HYDROLOGY

SAB 3613
2009/2010 – 02

LECTURER:

Name : GOH KER SHIN

Ic no. : 871214065250
Matric no. : AA070057
CHAPTER 4
Streamflow
Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams, rivers, and other
channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one component of the runoff of
water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff. Water
flowing in channels comes from surface runoff from adjacent hillslopes, from
groundwater flow out of the ground, and from water discharged from pipes. The
discharge of water flowing in a channel is measured using stream gauges or can be
estimated by the Manning equation. The record of flow over time is called a hydrograph.
Flooding occurs when the volume of water exceeds the capacity of the channel.

Role in the water cycle

Streamflow is the main mechanism by which water moves from the land to the oceans or
to basins of interior drainage.

Measurement
The are a variety of ways to measure the discharge of a stream or canal. A Stream gauge
provides continuous flow over time at one location for water resource and environmental
management or other purposes. For purposes that do not require a continuous
measurement of stream flow over time, current meters or acoustic Doppler velocity
profilers can be used. For small streams — a few meters wide or smaller — weirs may be
installed. One informal method that provides an approximation of the stream flow termed
the Orange Method or Float Method is:

1. Measure a length of stream, and mark the start and finish points. The longest
length without changing stream conditions is desired to obtain the most accurate
measurement.
2. Place an orange at the starting point and measure the time for it to reach the finish
point with a stopwatch. Repeat this at least three times and average the
measurement times.
3. Express velocity in meters per second. If the measurements were made at
midstream (maximum velocity), the mean stream velocity is approximately 0.8 of
the measured velocity for rough (rocky) bottom conditions and 0.9 of the
measured velocity for smooth (mud, sand, smooth bedrock) bottom conditions
CHAPTER 5
Surface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and
excess water from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major
component of the hydrologic cycle.[1][2] Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a
channel is also called a nonpoint source. If a nonpoint source contains man-made
contaminants, the runoff is called nonpoint source pollution. A land area which produces
runoff that drains to a common point is called a watershed. When runoff flows along the
ground, it can pick up soil contaminants such as petroleum, pesticides (in particular
herbicides and insecticides), or fertilizers that become discharge or nonpoint source
pollution.

Infiltration excess overland flow

This occurs when the rate of rainfall on a surface exceeds the rate at which water can
infiltrate the ground, and any depression storage has already been filled. This is called
infiltration excess overland flow, Hortonian overland flow (after Robert E. Horton), or
unsaturated overland flow. This more commonly occurs in arid and semi-arid regions,
where rainfall intensities are high and the soil infiltration capacity is reduced because of
surface sealing, or in paved areas.

Saturation excess overland flow

When the soil is saturated and the depression storage filled, and rain continues to fall, the
rainfall will immediately produce surface runoff. (Note in the photo to the left the
microdepressions are full of water as seen in the lower left of the image.) The level of
antecedent soil moisture is one factor affecting the time until soil becomes saturated. This
runoff is saturation excess overland flow or saturated overland flow.

Subsurface return flow

After water infiltrates the soil on an up-slope portion of a hill, the water may flow
laterally through the soil, and exfiltrate (flow out of the soil) closer to a channel. This is
called subsurface return flow or interflow.

As it flows, the amount of runoff may be reduced in a number of possible ways: a small
portion of it may evapotranspire; water may become temporarily stored in
microtopographic depressions; and a portion of it may become run-on, which is the
infiltration of runoff as it flows overland. Any remaining surface water eventually flows
into a receiving water body such as a river, lake, estuary or ocean.[5]
Effects of surface runoff
1. Erosion & Deposition

Surface runoff causes erosion of the Earth's surface. There are four principal types of
erosion: splash erosion, gully erosion, sheet erosion and stream bed erosion. Splash
erosion is the result of mechanical collision of raindrops with the soil surface. Dislodged
soil particles becoming suspended in the surface runoff and carried into streams and
rivers. Gully erosion occurs when the power of runoff is strong enough that it cuts a well
defined channel. These channels can be as small as one centimeter wide or as large as
several meters. Sheet erosion is the overland transport of runoff without a well defined
channel. In the case of gully erosion, large amounts of material can be transported in a
small time period. Stream bed erosion is the attrition of stream banks or bottoms by
rapidly flowing rivers or creeks.

Erosion is when something is picked up and moved to another place, putting down the
substance is called Deposition

Reduced crop productivity usually results from erosion, and these effects are studied in
the field of soil conservation. The soil particles carried in runoff vary in size from about .
001 millimeter to 1.0 millimeter in diameter. Larger particles settle over short transport
distances, whereas small particles can be carried over long distances suspended in the
water column. Erosion of silty soils that contain smaller particles generates turbidity and
diminishes light transmission, which disrupts aquatic ecosystems.

Entire sections of countries have been rendered unproductive by erosion. On the high
central plateau of Madagascar, approximately ten percent of that country's land area,
virtually the entire landscape is devoid of vegetation, with erosive gully furrows typically
in excess of 50 meters deep and one kilometer wide[citation needed]. Shifting cultivation is a
farming system which sometimes incorporates the slash and burn method in some regions
of the world. Erosion cause loss of the fertile top soil and reduces the its fertility and
quality of the agricultural produce.

Modern industrial farming is another major cause of erosion. In some areas in the
American corn belt, more than 50 percent of the original topsoil has been carried away
within the last 100 years. This is a very important natural resource that forms all our
mountains and valleys

2. Environmental impacts

The principal environmental issues associated with runoff are the impacts to surface
water, groundwater and soil through transport of water pollutants to these systems.
Ultimately these consequences translate into human health risk, ecosystem disturbance
and aesthetic impact to water resources. Some of the contaminants that create the greatest
impact to surface waters arising from runoff are petroleum substances, herbicides and
fertilizers. Quantitative uptake by surface runoff of pesticides and other contaminants has
been studied since the 1960s, and early on contact of pesticides with water was known to
enhance phytotoxicity.[7] In the case of surface waters, the impacts translate to water
pollution, since the streams and rivers have received runoff carrying various chemicals or
sediments. When surface waters are used as potable water supplies, they can be
compromised regarding health risks and drinking water aesthetics (that is, odor, color and
turbidity effects). Contaminated surface waters risk altering the metabolic processes of
the aquatic species that they host; these alterations can lead to death, such as fish kills, or
alter the balance of populations present. Other specific impacts are on animal mating,
spawning, egg and larvae viability, juvenile survival and plant productivity. Some
researches show surface runoff of pesticides, such as DDT, can alter the gender of fish
species genetically, which transforms male into female fish.[8]

In the case of groundwater, the main issue is contamination of drinking water, if the
aquifer is abstracted for human use. Regarding soil contamination, runoff waters can have
two important pathways of concern. Firstly, runoff water can extract soil contaminants
and carry them in the form of water pollution to even more sensitive aquatic habitats.
Secondly, runoff can deposit contaminants on pristine soils, creating health or ecological
consequences.

3. Flooding

Flooding occurs when a watercourse is unable to convey the quantity of runoff flowing
downstream. The frequency with which this occurs is described by a return period.
Flooding is a natural process, which maintains ecosystem composition and processes, but
it can also be altered by land use changes such as river engineering. Floods can be both
beneficial to societies or cause damage. Agriculture along the Nile floodplain took
advantage of the seasonal flooding that deposited nutrients beneficial for crops. However,
as the number and susceptibility of settlements increase, flooding increasingly becomes a
natural hazard. Adverse impacts span loss of life, property damage, contamination of
water supplies, loss of crops, and social dislocation and temporary homelessness. Floods
are among the most devastating of natural disasters.