Soil and water conservation

C A Anitha
Soil Conservation
Officer
IWDM-K,
Chadayamangalam

Engineering measures for arable

lands

Suitability of a
structure depends
Land
slope

Rainfall

Soil type

Soil
cover

Which measure to choose

Lan Avg
d
annual
slop rf
e

Soil type

<
2%

Measure
adopted

Soil cover

<
6%

< 800
mm

Loamy/sandy
loam with good
infiltration

Contour
bunding

<
6%

> 800
mm

Loamy/sandy
loam with good
infiltration

Graded
bunding

Important principles for design

Increasing the time of concentration

Intercepting long slope into several
shorter ones
Protection against damage
Reducing the steepness of slope

Types of measures

Contour
bunding

Graded
bunding

Bench
terracing

Conservation
bench
terracing

Conservation
ditching

Contour
terrace wall

Contour bunding

Areas of slope 2-6% and with

scanty rf
Intercepts runoff
Conserves moisture
Increase crop yield by 15 20%

CONTOUR BUNDING
Critical velocity

IT

Infiltration/Percolation
Insitu conservation

MAKES

Time of concentratio

RUNNING WATER

When the Land slope increase

4 times
Velocity increases

2 times

Energy and erosive capacity

increases 4 times
i.e.
Erosive
capacity of
The quantity
Material that can
be carried
The size of the particles
that can be transported
by the runof

Slope
Increases
32 times
Increases by
64 times

V.I
H.I

V.I
H.I
H.I
S.L

V.I

LAY OUT OF CONTOUR BUND

Spacing of contour bunds

Expressed by vertical interval ( V.I.)

between two consecutive bunds
Intercepts water before it attains
critical velocity.
V.I = 0.3(s/a+b); a=3, b=2 for soils
with good infiltration
H.I.= V.I/sx100
Length of contour bund/ Ha; L =100
S/ V. I

Graded bunding

Not laid in contour

Laid along predetermined
longitudinal grade
In slopes upto 10%
For safe disposal of excess runoff
slowly
Shallow channels near to contour at
suitable V.I.
Purpose is drainage

Specifications of graded bund

V.I same as CB.

Channel grade varies from 0.05 to
0.4% depending on soil types.
Outlets for each terrace
Diversion channel for runoff disposal

Bench terracing

Practiced in steep slopes

Step like fields along contours by
half cutting and half filling
Steep slopes converted to level
fields
Degree and length of slope reduced
Slopes upto 33%, sometimes upto
50 to 60%

Types of bench terraces

Level bench terraces (table top)
Inwardly sloping terraces
Outwardly sloping terraces
Puertorican or California type
Strip terraces

Level bench terraces

Provide
uniform
impounding
of water
For paddy
cultivation
Areas of
medium
rainfall

Inwardly sloping bench terraces

Slopes inward with water disposal

channel
For crops susceptible to water
stagnation like potato, maize etc
In high rainfall areas

Outwardly sloping bench terraces

Slopes outward with safe water

disposal to the next terrace
In low rainfall areas

Puertorican type
Gradual formation of terrace
in each ploughing
Formed against a vegetative
cover along contour
Takes 3-5 years

Strip terraces

In fairly
deep soils

In steep
slopes

For
orchard
plantations

Conservation bench
terracing(CBT)

Consists of natural slope, terrace

ridge and channel for runoff
In gentle slopes upto 10%
Pastures in sloping area
Crops in terrace

CONSERVATION BENCH TERRACING

Conservation Bench Terrace with Paddy in lavelled

and maize in the sloping area, Dehradun
(Uttaranchal).

Conservation ditching

In black soils with alternate

shrinking and swelling
Inverted bunds dug in soil
Stores runoff
Reduces erosion

Contour terrace wall

In areas of high rf intensity like

Kerala
Contour bunding with stone pitching
on lower side of slope
Land slopes 15-40%
Successful in laterite soils

Engineering measures for non

arable lands

Lands not suited for agricultural

crops due to natural limitations
Little economic use
Contribute to max erosion
Absence of fertile soil
Bioengineering measures adopted

functions

Provide
mechanical
stability

Retain debris

Establish
vegetation

Conserves
soil and
moisture

Types of measures

Mainly grouped into

two

Slope stabilization
measures
Drainage line
treatment measures

SLOPE STABILIZATION MEASURES: NON-ARABLE

Diversion drains
Contour Trenches
Staggered
Continuous
Crib structures
Geotextiles (Geojute, Coir Bhovastra etc.)
Kutta - crate Structures
Retaining walls

Diversion Drains
The bed slope (grade) of the drain should be such that it
is non-erosive as well as non-silting one.
The gradient of diversion drain should preferably be kept
within 0.5 per cent.
A narrow and deep drain does not get silted up as rapidly
as a broad and shallow drain of the same cross-sectional
area and is, therefore, self maintaining.
Design of a diversion drain is similar to that of a grassed
waterway.

