Introduction

Scope of Hydrology
Hydrology is derived from two words: hydro and logos. ‘Hydro’ means water and ‘logos’ means study. Simply, Hydrology
is defined as the study of water.

Hydrology is the science which deals with the origin, distribution and circulation of water in different forms in land
phases and atmosphere.

Broad definition of Hydrology given by US National Research Council

Hydrology is the science that treats the waters of the Earth, their occurrence, circulation and distribution, their
chemical and physical properties, and their reaction with the environment, including their relations to living
things.

Interdisciplinary subject: As an earth science, Hydrology is connected to several subjects. These include:
 Meteorology: for understanding precipitation and evaporation process
 Soil science: for understanding infiltration
 Geology: for understanding groundwater flow
 Geomorphology: for understanding surface runoff
 Hydraulics: for understanding stream flow
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math, statistics: to formulate and understand the subject
Scope of hydrology
1. Estimation of water resources
2. Study of processes like precipitation, evaporation, infiltration and runoff and their interaction
3. Study of problems like floods and droughts
4. Understanding the properties of water in nature
Applications of Hydrology in Engineering
 Correct assessment of flows for hydropower, irrigation, drainage and water supply projects.
 Determination of maximum expected flow at dam, reservoir, spillway, bridges, culverts and city
drainage system.
 Determination of minimum reservoir capacity sufficient to meet the hydropower, irrigation and
water supply demands.
 Estimation of the total volume of water that may be available from a drainage basin over a long
period
 Flood control: statistical analysis of probable frequency of floods, estimation of design flood, and
flood forecasting.
 computation of water surface profile for various rates of flow for navigation
 Control of erosion to minimize sedimentation of reservoirs.
 Reduction of stream pollution
Hydrological cycle and water balance
The endless circulation of water between the earth and its atmosphere is called hydrological cycle. Hydrological
cycle is the most fundamental principle of hydrology. The cycle extends its scope from 15 km up into the
atmosphere from the earth’s surface to about 1km below the earth’s crust through a maze of paths. It is fueled
by solar energy and driven by gravity force.
Processes
a) Evaporation: Water is evaporated from the oceans and land surfaces to become part of the
atmosphere.
b) Precipitation: Water vapour is transported and lifted in the atmosphere until it condenses and
precipitates (falls in the form of solid or liquid) on the land or the oceans.
c) Interception: Part of precipitation is intercepted by vegetation and trees.
d) Infiltration: Part of precipitation infiltrates into the soil.
e) Surface runoff (Overland flow): The fallen precipitation flows over the land surface before reaching
the channel
f) Evaporation and Transpiration: Much of the intercepted water and surface runoff returns to the
atmosphere through evaporation. Part of the infiltrated water is available to the roots of the trees and
returns to the atmosphere through plant leaves by transpiration.
g) Subsurface runoff (Interflow): The infiltrated water flows laterally through the unsaturated soil to the
stream channel.
h) Deep percolation: The water from the soil moisture zone percolates deeper to recharge ground water.
i) Ground water flow (Base flow): The flow takes place from the saturated groundwater zone to the
streams.
j) Final output: Streamflow
 The part of precipitation that reaches the stream through different paths above and below the
earth surface is called runoff. Once it enters the channel, the runoff is called streamflow.
k) Finally the precipitated water flows out into the sea which it will eventually evaporate once again and
the hydrological cycle continues.
Water Budget
The water balance equation is the statement of the law of conservation of mass. Water balance is the balance of
input and output of water within a given area taking into account net changes of storage.
𝑑
𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 = (𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒)
𝑑𝑡

It is also called continuity equation or conservation equation.

P
E T

G
R

General water budget equation in hydrology for time interval ∆t

𝑃 − (𝑅 + 𝐺 + 𝐸 + 𝑇) = ∆𝑆

P= precipitation
R = Surface runoff
G = Net groundwater flow out of the catchment E =
Evaporation
T = Transpiration
∆S = change in storage (take + for increase in storage, and – for decrease in storage)
Storage term represents temporary storage in snow, ice, lakes, water stored in soil zone and groundwater zone.
This should be considered for time period shorter than one year.

Historical Development of Hydrology in Nepal

History of hydrological development in Nepal is not very long. Different activities in the development of
hydrology of Nepal are summarized below.
a. Preliminary works in the period of 1940-1960
 Starting of Hydrological studies in Nepal after the Government of India initiated Koshi project in late
1940s.
 Establishment of Hydrological stations on Koshi at Barahachhetra, Sunkoshi at Kampughat and
Tamur at Mulghat in 1947.
 Establishment of meteorological observations stations in 1956 with the support of the Government
of India.
b. Establishment of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology
 Nepal started hydrological and meteorological activities in an organized way in 1962 from the Karnali
basin. The activities were initiated as a section under the Department of Electricity.
 Establishment of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) under the ministry of Water
and Power in 1966.
 Publication of hydro-meteorological data from 1966.
 Merging of the DHM with the Department of Irrigation in 1972.
 Separation of DHM in 1988 from the irrigation.
 Main responsibilities of DHM: collection, analysis, processing, dissemination of
hydrometrorological data; meteorological and hydrological forecasting; research
work on hydrology and meteorology
 Starting of Nationwide hydro-meteorolgical data management project in 1993.
 From recent years, use of modern technology for data collection such as wireless communication, satellite
data receiving system, receiving data through internet using CDMA
Precipitation
Precipitation is any form of solid or liquid water that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface.

Different forms of precipitations:

 Drizzle: water droplets, low intensity (<1mm/hr), 0.1 – 0.5 mm
 Rain: water droplets, higher intensity, > 0.5 mm
 Glaze: ice coatings formed by freezing rain
 Sleet: frozen raindrops while falling (rain+snow)
 Snow: ice crystals, hexagonal
 Hail: ellipsoid ice balls, 5 to 125 mm
Requirements for precipitation formation
For precipitation to form, three simultaneous conditions are required: access to water vapor, condensation nuclei and
cooling of moist air. The steps for precipitation formation are:
1. Uplift of air mass into atmosphere
2. A gradient in temperature in the atmospheric column
- Decrease of air temperature with altitude influences the amount of moisture that can be held as water vapor in air.
3. Water vapor in the atmosphere and saturation as temperature changes
In higher parts of the atmosphere (colder), there is less ability to hold water vapor (decrease in vapor pressure).
– Implies that colder air holds less water vapor, leads to saturated conditions (moist air) and promotes condensation.
4. Presence of nuclei (salt, dust, and clay, urban pollutant particles, around 1 to 10 µm in diameter, called aerosols)
around which condensation of vapor takes place.
5. Precipitation product must reach the ground in some form.

Types of Precipitations:
1. Convective

Unequal heating at the surface of the earth is the main cause of convection. In summer days air in contact with the
surface of the earth gets heated up, expands and rises due to lesser density. Surrounding cold air rushes to replace it
and in turn gets heated up and rises thus setting up a convective cell. The warm air continues to rise and undergoes
condensation. The condensation releases latent heat of vaporization, which helps to move the air mass up. Depending
on the moisture content, cooling and other factors, the precipitation intensity varies from light showers to cloud bursts.
Sometimes upward wind currents exceeding 150 kmph freezes the raindrops to form hail.

2. Orographic

Lifting of warm air mass by wind over a mountain barrier is called orographic lifting. The warm air is forced upwards
into a cooler atmosphere. Dynamic cooling takes place causing heavy precipitation on the windward side and light on
leeward side. Orographic precipitation gives medium to high intensity rainfall and continues for longer duration.

3. Cyclonic

A cyclone is a low pressure region surrounded by a larger high pressure area. The cyclone center is called eye, which
is a calm area. This zone is surrounded by strong wind zone. The pressure decreases towards eye.

When the low pressure occurs in an area, especially over large water bodies, air from the surroundings rushes, causing
the air at low pressure zone to lift. The system derives its energy from sea vapor. Once the cyclone crosses over to the
land, the energy source is cutoff, it becomes weak and disappears quickly. The rainfall is normally heavy in the entire
zone travelled by a cyclone.

An anticyclone is an area of high pressure in which wind tends to blow spirally outward in clockwise direction in the
northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere. Weather is usually calm and such anticyclones are
not associated with rain.
Rainfall Measurement

Precipitation is measured as depth of water equivalent from all forms that would accumulate on a horizontal
surface if there are no losses.
Unit: mm or inch
1mm depth: 1mm precipitation distributed uniformly over 1 m2 area
Methods of precipitation measurement
 Rain gauge (measuring rainfall directly), Radar (measuring reflecting electromagnetic wave from rain,
(echo) and converting to rainfall), Satellite (rainfall estimating by the brightness of cloud)

Types of rain gauge

1. Non-recording gauge
The gauge which is read manually is called non-recording gauge. It does not record rain itself, but simply collects. It
consists of collector above funnel leading into receiving vessel. The rainfall collected in the vessel is measured by a
graduated measuring cylinder or dipstick to give depth of rainfall
.

Collector

Funnel

Bottle

Fig. 2.1: Non-recording gauge

Advantages
 Simpler and cheaper approach to get cumulative depth of rainfall, e.g. for a day
 Suitable for snow measurement
Limitations
 Time, intensity and duration of rainfall cannot be obtained.

2. Recording gauge
The gauge which records the depth of rainfall automatically is called recording gauge. Rainfall intensity, duration and
depth can easily be obtained from recording gauge. There are three types of recording gauge in general use.
a) Tipping bucket: Tipping bucket type gauge operates with a pair of buckets. When the rainfall first fills one bucket,
it becomes unstable and tips discharging water into a reservoir and brings the other one in position. The flip-flop
motion of the tipping buckets is transmitted to the recording device (clock-driven drum chart) and provides a measure
of rainfall intensity. Alternatively, the tipping mechanism is used to actuate electric circuit which records the number
of tips during rain. Usually one tipping is equal to 0.25mm of rain.

Advantages
 Rainfall of shorter duration is obtained.
 Suitable for digital data.
 Suitable for remote area
Limitations
 Fast tipping during high intensity may overlap the tipping, reducing actual value.
 Not satisfactory for very low intensity rain
 To be heated for measuring snowfall

Collector

Funnel

Tipping bucket

Jar

Fig. 2.2: Tipping bucket rain gauge

b) Weighing bucket: In this gauge, rainfall is collected in bucket which rests on a weighing scale with a spring
mechanism. For recording the rainfall, mechanical lever arm of the balance is connected with a pen which touches a
clock mounted drum with a graph paper. The drum is made to rotate for a specific duration of time, e.g. daily, weekly.
The filled bucket has to be emptied and the chart has to be changed manually. For continuous recording, the pen is
allowed to trace in reverse direction after reaching a predetermined maximum level of cumulative rainfall. The record
shows accumulation of rainfall over time.

Receiver

Funnel

Bucket

Weighing mechanism

Graph paper

Rotating drum

Fig. 2.3: Weighing bucket rain gauge

 Rainfall

Reverse

Time

Fig. 2.3a: Rainfall plot for weighing bucket

Advantages
 Useful for rain, snow and hail
Limitations
 Overflow problem
 Mechanical problem

c) Float type (Syphon) gauge: This type of gauge has a chamber containing a float. With the increase in rainwater in
the chamber, the float rises. Vertical movement of the float is translated into movement of a pen on a chart, which is
mounted on a mechanical clock. A syphon arrangement empties the float chamber when the float has reached the pre-
set maximum level. Then the pen comes back to original zero position showing vertical line on the graph. If there is
no rainfall, the pen moves horizontally. Each syphonic action measures certain amount of rainfall, e.g. 10mm. This
instrument provides mass curve of rainfall.

Rainfall

unnel

hart
Pen

Syphon chamber Float

Time
Discharging tube
Fig. 2.4a: Rainfall plot for floating bucket

Fig. 2.4: Float type rain gauge

Advantages
 Availability of continuous record.
Limitations
 To be heated for solid precipitation
 Costlier
 Freezing rain may damage float.
 Error in measurement
 Instrumental error
 Human error
 Wind error
 Evaporation error
 Wetting error
 Splashing error
Design of rain gauge network

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommendations

Type of regions Minimum area for one Area to be covered under
station under ideal difficult condition per station
condition in sq.km. in sq.km.
1. Flat regions of temperate and 600-900 900-3000
Mediterranean and tropical zones
2. Mountainous regions of temperate 100-250 250-1000
and Mediterranean and tropical zones
3. Small mountainous regions with 25
irregular precipitation
4. Arid and polar zones 1500-10000

Records from all the existing gauges of a basin help to fix the optimum number of stations. The following statistical
analysis helps to obtain optimum number of gauges for a basin on the basis of an assigned percentage of error in
estimating the mean areal rainfall.

