Irrigation and Hydropower of Haryana - Haryana PCS Exam Notes

Irrigation and Hydropower of Haryana

Hydropower in Haryana

Hydroelectric Power — what is it?

It is a form of energy … a renewable resource.
Hydropower provides about 96 percent of the renewable energy in the United States. Other renewable resources include geothermal, wave power, tidal power, wind power, and solar power.
Hydroelectric powerplants do not use up resources to create electricity nor do they pollute the air, land, or water, as other powerplants may.
Hydroelectric power has played an important part in the development of this Nation’s electric power industry.
Both small and large hydroelectric power developments were instrumental in the early expansion of the electric power industry.
Hydroelectric power comes from flowing water … winter and spring runoff from mountain streams and clear lakes.
Water, when it is falling by the force of gravity, can be used to turn turbines and generators that produce electricity.

HOW HYDROPOWER WORKS

Hydroelectric power comes from water at work, water in motion.
It can be seen as a form of solar energy, as the sun powers the hydrologic cycle which gives the earth its water.
In the hydrologic cycle, atmospheric water reaches the earths surface as precipitation. Some of this water evaporates, but much of it either percolates into the soil or becomes surface runoff.
Water from rain and melting snow eventually reaches ponds, lakes, reservoirs, or oceans where evaporation is constantly occurring
Moisture percolating into the soil may become ground water (subsurface water), some of which also enters water bodies through springs or underground streams.
Ground water may move upward through soil during dry periods and may return to the atmosphere by evaporation.
Water vapor passes into the atmosphere by evaporation then circulates, condenses into clouds, and some returns to earth as precipitation.
Thus, the water cycle is complete. Nature ensures that water is a renewable resource.

Dams

Height of dam and mass of water behind the dam determine useful energy.
Efficiency is very good to excellent, generally 80 to 90% efficient in converting potential energy to electrical energy.

Irrigation

Classification of irrigation projects

Irrigation projects are classified in different ways, however, in Indian context it is usually classified as follows:

Major project: This type of project consists of huge surface water, storage reservoirs and flow diversion structures. The area envisaged to be covered under irrigation is of the order over 10000 hectare.
Medium project: These are also surface water projects but with medium size storage and diversion structures with the area under irrigation between 10000 hectare and 2000 hectare.
Minor project: The area proposed under irrigation for these schemes is below 2000Ha and the source of water is either ground water or from wells or tube wells or surface water lifted by pumps or by gravity flow from tanks. It could also be irrigated from through water from tanks.

The major and medium irrigation projects are further classified as

Direct irrigation method
Storage irrigation method.

Each of the two classifications is explained in subsequent sections. But before that, it may be worthwhile to discuss here a few terms related to irrigation projects which may also be called irrigation schemes.

Direct and Indirect (Or Storage) Irrigation Methods

Direct Irrigation method

In this project water is directly diverted from the river into the canal by constructing a diversion structure like weir or barrage across the river with some pondage to take care of diurnal variations.
It also effects in raising the river water level which is then able to flow into the offtaking channel by gravity.
The flow in the channel is usually controlled by a gated structure and this in combination with the diversion structure is also sometimes called the headworks.

Storage Irrigation Method

For this type of irrigation schemes part of the excess water of a river during monsoon which other wise would have passed down the river as a flood is stored in a reservoir or tank found at the upstream of a dam constructed across a river or stream.
This stored water is then used for irrigation is adopted when the flow of river or stream is in excess of the requirements of irrigated crops during a certain part of the year but falls below requirements or is not available at all in river during remaining part of the year.
Since the construction site of a storage reservoir is possible in regions of undulating topography, it is usually practiced in non deltaic areas.