Contour Trenching
Continuous contour
trenches(CCT)

Low rainfall area

Length 10-20 m
C/S: 30-30cm or 45-45cm
Equalizers width 20-25cm

Staggered contour
trenches(SCT)
Length 2-3m, line spacing 35,
Depth 40-50 cm; width 50cm
HI=A/Q (A=C/S area;
Q=expected runof

Crib Structures
Steep slopes (more than 40%) can be
stabilized by constructing log wood crib
structures filled with stone/brushwood
Crib can be made with Eucalyptus poles of
2 to 3 m in length and 8 to 12 cm in
diameter.
These poles are joined together with the
help of 20 to 25 cm long nails.
The height of the
structure is kept
1.5 to 2 m above
the ground
depending upon
the land slope

Wattling
Trench

Mulching and planting

of grasses and shrubs

Tie rope for keeping

Mulch in place

3 to 5m

Contour
wattles
provided at 3-5 m
interval.
Trenches 0.3 wide
and 1 m deep dug up
on contours and filled
with
brushwood
bundles.
Posts
of
self
sprouting
spp.
planted at 1m interval
e.g.
Salix,
Vitex,
Ficus, Erythrina etc.

Trench

PLAN
Wooden post 8cm to10cm
diameter, about 50cm above
and 75 cm below the ground
and 100 cm to 125cm apart

G.L.

Earth and boulder

filling

ELEVATION
Mulching and planting
of grasses and shrubs

Wooden post

Brush wood bundies

3 to 5m

SIDE SECTION

Wattling and mulching techniques for slope

Geotextiles

Natural geotextiles made of fibres of

jute or coir used for stabilisation of
degraded slopes in landslides and mine
spoil areas and cut slopes along
roadsides

Initial establishment of vegetation on

highly degraded sloping lands by holding
the vegetation in place and conserving
moisture and fine soil for its growth.

open mesh size of about 25mm x 25mm

found suitable

The cost of geotextile application may

vary from Rs. 40 to Rs. 70/sqm for jute
and coir geotextile, respectively

Retaining wall
Retaining walls
For
stabilizing
precipitation bill slopes
and river banks.

2.0

1.0m
4.0m
1.0m 0.5

Pressure on
wall

1.0m
2.0m

Thumb rule
Take base width as 2/3rd
height of wall.
Width reduced in steps to
1 m at top.

3.0m

Weight of Resultant
wall
thrust

i) Force acting on a
retaining wall

ii) 4m wall stepped inside, with

a vertical outer face

Kutta-Crate
In certain situations, used cement gunny bags filled with
nala bed sand / gravel can be used for construction of
barriers for slope stabilisation.
For stabilization of limestone mine spoil slopes, barriers
formed by filling mine spoil in used cement bags (Katta
crate structures) have been successfully used.
0.60

0.40

0.60

Front elevation

L
0.60

Earth filling
0.60

Plan

Earth filling
G

Landslide or landslip Erosion

Land slippage occurs on

sloping lands that are wet. Soil
that is saturated with water
slips down the hillside or
mountain slope. Land slippage
is also known as mud slide or
landslide or mass erosion.
Banks along highways,
streams and ocean fronts are
often subject to land slides.
Landslide is the downward and
outward movement of slope
forming material composed of
natural rocks, soil, artificial fills
or

Mass erosion by landslip

Mass erosion by landslides

Slope stabilization

Rollers
Flood

Wire netting with stone

Anchors

(A)

(B)

Protection of Slopes by
Brushwood Rollers and
Gabions

Stream Bank Erosion

Stream bank erosion is the scouring of soil

material from the stream bed and cutting of
stream bank by the force of flowing water.
Stream erosion and gully erosion are
distinguishable. Primarily, stream erosion applies
to the lower end of head water tributaries and to
streams that have a nearly continuous flow and
relatively flat gradient, whereas gully erosion
occurs generally in intermittent streams near the
upper end of head water distributaries.
Stream bank gets eroded either by runoff flowing
over the stream bank or scouring or undercutting.
Stream bank erosion is accelerated by the
removal of vegetation, overgrazing, or tillage near
the banks. Scouring underneath the bank or on
stream bed is affected by the velocity and
direction of flow, depth and width of channel and
soil texture.