Estimation of missing precipitation

Two commonly used methods

1. Arithmetic average method

This method is used if the normal annual rainfall of missing station is within 10% of the normal annual rainfall of
surrounding stations, data of at least 3 surrounding stations (index stations) are available and the index stations should
be evenly spaced around missing station and should be as close as possible.

The formula for computing rainfall of missing station is

 1
𝑃𝑥 = (𝑃1 + 𝑃2 + ⋯ + 𝑃𝑛)
𝑛
P1, P2,…,Pn: rainfall of index stations
Px: rainfall of missing station n: number
of index stations

2. Normal ratio method

This method is used if the normal annual rainfall of index stations differs by more than 10% of the missing station.
The rainfall of surrounding index stations is weighed by the ratio of normal annual rainfall by using the following
equation

Double mass curve analysis for correction for data inconsistencies

The plot of accumulated annual rainfall of a particular station versus the accumulated annual values of mean rainfall of
surrounding stations is called double mass curve. This technique is used to check the consistency of rainfall data and to
correct erroneous rainfall data. This technique is based on the principle that a group of sample data drawn from its
population will be the same.
The reasons for inconsistency are:
 Shifting of gauge
 Change in site conditions due to calamities, e.g. fires, landslide
 Change in observational procedure
 Observation error
Cumulative rainfall of base station

If the double mass curve is straight line, the rainfall of the particular station is said to be consistent. If there is break in
the slope of the plot, then the rainfall of that particular station is inconsistent. Starting year of change of regime of
rainfall is marked by the starting point of the break in slope. Correction has to be applied beyond the period of change
of regime.

Cumulative rainfall of base station

a
c

Break in grade

Cumulative of mean rainfall of neighbouring stations Fig.

Double mass curve for inconsistent data

Steps in double mass construction:
 Select a group of 5 to 10 neighbouring stations
 Arrange data in chronological order with latest data in the beginning.
 Compute cumulative rainfall of base station (station whose consistency is to be checked).
 Compute cumulative of mean rainfall of neighbouring stations.
 Plot cumulative rainfall of base station versus cumulative of mean rainfall of neighbouring stations, and join
the points by straight line.
 Check if there is break in straight line.

Ma: Slope of line after change of regime (original slope)

If c and a are vertical intercept of original line and line after change
𝑐
𝑃𝑐𝑥 = 𝑃𝑥
𝑎
A change in slope is normally taken as significant only where it persists for more than five years. Correction
should be applied for change in slope exceeding 10% of original line.

Presentation of rainfall data

a. Rainfall depth
 Rainfall intensity: rainfall depth/time interval (e.g. rainfall for 1 hr)
b. Point rainfall
 Rainfall data of a station of certain duration
 Duration: Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Seasonal, annual
 Plot: Rainfall versus time in bar diagram

c. Moving average
 Average of consecutive interval
 Interval: 3-5 year
 Purpose: to isolate the trend in rainfall data and to smoothen out the high frequency fluctuations

d. Mass curve
 Plot of accumulated rainfall versus time
 Useful to identify intensity, duration, magnitude, starting and ending time of rainfall
 Magnitude = cumulative rainfall at t- cumulative rainfall at t-1
 Intensity = slope of curve = dp/dt

Cumulative rainfall Mass curve

time
Fig. 2.6: Mass curve of rainfall
e. Hyetograph
 Plot of rainfall intensity or rainfall depth versus time interval in the form of bar graph
 In each bar, time interval between two points is shown in X-axis and corresponding rainfall represents Y-
axis.
 From mass curve, rainfall (dp) of certain interval dt can be computed and rainfall intensity can be obtained as
dp/dt.
 The graph represents the characteristics of storms and useful in predicting floods.
 Area under hyetograph: total rainfall

Rainfall
intensity(mm/hr)

time
Fig. 2.7: Hyetograph

f. Maximum rainfall intensity from incremental rainfall and plot of maximum rainfall intensity versus duration curve
Steps for computing rainfall of higher order durations from given duration.
 Compute cumulative rainfall of given duration.
 Subtract from cumulative rainfall of current time to that of previous time, where previous time = current
time-required duration.
 Take the maximum depth from the time series data for all durations. Maximum
rainfall intensity = maximum depth/time duration

Max. rainfall intensity

Duration
Fig. 2.8: Maximum rainfall intensity versus duration curve
Method of computing average rainfall

Three common methods

1. Arithmetic mean method:
This is the simplest method for computing mean rainfall. This method is satisfactory if the gauges are uniformly
distributed and the individual gauge catches do not vary greatly about the mean. The formula for computing mean
rainfall is
𝑛
1

Pav = average rainfall n = number of stations

Pi = precipitation of station i

This method gives equal weights to each gauge. It gives only rough estimate. It does not take into account the
topography and other influences. For this method, only the gauges inside the basin are considered.

2. Thiessen polygon method

In this method, weightage is given to all the gauges on the basis of their areal coverage. Thiessen method assumes
that rainfall at any point within the polygon is same as that of the nearest gauge. For this method, all the gauges
in and around the basin are considered.

Method of constructing Thiessen polygon

 Draw map of basin and locate the rainfall stations.
 Connect the adjacent rainfall stations by straight lines without intersecting, forming triangles.
 Draw perpendicular bisectors to each of the sides of triangles lines. The perpendicular bisectors
forms boundary of polygons. Wherever the basin boundary cuts the bisectors, it is taken as the outer
limit of the polygon.
 Measure area of each polygon which surrounds a station. Area can be computed by using formulae
for regular geometric figure. For irregular figure, area is determined by using planimeter or by
tracing on graph and counting squares.

Thiessen polygon

Fig. 2.9: Example of Thiessen polygon

 Advantages
 Use of data nearby stations located outside basin
 Consideration of spacing of stations
 Easy to perform computation through computer software

Limitations
 It does not consider orographic and topographic effects.
 The method assumes linear variation of precipitation between stations.

3. Isohyetal method

An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall. For this method, rainfall stations lying within basin as
well as nearby stations around the basin are considered.

Method of constructing isohyetes

 Draw map of basin and locate the rainfall stations.
 Mark the depth of rainfall at each station.
 Draw isohyetes by interpolating between adjacent gauges and considering orographic, storm
characteristics and other factors.
 Measure the area between successive isohyets.
The mean rainfall is computed by

Advantages
 Data from nearby stations located outside the basin can also be used.
 Spacing of station as well as magnitude of precipitation is considered in the method.
 The method is more accurate due to the consideration of topography and other influences.
Limitations
 The method requires dense gauge network.
 Isohyets need to be drawn for each storm.
 Intensity duration frequency (IDF) curve

An intensity duration frequency (IDF) curve is a three parameter curve in which duration is taken on x-
axis, intensity on y-axis and the return period or frequency as the third parameter. The IDF curve is a very
important tool for determination of runoff, which is useful for the design of structures such as pipe, culvert,
drainage system, reservoir. The curve can be used to determine the rainfall intensity for other durations with
given intensity of a particular duration.

IDF Curves by frequency analysis

When observed rainfall data of different durations are available, IDF curves can be developed using
frequency analysis.
Method
 For each duration selected e.g. 15 min, 30 min, 1hr etc.,extract annual maximum rainfall data from
historical record.
 For each duration, perform frequency analysis i.e. find rainfall value of different return periods
such as 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 yr. (Return period is the average interval of time within which an event
of given magnitude will be equaled or exceeded.)

The steps involved in simple plotting position method, which can be used for precipitation data, are given
below.
 Prepare data of maximum intensity for different durations for different years.
 Arrange data in descending order.
 Assign rank of data. Assign 1 for highest data, 2 for second highest data and so on.
 Calculate the return period of each data. According to California formula, return period (T) = n/m
where n = number of data, m = rank.
 Plot rainfall versus return period and extrapolate to get rainfall of higher return periods (or, fit a
regression equation for extrapolation).
 Plot rainfall versus duration for different frequency of rainfall.

Rainfall intensity

curve for return period T2

curve for return period T1

Duration

Fig. 2.11: IDF curve

Intensity of rainfall decreases with the increase in duration of storm and increases with the increase in
frequency of storm. IDF curves can be expressed as equations in the exponential form given by
𝐾𝑇𝑥
𝑖=
(𝐷+𝑎)𝑛

i= intensity
T = return period or frequency
D = Duration
K, x, a, n = Constants
The parameters (constants) of the equation can be determined from the regression analysis of IDF curve data of
rainfall stations.
 Chapter 3: Hydrological Losses
Dr. K.N. Dulal
3.1 Different losses
The difference between precipitation and runoff can be treated as hydrological losses.

a. Initial losses (interception and depression storage)

Interception
Interception is that part of precipitation which is caught and held by the vegetation or obstruction. Much
of the intercepted water returns to the atmosphere by evaporation. The remaining part may drip off or
flow down through the stem to reach the ground surface. About 10 to 20% of total rainfall is considered
as interception losses. Its exact estimation is difficult.

Depression storage
After precipitation of a storm reaches the ground, some part of it is stored in the depressions on the
ground surface, which is called depression storage. The amount is eventually lost to runoff through
process of infiltration and evaporation and thus forms a part of the initial loss.
The depression storage depends upon
 The type of soil
 The condition of the surface reflecting the amount and nature of the depression.
 The slope of the catchment
 The antecedent precipitation, as a measure of soil moisture.

b. Evaporation
The process by which liquid is converted to vapor is called evaporation. Evaporation occurs from water
bodies as well as from soil moisture.

c. Transpiration
The emission of water vapour from plant leaves is called transpiration.

d. Infiltration
Infiltration is the process by which water from the ground surface enters into the soil. Infiltration is
responsible for recharging groundwater and for maintaining soil moisture.

3.2 Evaporation process

3.2.1 Meteorological parameters

a. Temperature

Temperature is a measure of hotness of an object. The temperature of a locality is a complex function of

several variables such as latitude, altitude, ocean currents, distance from sea, winds, cloud cover, and
aspect (land slope and its orientation).

Lapse rate
The rate at which temperature decreases with increase in altitude is called lapse rate. It is about 6˚C per
1000 m within the troposphere.

Terminologies for expressing temperature

 Mean daily temperature: Average of hourly temperature, if hourly data are available
 Maximum daily and minimum daily
 Average of the daily max and min temperature, if only maximum and minimum data are available
 Normal temperature: Arithmetic mean temperature based on previous 30 years’ data
 Normal daily temperature: The average mean daily temperature of a given date computed for a
specific 30-year period.
 Mean monthly temperature: average of the mean monthly maximum and minimum temperature.
 Mean annual temperature: average of the monthly means for the year.

Temperature measurement
 Using thermometer
 The maximum-minimum thermometers for daily maximum and minimum temperature.

b. Humidity

Amount of water vapor in air is called humidity. Humidity is closely related to its temperature- higher the
air temperature, more vapor the air can hold. For this reason, saturation vapor pressure goes up with air
temperature.
Saturation vapor pressure
Pressure at which air is saturated with water is called saturation vapor pressure. It is a function of
temperature.
17.27𝑇
𝑒𝑠 = 611 𝑒𝑥𝑝 ( )
237.3 + 𝑇
es = saturation vapor pressure (N/m2)
T= Temperature (0C)

Significance of Humidity: The amount of water vapor in air effectively controls the weather condition by
controlling evaporation from land and water surfaces.

Commonly used measures of humidity

I. Vapor pressure: partial pressure exerted by water vapor in air on the earth’s surface due to its own
weight
II. Absolute humidity: mass of water vapor contained in a unit volume of air at any instant
III. Specific humidity: mass of water vapor per unit mass of moist air
IV. Relative humidity: Actual vapor pressure (ea)/ Saturation vapor pressure (es)
(or ratio of the amount of water vapor actually contained per unit volume to the amount of water vapor
that it can hold at the same temperature when saturated)
V. Mixing ratio: mass of water vapor per unit mass of perfectly dry air in a humid mixture

Saturation vapor pressure gradient

Gradient/slope of saturation vapor pressure (es) curve is found by differentiating es with respect to
temperature.
𝑑𝑒𝑠 4098𝑒𝑠
∆= =
𝑑𝑇 (237.3 + 𝑇)2
∆= slope of saturation vapor pressure, T = temperature in 0C

Saturation vapor pressure

Temperature

Fig. 3.1: Saturation vapor pressure curve

Dew point temperature

The temperature at which air becomes saturated when cooled at constant pressure and moisture content is
called dew point temperature.