Irrigation Project Structures

As might have been noticed from the irrigation scheme plans in the previous section, a number of structures are required for the successful implementation of a project. Some of these are:

Storage structure and appurtenant works

Dams
Spillways and energy dissipators
Sluices and outlets

Diversion structure and appurtenant works

Barrage (weirs are not commonly used these days for sizeable projects)
Canal head regulator
River training works
Canal water conveyance structures
Canal sections and layout
Cross regulators
Drops
Turnouts

Surface Irrigation Methods

In this system of field water application the water is applied directly to the soil from a channel located at the upper reach of the field.
It is essential in these methods to construct designed water distribution systems to provide adequate control of water to the fields and proper land preparation to permit uniform distribution of water over the field.
One of the surface irrigation method is flooding method where the water is allowed to cover the surface of land in a continuous sheet of water with the depth of applied water just sufficient to allow the field to absorb the right amount of water needed to raise the soil moisture up to field capacity.
A properly designed size of irrigation stream aims at proper balance against the intake rate of soil, the total depth of water to be stored in the root zone and the area to be covered giving a reasonably uniform saturation of soil over the entire field.
Flooding method has been used in India for generations without any control what so ever and is called uncontrolled flooding.
The water is made to enter the fields bordering rivers during folds.
When the flood water inundates the flood plane areas, the water distribution is quite uneven, hence not very efficient, as a lot of water is likely to be wasted as well as soils of excessive slopes are prone to erosion.
However the adaptation of this method doesn’t cost much.

The flooding method applied in a controlled way is used in two types of irrigation methods as under:

Border irrigation method
Basin irrigation method

As the names suggest the water applied to the fields by this inundates or floods the land, even if temporarily. On the other hand there are many crops which would try better if water is applied only near their root zone instead of inundating.

Border irrigation

Borders are usually long uniformly graded strips of land separated by earth bunds (low ridges).
The essential feature of the border irrigation is to provide an even surface over which the water can flow down the slope with a nearly uniform depth.
Each strip is irrigated independently by turning in a stream of water at the upper end.
The water spreads and flow down the strip in a sheet confined by border ridges. When the advancing water reaches the lower end of the border, the stream is turned off.
For uniform advancement of water front the borders must be properly leveled. The border shown in the figures above are called straight borders, in which the border strips are laid along the direction of general slope of the field.
The borders are sometimes laid along the elevation contours of the topography when the land slope is excessive. Thos method of border is called contour border method of irrigation

Basin Irrigation

Basins are flat areas of land surrounded by low bunds. The bunds prevent the water from flowing to the adjacent fields.
The basins are filled to desired depth and the water is retained until it infiltrates into the soil. Water may be maintained for considerable periods of time.
Basin method of irrigation can be formally divided into two, viz; the check basin method and the ring basin method.
The check basin method is the most common method of irrigation used in India.
In this method, the land to be irrigated is divided into small plots or basins surrounded by checks, levees (low bunds)

Furrow Irrigation

Furrows are small channels, which carry water down the land slope between the crop rows.
Water infiltrates into the soil as it moves along the slope. The crop is usually grown on ridges between the furrows.
This method is suitable for all row crops and for crops that cannot stand water for long periods, like 12 to 24 hours, as is generally encountered in the border or basin methods of irrigation

Subsurface irrigation methods

As suggested by the name, the application of water to fields in this type of irrigation system is below the ground surface so that it is supplied directly to the root zone of the plants.
The main advantages of these types of irrigation is reduction of evaporation losses and less hindrance to cultivation works which takes place on the surface.
There may be two ways by which irrigation water may be applied below ground and these are termed as:

Natural sub-surface irrigation method
Artificial sub-surface irrigation method

Sprinkler Irrigation System

Sprinkler irrigation is a method of applying water which is similar to natural rainfall but spread uniformly over the land surface just when needed and at a rate less than the infiltration rate of the soil so as to avoid surface runoff from irrigation.
This is achieved by distributing water through a system of pipes usually by pumping which is then sprayed into the air through sprinklers so that it breaks up into small water drops which fall to the ground.
The system of irrigation is suitable for undulating lands, with poor water availability, sandy or shallow soils, or where uniform application of water is desired.
No land leveling is required as with the surface irrigation methods.
Sprinklers are, however, not suitable for soils which easily form a crust.
The water that is pumped through the pump pipe sprinkler system must be free of suspended sediments.
As otherwise there would be chances of blockage of the sprinkler nozzles.

