obtained from rivers is generally not reliable, as it contains large
amounts of silt, sand and a lot of suspended matter.
The disposal of the untreated or treated sewage into the rivers is further liable to contaminate
their waters. The river waters must, therefore, be properly analysed and well treated before
supplying to the public.
INTAKES
Intakes are the structures used for admitting water from the surface sources (i.e., river, reservoir or
lake), and conveying it further to the treatment plant. Generally, an intake is a masonry or concrete
structure with an aim of providing relatively clean water, free from pollution, sand and objectionable
floating material.
Selection of site
The following points should be considered in selecting a suitable site for the intake structure:
1. The site should be so selected that it may admit water even under worst condition of flow in the
river, or under lowest possible water level in a lake or reservoir, if possible, intake should be
located sufficiently inside the shore line.
2. Its site should be as near to the treatment work as possible.
3. It should be so located that it admits relatively pure water free from mud, sand or other floating
materials. It should be located at a place protected from rapid currents.
4. It should be so located that it is free from the pollution. River intakes should be constructed well
upstream of points of discharge of sewage and industrial wastes. If located near a city, it should
be located to the upstream of the city so that water is not contaminated.
3
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
5. It should not interfere with river traffic, if any.
6. The intake should be so located that good foundation conditions are available and the possibility
of scouring is the least.
7. Site should be so selected that its further expansion is possible.
Types of intake
a) Depending upon their position. (Submerged and Exposed intake)
1. Simple Submerged Intake
Submerged intake is the one which is constructed entirely under water. Such an intake (Fig.a) is
commonly used to obtain supply from a lake.
A pipe is buried in a dredged channel across the bed of the river and the pipe is covered with soft
earth. The remaining depth of the trench is covered with gravel and stone.
Pipes are jointed with watertight joints and end with a bell-mouth, protected by a timber or
concrete crib. The crib protects the conduit against damage and it is covered with rocks or rip-rap.
The bell-mouth is covered with a coarse screen to eliminate the entry of submerged objects,
debris, ice etc.
Sometimes a fine screen is also provided to avoid the entry of fish and small floating objects. The
conduit draws water from the source into a wet-well. Inspection of water-quality in the wet-well,
shows the performance of the screens. From the wet-well, water is drawn by gravity or pumping
to the treatment plant or distribution centre, as the case may be the area of the openings of the crib
satisfy the entry velocity of not more than 15cm/s, to avoid the carrying of settleable particles into
the intake pipe.
The crib and the bell-mouth are submerged in water. This type of intake is cheap and there is no
obstruction to navigation. They are therefore used for small water supply projects. But, there is a
possibility of choking of the crib openings and bell-mouth. It is difficult to inspect and repair and
allows draw water only from one level.
4
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Fig.a-1: Simple Concrete block- Submerged intake
5
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
2. Exposed intake
Exposed intake is in the form of a well or tower constructed near the bank of a river, or in some
cases even away from the river bank.
This type of intake may be used for tapping water from reservoirs, lakes or rivers. Exposed
intakes are more common due to ease in its operation (Fig b). They are located (a) in the dams of
reservoirs as a part of the dam, or (b) on the banks or rivers and lakes.
An exposed intake can be called as “gate-house” or “valve-tower” in the case of a reservoir. It is
easier to inspect and operate then a submerged intake. Water can be drawn at any desired level.
6
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Openings are made into the outer concrete shell, as well as, into the inside shaft as shown. Gates
are usually placed on the shaft, so as to control the flow of water into the shaft and the withdrawal
conduit.
The water coming out of the without conduit may be taken to pump house for lift, if the water
treatment is at higher elevation , or may be taken directly to WTP if it is situated at lower
elevation.
4. Dry intake.
In the case of dry intake, Water enter enters through entry port directly into the conveying
pipes.
Whereas the entry ports are closed, a dry intake tower will be subjected to additional
buoyant forces and hence, must be of heavier construction than the wet intake owners.
However, the dry intake towers are useful and beneficial in the sense that water can be
withdrawn from any selected level of the reservoir by opening the port at that level.
The essential difference between a dry intake tower and a wet intake tower is that, whereas
in a wet intake tower, the water enters from the entry ports into the tower and then it enters
into the conduit pipe through separate gate controlled openings; in a dry intake tower, the
7
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
water is directly drawn into the withdrawal conduit through the gated entry ports, as
shown in (Fig.d).
A dry intake tower will, therefore, have no water inside the tower if its gates are closed,
whereas the wet intake tower will be full of water even if its gates are closed.