Measurement of humidity
a. By using psychrometer: It contains wet bulb thermometer (continuous moisture supply by wrapping
with wick and submerging the other end in distilled water) and dry bulb thermometer (recording ambient
air temperature).
b. By using hygrograph: Automatic recording of humidity
Principle: hair reacts to the changes in air humidity by expanding or contracting

c. Wind

Wind is a moving air. Wind has both speed and direction. Wind direction is the direction from which it is
blowing. Wind speed varies with height above the ground. Wind is one of the major factors that affect the
climate and evaporation rate from water surface. Wind influences the ability to transport vapor away from
the surface as well as the temperature of the area. Higher wind speed results in higher evaporation rate
from a water surface as the wind replaces saturated air just above the water surface by unsaturated air.

Wind speed is measured by anemometers. For comparable data, all anemometers are installed at same
elevation above ground. Wind speed varies greatly with height above the ground due to ground friction,
trees, buildings and other obstacles.

Wind speed at a certain height is computed by power law as

𝑉 𝑍 0.15
=( )
𝑉0 𝑍0
V = velocity at any height Z
V0 = Observed velocity at height Z0

Types of wind

a) Sea and land breezes: See breeze is the blowing of wind from sea to land due to higher temperature
(lower atmospheric pressure) at land during day time. Sea breeze is the reason we feel cooler near large
water body at day time in a hot day. Land breeze is the blowing of wind from land to sea due to quicker
cooling of land, and hence denser air above land surface.
b) Monsoon (seasonal) Winds: Winds whose direction depends on season.
c) Cyclone (hurricane/typhoon): Cyclones are caused when a low pressure area is surrounded by high
pressure areas around which air flows anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in southern
hemisphere. A cyclone is generally followed by heavy rain.
d) Anticyclone: Anticyclone is a region of high pressure surrounded by low areas around which air flows
clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in southern hemisphere.
e) Tornadoes: Tornadoes are similar to cyclone, but they generally form over ocean. Tornadoes are
generally destructive to land and property.
f) Local winds: They affect only limited areas and blow for short durations. The cause of local winds is
mostly local temperature depressions.

d. Radiation

Radiation is the direct transfer of energy by means of electromagnetic waves. Radiation from the sun is
called solar radiation. Solar Radiation provides the fuel for the hydrologic cycle. Solar radiation
determines weather and climate of earth.

Fig. 3.2: Components of radiation balance

Terminology

Insolation: incident solar radiation

Short wave and long wave radiation
Solar radiation from the sun is referred to as short wave radiation. The radiation from the earth is referred
to as long wave radiation.

Albedo
When radiation strikes a surface, it is either reflected or absorbed. The ratio of amount of solar radiation
reflected by a body to incoming radiation is called albedo.

Net radiation
The net radiation is the difference between absorbed radiation and emitted radiation.
𝑅𝑟
𝑟=
𝑅𝑖
𝑅𝑟 = 𝑟𝑅𝑖
𝑟 = albedo
Rr= Reflected radiation
Ri =Incoming radiation

Absorbed radiation=𝑅𝑖 − 𝑟𝑅𝑖 = 𝑅𝑖 (1 − 𝑟)

Emitted radiation =Re
Net radiation = 𝑅𝑖 (1 − 𝑟) − 𝑅𝑒

Radiation emission is governed by Stefan-Boltzmann law:

Radiation is also continuously emitted from all bodies at rates depending on the temperatures.
𝑅𝑒 = 𝑒𝜎𝑇 4
E = emissivity of the surface
𝜎= Stefan-Boltzmann constant
T = Absolute temperature of the surface (K)

Net radiation at the Earth’s surface

Incoming radiation = Long wave radiation (Rl) + Shortwave radiation (Rs)
Radiation emitted by the earth = Re
Albedo = 𝑟
Net radiation at the Earth’s surface (Rn) is given by
𝑅𝑛 = (𝑅𝑙 + 𝑅𝑠 )(1 − 𝑟) − 𝑅𝑒

Intensity of solar radiation depends on

 Scattering in the atmosphere
 Absorption by clouds
 Obliqueness of the Earth’s surface to the incoming radiation (a function of latitude, season and
time of day)

Radiation measurement

Actinometers and radiometers are used to measure intensity of radiant energy. The data is used in studies
of evaporation and snowmelt.
3.2.2 Factors affecting evaporation

I. Meteorological factors
 Radiation: most important factor as it directly influences the temperature of the evaporating
surface.
 Temperature: Increase in temperature increases the evaporation rate but not always
proportionally. For same temperature, evaporation in colder months is less than summer months
due to other environmental factors.
 Humidity: Humidity influences vapor pressure deficit which governs the rate of evaporation.
 Vapor pressure: Evaporation is proportional to the difference between saturation vapor pressure at
the water temperature and actual vapor pressure in the air.
 Wind: Wind helps to carry away moisture as it evaporates and thus accelerates the rate of
evaporation. Generally the rate of evaporation increases with the wind speed up to a critical speed
beyond which any further increase in wind speed has no influence on the rate of evaporation.
There is a relation between wind speed and size of water surface.
 Atmosphere pressure: Increase in atmosphere pressure decreases the rate of evaporation.
II. Nature of evaporating surface
 Soil: the rate of evaporation from soil depends on the availability of water, e.g, higher rate for wet
soil, lower rate for dry soil.
 Snow and ice: Evaporation from snow can occur when the vapor pressure of the air is less than
that of the snow surface i.e. only when the dew point is lower than the temperature of the snow.
 Reservoir: The rate of evaporation from a reservoir depends on the heat storage capacity, e.g. for
deep water bodies, large heat storage during summer causing less evaporation and vice versa in
winter.
III. Quality of water: Soluble salts reduce the vapor pressure, and thus reduce the rate of evaporation.

3.2.3 Methods of estimation of evaporation

a. Empirical equations

Empirical equations used for estimating evaporation are functions of saturation vapor pressure at the
water temperature (es) and actual vapor pressure in the air (ea).

General equation (Dalton’s law): 𝐸 = 𝑘𝑓(𝑢)(𝑒𝑠 − 𝑒𝑎 )

E= evaporation
k = coefficient
f(u) = wind speed correction function
es = saturation vapor pressure
ea = actual vapor pressure

Meyer’s formula
𝑈
𝐸 = 𝐶 (1 + ) (𝑒𝑠 − 𝑒𝑎 )
16
E= Evaporation (mm/day)
U= monthly mean wind speed in km/h measured at 9m above ground
C = coefficient (0.36 for large lakes, 0.50 for shallow lakes)
es = saturation vapor pressure (mm of Hg)
ea = actual vapor pressure (mm of Hg)
Rhower’s formula
E = 0.771 (1.465-0.000732P) (0.44+0.0733U) (es-ea)
E= Evaporation (mm/day)
P= mean barometric reading in mmHg
U = mean wind velocity at 0.6m above ground in km/h
es = saturation vapor pressure (mm of Hg)
ea = actual vapor pressure (mm of Hg)

b. Analytical methods

I. Water budget method

In this method, water balance equation is used to get the value of evaporation.
∑Inflow -∑Outflow =Change in storage

General equation
E= (P+Isf+Igf)-(Osf+Ogf+T)±∆S

P= precipitation
Isf = Surface inflow
Igf = Groundwater inflow
Osf = Surface water outflow
Ogf = Groundwater outflow
T = Transpiration loss
∆S = Change in storage

 Measurement of Igf, Ogf and T is not possible, these can only be estimated.
 T is usually negligible.
 Water budget equation gives approximate values.
For long term water balance,
Evaporation = precipitation-runoff

II. Energy budget method

Based on law of conservation of energy

Incoming energy = outgoing energy + Change in stored energy

Hb Ha
Hc

rHc
He

(1-r)HC Water
Hs
Hi

Hg
Fig. 3.3: Components of energy balance
r Hc = Reflected radiation
Hc= Incoming solar radiation
R =albedo
Hb = Back (Long wave) radiation from water body
Ha = Sensible heat transfer from water surface to air
He = Heat energy used up in evaporation
Hg = Heat flux into the ground
Hs = Heat stored in water body
Hi = Net heat conducted out of the system by water flow (advected energy)
Hn = net radiation = Absorbed radiation – emitted radiation = Hc(1-r)-Hb

For short time period Hs and Hi can be neglected. All the terms except Hi can either be measured or
evaluated indirectly. Ha is estimated using Bowen’s ratio. The ratio of sensible heat flux to heat flux used
up in evaporation is called Bowen ratio.
𝐻 𝐻
𝛽= 𝑎= 𝑎
𝐻𝑒 𝜌.𝐸.𝐿
𝛽 = Bowen ratio
𝜌 = Density of water
E = Evaporation
L = Latent heat of vaporization
Estimate of 𝛽
𝑇 −𝑇
𝛽=𝛾 𝑠 𝑎
𝑒𝑠 −𝑒𝑎
𝛾 = Pshcrometric constant
es = saturated vapor pressure (mmHg)
ea = actual vapor pressure (mmHg)
Ts = Temperature of water surface (0C)
Ta = Temperature of air (0C)
Energy balance to evaporating surface in a period of one day
Hn =Ha+ He+Hg+Hs+Hi
𝐻𝑛 = 𝜌𝐸𝐿 + 𝛽𝜌𝐸𝐿 + 𝐻𝑔 + 𝐻𝑠 + 𝐻𝑖
𝐻𝑛 −𝐻𝑔 −𝐻𝑠 −𝐻𝑖
𝐸= 𝜌𝐿(1+𝛽)

III. Mass transfer method

When wind flows on the surface, a boundary layer is formed. This method is based on theories of
turbulent mass transfer in boundary layer to calculate the mass of water vapor transfer from the surface to
the surrounding atmosphere. Prandtl’s mixing length theory of boundary layer concept is applied to obtain
evaporation. The equation for evaporation computation is given by
46.08(𝑒1 − 𝑒2 )(𝑣2 − 𝑣1 )
𝐸=
(𝑇 − 273)log(𝑧2 /𝑧1 )2
E = evaporation
z1, z2 = arbitrary lower and upper level in m above the surface
e1, e2 = vapor pressure at z1 and z2
v1, v2 = wind speed at z1 and z2
T = average air temperature (K) between z1 and z2
3.2.4 Evaporimeters (Evaporation pan)

Evaporation Pan, also called Evaporimeter, is shallow vessels containing water. These are placed in open
to measure the loss of water by evaporation. Water is placed in the evaporation pan and the change in
depth of water due to evaporation is measured.
Lake or reservoir evaporation = Pan coefficient x Pan evaporation
Pan Evaporation differs from lake evaporation due to the depth of exposure of pan above ground, color
of the pan, height of the rim, heat storage and heat transfer capacity with respect to reservoir, variation in
vapor pressure, wind speed and water temperature. Pan coefficient takes into account these factors.
Pan coefficient: 0.6 to 0.8

Various types of pans

Class A evaporation pan

It consists of a cylindrical vessel made of galvanized iron sheet. The pan is placed 15cm above the ground
surface in such a way that it gets free circulation of air. Water should be renewed to avoid turbidity.
Water should not be allowed to drop more than 7.5cm.
120.7 cm

25cm

15cm
Fig. 3.4: Class A pan

Sunken pan (Colorado Sunken pan)

The pan is buried into the ground such that the water level is at the ground level. The main advantage of
this pan is that the aerodynamic and radiation characteristics are closer to the reservoir. The water level is
maintained at or slightly below the ground level.

Fig. 3.5: Sunken pan

3.3 Evapotranspiration
The processes of evaporation from the land surface and the transpiration from the vegetation are
collectively termed evapotranspiration (ET).
Main factors affecting ET
 Supply of energy (solar radiation)
 Ability to transport vapor away (wind speed and humidity gradient)
 Supply of moisture at the evaporating surface

Potential Evapotranspiration and Actual Evapotranspiration

Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) is the evapotranspiration that would occur from a well vegetated
surface when moisture supply is not limiting. The real evapotranspiration occurring in a specific situation
is called actual evapotranspiration (AET).

Field capacity and permanent wilting point

Field capacity is the maximum quantity of water that the soil can retain against the force of gravity.
Permanent wilting point is the moisture content of a soil at which the moisture is no longer available in
sufficient quantity to sustain the plants. The difference in these two moisture contents is called available
water.

