RESERVOIR PLANNING

Reservoirs are artificial lakes created by the construction of a dam across a river for the
purpose of storing water to be supplied for irrigation, drinking water supply, industrial
water supply, developing hydel power, flood control etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF RERESERVOIRS

1. Storage Reservoir:
Reservoir constructed to store excess water in the river at times of large supplies and
release it as and when required.

2. Flood Control Reservoir:

Reservoir constructed to store water during heavy floods and release in a safe manner
when the flood recedes.

3. Distribution Reservoir:
Reservoir constructed to store water for supply in a city.

4. Multipurpose Reservoir:
A reservoir constructed to store water for more than one purpose.

INVESTIGATIONS FOR RESWERVOIR PLANNING

1. Engineering Surveys:
The area of the proposed reservoir site is surveyed and a contour map of the area is
prepared. From the contour map the following physical characteristics are prepared:
 Area – Elevation curves
 Storage – Elevation curves
 Area of Submergence maps.
The first two curves are prepare on the same graph with Volume on the x-axis in hectare-
metre at the bottom value increasing from left to right and area on the x-axis in hectare at
the top with value increasing from the right to left. The elevation is taken on the y-axis in
metres.
The volume of storage for a given elevation o water level can be calculated from the
standard formulas available from the contour map. The area enclosed by each contour is
found using a planimeter. Typical Area-Elevation and Storage-Elevation curve is shown in
the figure.
The curve shows storage the capacity of the reservoir for different elevations and
corresponding area of submergence.
It can be seen that as the Elevation increases the Storage Capacity of the Reservoir increases.
The Area of Submergence also increases. An idea of the expenses incurred in rehabilitation
of the people can be had. It is required that the elevation selected should be for a maximum
storage and at the same time the area submerged be reasonable.

2. Geological Investigations:
Geological investigations are required at the proposed site to get detailed information
about Water tightness of the reservoir basin, Suitability of foundation for the dam,
Geological and structural features such as folds, faults, fissures etc., Type and depth of
overburden, Location of permeable and soluble rocks, Ground water conditions and
Location of quarry sites for materials required for the dam construction etc. Geological
investigations of the catchment is also studied.

3. Hydrological Investigations:
The amount of runoff that will enter from the catchment to the reservoir is very important.

The investigation will in two heads:

(i) Study of runoff pattern at the proposed dam site to determine the storage capacity,
(ii) Determination of hydrograph of the worst flood to determine the spill way capacity.
ZONES OF STORAGE IN A RESERVOIR
The various zones of storage in a reservoir are:

Normal Pool Level: The level upto which the water will rise in the reservoir under normal
operating condition which is at the crest of the spillway.

Maximum Pool Level: The level to which water rises during the design flood.

Minimum Pool Level: The lowest level upto which water will be drawn from the reservoir.

Useful Storage: The volume of water stored between the normal pool level and the
minimum pool level.

Dead Storage: The volume of water below the minimum pool level.

Surcharge Storage: The volume of water stored between the normal pool level and the
maximum pool level.

Valley Storage: The volume of water stored in the stream channel before a dam is
constructed.

Bank Storage: The volume of seepage water into the reservoir banks which comes out
when the reservoir gets depleted.
RESERVOIR CAPACITY - Certain Related Definitions:

1. Catchment Yield:
The total yearly runoff expressed as the volume of water entering or passing the outlet
point of the catchment expressed in Mm3 or M. ha.m. This is the amount of water that will
enter the reservoir from the catchment to the point of reservoir in the river annually.

2. Reservoir Yield:
The amount of water that can be drawn from the reservoir in any specified time interval.
This depends on the inflow into the reservoir and the reservoir losses.
The catchment yield is indicated by the Mass Curve of Inflow and the reservoir yield is
indicated by the Mass Demand Line or Mass Curve of Outflow.

3. Dependable Yield:
Variation in Catchment Yield is inevitable since the rainfall is not the same every year.
From the past records of available data of rainfall – runoff say for a period of 35 years a
value of catchment yield is chosen between the worst and the best value. So a percentage
called dependability percentage is adopted at the catchment yield based on this percentage
is adopted as Dependable Yield or Design yield.

4. Firm Yield or Safe Yield:

The yield available from the catchment in the most critical year of worst flood is firm yield.

5. Secondary Yield:
Water available in excess of the Safe yield is secondary yield.

6. Dependable or Design Yield Computation:

Dependable rainfall is first worked out and then this dependable rainfall is converted into
Dependable Catchment Yield adopting a dependability percentage of about 50% to 75 %
between the best and the worst floods..

