Table of Contents 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.0 3.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 5.

0 6.0 7.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Background to research problem ...................................................................... 1 Statement of research problem ......................................................................... 2 Scope of study ................................................................................................. 3 Research objectives.............................................................................................. 4 Significance of study ............................................................................................ 5 Literature review ................................................................................................. 6 The hydrologic cycle ........................................................................................ 6 Precipitation ..................................................................................................... 7 Surface water ................................................................................................... 7 Drainage .......................................................................................................... 8 Drainage systems ........................................................................................... 10 Proposed methodology....................................................................................... 11 Proposed data analysis ...................................................................................... 13 Budget and activity chart .................................................................................... 16

Reference ...................................................................................................................... 17 Appendices .................................................................................................................... 18

1.0

Introduction

This research proposal is based the analysis of the University of Guyana (Turkeyen campus) drainage network to determine its performance and maintenance cost. It includes sections on defining the problem, extent or specific areas of study, research questions, importance of study, review of literature and the proposed methodology and data analysis.

1.1

Background to research problem

During the two rainy seasons in Guyana (known to occur naturally around the months of December to January and May to June) populated areas along the coastlands experience momentous flooding. One such location is the Turkeyen Cummings Lodge area of which the Turkeyen campus of the University of Guyana (UG) is situated. After heavy storms the campus is flooded in specific sections and the water may take up to several days to recede. These sections include mainly the northern recreational area, the southern unoccupied lands and the opened vegetated areas within the various faculty buildings.

The different factors responsible for this problem are not clearly defined and as such the problem cannot be solved in a strategic and logical way. The adequacy of the design capacity of the drainage system must be analyzed since changes in climatic conditions from back in the design period to the present are noticeable. In simpler terms the design parameters for the current drainage system may be insufficient and hence new parameters must be determined to verify this and assist in generating alternative solutions.

Drainage is provided for the campus by means of small concrete-lined drains connected to earthen trenches on the periphery. These trenches are part of the macro drainage systems for the Turkeyen Cummings Lodge area and adjacent communities which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean via the Lilliendaal pump station. During the January 2005 floods it was revealed that these drainage networks along the coast are ineffective

and inefficient with regards to its design functions and performance. In February 2005 a Geotechnical and Hydraulic assessment of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) dam was done by a team from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) and a report was filed and submitted to the UNEP/OCHA Environment unit. The findings of this report indicated that drainage in the coastal zone is inadequate and that the drainage infrastructure requires urgent rehabilitation to improve flood response and minimize the effects of a possible breach in the EDWC dam. This reflects a clear dependence of UGs micro drainage system on the fragile macro drainage infrastructure of the coast. However, the analysis of the macro drainage system is outside of the scope for this project and it should be undertaken for future research projects.

The flood situation on the Turkeyen campus imposes serious environmental effects along with unnecessary maintenance. The northern recreational area gives off a stench when flooded and students are affected by this odour when traversing nearby or using the spicy dish food canteen. Also because this area is flooded for more than a few days sport activities are restricted and this takes away from the life of students who engage in recreation. After the flood water recedes the maintenance crew is tasked with additional works to remove debris and clean the campus. This increases the maintenance cost for the campus and also results in ineffective utilization of resources for maintenance operations. An assessment of the state of the current drainage system is therefore necessary to reduce maintenance cost and improve the quality of life on campus for students.

1.2

Statement of research problem

The research problem can be summarized as; the analysis of the drainage system at the University of Guyana (Turkeyen campus) with focus on the design performance.

1.3

Scope of study

This research includes a detail analysis of the internal drainage network of the University of Guyana (Turkeyen campus) and that of its perimeter drains at all four boundaries. A storm runoff coefficient for the campus will be generated and a maintenance programme for the different types of drains will be drafted with focus on de-silting and clearing of vegetation.

The research however will not extend to the external drainage networks of Turkeyen and Cummings Lodge mainly because of the high expenditure that this will result in, along with the limited resources available. Also the simplified proposed methodology will not yield results of sufficient accuracy due to complexity of these external networks; requiring the use of computer software models to analyze relevant data and generate solutions. However, it must be noted that the analysis and rehabilitation of the external and other surrounding network is vital to the overall performance and function of the drainage system at the university.