If the water supply to the plant is adequate, soil moisture will be at field capacity and AET = PET.
If the water supply is less than PET, the soil dries out and AET<PET.
At permanent wilting point, AET = 0

Penman method for determination of evapotranspiration

Penman method is a combined aerodynamic and energy balance method for estimating
evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is computed by aerodynamic method when energy supply is not
limited and by the energy balance method when vapor transport is not limited. But, normally, both of
these factors are limiting, so a combination of the two methods is needed.

Assumptions:
 Steady state energy flow prevails.
 Changes in heat storage over time in the water body are not significant.
 Vapor transport coefficient is a function of wind speed.
 Advected energy input is small, which may be neglected.

Penman’s formula for estimation of evapotranspiration is given by

𝐴𝐻𝑛 + 𝛾𝐸𝑎
𝑃𝐸𝑇 =
𝐴+𝛾
PET = daily potential evapotranspiration (mm/day)
A = slope of saturation vapor pressure (mmHg/0C)
Hn =Net radiation (mm/day)
Ea = Evaporation due to aerodynamic method (mm/day)
𝛾 = Psychrometric constant (mmHg/0C) (can be taken as 0.49mmHg/0C)

The net radiation is estimated by the following equation:

 𝑛 𝑛
𝐻𝑛 = 𝐻𝑎 (1 − 𝑟) (𝑎 + 𝑏 ) − 𝜎𝑇𝑎4 (0.56 − 0.092√𝑒𝑎 ) (0.10 + 0.90 )
𝑁 𝑁
Ha = Incident solar radiation outside the atmosphere on a horizontal surface (mm/day)
a = constant depending upon latitude φ and is given by a = 0.29Cos φ
b = constant with an average value of 0.52
n = actual duration of bright sunshine hours (hours)
N = Maximum possible hours of bright sunshine (hours) (function of latitude)
r = albedo
σ = Stefan-Boltzman constant = 2.01x10-9 mm/day
Ta = mean air temperature (degree Kelvin) = 273+0C
ea = Actual vapor pressure (mmHg)

Ea is estimated as
𝑢2
𝐸𝑎 = 0.35 (1 + ) (𝑒𝑠 − 𝑒𝑎 )
160
u2 = mean wind speed at 2m above ground (km/day)
es = Saturated vapor pressure at mean air temperature (mmHg)
ea = Actual vapor pressure (mmHg)
For the computation of PET, data on temperature, wind speed, radiation (or sunshine hours) and vapor
pressure (or humidity) are needed. Ha, N, es and A are obtained from tabulated values, or from equations.

Value of es from T
17.27𝑇
𝑒𝑠 = 4.584 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (237.3+𝑇)
es = saturation vapor pressure (mmHg)
T= Temperature (0C)
If Relative humidity (RH) is given, RH = ea/es
Equation to compute A
4098𝑒𝑠 0
𝐴 = (237.3+𝑇) 2 where es = saturation vapor pressure (mmHg), T= Temperature ( C)

For 200C, A = 1.05 mmHg/0C

Value of r: Water surface = 0.05, Bare land: 0.05-0.45

[If tabular values of Ha, N, es and slope of saturated vapor pressure are given, obtain the values from
table. If the given value of latitude/temperature lies in between the tabular values, obtain by linear
interpolation.]
Measurement of evapotranspiration

Lysimeter Method
Lysimeter is a small tank containing soil in which the plants are grown. It is generally cylindrical tank
about 60 to 90 cm in diameter and 180 cm deep. This tank is buried in ground such that its top is made
like the surrounding ground surface. Water is applied to the lysimeter for the satisfactory growth of plant.
Percolated water excess to the plant use is collected in a pit and Evapotranspiration is obtained.

G.L.

SOIL
Water tight

Pervious bottom

Fig. 3.6: Lysimeter

Computation of evapotranspiration from the data of Lysimeter

P+W=O+ET+ΔS
P = precipitation
W = Amount of water applied
O = Quantity of water drained out
ET = Evapotranspiration
ΔS = Change in soil moisture storage
3.4 Infiltration
3.4.1 Introduction

Infiltration is the process by which water enters the soil from the ground surface. Infiltration first
replenishes the soil moisture deficiency. The excess water then moves downwards by the force of gravity.
This downward movement under gravity is called percolation (or seepage). Percolation is thus the
movement of water within the soil.

Infiltration rate (f) is the rate at which water enters the soil at the surface. Cumulative infiltration (F) is
the accumulated depth of water infiltrated during a given time period.
𝑡

𝐹(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑜
𝑑𝐹(𝑡)
𝑓(𝑡) =
𝑑𝑡
Infiltration capacity (fc) is the maximum rate at which a given soil can absorb water under a given set of
conditions at a given time.

The actual rate of infiltration (f) can be expressed as

f = fc for i ≥ fc
f = i for i < fc
i = intensity of rainfall
Infiltration capacity of a soil is high at the beginning of a storm and has an exponential decay as the time
elapses.

Hydraulic conductivity: It is a measure of ability of the soil to transmit water.

Field capacity: Field capacity is the maximum amount of water that the soil can hold against the force of
gravity.

Moisture zones
Soil moisture
Saturated
Transition

Depth Transmission

Wetting

Fig.3.7: Moisture zones

 Saturated zone: top zone

 Transition zone: second zone
 Transmission zone: uniform moisture content, moisture content above field capacity but below
saturation, unsaturated zone
  Wetting zone: moisture content at or near field capacity, decrease of moisture with depth, wetting
front as sharp discontinuity

Factors affecting infiltration (f)

1. Characteristics of soil
 Type of soil, Porosity, texture (determines size of pores), Structure (affects aggregation)
 Permeability: high f for loose, permeable sandy soil
 Underdrainage: high f for good underdrainage
 Grain size of soil particles: higher f for large grain size
 layering
2. Condition of soil surface and its vegetative cover
 Low f for bare soil: Clogging the surface by inwashing of fine particles
 Grass and vegetation cover: high f
3. Antecedent moisture content of the soil
 Second storm in succession: low f
4. Climatic conditions
 Temperature affecting viscosity and thus f (less viscous, more f)
5. Rainfall intensity and duration
 Intense rainfall: progressive reduction of f due to increased supply of moisture,
mechanical compaction and in-wash of finer particles
 Sustained heavy rainfall of longer duration: steady reduction in fc until f attains a
constant value.
6. Human activities
 Crop growing: increase of f
 Construction of road, house etc.: reduction of f
7. Quality of water
 Presence of salt: affecting viscosity and reducing porosity, lower f
 Turbidity: clogging pore space, lower f
8. Groundwater table
 Close to surface: low f

3.4.2 Horton equation for infiltration

According to Horton, Infiltration begins at some rate f0 and exponentially decreases until it reaches a
constant value fc
𝑓(𝑡) = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
f(t): infiltration capacity at any time t from the start of the rainfall
f0: initial infiltration capacity at t = 0
fc : infiltration rate at the final steady stage when the soil profile becomes fully saturated
k : decay constant depending upon soil characteristics and vegetation cover, known as Horton coefficient
Horton’s equation is valid under ponding conditions (availability of constant head of water on the soil)
Three parameter to fix: f0, fc, k, practical difficulty in determination
 f

f0

fc

Fig. 3.8 : Infiltration curve

Cumulative infiltration or total infiltration using Horton’s equation for time t from start
𝑡

𝐹(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑜
𝑡

= ∫[𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 ]𝑑𝑡

𝑜
𝑡
𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
= 𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 ) | |
−𝑘 0
𝑓0 −𝑓𝑐
𝐹(𝑡) = 𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 𝑘
(1 − 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 ) (a)
𝑓0 −𝑓𝑐
Average infiltration in time t = F(t)/t = 𝑓𝑐 + (1 − 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 )
𝑘𝑡

Cumulative infiltration or total infiltration depth in between time t1 and t2

𝑡2

𝐹(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑡1
𝑡2

= ∫ [𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 ]𝑑𝑡

𝑡1
𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 −𝑘𝑡2
= 𝑓𝑐 (𝑡2 − 𝑡1) + (𝑒 − 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡1 )
(−𝑘)

To determine K with known values of F(t), fc, fo and t

For large t, the value of e-kt becomes negligible. Hence equation (a) reduces to
𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐
𝐹(𝑡) = 𝑓𝑐 𝑡 +
𝑘
𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐
𝑘=
𝐹(𝑡) − 𝑓𝑐 𝑡

If rainfall intensity (i) is less than f, all rainfall is infiltrated. Runoff occurs only after i>f.
Runoff = rainfall-infiltration
Determination of constants f0, fc and K from given data of f and t

a. Graphical approach

Plot f on Y-axis and t on x-axis. Draw exponential curve and note down the values of f0 and fc.

f0

Area under curve

fc

Fig. 3.9 : Graphical approach

Horton’s infiltration equation is given by

f = fc + (f0-fc) e-Kt
f -fc = (f0-fc) e-Kt
Integrating
∞
∫ (𝑓 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑑𝑡 = 𝐹 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒
0
∞
𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐
∫ (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐 ) 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 𝑑𝑡 =
0 𝐾
Equating above expressions, K can be determined by
𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑐
𝐾=
𝐹

b. Statistical approach

Horton’s infiltration equation is given by

f = fc + (f0-fc) e-Kt
f -fc = (f0-fc) e-Kt
Taking log on both sides
ln (f -fc ) = ln (f0 -fc ) –Kt
Let y = ln (f -fc ), c = ln (f0 -fc ). Then above equation reduces to
y = -Kt + c : linear equation

Procedure:
Take fc from the given data.
Determine K and c by least square method.
𝑁 ∑ 𝑡𝑦−∑ 𝑡 ∑ 𝑦
𝐾=−
𝑁 ∑ 𝑡 2 −(∑ 𝑡)2
∑ 𝑦−(−𝐾) ∑ 𝑡
𝑐= 𝑁
With c = ln (f0 -fc ), compute f0.
3.4.3 Infiltration indices

Average rate of infiltration is called infiltration index. For the computation of surface runoff and flood
discharge, the use of infiltration curve is not convenient. So, we can use constant value of infiltration rate
for the duration of storms.

Two common infiltration indices

a. φ index

The average rate of rainfall above which the rainfall volume equals to runoff volume is called φ index. It
is based on the assumption that for a specified storm with given initial conditions, the rate of basin
recharge remains constant throughout the storm period. i.e. φ remains constant.
For i < φ, f = i
For i > φ, runoff = i-f
i = rainfall intensity
f = infiltration rate
φ : total abstractions
The amount of rainfall in excess of the index is known as effective rainfall or rainfall excess.

Method of determination of φ index

Given: rainfall hyetograph and direct runoff
Use same unit ,e.g. mm, cm for rainfall and runoff.
Take incremental rainfall if cumulative rainfall is given.

Method 1
Trial and error with effective time (te)
a. Consider the whole duration of rainfall as effective in the beginning.
First trial: φ= (Total rainfall - Direct runoff)/te
where te = total time of excess rainfall contributing for direct runoff (effective duration)
b. Compute rainfall excess of each rainfall pulse and find total rainfall excess.
Rainfall excess = observed rainfall (R) - φ ∆t for rainfall intensity> φ, 0 otherwise
where ∆t = interval of rainfall data
c. Compare total rainfall excess with direct runoff. If rainfall excess (Re) is not same as direct runoff (Q),
take another value of te. Take te by subtracting ineffective rainfall duration from whole period.
Second trial: φ= (Total rainfall - Direct runoff-Ineffective rainfall)/te
d. Repeat steps b-c until Re=Q.

Method 2
Trial and error with φ

a. Consider the whole duration of rainfall as effective in the beginning.

First trial: φ= (Total rainfall - Direct runoff)/te
where te = total time of excess rainfall contributing for direct runoff (effective duration)
b. Compute rainfall excess of each rainfall pulse and find total rainfall excess.
Rainfall excess = observed rainfall (R) - φ ∆t for rainfall intensity> φ, 0 otherwise
where ∆t = interval of rainfall data
c. Compare total rainfall excess with direct runoff. If rainfall excess (Re) is not same as direct runoff (Q),
take another value of φ.
Re>Q, increase φ
Re<Q, decrease φ
d. Repeat steps b-c until Re=Q.
2. W-index

A w-index is defined as average rate of infiltration during the time rainfall intensity exceeds the
infiltration capacity. This index is considered as an improvement over φ index in the sense that initial
losses (interception and surface storage) are considered.
𝑃 − 𝑅 − 𝐼𝑎
𝑊=
𝑡𝑒
P = total storm precipitation
R = Total storm runoff
Ia = Initial losses
te = duration of the excess rainfall (time during which rainfall rate exceeds infiltration rate)
W =average rate of infiltration

For Ia = 0 (long and heavy storms) φ index = W index

Determination of Ia is difficult. So Wmin index is used instead of W-index when the soil condition is very
wet so that the soil infiltration rate is almost constant and infiltration is at the minimum rate for the basin.
φ index and W index depends on soil type, vegetal cover, initial moisture condition, and storm duration
and intensity.