Computation of Dependable Rainfall

1. The available rainfall data for the past ‘N’ years is arranged in the descending order of
magnitude and each given an order number which is the serial number of the arranged
data.
2. Order number for the given dependability percentage ‘p’ which is ‘m’ given as
p
mN , is computed and the corresponding rainfall from the tabulated data is adopted
100
as Dependable Rainfall.

CONVERSION OF DEPENDABLE RAINFALL TO DEPENDABLE YIELD

The dependable rainfall is converted into dependable yield by tables or empirical relations
as follows.

(a) Binnie’s Percentage Tables and cures:

The table gives Monsoon Yield percentage for different values of rainfall from which
Percentage of Rainfall that becomes Runoff is plotted against Total Monsoon Rainfall.

(b) Strange’s Percentage Table and Curves: The table gives Runoff Percentages for
catchments classified as Good – prone to produce higher yields and Bad – prone to produce
lower yields. Intermediate catchment were classified as Average.
(c) Barlow’s Tables:
There are two Tables – one giving Runoff Percentages for different class of catchment and
another giving coefficients to the percentages given in the above table for different
intensities of rainfall.

Class of Runoff
Description of Catchment
Catchment Percentages
A Flat, cultivated, adsorbent soils 10
B Flat, partly cultivated stiff soils 15
C Average catchment 20
Hills and plains with little
D 25
cultivation
Very hilly and steep catchment
E 33
with little or no cultivation

Values of Barlow’s Runoff Percentages

Rainfall Intensity
Catchment Light rain, no heavy Average or varying rain, no Continuous Down
downpour continuous downpour Pour
A 0.7 1.0 1.5
B 0.8 1.0 1.5
C 0.8 1.0 1.6
D 0.8 1.0 1.7
E 0.8 1.0 1.8

Barlow’s Coefficient for Runoff Percentages

(d) Lacey’s Formula:

The formula connects Monsoon Rainfall ‘P’ with Catchment Yield ‘Q’, m – monsoon
duration factor, n – catchment factor and p – dependability percentage.
P
Q
304.8m
1
p.n
The values of m and n are tabulated below.
Duration of
‘m’
Monsoon
Bad Year 0.5
Normal Year 1.2
Good Year 1.5

Values of Monsoon Factor ‘m’

 Class of
Description of Catchment ‘n’
Catchment
A Flat, cultivated, adsorbent soils 0.25
B Flat, partly cultivated stiff soils 0.60
C Average catchment 1.00
D Hills and plains with little cultivation 1.70
E Very hilly and steep catchment with little 3.45
or no cultivation

Values of Catchment Factor ‘n’

(e) Inglis Formula:

There are two formulas – one for the Ghat Area where rainfall is 200 cm or moreand the
other for Non – ghat Areas where rainfall is less than 200 cm. If ‘Q’ is the catchment yield
and ‘P’ is the rainfall,
Q  0.85P  30.48 cm for ghat areas
PP  17.78
Q cm for non ghat areas.
254

(f) Khosla’s Formula:

It is a simple formula that can be easily applied to any part of the country irrespective of the
region or catchment type. If ‘Q’ is the catchment yield in cm, ‘P’ is the rainfall in cm, and T m
is the mean annual temperature of the area in °C, then Q  P  0.48Tm

FIXING RESERVOIR CAPACITY

1. The area to be irrigated is identified and the demand based on crop water requirement is
found out.

2. Water required for release for downstream commitments or any other requirement is
computed.

3. Reservoir losses of about 15% is added to it to get the live storage.

4. Dead storage is added to get Gross storage.

5. Based on the catchment yield and the gross storage a consensus is arrived at and the
Reservoir Capacity is fixed. This will be lesser than the assessed gross storage requirement
and the assessed dependable yield of the catchment.

6. The Full Reservoir Level and the Maximum Pool Level is fixed from the Area – Elevation
and Storage – Elevation Curves.
FIXING RESERVOIR CAPACITY FROM INFLOW AND OUTFLOW DATA
The inflow into the reservoir is nothing but the catchment yield varies. The outflow from
the reservoir is the water demand required to meet the irrigation requirement, prior water
rights of downstream etc. and also accounting for the losses is constant. This is the reason to
provide sufficient storage in the reservoir to meet the water requirements during the critical
periods.

The governing storage equation is given as:

Increase in Reservoir Storage = Inflow – Outflow

The process is a tedious one. However it is simplified by using the Mass Curve Technique
which is a graphical method of determining the Reservoir Capacity.

