Sediment formation and its transport along the river course is considered as important hydraulic consideration in river engineering. Their impact on the morphology of rivers on one hand and important considerations of which in the design and construction of the hydraulic structures on the other has attracted the attention of experts in arid and semi-arid regions. Under certain conditions where the momentum energy of the flow stream reaches a specific rate, the sediment materials start to be transported with the flow. This can usually be analyzed in two different categories of suspended and bed load materials. Sedimentation phenomenon along the waterways and the conveyance of vast volume of materials into the canal networks can potentially influence water abstraction in the intake structures. This can pose a serious threat to operational sustainability and water delivery performance in the canal networks. The situation is serious where ineffective watershed management (poor vegetation cover in the water basin) is the underlying cause of soil erosion which feeds the materials into the waterways that intern would necessitate comprehensive study. The present paper aims to present an analytical investigation of the sediment process in the waterways on one hand and estimation of the sediment load transport into the lined canals using the SHARC software on the other. For this reason, the paper focuses on the comparative analysis of the hydraulic behaviors of the Sabilli main canal that feeds the pumping station with that of the Western canal in the Greater Dezful region to identify effective factors in sedimentation and ways of mitigating their impact on water abstraction in the canal systems. The method involved use of observational data available in the Dezful Dastmashoon hydrometric station along a 6 km waterway of the Sabilli main canal using the SHARC software to estimate the suspended load concentration and bed load materials. Results showed the transport of a significant volume of sediment loads from the waterways into the canal system which is assumed to have arisen from the absence of stilling basin on one hand and the gravity flow on the other has caused serious challenges. This is contrary to what occurs in the Sabilli canal, where the design feature which incorporates a settling basin just before the pumping station is the major cause of reduced sediment load transport into the canal system.Results showed that modification of the present design features by constructing a settling basin just upstream of the western intake structure can considerably reduce the entry of sediment materials into the canal system. Not only this can result in the sustainability of the hydraulic structures but can also improve operational performance of water conveyance and distribution system, all of which are the pre-requisite to secure reliable and equitable water delivery regime for the command area., {"references":["A.H. Sajedipoor, N. Hedayat and M. Mashal(2010) \"Analytical study of\nsedimentation formation in lined canals using the SHARC software- A\ncase study of the Western Intake structure in Dez Diversion Weir in\nDezful, Iran\" Proceedings of National Conference on Water, Soil ,Plant\nSciences and Agricultural Mechanization , Islamic Azad University,\nDezful Branch, Dezful, Iran.2-3 March 2010","N .Hedayat, (2005). \" Improving the performance of water delivery in\nthe Dez and Moghan irrigation schemes in Iran \", PhD thesis, Crandfieid\nUniversity, UK.","H. Shirin , N. Hedayat and H. Kiamanesh 2010, \" Investigating the\nsedimentation process using the SHARC software- A case study of the\nin the Eastern water intake of the Dez Diversion Weir in Dezful\",\nProceedings of the National Conference in water, Soil, Plant and\nAgricultural Mechanization, Islamic, Azad University, Dezful, Iran. 2-3\nMarch 2010","A.H. Sajedi, (2010), \" Analytical study of the sediment formation using\nthe SHARC computer model- A case study of the western water Intake\nin the Dez diversion weir in Dezful\", Iran. M.Sc dissertation, I.Azad\nUniversity, Dezful, Iran.","S.Ashkarian, H.Kiamanesh and N.Hedayat 2010.symulation of flow\npattern using FLOW 3D in Dez Diversion Dam in Dezful,.Proceedings\nof National Conference on Water, Soil ,Plant Sciences & Agricultural\nMechanization , Islamic Azad University- Dezful Branch, Dezful,\nIran.2-3 March 2010","M.Mansoujian,N.Hedayat, H.Kiamanesh and M. Mashal 2010\n\"Analytical study of sedimentation formation in lined canals using the\nSHARC software- A case study of the Dez Diversion Weir in Dezful,\nIran\""]}