Determination of W index
Prepare the rainfall data by deducting the initial loss from the first pulse of rainfall and then follow the
same procedure as that of φ index.

3.4.4 Measurement of infiltration

1. Ring infiltrometer

Ring infiltrometer is a metal ring that is driven into the soil. There are two types of infiltrometers:

a. Single tube infiltrometer: It is a hollow metal cylinder of 60cm long and 30 cm in diameter. Water is
placed inside the ring and the level of water is recorded at regular time intervals as it recedes. This data is
used to prepare cumulative infiltration curve, from which infiltration capacity as a function of time may
be calculated.

Fig. 3.10: Simple infiltrometer

b. Double tube infiltrometer: It consists of two concentric hollow cylinders of same length. Water is
added to both rings to maintain the same height. The infiltration data from the inner cylinder is taken as
infiltration capacity of the soil. The outer cylinder is maintained to prevent spreading of water from the
inner one.

Ground
 Fig.3.10: Double tube infiltrometer

2. Rainfall simulator

A rainfall simulator consists of a sprinkler with nozzles capable of producing artificial rain of various
intensities, drop sizes and durations. A field plot of about 2mx4m is selected on which the nozzles spray
water at a height of 2 m or more to the field. Arrangement is made to collect and measure the runoff from
the plot. Experiments are conducted under controlled conditions with various combinations of intensities
and durations. Using the water budget equation, infiltration rate is estimated.
Fd = Pd –Srd-Sol
Fd = Depth of infiltrated water, Pd = Simulated rainfall depth, Srd = Surface runoff depth, Sol = other
losses, e.g. depression storage, detention, abstraction
 Chapter 4:Surface runoff
Dr. K. N. Dulal
4.1 Characteristics of drainage basin
Drainage basin/watershed/catchment
Basin area (A): area of land draining into a particular location of a stream

For delineating basin, we need topo map. The map shows changes in elevation by using contour lines.
Features of contour
 Uphill: contour with higher elevation
 Hill: circular contour, ridge: highest point
 Saddle: mountain pass
 Valley: V or U shaped with the point of the V/U being the upstream end
 Close together contours: steep slope
 Widely spaced contour: level ground

Basin delineation procedure on topo map

 Mark the outlet point
 Mark the highest point (ridge line: catchment divider) around the river
 Start from the outlet and draw line perpendicular to the contours in such a way that the line
passes from the highest point (ridge)
 Continue to the opposite side of the watercourse, finally ending to the outlet.

Relation of watershed discharge Q with basin area A: Q =xAy

Stream order
 measure of amount of branching within a stream
Stream order assigning procedure
 The smallest recognizable channels are designated order 1. (non-branching tributary)
 Where two channels of order 1 join, a channel of order 2 results downstream (receiving flow from
1st order). In general, where two channels of order i join, a channel of order i+1 results.
 Where a channel of lower order joins a channel of higher order, the channel downstream retains
higher of the two orders.
 Order of the basin: order of the stream draining at outlet = highest order in the basin

1 1
1 1
2
1
2 2

1
3

3
Example of stream order
Variables based on stream ordering
Bifurcation ratio (RB): ratio of the number Ni, of channels of order i to the number Ni+1 of channels of
order i+1
RB = Ni/Ni+1
RB: relatively constant from one order to another
Length ratio (RL): ratio of average length of streams of order i+1 to that of order i
RL = Li+1/Li
Area ratio (RA): ratio of average area drained by streams of order i+1 to that of order i
RA = Ai+1/Ai
Drainage density (Dd): ratio of total length of all streams of the basin to its area
Dd= Ls/A
 Indication of drainage efficiency
 Higher Dd, quicker runoff, less infiltration and other losses
Length of overland flow = 1/(2 Dd)
Length area relationship (Horton's formula): L = 1.4 A 0.6 where A- mile2 (Useful for large rivers
of the world), L -mile
Stream density (Ds): ratio of number of streams of given order per sq. km.
Ds = Ns/A

Shape of the basin

Shape of the basin governs the rate at which water enters the stream. The shape of basin is expressed by
form factor.
Form factor = average width of basin (B)/axial length of basin (L) = A/L2
Shape factor (Bs): ratio of square of basin length (L) to its area (A), Bs = L2/A

Slope of the Channel

Slope of channel affects the velocity and flow carrying capacity at any given location at its course.
Slope = elevation difference between 2 points of a channel(h)/horizontal length between points (L)

Centroid of basin
Location of point of weighted center

Hydraulic geometry
It includes the character of channel, longitudinal variation of mean depth, width and velocity at a
particular cross-section.

Stream pattern
a) Meandering types - Formation of successive bends of reverse order leading to the formation
of a complete S curve called meander.

b) Braided - Formation of branches separated by islands

 c) Straight - Straight and single channel.

Flood plains
The flood plains of a river are the valley floor adjacent to the channel, which may be inundated during
high stage of river. Flood plains are formed due to the deposition of sediment in the river channel and
deposition of fine sediments on the flood plains on flooding.

4.2 Factors affecting runoff

Physiographic factors Climatic factors
1. Basin characteristics 1. Strom characteristics
a. Shape Precipitation: duration,
b. Size intensity and magnitude
c. Slope Movement of storm
d. Nature of valley
e. Elevation 2. Initial loss
f. Drainage density
3. Evapotranspiration
2. Infiltration characteristics
a. land use and cover
b. soil type and geological conditions
c. lakes, swamps and other storage

3. Channel characteristics: cross-section,

roughness and storage capacity

Shape
 Time taken for the water to reach to outlet from remote part depends upon the shape of basin.
 Fan shaped: Greater runoff (same size tributaries, almost similar time of concentration)
 Elongated: broad and low peak (distributed over time)
 Peak flow proportional to square root of drainage area
Size
 Small basin: overland flow predominant
 Large basins: channel flow predominant, constant minimum flow than small basins

Slope
 Slope: control velocity of flow
 Related to overland flow, infiltration capacity and time of concentration of rainfall in streams
 Large stream slope: quicker depletion of storage
 Steeper slope for small basin: higher peak

Elevation
 Affects mean runoff (effect of evaporation and precipitation and effect of snow)

Drainage density
 Drainage density = total channel length/total drainage area
 High density: fast response
  Low density: slow response

Land use
 Vegetal cover: reduce peak flow
 Barren land: high runoff

Soil
 Type of soil and subsoil and their permeability conditions
 Geology: Controls infiltration

Storage: reduce runoff

Lakes: reduce flood

Rainfall intensity: increase in runoff with increase in intensity

Rainfall duration: controls volume of runoff
Rainfall distribution: maximum runoff occurs when entire catchment contributes to runoff.
Direction of the storm movement: affects peak flow and time of duration of runoff, up to down: high
runoff, down to up: low runoff
Evapotranspiration: inversely proportional to runoff

Rainfall runoff relationship

Correlation: degree of association between variables.

The relationship between rainfall and runoff is complex due to a number of factors. Therefore, simple
method like correlating runoff with rainfall is used in practice.

a. Linear
Equation for straight line regression
R = aP + b
where R = Runoff
P = Rainfall
a, b: constants

Coefficients by regression
𝑁(∑ 𝑃𝑅) − (∑ 𝑃)(∑ 𝑅)
𝑎=
𝑁(∑ 𝑃2 ) − (∑ 𝑃)2
∑𝑅 − 𝑎∑𝑃
𝑏=
𝑁
N = number of observations
Coefficient of correlation
𝑁(∑ 𝑃𝑅) − (∑ 𝑃)(∑ 𝑅)
𝑅=
√[𝑁(∑ 𝑃2 ) − (∑ 𝑃)2 ][𝑁(∑ 𝑅 2 ) − (∑ 𝑅)2 ]

b. Exponential
For large catchments, exponential relationship can be developed
𝑅 = 𝛽𝑃𝑚
𝛽, m: coefficients
Taking log for linearization
 𝑙𝑛𝑅 = 𝑚𝑙𝑛𝑃 + 𝑙𝑛𝛽
With R = lnR, a = m, P = lnP, b = ln 𝛽, above equation reduces to the one same as before.
4.3Stream gauging
Streamflow
 That part of precipitation which appears in a stream as surface runoff.

Discharge
 Volume of water flowing through a channel cross section per unit time.

Hydrometry: science of measurement of water

Stage or gauge height

 The elevation of water surface at a location in any water body above a reference datum.
Water body: River, lake, canal, reservoir

Stream gauging station

Stream gauging station is defined as the location at which the river discharges are recorded and the
discharge measurements are carried out.
Purpose of stream gauging: to provide systematic records of stage and discharge

Factors to be considered for the selection of site for stream gauging

 Easily accessible
 Stable and fairly straight river reach about 100m u/s and d/s
 Stable and regular channel bed
 Free from backwater effects
 Regular cross section
 No excessive turbulence and eddies
 No excessive vegetal or aquatic growth
 Velocities: neither too high nor too low, generally in the order of 0.1-5m/s

4.4Stage measurement
1. Manual or non-recording gauge

Manual gauge is read and recorded by observer/gauge reader once, twice, thrice daily or more. It does not
provide continuous record of stage. It is cheaper and easier to install.

Staff gauge
Staff gauge is the most common and simplest form of manual gauge. It consists of a graduated plate fixed
in the stream or on the bank of river or on a structure e.g. bridge abutment or pier. The level of water
surface in contact with the gauge is measured by matching the reading of the staff and adding with
reference datum level.
It is of three types
 Vertical: one vertical gauge
 Sectional: more than one gauges at different locations
 Inclined
 Staff gauge
water
level

Fig. 4.1: Staff gauge

2. Recording gauge or automatic gauge

Recording gauge records continuous stage of a river over time.

Two common automatic gauges

a. Float gauge

A float is connected to one end of a wire which passes through a recorder, and the other end of a rope is
balanced by a suitable counterweight. Displacement of float due to rising or lowering of water level
causes an angular displacement of pulley and hence of the input shaft of the recorder. Mechanical
linkages convert this angular displacement to the linear displacement of a pen to record over a drum
driven by clockwork. The float gauge is protected by installing a stilling well.

Recorder
Weight

Float
Water level

Intake Staff gauge

pipes

Intake well

Fig. 4.2: Arrangement of float gauge

b. Bubble gauge

Bubble gauge consists of small tube placed at the lowest water level through which compressed air
(usually CO2 or N2 gas) is continuously bubbled out. The pressure required to continuously push the gas
stream out beneath the water surface is a measure of depth of water over the nozzle of the bubble stream.
This pressure is measured by a manometer in the recorder house.
 Recorder house

Gas pipe
Water level

River bed
Fig. 4.3: Arrangement of bubble gauge recorder

4.5Discharge measurement using velocity-area method

Velocity area method

This involves the measurement of velocity at the gauging site and the corresponding discharge to obtain
river discharge. The velocity is zero at the periphery and changes rapidly as we move from the bank. So a
single area-velocity measurement for the entire cross-section will give highly erroneous results.
Therefore, the cross-section of a river is divided into a number of subsections by imaginary verticals.

Criteria for selection of verticals

 Each vertical should not pass more than 10% of total discharge
 Width of each subsection = 5% of total width of river
 Difference of velocities in adjacent segments: not more than 20%
 Discharge variation between adjacent subsections: between 5% to 10%

For computation of area, the depth of flow is determined by following methods:

 Wading or sounding rod: If the river be crossed, a wading rod is used to measure the depth of
flow. A man walks across the river section with a graduated wading rod to measure water depth.
 Cableway: For deep rivers, cableway is constructed to measure depth and velocity. The lower end
of a cable attached to a current meter with a sounding weight is lowered from cablecar. By
measuring the length of cable lowered, the depth of flow is measured while velocity is recorded
simultaneously by current meter.
 Echo-sounder: In this method, high frequency sound wave is sent down by transducer kept
immersed at the water surface and the echo reflected by the bed is also picked up by the same
transducer. By comparing the time interval between the transmission of the signal and the receipt
of its echo, the distance to the bed is obtained. This method is useful for high velocity streams,
deep streams and mobile or soft bed streams.

Velocity is measured by current meter or floats.