MASS CURVE FOR INFLOW AND DEMAND

Mass curve of inflow is the plot of accumulated flow vs. time. It is obtained from the runoff
hydrograph for the stream at the dam site for a number of years.
The figure below show a typical mass curve obtained from a flow hydrograph. The area
under the hydrograph between the time t = 0 and t = T is the accumulated flow upto the
time t = T gives the ordinate of the mass curve at that time.
The mass curve is a continuously rising curve as it is the plot of the accumulated inflow.
Periods of no inflow will be a horizontal line on the mass curve. It is simply called as Mass
Inflow Curve. It is also called as Ripple Diagram.
The mass curve of demand is a graphical representation of the demand and it shows the
outflow from the reservoir. For constant rate of withdrawal from the reservoir the mass
curve of demand is a rising straight line with its slope equal to the demand rate. Some
times if the demand is varying the demand line will be a curve.

MASS CURVE TECHNIQUE

1. Fixing Reservoir Capacity for a Specified Yield

Procedure for fixing the reservoir capacity for a specified yield:

1. Form the flood hydrograph of inflow for several years, prepare the mass inflow curve.

2. On the same plot to the same scale plot the mass demand line.

3. From the apices A1, A2, A3 etc of the mass inflow curve draw tangents parallel to the
demand line.
4. Measure the vertical intercepts E1D1, E2D2, E3D3 etc.

5. The biggest of these vertical intercept is the required reservoir capacity.

The demand lines drawn tangent to the apices A1, A2, A3 etc indicates the rate of
withdrawal of water from the reservoir.

For a period corresponding to points A1 and C1 the ordinate D1C1 represent the net inflow
and E1C1 represent the demand. A shortage equal to E1D1 occurs and this has to be met by
the storage in the reservoir.

Similarly at all the other time points A2 & C2 and A2 & C3

Assuming the reservoir to be full whenever the tangent and the demand line meet, at points
B the reservoir is full and the flow continues to increase. This indicates that the quantity
denoted by the vertical intercept is wasted over the spillway and hence the spillway of the
dam is to be designed for the maximum of the vertical intercepts at B1, B2, B3.
2. Safe Yield from a Reservoir of a given Capacity

Procedure for finding the Safe Yield from a Reservoir of given Capacity:

1. Prepare the mass curve of inflow. On the same plot draw from a common origin lines
indicating various demands.

2. At the apices A1, A2, A3 etc, draw tangents such that their maximum departure from the
mass curve is equal to the value of the given reservoir capacity as E1D1, E2D2, E3D3 etc.

3. Draw parallel to the flattest of A1E1, A2E2, A3E3, on the demand graph.

4. The value of the demand on the demand graph for this line gives the firm yield of the
reservoir at the critical period.

RESERVOIR REGULATION
Multipurpose reservoirs are to be operated and regulated efficiently with a policy principle
that “The reservoirs are neither left partially empty at the end of the rainy season, nor
they are found full at the time of arrival of a series of peak floods, leading to heavy
releases and causing floods in the downstream”.
Ruling curves and Operating Tables for Reservoirs
To ensure this a Reservoir Regulation Committee consisting of experts is constituted to
analyze, formulate and issue directives to the operating staff in respect of gate operation
through Guide tables and curves called Ruling Curves or Guide curves in the form of
Reservoir Regulation Manuals.
These curves are used only during flood seasons. The Rule Curve or Table broadly reflects
maximum reservoir levels to be achieved on different dates of the rainy season and
therefore reflects the vacant space to be left in the reservoir on different dates or weeks of
the rainy season.
Depending on the inflow of the coming flood the gates a consensus is to be arrived in the
operation of the gates so that the water released from the reservoir along with the discharge
from the catchment of the river downstream is within the carrying capacity of the river
downstream.

RESERVOIR LOSSES
Losses in reservoirs are: Evaporation Losses. Absorption Losses and Percolation Losses also
called as Reservoir Leakage.

1. Evaporation Losses:
Evaporation losses depend on the factors: water surface area, water depth, humidity, wind
velocity, temperature, atmospheric pressure and quality of water. None of these factors
could be controlled. So in order to minimize the evaporation losses a toxic chemical called
as Water Evapo – Retardants are sprinkled over the water surface. This chemical form a
thin monomolecular film and prevents the energy inputs from the atmosphere thus
reducing the evaporation.

2. Absorption Losses:
These losses are less significant and depends on type of the soil of the reservoir formation.

3. Percolation Losses or Reservoir Leakage:

This loss is due to permeable banks or crack formed in the dam walls which are made of
fractured rocks. Grouting is done to control the losses. Bank leakage gets arrested as the
pores get saturated and is so low and negligible.

