In this paper a reservoir connected through a horizontal contraction to a channel is considered. Both the reservoir and the channel are considered to contain a stable multi-layered system of fluids. The conditions under which there is a flow in only one layer, and the depth in this flowing layer decreases continuously from its depth in the reservoir to its depth in the channel, give the maximum discharge that can be obtained with a flow only from this single layer. For this case the volume discharge calculations are carried out at a single section (the section of minimum width). Where there are velocities in only two layers and the depth in each of these layers decreases continuously from their depths in the reservoir to their depths in the channel, the theory involves computations at two sections in the flow. These are the section of minimum width and a section upstream of the position of minimum width (the virtual point of control). For this flow it is shown that the solution is the one in which the velocity and density distributions are self similar and that the depths of the layers at the point of maximum contraction are two-thirds of those far upstream. It is then shown that for any stable continuous or discrete density stratification in the reservoir a self similar solution will satisfy the conditions for the depths of the flowing layers to decrease smoothly from the reservoir to downstream of the contraction. Again the ratio of the depth at the contraction to that far upstream is two-thirds.

When there is a very large density difference between the fluid in the lower dead water and that in the lowest flowing streamline then this streamline becomes horizontal and may be considered as a frictionless bed. The flow when the bed is not horizontal but where there is a small rise in the channel at the position of maximum contraction is considered for the case where two discrete layers flow under a volume of dead water. In this case the velocity and density profiles are not self similar.

Experiments have been carried out with a contraction in a flume for the withdrawal of two discrete layers from a three layer system and the withdrawal from a fluid with a linear density gradient. In both cases the reservoir and channel bed and hence the lowest streamline was effectively horizontal. These experiments confirmed the theoretical predictions.