5. River Intakes
A river intake is located to the upstream of the city so that pollution is minimized. They are
either located sufficiently inside the river so that demands of water are met within all the
seasons of the year, or they may be located near the river bank where a sufficient depth of
water is available. Sometimes, an approach channel is constructed and water is led to the
intake tower.
If the water level in the river is low, a weir may be constructed across it to raise the water
level and divert it to the intake tower. (Fig.1 ) shows a wet type intake well founded on river
bed.
The intake tower permits entry of water through several entry ports located at various levels to
cope with the fluctuations in the water level during different seasons. These entry ports are
8
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
sometimes known as penstocks and are provided with suitable designed screens to exclude
debris and floating material from entry.
The entry ports contain valves which can be operated from the upper part of the well. The
lowest entry is placed below the low water level of the river so that water is available in the
jack well during summer season also when river carries minimum discharge.
The intake well should be founded on sound footing, to the depth deeper than the scour depth.
The upper part of the well serves as the pump house. The suction pipe admits water through a
screen.
Fig:1
Fig:2
9
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
6. Lake Intake
Lake intakes are similar to reservoir intakes if the depth to water near the banks is reasonable.
If however, the depth of the water near the banks is shallow, and greater depth is available
only at its centre, a submerged intake is provided, as shown in (Fig.f).
Submerged intakes are constructed as cribs or bell mouths. The cribs are made of heavy
timber frame work which is partly or wholly filled with rip-rap to protect the intake conduit
against damage by waves etc. the top of the crib is covered with cast iron or mesh grating.
7. Canal Intake
Sometimes, the source of water supply to a small town may be an irrigation canal passing near the
town. The canal intake is shown is (Fig. g).
It essentially consists of concrete or masonry intake chamber of rectangular shape, admitting
water through a coarse screen. A fine screen is provided over the bell mouth entry of the outlet
pipe. The bell mouth entry is located below the expected low water level in the canal.
Water may flow from outlet pipe under gravity if the filter house is situated at a lower elevation.
Otherwise, the outlet pipe may serve as suction pipe, and the pump house may be located on or
near the canal bank.
The intake chamber is so constructed that it does not offer any appreciable resistance to normal
flow in the canal. The flow velocity through the outlet conduit is generally kept at about
1.5m/Sec, and this helps in determining the area and dia of the withdrawal conduit.
10
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
8. Reservoir intake:
When the floe in the river is not guaranteed throughout the year, a dam is constructed
across it to store water in the reservoir so formed. These intakes are constructed near the
toe of the dam where maximum depth is obtained usually at upstreams.
This is also known as a valve tower (fig.h) it is a circular chamber of masonry or concrete
with its flow sufficiently below the low water level in the reservoir, so they water can be
drawn from the reservoir even from the lowest level.
In masonry dams, it is built as a part of the dam. Intake ports or penstocks with screens are
provided at intervals of one to two metres from the high water level to the low water level,
so that clean water can be drawn from one or more penstocks, for various fluctuations of
the level in the reservoirs.
All the penstocks are connected to a vertical down take pipe, which is connected to the
intake outlet conduit, at the bottom of the well. The outlet conduit can be controlled by a
gate valve/ Stop valve, which can be operated from the top RCC cover of the intake-well.
Penstocks are also provided with control valves. A foot-bridge is provided between the top
of the dam and the value tower, for approach. A steel ladder is provided at the bottom of
the well, so that inspecting personnel can enter it.
The lowest penstock is located below the low water level, and the highest is below the
high water level. A cabin is provided over the well, for the protection of all control valves
and also as a shelter for personnel.
PUMPS
A pump is a device which converts mechanical energy into hydraulic energy. It lifts water form a
lower to a higher level and delivers it at high pressure. Pumps are employed in water supply projects at
various stages.
11
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Pumps are needed for the following purpose
1. Capacity of pumps .
2. Initial costs.
3. Maintenance cost, including depreciation.
4. Cost of energy and labor.
5. Efficiency of pumps.
6. Space required for locating of pumps.
7. Suction and delivery heads.
8. Nature of liquid to be pumped.
9. Total quantity of water
10. Type of service-intermittent or continuous
11. Type of power available.
12. Variation in the rate of pumping and pumping head.
CLASSIFICATION OF PUMPS
12
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
2. Diesel engines: Theses are not used for centrifugal pumps, since the speeds are not sufficient.
They require more initial cost and skilled personnel. They are less reliable and make a lot of noise
during working.