RESERVOIR CLEARANCE
The removal of trees, bushes, and other vegetation from the reservoir area is known as
Reservoir Clearance. Decaying vegetation creates undesirable odours and tastes, the debris
floating will create problems in the dam operation. This expensive operation cannot be
justified on cost benefit aspect.
ECONOMIC HEIGHT OF A DAM
The economic height of a dam is that height corresponding to which the cost of the dam per
unit storage is minimum.

Estimates of Cost of Construction of the dam are prepared for different heights some what
above and below at which the Elevation-Capacity curve shows fairly high rate of increase
of storage per unit rise in elevation, for moderate length of the dam. A graph with dam
height in metres on the x-axis and the cost of construction in Million Rupees on the y-axis is
plotted. The graph shows that cost increases with increase in height.

For each height of the dam the storage volume is obtained from the Elevation Capacity
curve. The costs of construction per unit storage for all possible heights of the dam are
calculated. A graph with height of dam in metres on x-axis and the cost of construction per
unit storage on y-axis is plotted. The graph tends to curve downward for a certain height
and then curve upward. The lower most point is gives the height of dam for which the cost
of construction per unit storage is minimum. This is the most economical height of the dam.
RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION AND CONTROL
Rivers carry certain amount of sediment which are eroded from the catchment area. These
sediment are carried in suspension as the river flows due to turbulences which is more than
the gravitational force of the sediments with which the sediments tend to settle down. The
finer silt carried in suspension is called as Suspended load and the heavier sediments which
move along the bed is called as Bed load.
When the sediments reach the vicinity of the reservoir, the bed load gets deposited in the
head reaches of the reservoir. Finer sediments travel towards the dam an get deposited near
the heel of the dam. Some finer sediments still remain in suspension and finally escape into
the river through spill ways and into the channels through sluices.
The deposition of the silt in the reservoir is called as Reservoir Silting or Reservoir
Sedimentation.

The coarser sediments settle down along reservoir bottom. The finer sediments remain in
suspension and moves in a separate layer below the clear water as a Density Current.
These can be removed by the proper design, construction and operation of the silt sluices.

The ratio of the Total Sediment Deposited in the Reservoir to the Total Sediment Flowing in
the River is called as Trap Efficiency.

The ratio of the Reservoir Capacity to the Total Inflow of Water is known as Capacity
Inflow Ratio.

Trap Efficiency is a function of Capacity Inflow Ratio.

As the capacity reduces with constant inflow the trap efficiency reduces which means that
the silting rate in the reservoir is more in the beginning and reduces as its capacity reduces.
Silt Control in Reservoirs
Reservoir silting can be controlled by Two Measures

1. Pre-constructing Measures:
These are measures adopted before and during the execution of the reservoir project.

(a) Selection of Dam Site:

Reservoir silting can be reduced by choosing the site in such a way as to exclude the run off
from easily erodible catchment.

(b) Construction of Dam in Stages:

Less storage capacity leads to large outflow resulting in lesser silting than when the entire
water is stored. Construction of dam in stages will prolong the life of reservoir by raising
the height as some of its capacity gets silted up.

(c) Construction of Check Dams:

Along the upstream reaches check dams may be constructed so as to trap the sediments
before the water reaches the reservoir.

(d) Vegetation Screens:

Vegetal cover in the catchment and at the entry of the reservoir traps large amount of
sediments.

(e) Construction of Under-sluices in the Dam:

Dam is provided with openings called Sluices at levels of higher sediment concentration
and sediments removed to downstream side.

2. Post-Constructing Measures:
These measures are undertaken during the operation of the reservoir project.

(a) Removal of Post Flood Water:

Sediment increases in the water just after the flood and hence this water is not stored and
efforts made to remove this water.

(b) Mechanical Stirring of the Sediments:

Deposited sediments are scoured and disturbed mechanically and kept in moving state and
pushed towards the sluices.

(c) Erosion Control and Soil Conservation:

Soil erosion is reduced by suitable measures but it is a costly measure.
SITE SELECTION FOR A RESERVOIR
The following factors are normally considered in the selection of a suitable site for a
reservoir.

1. Selecting a suitable dam site as cost of construction is an important aspect.

2. Geological formation of the site should be such that the leakage is minimized, absorption
and percolation are minimized.

3. A deep reservoir is formed with minimum area of submergence and maximum storage
capacity.

4. Avoid site where there are too much silt laden tributaries upstream.

5. The valley basin should have deep narrow opening in the valley so that the length of the
dam is minimized.