Measurement procedure
 Divide the cross-section of the river into n number of verticals.
 At each vertical, measure the horizontal distance from the reference bank, the depth of water and
the velocity at one or more points.
 Compute width, cross-sectional area and average velocity to get discharge at each sub-section.
Computation of average velocity in a vertical
 One point method: for depth<1.0 m
Vav = V0.6d
 Two point method:
Vav = 0.5(V0.2d+V0.8d)
d = depth from water surface

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Fig. 4.4: section for area-velocity method

Computation of discharge

I. Mid section method: widely used

In this method, half width to the left and half width to the right of a vertical is taken as width for a sub-
section.
For section 2 to n-1
1
Width (Wavi) = 2 (𝑊𝑖 + 𝑊𝑖+1 )
Wi = Width of section i and Wi+1 = width of section i+1
For first and last triangular sections
𝑊2 2
(𝑊1 + )
2
𝑊𝑎𝑣1 =
2𝑊1
𝑊𝑛−1 2
(𝑊𝑛 + 2
)
𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑛 =
2𝑊𝑛
1
(Alternative way: Width (Wavi) = (𝑊𝑖 + 𝑊𝑖+1 ) can be used from section 1 to n.)
2

Cross-section area (Ai) = wavi.di

Wheredi = Depth of section i

Discharge at each subsection (Qi) = AiVavi

Total discharge = ∑ 𝑄𝑖

II. Mean section method

Cross-section area
𝑑𝑖 + 𝑑𝑖+1
𝐴𝑖 = ( ) 𝑏𝑖
2
Discharge at each subsection
𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑖 + 𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑖+1
𝑄𝑖 = 𝐴𝑖 ( )
2
Total discharge = ∑ 𝑄𝑖

Moving boat method for discharge measurement in a deep river

Vb= Velocity of boat at right angle to the stream

Vf = Flow velocity
Vr = Resultant velocity
θ = angle made by resultant velocity with the direction of boat
∆t = time of transit between two verticals
Convert surface velocity to average velocity. (Vav = 0.85xVsurface)

Vb VR
θ
Flow
yi+1 Vf

Boat

Fig. 4.5: Moving boat method

𝑉𝑏 = 𝑉𝑅 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝜃 and 𝑉𝑓 = 𝑉𝑅 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝜃

Discharge in each segment
𝑦𝑖+ 𝑦𝑖+1
∆𝑄𝑖 = ( ) 𝑊𝑖 𝑉𝑓
2
Where 𝑤𝑖 = 𝑉𝑏 ∆𝑡
Total discharge = ∑ ∆𝑄𝑖

4.6Velocity measurement by current meter

1. Current meter

Current meter is the most commonly used instruments for measuring stream velocity. It consists of a
rotating element which rotates due to the reaction of stream current with an angular velocity proportional
to the stream velocity. It is weighted down by lead weight called sounding weight to keep in stable
position in flowing water.

Types of current meter

a. Vertical axis meter

It consists of a series of conical cups mounted around a vertical axis. The cups rotate in horizontal plane.
The revolutions of cup assembly for a certain time is recorded and converted to stream velocity. The
normal range of velocity measured by such current meter is 0.15m/s to 4m/s. This type of current meter
cannot be used if the vertical component of the velocity is significant.

Electrical
connection

Stabilizing fin
Cup assembly

Sounding
weight

Fig. 4.6: Vertical axis current meter

b. Horizontal axis meter

It consists of a propeller mounted at the end of horizontal shaft.The revolutions of propeller for a certain
time is recorded and converted to stream velocity. The current meter can measure velocity from 0.15m/s
to 4m/s. This type of current meter is fairly rugged and is not affected by oblique flows of as much as 150.

Electrical Stabilizing fin

connection

Propeller
Sounding
weight

Fig.4.7: Horizontal axis current meter

Relationship between current meter rotation speed and stream velocity

A current meter is so designed that its speed of rotation varies linearly with stream velocity (V). The
relationship is
V = a Ns + b
where V= stream velocity (m/s)
Ns = revolutions per second of current meter
a, b = constants

Calibration of current meter

Determination of constants a and b is known ascalibration of current meter.

Current meters are calibrated in ponds or long channels where water is held stationery. A vehicle with
cantilever arm projection to the channel helps to lower and move the current meter in the pond water. For
each run, the current meter is moved at a predetermined speed (v) and the number of revolutions of the
meter (Ns) are counted. This experiment is repeated over a complete range of velocities and a best fit
linear relation is developed.

4.5 Discharge measurement byfloats

Floats are used to measure velocity for a small stream in flood, small stream with rapidly changing water
surface and for preliminary analysis.

𝐿
𝑉𝑠 =
𝑡
Vs = surface velocity
L = Distance travelled
t = time taken to travel the float

Discharge = Vav x A
Vav = average velocity = 0.85 to 0.95 times surface velocity
A = cross-sectional area

Types of floats
 Surface float: a simple float moving on stream surface, wooden or metallic object, leaf, orange
 Subsurface float: two floats tied together by thin cord, one float submerged
 Rod float: cylindrical rod partly submerged

Method
 Select straight reach free from current and eddies.
 Measure distance between upstream and downstream section.
 Divide the cross-section into a number of subsections.
 For each subsection, release float at an upstream section and note the time taken by float to reach
downstream section. Find average velocity of different sections and compute discharge.

4.7Slope area method

This is indirect method of discharge measurement. In this method, Manning’s equationand Bernoulli’s
equation are used to estimate the discharge for high floods based on previous flood marks. Two sections
along a river reach are selected. The cross-sectional area of each section and the longitudinal profile
between the sections is measured.

1 2

he
V12/2g
hf
Energy line
V22/2g
y1
Water surface
y2

L
Z1
Z2 Channel bottom

Datum

Fig. 4.8: Slope-area method

By using Bernoulli’s equation for sections 1 and 2

𝑉1 2 𝑉2 2
𝑍1 + 𝑦1 + = 𝑍2 + 𝑦2 + + ℎ𝐿
2𝑔 2𝑔
Z1, Z2 : Datum headat sections1 and 2
y1, y2 : water depthat sections1 and 2
V1, V2: velocities at sections1 and 2
hL = Head loss
hL = h f + h e
hf = Frictional loss
he = eddy loss

Denoting Z + y = h = water surface elevation above the datum

𝑉1 2 𝑉2 2
ℎ1 + = ℎ2 + + ℎ𝑓 + ℎ𝑒
2𝑔 2𝑔
𝑉2
1 𝑉2 2
ℎ𝑓 = (ℎ1 − ℎ2 ) + ( 2𝑔 − 2𝑔
)− ℎ𝑒 (a)

From Manning’s equation,

1 1/2
𝑄= 𝐴𝑅 2/3 𝑆𝑓
𝑛
Q =Discharge
n = Roughness coefficient
A = Cross-sectional area
R = Hydraulic radius = A/P where P = wetted perimeter
Sf= Slope of energy line between two points
In other form, Manning’s equation is expressed as
𝑄 = 𝐾√𝑆𝑓 (b)
𝐴𝑅2/3
K = Conveyance of channel = 𝑛
ℎ𝑓
𝑆𝑓 =
𝐿
For two sections, average conveyance is
𝐾 = √𝐾1𝐾2(c)
𝐴1𝑅12/3 𝐴2𝑅22/3
Where 𝐾1 = 𝑛1 and 𝐾2 = 𝑛2
Eddy loss is given by
𝑉21 𝑉2 2
ℎ𝑒 = 𝐾𝑒 | 2𝑔 − 2𝑔
|whereKe = Eddy loss coefficient

Procedure to compute peak discharge by using slope-area method

1. Compute cross-sectional area, wetted perimeter, hydraulic radius, K1and K2 at section 1 and 2.
Compute K using 𝐾 = √𝐾1𝐾2.
2. For first iteration, assume V1 = V2. This leads to hf = h1- h2 = Fall in water surface between two
sections. So take hf = h1- h2.
3. Calculate Q using eq.𝑄 = 𝐾 √𝑆𝑓 = 𝐾 √ℎ𝑓 /𝐿.
4. Compute V1(= Q/A1) and V2(= Q/A2).
1𝑉2 𝑉2 2
5. Now calculate a refined value of hf by using eq.(ℎ𝑓 )𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 = (ℎ1 − ℎ2 ) + ( 2𝑔 − 2𝑔
) − ℎ𝑒 .
6. Take refined value of hf for next iteration and repeat steps 3 to 5until the difference between two
successive values of hfis negligible.
7. Compute Q using final value of hf.

Recommended criteria
 Distance between two sections = 75 times flood depth
 Fall in water head>15 cm
 Straight and uniform reach
 Quality of high-water marks should be good.

Difference between slope-area and velocity area method

I. Velocity-Area method is a direct method for discharge measurement, whereas slope area method is an
indirect method of discharge measurement
II. In velocity-Area method, measurement is performed across a cross-section. The cross-section of a river
is divided into a number of subsections by imaginary verticals. The depth of flow and velocity is
measured at each vertical.
In slope area method, two sections along a river reach are selected. The cross-sectional area of each
section and the longitudinal profile of high flood line between the sections is measured.
III. In velocity-Area method, velocity is measured by current meter or floats. In slope area method,
velocity is computed from the concept of Hydraulics.
IV. Invelocity-Area method, the segmental discharge is obtained by multiplying segmental area and mean
velocity, and the total discharge is obtained by summing the segmental discharge.
In slope area method, the computation of discharge is based on Manning’s equation and Bernoulli’s
equation.
V. No trial and error is needed in velocity area method, whereas hf is obtained by trial and error approach
in slope area method.
4.8Flow measuring structures
These structures produce unique control section in the flow. For such structures,
Q =f(H)
Q= discharge
H = Water surface elevation measured from a specified datum
Free flow: flow independent of downstream water level
Submerged or drowned flow: flow affected by downstream water level

Various structures
a. Thin plate structures: made of metal plate, e.g. V-notch, rectangular notch
b. Long base weirs (Broad-crested): made of concrete or masonry
c. Flume: Channel having constriction

Formula
2
Rectangular notch: 𝑄 = 3 𝐶𝑑√2𝑔. 𝐿𝐻1.5
8 𝜃
V-notch: 𝑄 = 15 𝐶𝑑 √2𝑔𝑇𝑎𝑛 2 𝐻 5/2
Broad-crested weir: 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑑 𝐿ℎ√2𝑔(𝐻 − ℎ) and 𝑄𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 1.705𝐶𝑑 𝐿𝐻 3/2

4.9Rating Curve (Stage-discharge relationship)

The relationship between discharge (Q) and stage (H) is known as rating curve. Continuous measurement
of discharge is not feasible as it is costly and time consuming. So, discharge data with corresponding
stage is collected from time to time as sample data, and a relation between stage and discharge (rating
curve) is prepared from the sample data. As it is easy and inexpensive, stage is measured continuously.
The rating curve is used to convert the measured stage into discharge. In this way, the continuous
discharge value is obtained.

H
Fig. 4.9: Rating curve

Equation of rating curve or stage-discharge relation is expressed in following exponential form.

𝑄 = 𝑎(𝐻 − 𝐻0 )𝑏
Q = Discharge
a, b = Constants
H = Stage
H0 = Stage for zero flow
Converting this equation to logarithmic form gives simple linear equation, which is then easy to use for
further analysis.
𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑄 = 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝐻 − 𝐻0 ) + 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑎
Or, Y=bX+c
Y =logQ, X = log(H-H0)
The rating curve remains valid so long as the condition at a site remains stable.

Determination of parameters of rating curve

Determination of H0
1. Graphical approach
a. Plot H and Q on a plain graph and draw best fit curve. Extrapolate the curve backwards to touch
ordinate axis where Q =0. Take H corresponding to Q = 0 as H0. Plot Q and H-Ho in log scale and check
whether the plot is straight line. If not, take another value of H0 close to it and repeat the procedure until
straight line plot is obtained.
b. Plot Q vsH to an arithmetic scale and fit the smooth curve. Select three points on the curve such that
their discharges are in geometric progression.
i.e.𝑄2 = √𝑄1𝑄3
Note H1, H2 and H3corresponding to Q1, Q2 and Q3. Compute H0 by
𝐻1𝐻3 − 𝐻22
𝐻0 =
𝐻1 + 𝐻3 − 2𝐻2
c. Plot Q vsHto an arithmetic scale and fit the smooth curve. Select three points A, B, and C on the curve
such that their discharges are in geometric progression.Draw vertical lines at A and B and horizontal lines
at B and C. Then two straight lines ED and BA are drawn to intersect at F as show in figure. The ordinate
of F is required value of H0.