2.0

Research objectives

The research objectives are as follows; 1. To divide the entire study area into sub-areas based on the type of ground coverage and other abstractions 2. To determine suitable runoff coefficients for the strategic sub-areas on campus 3. To determine a constant rainfall intensity for the entire study area of the campus 4. To prepare an inventory of existing drains, inlets and culverts for the drainage system 5. To identify and describe all outfall locations and their characteristics in the drainage system 6. To determine the theoretical storage capacity and discharge potential for the drainage system

3.0

Significance of study

This research is intended to establish the factors necessary for rehabilitating the current drainage system at the University of Guyana (Turkeyen campus) with respect to flood control. As such the administration of the university will benefit since flooding cause damages to its infrastructure and increases general maintenance cost. Ideally the revenue saved from this unnecessary maintenance can be utilized in other important areas for the university.

Students are also affected by flooding on campus and will therefore benefit from any improvements to the drainage system. The absence of the stench and other environmental effects due to the flood water will lead to a general improvement in the quality of life for the students on campus.

4.0

Literature review

4.1

The hydrologic cycle

The hydrologic cycle is the cyclic movement of water from the sea to the atmosphere and thence by precipitation to the earth, where it collects in streams and runs back to the sea. The cycle does not necessarily flow in that order and has short circuits occurring at several stages. One such example is when precipitation falls directly onto the sea, lakes or river courses. Also there is no uniformity in the time a cycle takes as there can be periods of long droughts or short floods. Thirdly, the intensity and frequency of the cycle depends on geography and climate, since it operates as a result of solar radiation, which varies according to latitude and season of the year. Finally, the various parts of the cycle can be quite complicated and man can exercise some control only on the last part, when the rain has fallen on the land and is making its way back to the sea.

Figure 4.1.1: The processes of the hydrologic cycle Source: Fact sheet from Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources

4.2

Precipitation

Precipitation is water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth. The most common form of precipitation is rain and is of three types; convective, orographic and cyclonic or frontal. Precipitation does not fall in the same amounts throughout the world, in a country, or even in a city. Summer thunderstorms may deliver an inch or more of rain on one suburb while leaving another area dry a few miles away.

4.3

Surface water

Whenever precipitation in the form of rain falls towards the earth, a fraction of it is intercepted by vegetation or by artificial surfaces such as roofs or pavements. The water retained, together with depression storage and soil moisture make up the basin recharge, which is the portion of precipitation that does not contribute to streamflow or groundwater. Depression storage includes the water which is retained as puddles in surface dips. Soil moisture is held as capillary water in the smaller pore spaces of the soil or as hygroscopic water absorbed on the surface of soil particles.

Rainwater or melting snow, exclusive of the water held as basin recharge, may follow three paths to a stream. A portion travels as overland flow (surface runoff) across the ground surface to the nearest channel. Still other water may infiltrate into the soil and flow laterally into the surface soil to a stream channel as interflow. A relatively impermeable stratum in the subsoil favours the occurrence of interflow. A third portion of the water may percolate downward through the soil until it reaches the ground water. Vertical percolation of rainwater results in groundwater accumulation only if the soil is highly permeable or if the water table is near the surface. Low soil permeability encourages overland flow, while a thick soil mantle, even though permeable, may retain so much water as soil moisture that none can reach the groundwater.

The potential rate of recharge is at its maximum at the beginning of the storm and it decreases continuously as the storm lasts. Therefore it is erroneous to discuss recharge and runoff as if runoff begins only after recharge of the basin is complete. Also the distinction between the three types of runoff is somewhat artificial since water moving as surface runoff may infiltrate and become interflow or groundwater; however, these concepts are accepted to allow a rational approach to hydrology.

Overland flow and interflow are frequently grouped together as direct runoff. This water reaches the stream shortly after it falls as rain and is discharged from the drainage basin within a few days. Much of the low water flow of streams is derived from groundwater. Stream channels which have perennial flow are below the groundwater table and are called effluent streams. Intermittent streams, which go dry if much time elapses between rains, are usually influent streams. Their channels are above the level of the ground water, and percolation from the stream channel to the groundwater occurs. Most river basins contain streams which fall into both categories, and some streams may be either influent or effluent depending upon the rate of flow and the existing groundwater level.

4.4

Drainage

According to Franzin et al (1983): Drainage is the term applied the systems for dealing with excess waters. They further state that:

The primary distinction between drainage and flood mitigation is in the techniques employed to cope with excess water and in fact that (with the exception of highway culverts and bridges) drainage deals with water before it has reached major stream channels.

The excess water is referred to as storm water and occurs on the ground as a result of rainfall or snow. In order to design the drainage system, analysis must be done of rainfall data. Franzin et al state that drains are designed taking into consideration a storm having a specified return period. The specified return period will depend on the area to be 8

drained and the engineers judgment. Here, they ha ve noted that in residential areas, the filling of drains and flooding of intersections several times a year is acceptable provided the flooding lasts only a short period of time.