Stream Bank Erosion

Control
All rivers and streams while flowing through
hilly regions or alluvial plains have a tendency
to erode away their banks. This erosion
destroys productive crop lands situated on the
river margins

CAUSES OF STREAM BANK EROSION

Stream bank erosion is mostly caused by
the flowing water in rivers and streams.
Flood flows cause the major part of the
erosion and normal flow after floods also
cause considerable amount of erosion

Failure of Stream bank

1. Erosion caused by washing away of the soil material of the bank by
flowing current or waves.
2. Sliding of the bank material due to the unstable slope created as a
result of erosion caused by the water flow
3. Undermining the toe of the lower bank by currents, waves, swirls
etc. followed by the collapse of the over hanging material deprived of
support
4. Sloughing or sliding of slope when saturated with water. This
usually happens during high floods of long duration when the
constant high water level saturates the bank material
5. Sliding of the bank material due to seepage water flowing back into
the river after flood water recedes. This seepage saturates the bank
material and decreases the internal strength of the material
6. Runof discharge from the areas adjoining the stream banks into the
stream through unprotected land surface. The inflow into the stream
creates gullies on the stream bank and accelerates the erosion

Cross -section
Poles wired to posts

Singl
e
row
brus
h
dam

Stake
Butt ends of brush
Of tree branches

100 mm posts

Side -section

Dam brush

Post

Flow

Apron bush
Litter
100 mm post

Litter

Plan

Pole

150 mm layer of
litter
Flow
Litter
Bush, butt end upstream

No 9 wire

Cross section (post and litter only)

0.5m

150 mm layer of litter

Doubl
e row
brush
dam

Post
1.2 m
Side - section
No 9 wire

This space filled

with bush and
wired down

Flow
Litter Against
upstream face
Plan

150 mm layer of litter

Bush wired down

Flow

Litter
+ 3m

Gunny Bag Structures(Katta crate

structures)
For longer durability of the structure, cement
and sand / gravel mixture may be used in the
ratio of 1:16. The filled gunny bags are laid in a
row over one another in three layers to make a
height of about 0.6m
0.60

0.40

0.60

Front elevation

L
0.60

Earth filling
0.60

Plan

Earth filling
G

Retaining wall

Soil surface

Soil surface

Water surface

Maximum
1.0m

Dry stone
masonry
check dams

Bottom of gully
50cm
2.0m

Retaining wall

Retaining wall
50cm

Top width: 0.5 m

Side slopes: 0.5 H : 1 V
Depth of foundation:0.3 m - 0.5 m
Height above ground level 0.5m
-1.0 m
Keying into stable
portions of banks 0.3 m - 0.6 m

50cm
Bottom of gully

Seedling

0.5

0.5
0.5
(Max) H = 1.0 m
Foundation

0.5

Loose Stone Check Dams

0.60H

0.60
H

0.40H

H=0.5

0.60H

0.40H

0.40H

0.40H

H=0.8

0.40H
H=1.0

0.4H Sub structure

1.2H

Upper reaches

0.40H

0.4H Sub structure

1.2H

Middle reaches

0.4H Sub structure

1.2H

Lower reaches

Gabion check dams

Stone wire crate ( Gabion) as semipermanent structures are commonly used
for drainage line treatment
The gabion check dams/cross-barriers may
be constructed in second and third order
(main) gullies/channels for retention of
debris and soil accumulation without
ponding.
Specifications (m)
Channel gradient (%)
Less than 15

15-25

25-40

Base width

Vertical interval (VI)

Horizontal interval (HI)

20

10

10

Gabion Design Plan

33% channel
gradient

3m
Base width
VI
HI

4m
3m
10m

Side wall
10m
2m

Base width
VI
HI

3m
2m
10m

2-0% channel
gradient

4m

8m

PLAN
Original channel section

10m

10m
10% channel
gradient

Base width
VI
HI

10m

2m
2m
20m

SECTIONAL ELEVATION

4m

FRONT ELEVATION

Dam Spacing
Spacing

=(HE /K tan cos )