Drip Irrigation System

Drip Irrigation system is sometimes called trickle irrigation and involves dripping water onto the soil at very low rates (2-20 litres per hour) from a system of small diameter plastic pipes filled with outlets called emitters or drippers.
Water is applied close to the plants so that only part of the soil in which the roots grow is wetted, unlike surface and sprinkler irrigation, which involves wetting the whole soil profile.
With drip irrigation water, applications are more frequent than with other methods and this provides a very favourable high moisture level in the soil in which plants can flourish.

About Haryana irrigation

After the formation of the State of Haryana in 1966, one of the priority areas of the State Government has been creation ofirrigation infrastructure to meet the growing demands of agriculture as well as drinking water.
This was necessary, as 47% of the area has underground brackish water.
Over the years an extensive irrigation network has evolved consisting of 59 main canals having a length of 1500 km and 1326 Distributaries and Minor having a length of 12328 km. Out of a total geographical area of 4.421 Million Hectare (Mha) of Haryana State, 3.819 Mha is culturable, of which 3.048 Mha is covered by surface irrigation.
Most of this area has been covered after the formation of Haryana.
The irrigation network in Haryana can be divided into four parts;

Bhakra canal system – covering Culturable Command Area (CCA) of 1.383 Mha north-western and western parts,
Western Yamuna canals system – covering CCA of 0.970 Mha in the north-eastern and central parts,
Lift canal system –covering CCAof 0.556 Mha in south-western parts of Haryana bordering Rajasthan (Haryana was one of the few States who had taken up lift irrigation system in a big way),
Gurgaon canal and Agra canal systems – covering CCA of 0.139 Mha in south-eastern parts of Haryana.

Haryana is, however still waiting for its due share of water and is suffering because of the non-construction of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal.
The irrigation system will further improve when this legitimate share of water is received by Haryana.
The State is also making efforts in distributing the water in just and equitable manner, though the efforts of the States are also thwarted by some vested interests.
The State is always for optimum utilization of available water resources with active participation of stakeholders.

Hydropower in Haryana

Small Hydro policy of Government of India (GoI)

MNRE, from time to time, formulated SHP policy. Prior to 2009-10 the policy was part of combined RE policy of MNRE.
The exclusive SHP policy came in November 2009. The policy was revised in July 2014.
The GoI had also launched the schemes of PM’s Special Package for Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative targeting development of local SHP and solar resources to meet the energy needs of the region.

State wise potential and cumulative achievement

It can be observed that of the 29 States/UTs endowed with SHP potential, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Haryana reported highest potential exploitation at 66 and 64 per cent, respectively.

WYC Hydel Yamunanagar

Proposal to set up four Power Houses of 2×8 MW capacity each on Western Yamuna Canal between Hathnikund & Dadupur was submitted to CEA for clearance during 1977.
The stage-I of the WYC Hydel Project comprising of 3 Power Houses A, B & C of 2×8 MW capacity each, on Western Yamuna Canal between Tajewala & Dadupur was cleared by CEA during March, 1980.
The Stage-II of the WYC HE Project comprising of 4th Power House ‘D’ (2×8 MW) on Western Yamuna Canal between Hathnikund Barrage & Tajewala was linked with construction of Hathnikund Barrage. Sanctioned Cost of WYC HE Project Stage-I was Rs.45.71 crore. For completion of WYC HE Project Stage-I, loan of 4000 Million Yen arranged from OECF, Japan.
The main equipment for all the four Power Houses of WYC Hydro Electric Project supplied by M/s Fuji Electric Co., Japan.