On the other hand, Professor Van de Leur (1992) suggests that unit hygrographs methods using rainfall of various durations to give outputs of runoff. This runoff will decide the drainage capacity needed to remove storm water of different intensities. High intensity storms require rapid drainage to prevent flooding, while low intensity storms do not. Both these methods require daily rainfall data over a long period of time (usually 30 years) in order for the analysis to be accurate. The result of these analyses would reveal the capacity of the discharge the drainage system is required to handle. The drainage system is then designed in terms of the size of drains and their density in the network.

Franzin and Van de Leur both agree that the discharge capacity of drains depends on their slope, shape and roughness. Mannings equation was recommended by Franzin to evaluate the discharge capacity of drains. He however warned that for flat slopes, discharges obtained by Mannings equation are large compared with actual discharges. Roughness has an adverse effect on the discharge, thus affects the choice of whether paved or unpaved drains are needed.

The shape of the drain not only affects the discharge, but its storage capacity, as stated by Van de Leur. Two drains of equal slope and roughness can have equal discharge but because of its cross-sectional area, one drain will have a greater storage capacity. This is one factor that must be taken into consideration when choosing an outlet. According to Franzin, gravity drainage is preferable, but not always feasible. Pumping plants may therefore play an important part. Where gravity discharge is possible only during low tide, storage in drains or detention basins is required to hold excess water during high tides and discharge it quickly when disposal is possible.

4.5

Drainage systems

Drainage systems may be divided into two categories, surface and subsurface. Each has several components with similar functions but different names. At the lower, or disposal, end of either system is an outlet. In order of decreasing size, the components of a surface system are the main collection ditch, field ditch, and field drain; and for a subsurface system, main, sub main and lateral conduits from the sub main. The outlet is the point of disposal of water from the system; the main carries water to the outlet; the sub main or field ditch collects water from a number of smaller units and carries it to the main; and the lateral or field drain, the smallest unit of the system, removes the water from the soil.

A surface drainage system removes water from the surface of the soil and to approximately the bottom of the field ditches. A surface system is the only means for drainage improvement on soils that transmit water slowly. Individual surface drains also are used to supplement subsurface systems by removing water from ponded areas.

The topography or slope of the land is also important. In many cases, land in need of drainage is so flat that a contour map showing elevations thirty centimeters or fifteen centimeters apart is used to identify trouble spots and possible outlets for drainage water. The rainfall patterns, the crops to be grown, and the normal height of the water table also are considered. If heavy rainfall is not probable during critical stages of crop growth, less extensive drainage improvements may suffice.

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5.0

Proposed methodology

The methodology proposed will be related directly to the research objectives as follows;

Research Objectives

Proposed Methodology Conduct direct field surveys using simple chain and tape to measure distances. Range rods are to be used for alignment and data will be booked using simple field surveying techniques.

The areas to be measured will be based on ground coverage material e.g. open natural ground with grass will be surveyed separately from paved areas such as roads, footpaths and tarmacs and covered areas such as buildings and walkways. The Falling-Head Double-Ring Infiltrometer test will be carried out on all open natural ground areas selected from objective one to determine their relative infiltration rates. These infiltration capacities will be used to determine surface runoff for different

rainfall intensities. The relationship between the rainfall and runoff will then be used to generate runoff coefficients for their respective areas. Moisture content test of the soil will also be done.The coefficients for paved areas will be taken as one (1) assuming the pavement material is highly impermeable. Records of available rainfall data for different duration will be collected from the Hydrometeorological office in Georgetown. This data will then be used to generate Intensity Duration

Frequency (IDF) curves for different return periods using frequency analysis based on probability statistics. Using the IDF curves and a suitable storm return period the rainfall intensity for the entire campus area will be selected.

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A condition survey of all internal drains, trenches, inlets and culverts will be done. The location and length of all drains and trenches will be outlined and measured using chain surveying techniques. Elevations of the drain and trench cross- sections will be measured using leveling techniques at 15m intervals and 4 wherever there are abrupt changes in the cross-section. The culverts and inlets will be located and measured with respect to their opening size and length. These data will then be processed and used to generate an inventory classifying the drainage network based on type of channel, length, cross-section and material. A similar methodology from objective four (4) will be used to 5 determine the characteristics of the outfall channels with regards to geometry, location and alignment. The results generated from objectives four and five (4 & 5) will be used to calculate the discharge potential and storage capacity of the drainage system using Mannings resistance equation. 6 This result will then be compared with the peak discharge of storm water calculated to enter the drainage system using the rational formula and results from objective one to three (1 to 3) and hence assess the performance of the system in its current state.