= Constant, value of K = 0.30 for tan < 0.2 and K = 0.50 for
tan > 0.2.
o = gully gradient
HE = Dam height measured from the gully bottom to spillway crest,
K

Primary Nickpoint

Dam

Sediment
deposits

Dam

Apron
Sill

Sp

Permanent Gully Control

Structures
Design Criteria

Types
Drop spillway
Chute spillway
Drop inlet spillway

Hydrological design
Hydraulic design
Structural design

Drop structure

Drop Inlet Structure

Inlet

Chute Spillway

Stepped Drop Structures

DROP STRUCTURES ON
GULLY

Gabion structures and silt

detention barriers

TORRENT CONTROL MEASURES

Spurs: Built out from the bank of a river to

deflect the main river current away from
eroding bank.

Functions:
Protection of adjoining land and property
Land reclamation
Flow diversion

Spurs and Layout

Stream Bank
Anchor logs

d/s

u/s

Wooden
jacks

Attracting
d/s

u/s

Deflecting

80o to 85o

Repelling

Bank
Hard wood
stakes

Stakes
Stream bank

Rope
Tree branch

Vegetative spur

Water harvesting systems

Direct runoff water harvesting
systems
Farm ponds/Percolation ponds
Dug out ponds
Embankment type ponds
Check dams
Contour trenches/bunds
Rain water harvesting systems
Roof top WHS

SOLUTIONS FOR A WATER-SHORT

WORLD: INTEGRATED WATER
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Conserving
Precious Natural
Resources

Harvesting Rainwater

Rainwater Harvesting
catch water where it falls

Rainwater harvesting is the process of

Collecting,
Concentrating,
Improving the productive use, and
Reducing unproductive depletion of
rainwater

Components of Rainwater Harvesting

Collection and storage of rainwater
In situ soil moisture conservation
Effective utilization of stored water
Strengthening natural water resources

ainwater harvesting.

1.Collection and storage of rainwater

a. Watershed approach
b. Water harvesting in farm ponds
c. In situ rainwater harvesting

ainwater harvesting.
1. Collection and storage of rainwater

a.Watershed
approach
Water harvesting in
relatively big reservoirs on
community basis.
Involves full cooperation of
Government and NonGovernment agencies and
local people.
Involvement of several
agencies makes the success
of the program a bit difficult.

Water Harvesting on Watershed basis

ainwater harvesting.
1. Collection and storage of rainwater

b. Water harvesting in
farm ponds
Water harvesting in
relatively small (100-200 m3)
farm ponds
Does not involve interaction
of different agencies
Cost effective and Feasible
in hilly terrains with
resource poor farmers,
having small land holdings

ainwater harvesting.

ollection and storage of rainwater

mall dug-out farm ponds

Lining material

Cost (Rs/m3
water
harvested)

Cement-concrete
lining

709

Bitumen lining

575
419

Black polyethylene
sheet covered
with bricks
Silpaulin sheet (UV
resistant)

348

Black polyethylene
sheet
covered
with soil

277

WATER HARVESTING IN SMALL DAM

ROOF TOP RAINWATER

HARVESTING
NEED

To meet the ever increasing demand for water

To reduce the runoff which chokes storm
water drains
To avoid flooding of roads
To augment ground water storage
(Sustainability)
To supplement domestic water requirement
during crisis Sustainability)
To improve the quality of ground water
To reduce the soil erosion

COMPONENTS OF ROOF TOP

RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

The system usually comprises:

A roof
A storage tank
Collection pit
Gutter arrangement to transport
water from the roof top to the
storage tank
First flush system to divert the
dirty water
Filter unit to remove debris/silt etc

COMPONENTS OF ROOF TOP RAINWATER

HARVESTING SYSTEM

METHODS OF RWH FOR

GROUND WATER RECHARGE

Various methods are available

Percolation pit
Percolation pit with bore
Recharge trench
Recharge trench with bore
Recharge well (Shallow)
Recharge well (Deep)

RWH RECHARGE THROUGH PITS

RWH - RECHARGE THROUGH

TRENCHES

RECHARGE RAINWATER HARVESTING AND

RECHARGE THROUGH ABANDONED WELL

WATER HARVESTING SURFACE

-STORAGE TANK

RECHARGE THROUGH BOREHOLE IN HARD ROCK AREAS

ROOF TOP RAINWATER

HARVESTING
PH Office, Indore

Thank you