D
C
E
B
A

F
Q

2. Determine a, b and H0simultaneously by least square optimization method.

Value of a and b from regression

𝑁(∑ 𝑋𝑌) − (∑ 𝑋)(∑ 𝑌)
𝑏=
𝑁(∑ 𝑋 2 ) − (∑ 𝑋)2
∑ 𝑌 − 𝑏(∑ 𝑋)
𝑐=
𝑁
a =10c
Coefficient of correlation
 𝑁(∑ 𝑋𝑌) − (∑ 𝑋)(∑ 𝑌)
𝑟=
√𝑁(∑ 𝑋 2 ) − (∑ 𝑋)2 √𝑁(∑ 𝑌 2 ) − (∑ 𝑌)2

Methods for extension of rating curve

a. Extension based on Logarithmic plotting of rating curve or using the rating equation
b. Velocity area method: Extend stage-velocity and stage-area curve.
c. Conveyance slope method based on Manning equation:
Flood marks in the river course provides water surface slope of the peak.
1
𝑄 = 𝐴𝑅 2/3 𝑆1/2 = 𝐾√𝑆
𝑛
𝐴𝑅2/3
K = Conveyance of channel = 𝑛

 For different stages, compute K.

𝑄2
 Compute Sfor different stagesby using 𝑆 = 𝐾2 from available Q-h data.
 Plot and extend stage-conveyance(K) and stage-slope (S) curve. For different stage, take K and S
from the two curves and compute Q as 𝐾√𝑆.

Assumptions: For higher stages, the slope remains constant

Control
Control is combined effect of channel and flow parameters, which govern the stage-discharge
relationship.

If the rating curve does not change with time, the control is called permanent control. In other words, the
station with permanent control has single valued rating curve.
If the rating curve changes with time, it is called shifting control.

Shifting controls
 Vegetation growth, dredging or channel encroachment: no unique rating curve
 Aggradation or degradation in alluvial channel: no unique rating curve
 Variable backwater effect: same stage indicating different discharges
 Unsteady flow effects of rapidly changing stage: for the same stage, low discharge during rising
and high discharge during falling (looped rating)

Correction for backwater effect: To take into account the backwater effect, secondary gauge is installed at
some distance downstream of gauging site and the readings of both gauges are taken. Then, the fall of
water surface in the reach is computed. The relationship for actual discharge (Q) is given by
𝑄 𝐹 𝑚
=( )
𝑄0 𝐹0
Q0 = Normalized discharge at the given stage when fall = F0, when the stage in the river is same in both
cases
F = Actual fall
m = exponent ≈0.5
Unsteady flow correction: Correction has to be applied in case of unsteady flow due to flood wave. The
actual discharge (Q) under unsteady condition is given by
1 𝑑ℎ
𝑄 = 𝑄0 √1 +
𝑉𝑤 𝑆0 𝑑𝑡
Q0 = discharge under steady flow conditions
Vw = Velocity of flood wave
S0 = Bed slope of river
dh/dt = rate of change of stage

4.10 Estimating mean monthly flow for ungauged basin of Nepal

a. Medium irrigation project (MIP) Method

The MIP method presents a technique for estimating the distribution of monthly flows throughout a year
for ungauged locations. For application to ungauged sites, it is necessary to obtain one flow measurement
in the low flow period from November to April.
 In the MIP Method, Nepal has been divided hydrologically into seven zones. Once the catchment
area of the scheme, one flow measurement in the low flow period and the hydrological zone is
identified, long-term average monthly flows can be determined by multiplying the unit
hydrograph (of the concerned region) with the measured catchment area.
 Hydrological zone can be identified based on the location of the scheme in the hydrologically
zoned map of Nepal.
 For catchment areas less than 100 km2, MIP method is used for better results.

If the measured date is on 15th of the particular month, the coefficient given in the table is directly used.
For other date of measurement, coefficient for that date is found by interpolation.

1
𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 = 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ
Monthly flow = April flow x Monthly coefficient

MIP non-dimensional regional hydrographs (Coefficient)

Month Region
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
May 2.60 1.21 1.88 2.19 0.91 2.57 3.50
Jun 6.00 7.27 3.13 3.75 2.73 6.08 6.00
Jul 14.50 18.18 13.54 6.89 11.21 24.32 14.00
Aug 25.00 27.27 25.00 27.27 13.94 33.78 35.00
Sep 16.50 20.19 20.83 20.91 10.00 27.03 24.00
Oct 8.00 9.09 10.42 6.89 6.52 6.08 12.00
Nov 4.10 3.94 5.00 5.00 4.55 3.38 7.50
Dec 3.10 3.03 3.75 3.44 3.33 2.57 5.00
Jan 2.40 2.24 2.71 2.59 2.42 2.03 3.30
 Feb 1.80 1.70 1.88 1.88 1.82 1.62 2.20
Mar 1.30 1.33 1.38 1.38 1.36 1.27 1.40
Apr 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Note: all values for mid month
Hydrological regions of Nepal for MIP method
b. WECS/DHM (Hydest) Method

It is developed for predicting river flows for catchment areas larger than 100 km2 of ungauged rivers
based on hydrological theories, empirical equations and statistics. For long term average monthly flows,
all areas below 5000m are assumed to contribute flows equally per km2 area.
The average monthly flows can be calculated by the equation:
Qmean,(month) = C x (Area of Basin)A1 x (Area below 5000m +1)A2 x (Mean
Monsoon precipitation)A3.
Where Qmean(month) is the mean flow for a particular month in m3/s, C, A1, A2 and A3 are
coefficients of the different months.
The catchment area can be calculated from the topographical maps (maps that show contours) once the
intake location is identified.

The input data required in the equation are total basin area (km2), basin area below 5000m (km2) and the
average monsoon precipitation (km2) estimated from isohyetal map.

Values of coefficients for WECS/DHM method

Month C A1 A2 A3
Jan 0.01423 0 0.9777 0
Feb 0.01219 0 0.9766 0
Mar 0.009988 0 0.9948 0
Apr 0.007974 0 1.0435 0
May 0.008434 0 1.0898 0
Jun 0.006943 0.9968 0 0.2610
Jul 0.02123 0 1.0093 0.2523
Aug 0.02548 0 0.9963 0.2620
Sep 0.01677 0 0.9894 0.2878
Oct 0.009724 0 0.9880 0.2508
Nov 0.001760 0.9605 0 0.3910
Dec 0.001485 0.9536 0 0.3607

c. Catchment Area Ratio Method (CAR Method)

If the two catchments are hydrologically similar, then the extension of hydrological data for proposed site
under study could be done simply by multiplying the available long term data at hydrologically similar
catchments (HSC) with ratio of catchment areas of base (proposed site under study) and index (HSC)
stations.
𝐴𝑏
𝑄𝑏 = 𝑄𝑖
𝐴𝑖
Where, Q = discharge in m3/s, A = drainage area in sq.km
Suffix 'b' stands for base station and i stands for index station.
This method is useful if the hydro-meteorological data of the index station having similar catchment
characteristics with the base station are available for the data extension.
 Chapter 5: Hydrograph analysis
Dr. K.N. Dulal

5.1 Hydrograph

Hydrograph is a graphical plot of discharge (Q) of a river at a given location over time. It is the output or
total response of a basin.

Components of hydrograph
Q
Peak

Rising limb Recession limb

t
Hydrograph

1. Rising limb
It is ascending portion of hydrograph. It is influenced by storm and basin characteristics. The rising limb
rises slowly in the early stage of flood but more rapidly towards the end portion. This is because in the
initial stage the losses are high. The flow begins to build up in the channel as the storm duration
increases. It gradually reaches the peak when maximum area contributes.

2. Peak or crest segment

It is the part which contains peak flow, which is of interest to hydrologists. Peak of hydrograph occurs
when all portions of basins contribute at the outlet simultaneously at the maximum rate. Depending
upon the rainfall-basin characteristics, the peak may be sharp, flat or may have several well defined
peaks.

3. Recession limb

Recession limb represents withdrawal of water from the storage built up in the basin during the earlier
phase of the hydrograph. It extends from the point of inflection at the end of the crest to the beginning
of natural groundwater flow. The recession limb is affected by basin characteristics only and
independent of the storm.

Equation for recession curve

𝑄𝑡 = 𝑄0 𝐾𝑟𝑡
Q0: initial discharge
Qt: discharge at a time interval of t days
Kr: recession constant

Alternative form
 𝑄𝑡 = 𝑄0 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡
Where a = -lnKr

Terms
Time to peak: time lapse between starting of the rising limb to the peak
Time lag: time interval between centre of mass of rainfall hyetograph to the centre of mass of runoff
hydrograph.
Time of concentration: time taken by a drop of water to travel from the remotest part to the outlet
Time base of hydrograph: time between starting of runoff hydrograph to the end of direct runoff due to
storm.

5.2 Direct runoff and base flow

Direct runoff
It is the part of precipitation which appears quickly as flow in the river. (direct runoff = surface
+subsurface)

Base flow
The part of runoff which receives water from the groundwater storage is called base flow.

Base flow separation Q

N

Pt. of inflection

Method 3

Method 1

Method 2

Base flow separation methods

1. Straight line method

Join the beginning of surface runoff to a point on the recession limb representing the end of direct
runoff.
End point: by expert judgment or empirical equation
Empirical equation to find end of direct runoff
N = 0.83 A0.2
N = time interval from the peak to the end of direct runoff
A = Basin area
2. Extend the base flow curve prior to the commencement of surface runoff till it intersects the ordinate
drawn at the peak point. Join this point to the end point of direct runoff

3. Extend the base flow recession curve backwards after the depletion of flood water till it intersects the
ordinate at the point of inflection. Join this point to the beginning of the surface runoff by smooth curve.

Direct runoff hydrograph: the surface runoff hydrograph obtained after separating base flow

Types of stream
 Perennial: always carry flow
 Intermittent: limited contribution from groundwater
 Ephemeral: no base flow

Yield: total quantity of water that can be expected from a stream in a given period.

5.3 Unit Hydrograph

A unit hydrograph (UH) of a basin is defined as a direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) resulting from one unit
depth of rainfall excess generated uniformly over the basin at a constant rate for an effective duration
(D). The term unit refers to a unit depth of rainfall excess which is 1cm in SI unit and 1 inch in FPS unit.
(Rainfall excess/effective rainfall = rainfall-loss)

Rainfall excess of
1cm for D hour

UH

Duration of unit hydrograph (D-hour UH): duration of rainfall excess

Assumptions
 Constant intensity of excess rainfall within the effective
 Uniform distribution of excess rainfall over the basin
 Constant base time of the DRH for excess rainfall of given duration
 Linear model: principle of superposition and proportionality holds
 Principle of time invariance holds
-Given excess rainfall will always produce the same DRH whatever may be the season of the
year (unchanging basin characteristics)

Principles applied in UH

I. Linearity principles
Linear relationship means output varies linearly with input. This principle is expressed by convolution
theorem.
If 𝐼(𝜏) is intensity of input at time 𝜏 and 𝑢(𝑡 − 𝜏) is the unit response after time t, then total response is
𝑡
given by 𝑄(𝑡) = ∫0 𝐼(𝜏) 𝑢(𝑡 − 𝜏)𝑑𝜏. This is convolution integral.
There are two principles of linearity.
a. Principle of proportionality: If a solution y is multiplied by a constant c, the resulting function cy is also
a solution.
re = excess rainfall, UH = Unit hydrograph (solution)
Output (DRH) = re*UH
b. Principle of superposition: If two solutions y1 and y2 of the equation are added, the resulting function
y1+y2 is also a solution of the equation.
re1, re1 = excess rainfall at t hr interval, UH = Unit hydrograph (solution)
Output (DRH) = (re1*UH)+ (re2*UH lagged by t hr)

II. Principle of time invariance: Given excess rainfall will always produce the same DRH whatever may be
the season of the year (unchanging basin characteristics)

Features
 Rainfall excess (re) =1cm, runoff depth (rd) = 1cm
Continuity: Total depth of rainfall excess = total depth of direct runoff
 Runoff volume (Vd) = Basin area(A) x rd = Ax1cm
 Rainfall intensity: 1/D in cm/h
 Lumped response: catchment as a single unit
 Initial loss absorbed by basin, no effect of antecedent storm condition

Applications of UH
 Computation of flood hydrograph for the design of hydraulic structures
 Extension of flow records at a site
 Flood forecasting
 Comparing the basin characteristics

Limitations of UH
 Minimum basin size> 2km2, Maximum basin size up to 5000 km2
 Not suitable for very long basins
 Applicable for short duration
 Not very suitable for basins having large snow cover
 UH is not applicable for basins having large storages
 UH is not applicable for basins having high variation of rainfall intensity.