3. Gasoline engines: They are costly and are not used for low heads. They need stand-by pumps.
4. Electric driven pump: They are suitable for medium and small plants. Their initial cost is low
and they are compact in design. They run smoothly and occupy less space. But in case of failure
of power supply, the whole water supply comes to a standstill, so that stand-by power-lines
always need to be provided.
These work on the principle of mechanical induction of a vacuum in a chamber so that water can be
drawn into it. Then this water is mechanically displaced and delivered through a pipe. Displacement
pumps are of two types,
Advantages
Disadvantages
2) Centrifugal pumps
In centrifugal pumps, water entering the pump-casing is made to revolve at high speed by means
of an impeller. The impeller induces a centrifugal force, which pushes the water to the periphery
and to the delivery pip. Centrifugal pumps can be classified into two types,
1. Volute type centrifugal pump
2. Turbine type centrifugal pump.
14
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Advantages
1. They are high speed pumps and can be directly connected to the electric motor.
2. Discharge and power requirements are uniform for a head
3. They are compact in design and occupy less floor space
4. Initial cost, as well as maintenance costs are less
5. Working is simple and reliable
6. They are easier to start than other pumps
7. They do not have valves, and have few moving parts
8. They can be used for water containing grit and sand
9. Elaborate foundation is not required
10. Discharge can be varied and shut whenever necessary.
Disadvantages
15
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Advantages
Disadvantages
1. To have greater depth of submergence, the well needs to the deep, leading to higher costs
2. Efficiency is relatively low
3. Flow may not be continuous
4. They are not very flexible, since they cannot cope up with variations in demand.
2) Miscellaneous pumps
Hydraulic ram: A hydraulic ram is a type of pump where ‘the energy of water flowing in a pipe’ is
used to raise a small quantity of water to a higher elevation. Water enters the ram through an inlet
pipe. When the ram is full, the waste valve opens sand the delivery valve closes. Water from the
waste valve opens and delivery valve closes. Water from the waste valve flows out and water attains
maximum velocity in the ram. Now the waster valve closes suddenly and the delivery valve opens.
Water from the ram enters the air chamber and goes to the outlet through the delivery pipe. After
some time, pressure in the ram falls, the delivery valve closes, the waster valve opens, and the cycle
repeats itself. There may be 50 – 200 cycles/minute depending on the design of the ram. Hydraulic
rams may be used for small water supplies. Some are,
1) Jet pumps
2) Hydraulic Ram
16
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Fig. - Hydraulic Ram pumps
Advantages
Disadvantages
1) Deep well pumps: these are used to pump water from tube wells. The pump essentially consists
of two parts.
(i) Driving motor, head assembly and delivery connection
(ii) Pumping unit installed under the head assembly to depth of about 24 to 30 m, below round
level.
2) High lift pumps: They are sued for lifting water for high heads.
3) Low lift pumps: They are used for low heads.
4) Booster pumps: Booster pumps serve low purposes:
Booster pumps work during times of maximum water demand. When the booster pump works, the
slope of the hydraulic gradient in the pipe steepens, thereby increasing the discharge and pressure head in
it, Reflux valve and check valve are used in the boostered main. Booster pumps are also used to lift water
to multistoried buildings.
17
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
PIPES
Pipe is a circular closed conduit through which the water may flow either under gravity or under
pressure. When pipes do not run full, they run under gravity, such as in sewer lines. However, in supply,
pipes mostly run under pressure. Pipes may be made of the following materials:
1. Cast iron.
2. Wrought iron.
3. Steel.
4. Galvanized iron.
5. Cement concrete.
6. Asbestos cement.
7. Plastic.
8. copper.
9. Woods.
An empirical formula given by Lea, connecting the dia and the discharge, which is commonly used
in practice is given as:
D= 0.97 to 1.22√Q
This relationship gives optimum flow velocity varying (between 1.35 to 0.8 m/sec)
For a rigorous analysis, total cost of pipe and pumping should be worked out at different assumed
velocities( between 0.8 to 1.8) and a graph plotted between the yearly cost and the size of the pipe
(Fig. a).
18
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Fig.( a).
The economical size is the one which gives the least cost, and thus selected by inspection, as shown
in Fig. (a).
Horse power of the pump motor. The power of a motor is given by the equation
Power=wQ.H/ η kW,
H= Total lift, i.e. the head against which the motor has to work, in m
η = Efficiency of the pump set, and is generally taken as 65% (i.e. 0.65)
Pipe Appurtenances
In order to isolate and drain the pipe line sections for tests, inspections, cleaning and repairs; a
number of appurtenances such as gates, valves, manholes, insulation joints, expansion joints, anchorages,
etc., are provided at various suitable places along the pipe lines, as described below.
