WATER POWER INTAKES STRUCTURE DESIGN APPROACHES

The function of a water supply intake is to extract and deliver water to the users.
Therefore the design of water intakes require a series of hydraulic design
consideration in order to arrive at a desirable concept that can obtain and deliver the
water economically with an acceptably low impact on the environment. Due to
variability of site conditions, the environmental hydraulic engineer is faced with
several challenges when assessing water supply availability. The major factors that
can affect the selection of a concept and design development for a water intake are:
water availability, bathymetry, sediment transport, environmental regulations, climatic
conditions, constructability, initial and maintenance dredging requirements, and
operation and maintenance. The paper examines these factors and discusses their
importance in selecting a suitable concept.
To demonstrate the approach in evaluating the various variables, case studies at four
sites with differing conditions are presented. The rationale for selecting each concept
is presented along with illustrations. Site conditions considered in the cases are;
Intake on rivers with high water level fluctuation, intakes on tidal rivers, intakes in
mountainous streams and offshore velocity cap intakes.
The paper stresses the importance of appropriate hydraulic design to provide
acceptable flow conditions at the pumps.
INTRODUCTION
The function of a water supply intake is to extract and deliver water to the users.
Therefore, the design of water supply intakes requires a series of design
considerations in order to arrive at a desirable concept that can obtain and deliver
the water economically with an acceptably low impact on the environment. Due to
variability of site conditions, the environmental hydraulic engineer is faced with the
challenges when assessing water supply availability. The major factors that can
affect the selection and design of an intake are site hydrologic conditions, site
access, ease of construction, and operation and maintenance. Without a careful and
responsible evaluation of various design factors, an intake may be designed and
constructed but may not be operable due to lack of adequate water supply or may be
adversely impacted due to degraded environment. This paper examines the major
factors that can affect the design and presents examples of design concepts
encountered at various sites.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The following factors are considered of primary importance in siting and designing an
intake:
Water Availability
Bathymetry
Sediment Transport
Environmental Regulation
Climatic Conditions
Constructability
Initial and Maintenance Dredging

Operation and Maintenance

By far the most important of these factors is availability of water to meet the required
demand without creating an environmentally and physically adverse effect on the
water body. This is particularly important for fresh water supply. Therefore, detailed
hydrologic studies including analysis of historic data must be performed. In areas
where no historic data on stream flow are available, rainfall data should be analyzed
to determine rainfall frequency. Hydrologic modelling can be used to estimate the
runoff. Locating and selecting the specific type of intake requires adequate
knowledge of the bathymetric condition of the river, estuary or sea bottom in the
vicinity of the intake. Without this information, no specific intake concept can be
selected. Making assumptions could lead to erroneous cost and schedule estimates
for the project. The type of sediment can be either bed load or suspended load in a
river, and littoral drift in a coastal environment. The existence of sediment affects the
design concept and the suitability of the site for locating an intake. Other important
factors to consider are any water withdrawal limitations as well as the feasibility of
dredging and disposal of dredge spoil. In some situations, water may be physically
available, however, because of water rights, water required for aquatic habitats or
waste assimilation may not be legally available. In addition, dredging and disposal in
areas where there are endangered species or contaminated soil, could be harmful to
the environment. These factors and others could affect the selection of a desired
intake site and may affect the feasibility of a project.
Climatic conditions such as severe winter weather can affect the concept and details
of the pump intake structure. A region with below freezing air temperature requires
protection for travelling screens and trash racks against the formation of anchor
and/or frazil ice. Such protection will affect the design concept and should be
considered in the planning phase. For power plant intakes warm water recirculation
into the intake is commonly used. However, if the intake is remote from the power
plant or if the intake is for water supply, electrical heating elements will be required
which will increase the power demand. Alternatively the design could be made to
encapsulate the intake and prevent air circulation. However, this concept can not
eliminate the need for protection against frazil ice.
Construction, maintenance and access are also important factors to be considered in
selecting the intake location. Availability of access road, potential for local and
riverine flooding and access to the intake equipment all year round should be
considered.
DESIGN CONCEPTS OF INTAKE STRUCTURES
i. GENERAL:
Experience in the design and operation of various water supply intakes indicates that
no single design concept is suitable for all locations. Therefore, any intake design
must be based on site specific information. This may not be possible at the planning
phase of the project due to the absence of specific site data. Therefore, the hydraulic
engineer must develop design parameters from the limited data that may be
available, and develop programs for the field data collection and analysis for use in
detailed design.
Lack of site specific information generally occurs in remote areas of the world where
no historic data, studies or maps are available to help in the planning and design.
The most practical approach for work under these conditions is to make a site visit

and obtain aerial photographs. An important aspect of this effort is the identification
of river banks and shoreline conditions and the presence of erosion and deposition.
Aerial photos can best be utilized in assessing the presence of shoreline changes
and of river meanders.
ii. CASE STUDIES:
The following section addresses the approach utilized in selecting types of intakes at
various locations and with differing hydrologic conditions.
INTAKES ON RIVERS WITH HIGH WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATION:
This type of river can be found in regions where rainfall and runoff occur in a short
duration during the year such as the monsoon season. Designing a conventional
intake in this type of environment may not be technically or economically feasible. To
overcome this condition, an intake structure was designed as a super structure with
an access pier connecting the intake to the shoreline as shown on Figure -1. This
structure was also used in a lake with large water level variation and can be used in
coastal area where an offshore intake with a buried pipe is not practical.
INTAKES IN MOUNTAINOUS STREAMS:
Intakes on mountainous streams require special designs to exclude or to separate
the heavy sediment load that can be carried by the flow which occurs as a flash
flood. Sand can form bars during the flood and cause extensive deposits which can
block the flow path. During the low flow season these streams carry generally low
flow which can affect water availability at the intake. Therefore an intake must be
designed to abstract water under all conditions without excessive sediment load. In
most cases, particularly when water is pumped, sand exclusion must be made
before reaching the pumps. These requirements were applied in the design of
several intakes in Andes Mountain. The approach consisted of estimating the low
flow and 100 year flood flows and water levels. Sediment samples from the river
beds were collected and analyzed for gradation. Based on these information and
considering space availability at the various sites, some intakes were designed with
settling basins, some with sediment exclusion and by-passing. The intake presented
in this paper is located in a very narrow river channel and the river has a very low
flow during the drought season. Therefore, the design is based on abstracting all the
river low flow and by-passing the extra flow with the sediment. The intake consists of
a diversion dam across the stream with inlet grating. Sand is by passed through a
sluicing pipe to the stream. The de-sanded water flows over a weir, through a pipe
before reaching the pump fore bay. This concept is shown on Figure -3.

It is the structure built in the body of water to draw water from the source.

Source may be canal, river, dam. It is built as an integral part of the source.
Function of Intakes

The main function of intakes is to provide highest quality of water from source.

To protect pipes and pumps from damaging or clogging by wave action, floating bodies and submerged
marine.

The intakes consists of opening, strainer or grating through which water enters and conduit conveying the water
usually by gravity to a well.
Designing of intake structures
The following points must be considered while designing and locating the intake structures.

The source of supply must be considered including the wide fluctuation in water level.

Intake surroundings should be considered. For example depth of water around intake.

Characteristics of bottom, navigation requirements, the effect of floods and storm to the structure and
scouring in the bottom are also considered.

The location with respect to the sources of pollution is also considered.

The frequency of floating materials such as ice, vegetation is considered.

Intake capacity must be large enough to meet the requirement of design discharge.