KAKROI MICRO HYDEL PROJECT

The Kakroi Micro Hydel Project with ultra low head (1.9 meters) is located on Western Yamuna Canal (Delhi Branch) at Village Kakroi near Sonepat.
The canal meets partially the drinking water requirements of Delhi.
This is a National demonstration Project for ultra low head Hydro Energy as selected by Alternate Hydro Electric Centre, Roorkee.
The same envisaged the installation of 4 Units of 100 KW each.
However, three units of 100 KW each are installed at the Project. Although the bay for the fourth unit is in position but the Unit was not been installed due to non-availability of water as it was linked with construction of SYL Canal.

Panipat Thermal Power Station

Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS) has a total installed generation capacity of 1360 MW comprising of four Units of 110 MW each , two Units of 210 MW each and two Units of 250 MW each.
As all the balance of plant facilities viz. Coal Handling Plant, Ash Handling Plant, Cooling towers, C.W. System are separate for 4×110 MW Unit 1 to 4 and are completely independent from Units 5 to 8.
Keeping this in view and in order to improve the performance of the Plant and to have a better control, a need was felt to bifurcate PTPS into two Thermal Power Station i.e. PTPS-1, comprising of 4x110MW Units 1 to 4 and PTPS-2 comprising of 210MW /250MW Units 5 to 8.
In this regard the Board of Directors in its 54th meeting held on 29.03.07, approved the proposal of bifurcation of Panipat Thermal Power Station, Panipat into two Thermal Power Stations i.e. PTPS-1, comprising of 4x110MW Units I to IV and PTPS-2 comprising of 210MW / 250MW Units V to VIII.
The matter was subsequently taken up with Central Electricity Authority (CEA), New Delhi for according approval of Government of India (Ministry of Power) regarding bifurcation of PTPS.
CEA, New Delhi vide letter dated 16.10.07 have conveyed their acceptance to HPGCL proposal of bifurcation of Panipat Thermal Power Station into two Thermal Power Stations namely PTPS-1 and PTPS-2.

DCRTPP Yamunanagar

The Government of Haryana approved the proposal of implementation of 2×300 MW Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant Project Yamunanagar through International Competitive Bidding on EPC (turnkey) basis.
Accordingly, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued on 30.09.04 to M/s Reliance Energy Ltd. (REL), Noida with the approval of Special High Powered Purchase Committee (SHPPC). Around 1107 acres of land was available for this project.

Salient Features of the DCRTPP Yamunanagar

First Power Project in the State to be awarded to Private Developer i.e. M/s Reliance Energy Ltd.
First Project in the Country where BTG equipment was supplied by M/s Shanghai Electric Corp. China.
Very low per MW EPC cost – Rs. 3.49 Crore per MW.
First Unit was commissioned in a record period of 27 months which is the lowest for any coal based green field project in the Country

RGTPP Hisar- Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project (RGTPP), Khedar

The work for turnkey implementation of 1200 MW Hisar Thermal Power Project was awarded during January, 07.
The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.4512 crores.
The cost of Rs. 3.19 crore per MW for this project is the lowest in the Country and is being talked about as a new benchmark.
The Power Project was awarded to M/s Reliance Energy Ltd.

Salient Features of the RGTPP Hisar

This is the first project in the Northern Region to be awarded Mega Project status with attached benefits under the Mega Project policy of Govt. of India
Very low per MW EPC cost – Rs. 3.19 Crore per MW.
Haryana State would be able to provide additional 288 lac units per day to its consumers from this Project, while operating at rated cpapcity.
Future Hydropower projects of Harayana

Future Projects

2800 MW (4×700 MW) Haryana Atomic Power Project in Gorakhpur, Distt. Fatehabad, by Nuclear Power Corporation of India – Land already acquired – Phase-I (2 Units of 700 MW each) to be set up by 2020-21 at an estimated cost of around Rs. 20600 Crore.
1×800 MW Capacity High Efficiency Supercritical Thermal Unit at PTPS Panipat by way of simultaneous phasing out of old and less efficient Units 1 to 4, PTPS, Panipat.
1×800 MW capacity additional high efficiency supercritical Thermal Unit at Yamuna Nagar as an extension of 2×300 MW DCRTPP, Yamuna Nagar – Commissioning is expected in 13th plan

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