Gates and Valves in Pipe Lines. A large number of different types of valves are required for the proper
functioning of the pipe line, as described below and shown in Fig.( b )
19
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
Fig.( b )-Profile of the pressure pipe showing the location of the gates and valves
The most commonly used type of a gate valve or a sluice valve is shown in Fig.c.
(b)Air valves.
Air valves are the special kind of valves which are generally placed along the pipe line at
“summits” on both sides of the sluice valves (as shown in Fig. a )and also on the downstream side
of all other sluice valves.
When placed on summits which are very near the H.G. line or sometimes above the H.G. lin
(especially during –ve water hammers), they ensure the safety of the pipe against collapse.
Similarly, when placed below the ordinary sluice valves, such as shown in (Fig. d), they will
protect the pipe against the negative pressures which may be developed, when during steady flow
the valve A is suddenly closed. (because as the valve A is closed, water continues to flow and
vacuum gets created downstream of A).
(Fig. d) – Position of air inlet valve below a sluice valve in a pipe line.
(d)Pressure-relief valves.
Water hammer pressures in pressure pipes can be reduced by using pressure relief valves. Such a
valve is adjusted to open out automatically as soon as the pressure in the pipe exceeds a certain
fixed predetermined value.
Due to the opening of this valve, certain water will get out of the pipe, and thus, reducing the
pressure in the pipe. As soon as the water hammer pressure reduces, and the pressure in the pipe
falls up to the fixed value, the valve will closed automatically.
Such type of valves are useful on small pipelines, where the escape of a relatively smaller amount
of water will alleviate water hammer pressures. A simple sketch of a pressure relief valve is
shown in Fig.e.
Since the positive water hammer pressure is developed due to the sudden closure of a sluice valve
on its upstream side, such relief valves may be provide on the upstream side of the sluice valves.
Even if not provide specifically for water hammer, such valves are often placed along the pipe
line at suitable intervals (especially at low points where the pressures are high), so as to function
during emergencies, when pressure rises in the pipe above the design value, and thus to help
protecting the pipe joints from getting loosened or the pipes from getting burst.
22
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
(e) check valves or Reflux valves.
Check valves are also sometimes called non-return valves because they prevent water to flow
back in the opposite direction. They may be installed on the delivery side of the pumping set, so
as to prevent the back flow of stored or pumped water, when the pump is stopped.
Check valves are also installed on pump discharges to reduce water hammer forces on the pump.
Such a valve may be a simple swing check or ball devices (Fig. f ) in small lines ; but in large
installations, they should be designed to close slowly, usually with discharge of some water
through a bypass.
2) Manholes.
Manholes are provided at suitable intervals along he pipe line, so as the help its laying, and to
serve for inspections and repairs. They are generally provided on large pipe lines bringing water
from the source to the city at intervals of about 300 to 600 meters or so.
They are usually provided in case of steel, hume steel, or R.C.C. pipes (which are commonly used
for conveyance of water from the source to the city) and are less common on cast iron pipes.
3) Insulation Joints.
Insulation joins are provided along the pipe lines at suitable intervals, so as to insulate the pipe
against the flow of stray electric currents, and thus, to check electrolysis.
Rubber gaskets or rings can be provided as insulators, in between the pipe lengths, so as to
prevent the flow of electric current between them. Similarly, sometimes, sufficient length of
the pipe is covered with rubber covering, so as to provide appreciable resistance to the lfow of
current.
4) Anchorages.
As pointed out earlier, the pipes try to pull apart and get out of the alignment at bends and other
points of unbalanced pressures.
At such places, the forces exerted on the joints due to longitudinal shearing stresses caused by
these unbalanced pressures are enormous, and the joints may get loosened, ultimately leading to
excessive leakage or failure of the pipe.
23
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.
In all such circumstances, in order to prevent the pipes from pulling apart, pipes are anchored by
firmly embedding these portions in massive blocks of concrete or masonry, which absorbs the
side thrusts.
Similarly, when pipes are laid on steep slopes, they try to slip and thereby pull apart, and the
resistance of their joints may be insufficient to balance the longitudinal shearing stresses. Pipes
are, therefore, anchored under such circumstances also. The anchors consisting of cement
concrete or masonry blocks are generally used.
24
Prof. SAKALA. B.T, Department of Civil Engineering, SVIT, Bangalore-64.