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6.0 Proposed data analysis

The proposed data analysis will be directly related to the research objectives and their respective proposed research methodology. The field survey data for objective one (1) will be plotted using AutoCAD to represent a plan of the study area showing all the subdivisions of open natural ground, building covered areas and paved areas. The results from objectives four and five (4 & 5) showing the location of all drains, trenches, inlets and culverts will also be depicted on this plan.

The remaining data from objectives four and five (4 & 5) showing the channel sections and longitudinal profiles will also be plotted using AutoCAD representing the existing drawings of elements of the drainage system. The inventory of the elements in the system will be drafted using Microsoft excel.

The results from the Falling-Head Double-Ring Infiltrometer tests will be analyzed graphically by plotting a series of points of cumulative depth change against elapsed time for each test. A regression analysis (method of least squares) of the data will be done to establish a definite relationship between the two variables to allow for interpolation and extrapolation. This relationship along with the results from the moisture content tests will yield the infiltration capacity of soil in the different areas and hence their respective coefficient of runoff (objective two (2)) will be computed using simple arithmetic.

The rainfall data from the Hydrometeorological office will be analyzed using frequency analysis and Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) curves will be generated for different return periods.

Frequency analysis of hydrologic data is conducted to estimate the magnitude of the variate corresponding to a recurrence interval T. The recurrence interval and the exceedance probability p or P(x xT), are inversely related.

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The probability of occurrence of an event xT, Fx(xT), is the probability that the random variable x is smaller than xT, p (x < xT). Therefore, the recurrence interval T and the probability of occurrence of an event are related to each other as in the following equation;

The relationships in the two equations above are used to derive the relationships between xT and the corresponding T. For example, the probability distribution of type I extreme value distribution, or the EV (I) distribution is in the following equation (Gumbel, 1958). The function (xT u)/ is called the reduced variate yT.

Solving for YT and substituting for Fx (XT) gives;

Therefore, for specific values of T, u and , yT is computed and the corresponding value of the variate is also computed. If annual maximum rainfall data are analyzed, the corresponding resulting rainfall magnitude xT is called the T-year rainfall.

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For objective six (6) the discharge potential of the drainage system will be calculated using Mannings resistance equation as follows;

A R 2 / 3 So1/ 2 n 18 1.2912 / 3 0.0011/ 2 Where; 0.015 Q discharge 44.97 m3 /of s section A area of flow in section Q
R hydraulic radius So bed slope of channel

The peak discharge of the storm water is calculated using the rational formula as follows;

Q=CxIxA

Where; Q peak discharge C coefficient of runoff I maximum intensity of rainfall A catchment area

A comparison will then be made between the maximum potential discharge and the peak discharge of storm water for the respective sections to assess their design performance.

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7.0

Budget and activity chart

The proposed cost to undertake the project is $37,400 and a detail breakdown is shown below.

Description

Unit

Amount ($ GYD) 15,000

Procurement of surveying Sum instruments and apparatus Procurement of double ring Sum infiltrometer and apparatus Stationery supplies Transportation and labour Sub-total Contingency (10 %) Total cost
Table 7.1 Cost Estimate to undertake research project

5,000

Sum Sum

6,000 8,000 34,000 3,400 37,400

The proposed schedule to execute works for the project over a 6 day period is shown below.

Description of works Reconnaissance and Topographic surveys Infiltrometer and moisture content testing Collection of rainfall data Commencement of desk study

Duration (days) 1 2 3 4 5 6

Table 7.2 Activity chart to execute works for research project

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Reference

Wilson, E. M. Engineering Hydrology. 4th ed; Macmillan Press Ltd; London; 1990

Linsley, F. Water-Resources Engineering. 2nd ed; McGraw Hill Inc; London; 1964 Franzin, Joseph B. et al. Water Resources Engineering. 4th ed; McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York. 1992. Van de Leur, D. A. Kraijenhoff. Rainfall-Runoff Relations And Computational Models. Drainage Principles And Applications. Volume II. 3rd ed. International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement/ILRI. Wageningen. 1983. The Water Cycle: Summary from USGS water science (2008, 07 Nov last update). [Online]. Available: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html [2009, 29 Apr]

The hydrologic cycle fact sheet 93-18 (Undated). Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.

Water quality and the hydrologic cycle (2008). Lecture handout, Land and Water, the University of Illinois.

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Appendices
Sample IDF curves

Plate 1 showing a typical rainfall intensity duration frequency curve Source: Hydraulic Design Manual; Texas DOT (2004).

Sample cross section details for trench/channel

Plate 2 showing a typical plot of an existing cross section of a channel

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