Sources and Conveyance of Water

Types of Sources

1. Surface sources of water
2. Sub - surface or Underground source of water

Surface - sources of water: water is available at the ground surface.

1. Lakes and Ponds
2. Streams or Rivers
3. Storage reservoir
4. Oceans

Sub - surface or Underground sources of water: Exist below the ground surface.

1. Infiltration galleries
2. Infiltration wells
3. Springs
4. Wells and Tube - wells.

Lake : Lake water may have plenty of algae, weed and other vegetable growth imparting bad smell, taste and colour to the water. 

Streams or Rivers: In the mountains the river water is fairly pure but as the river approaches plains the quality deteriorates considerably, since it picks up lot of suspended matter, clay, silt, etc.,

Storage reservoir : The storage reservoirs are the main sources of water supply for big cities.

Oceans : Highly saline. The process of removing salt from water is known as desalination.

Underground sources:

1. Infiltration galleries
2. Infiltration wells
3. Springs
4. Wells

Infiltration galleries: A horizontal or nearly horizontal tunnel usually rectangular in cross- section and having permeable boundaries so that groundwater can infiltrate into the same. It is also known as horizontal well. Frequently located near a perennial recharge source and hence it is usually placed along the bank, or under the bed of a river.

Infiltration wells : These are shallow wells constructed in series along the banks of a river to collect the water seeping through the banks of the river.

• Closed at top and open at bottom
• The various infiltration wells are connected by pipes to a collecting sump well known as  jack well is pumped to treatment plant.

Springs: Spring is natural outflow of ground water which appears at the ground surface as a current or stream of flowing water.

• Springs are capable of supplying small quantity of water.
• Useful only for small towns near hills or bases of hills.

WelIs: Water wells may be classified as

1. Open wells or Dug wells
2. Tube wells

Open wells or Dug wells: Have comparatively large diameters but low yields and arc not very deep. Usually constructed by digging.

Tube wells: Tube well is a long pipe sunk into the ground intercepting one or more

bearing strata.

Intakes: These are structure placed in a surface- water source to permit the withdrawal of water from this source, and discharge it into an intake conduit to the treatment plants.

Conveyance of Water: Water is generally conveyed by using pressure conduits (pipe). To design pressure conduits Darcy’s Weisbach equation (or) Hazen Williams equation.

Weisbach equation,

Hazen Williams equation,

To generate pressure to drive water from source to city or town it also require a pump. Capacity of pump required to following equation