5.4 Derivation of unit hydrograph

Selection criteria for flood hydrograph

 Selection of isolated storms occurring individually
 Fairly uniform rainfall over the entire basin
 Duration of rainfall: 1/5 to 1/3 of basin lag
 Range of rainfall excess: 1 to 4 cm

1. Derivation of UH for single storm

Given: streamflow data (Q) and basin area (A)
Single storm: all of the rainfall excess occurs at a reasonably uniform rate over a fairly short time period
 Separate baseflow (BF).
 DRH=Q-BF
 Volume of DRH (Vd) = ∑ 𝐷𝑅𝐻 ∗ ∆𝑡
 Runoff depth (rd) = Vd/A
 UH= DRH/rd
Effective duration of UH = Duration of excess rainfall.
Check whether total depth of runoff = total rainfall excess

2. Derivation of UH for multiple storms

Multiple storms: relatively long and varying intensities if rainfall
Storms: divided into number of equal periods and fairly constant rate of rainfall for each period
Duration of UH = Duration of period of each storm

De-convolution method
Given: DRH data and rainfall excess data
(If DRH is not given, compute base flow and compute DRH by subtracting baseflow from streamflow
data)
Convolution Equation in discrete form
𝑄𝑛 = ∑𝑛≤𝑚𝑚=1 𝑃𝑚 𝑈𝑛−𝑚+1
n = number of runoff ordinates
m = number of periods of rainfall excess
Qn = Direct runoff
Pm= Excess rainfall
Un-m+1 = UH ordinate

Use above equation for computing ordinate of UH with excess rainfall and direct runoff data.
For complex multi-peaked hydrograph: solution of above equation by least square regression.

5.5 Computation of runoff from given UH

1. Single storm
 DRH =UH * rainfall excess.
 Total runoff=DRH+BF

2. Multiple storms
 Given: UH and effective rainfall for multiple durations
Use principle of proportionality and superposition
 DRH1=UH * first rainfall excess.
 DRH2=UH*second rainfall excess lagged by duration of first and second rainfall
DRH3 = UH*third rainfall excess lagged by duration of first and third rainfall
So on….
 DRH= DRH1+DHR2+DHR3+……
 Total runoff=DRH+BF
5.6 S-Hydrograph

S Hydrograph is a hydrograph resulting from a continuous excess rainfall at a constant rate of 1cm/h for
an indefinite period. It is a theoretical concept. The curve is named S hydrograph as it looks like
deformed S shape. The curve is obtained by adding a series of D-h unit hydrographs spaced at D-h apart.

S- hydrograph

The S-curve reaches a maximum equilibrium discharge at a time equal to the time base of the first unit
hydrograph.
Unit rainfall excess = 1 cm in D hr
Rainfall intensity = 1/D in cm/hr
If A = basin area in km2 and D is in hour, then
1 1 𝐴
Equilibrium discharge (𝑄𝑠 ) = ( 𝑥
𝐷 3600𝑥100
) (𝐴𝑥106 ) = 2.778 m3/s
𝐷

Construction of S-curve
U(t) = S(t) – S(t-D)
S(t) = U(t)+ S(t-D)
where D = Duration of UH, S(t) = ordinate of S-curve at t, U(t) = ordinate of UH at t, S(t-D) = ordinate of
S-curve at t-D

In other words,
Ordinate of S-curve at t = ordinate of D-hr UH at t + S-curve addition at time t
For 𝑡 ≤ 𝐷, S(t-D) = 0.

5.7 Computation of Unit hydrograph of different durations

In the computation of flood hydrograph, if the duration (D) of given UH and the duration (D’) of excess
rainfall is different, then the UH of D hour should be converted to UH of D’ hour.

Given: UH of duration D
To compute: UH of duration D’
n = D’/D
If n is integer, use superposition method or S-curve method.
If n is real, use S-curve method.

a. Superposition method
  Lag the UH ordinate by D, 2D, ….(n-1)D.
 U1=Sum of the ordinates of all UHs.
 Ordinate of D’-hour UH = U1/n

b. S Hydrograph method
 Compute S-curve addition (=S(t-D)).
 Compute the ordinate of S-curve.
S1 = UH(t)+ S(t-D)
 Lag the ordinates of S1 hydrograph by the duration D’. This is S2.
 Ordinate of D’-hour UH= (S1-S2)/n

In case of D’<D and the time interval of data is not equal to D’, first plot the given UH and read the
values with time interval equal to D’. Then follow above steps.

If the ordinates of UH becomes negative or shows fluctuations in the tail part, then manually smoothen
the tail part.
Basic Numericals of Unit Hydrograph

Derivation of UH
Single storm
Given below are the observed flows from a storm of 4hr duration on a stream with a catchment area of
613 km2. Derive 4hr unit hydrograph. Make suitable assumptions regarding base flow.
Time (hr) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Observed 10 110 225 180 130 100 70 60 50 35 25 15 10
flow
(m3/s)

Solution:
Catchment area (A) = 613 km2
Assume base flow (BF) = 10 m3/s
Direct runoff (Qdr) = Q-BF
Volume of runoff (V) = ∑ 𝑄𝑑𝑟 ∆𝑡
Runoff depth (rd) = V/A
Divide Qdr by rd to get UH ordinate.
∆𝑡 is same for each runoff ordinate.
∆𝑡 = 4 hour = 4x3600 s
V = ∑ 𝑄𝑑𝑟 ∆𝑡 = ∆𝑡 ∑ 𝑄𝑑𝑟 = 890x4x3600
𝑉 890×4×3600
𝑟𝑑 = 𝐴 = 613×106 = 0.02m =2cm

Time (hr) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Q (m3/s) 10 110 225 180 130 100 70 60 50 35 25 15 10
BF (m3/s) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Qdr
(m3/s) 0 100 215 170 120 90 60 50 40 25 15 5 0
UH
(m3/s) 0 50 108 85 60 45 30 25 20 13 7.5 2.5 0

The ordinates of a hydrograph of a surface runoff (DRH) resulting from 4.5cm of rainfall excess of
duration 8hr in a catchment are as follows:
Time (hr) 0 5 13 21 28 32 35 41 45 55 61 91 98 115 138
Discharge 0 40 210 400 600 820 1150 1440 1510 1420 1190 650 520 290 0
(m3/s)

Derive the ordinates of 8hr-unit hydrograph.

Solution:
Direct runoff = Q
Rainfall excess (Re) = 4.5cm
For single storm, UH ordinate = Q/Re
Time (hr) 0 5 13 21 28 32 35 41 45 55 61 91 98 115 138
 Discharge 0 40 210 400 600 820 1150 1440 1510 1420 1190 650 520 290 0
(m3/s)

UH 0 8.9 46.7 88.9 133.3 182.2 256 320 335.6 316 264.4 144 116 64.44 0

Multiple storm

The following table gives the ordinates of a DRH resulting from two successive 3-hour durations of
rainfall excess value of 2 cm and 4 cm respectively.
t (hr) 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
3
DRH (m /s) 0 120 480 660 460 260 160 100 50 20 0

Derive the ordinates of 3-hr UH.

Solution:
a. Effective rainfall, R1 = 2 cm and R2 = 4cm
It is a case of multiple storms. We have to use discrete time convolution equation to compute UH
ordinate. The equation is
𝑄𝑛 = ∑𝑛≤𝑚
𝑚=1 𝑅𝑚 𝑈𝑛−𝑚+1
Q = Direct runoff, R = Excess rainfall, U = UH ordinate
Here, total no. of runoff ordinates (n) = 9
Total number of rainfall excess values (m) =2

For n =1, m =1
Q1 = R1U1
U1 = Q1/R1 =120/2 = 60
For n = 2, m=1, 2
Q2 = R1U2+R2U1
U2 = (Q2-R2U1)/R1 = (480-4x60)/2 = 120
For n = 3 onwards, m= 1, 2. So, we can use the similar expression as that of U2 for n = 3 onwards.
Un = (Qn-R2Un-1)/R1

U3 = (Q3-R2U2)/R1 = (660-4x120)/2 = 90
U4 = (Q4-R2U3)/R1 = (460-4x90)/2 = 50
U5 = (Q5-R2U4)/R1 = (260-4x50)/2 = 30
U6 = (Q6-R2U5)/R1 = (160-4x30)/2 = 20
U7 = (Q7-R2U6)/R1 = (100-4x20)/2 = 10
U8 = (Q8-R2U7)/R1 = (50-4x10)/2 = 5
U9= (Q9-R2U8)/R1 = (20-4x5)/2 = 0

Resulting UH
t (hr) 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
3
UH(m /s) 0 60 120 90 50 30 20 10 5 0 0
UH to flood hydrograph
The ordinate of a 4-h UH of a catchment of area 1000km2 are given below. Calculate flood hydrograph
resulting from two successive 4-h storms having rainfall of 1.5cm each. Assume uniform base flow of 10
m3/s and φ-index equal to 0.10 cm/hr.
t(hr) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
4hr UH (m3/s) 0 20 60 150 120 90 66 50 32 20 10 0

Solution:
φ-index (infiltration loss) = 0.1 cm/hr
For 4 hour, loss (L) = 4x0.1 =0.4 cm
Rainfall values, R1 = 1.5 cm and R2 = 1.5 cm
Rainfall excess (Re1) = R1-L = 1.5-0.4 =1.1cm
Rainfall excess (Re2) = R2-L = 1.5-0.4 =1.1cm

DHR1 = UHxRe1
DRH2 =UHxRe2 (lagged by 4 hour)

DRH = DRH1+DRH2
Q = DRH + BF
Computation of flood hydrograph
4 hr UH DRH1 DRH2 DRH BF Q
t(h) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
0 0 0 0 10 10
4 20 22 0 22 10 32
8 60 66 22 88 10 98
12 150 165 66 231 10 241
16 120 132 165 297 10 307
20 90 99 132 231 10 241
24 66 72.6 99 171.6 10 181.6
28 50 55 72.6 127.6 10 137.6
32 32 35.2 55 90.2 10 100.2
36 20 22 35.2 57.2 10 67.2
40 10 11 22 33 10 43
44 0 0 11 11 10 21
(48) 0 0 10 10
UH of different durations

The ordinates of a 4 hour UH of a basin of area 25 km2 are given below.

t (hr) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52
3
UH(m /s) 0 30 55 90 130 170 180 160 110 60 35 20 8 0
Calculate the following.
a) 4-hr DRH for a rainfall of 3.25cm with φ-index of 0.25cm.
b) a 12-hr UH by using the method of superposition.
c) a 12-hr UH by using the S-curve method.

Solution:
a) Rainfall (R) = 3.25 cm, φ-index = 0.25cm
Rainfall excess (re) = 3.25-0.25 = 3cm
DRH = UH xre

Computation of DRH
t (hr) 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52
3
UH(m /s) 0 30 55 90 130 170 180 160 110 60 35 20 8 0
3
DRH (m /s) 0 90 165 270 390 510 540 480 330 180 105 60 24 0

b) Required duration of UH (D’) =12 hr

Given duration (D) =4 hr
n = D’/D = 3 (integer)

UHa = UH lagged by 4 hr, UHb = UH lagged by 8 hour

UH1 = UH + UHa+ UHb
12hr-UH = UH1/(D’/D) = UH1/3

Computation of 12-hr UH using method of superposition

12-hr UH
t (hr) UH Uha Uhb UH1 (m3/s)
0 0 0 0
4 30 0 30 10
8 55 30 0 85 28.3
12 90 55 30 175 58.3
16 130 90 55 275 91.7
20 170 130 90 390 130
24 180 170 130 480 160
28 160 180 170 510 170
32 110 160 180 450 150
36 60 110 160 330 110
40 35 60 110 205 68.3
44 20 35 60 115 38.3
48 8 20 35 63 21
52 0 8 20 28 9.3
 56 0 8 8 2.7
60 0 0 0

c. S-curve addition = Ordinate of S-curve at (t-D)

Ordinate of S curve (S1) = ordinate of UH+ S-curve addition
S 2 = S1 lagged by 12 hr hour
12hr-UH = (S1-S2)/(D’/D) = (S1-S2)/3

Computation of 12-hr UH using S-Curve method

S-Curve S-curve 12-hr UH
t (hr) UH addition (S1) S2 (m3/s)
0 0 0 0
4 30 0 30 10
8 55 30 85 28.3
12 90 85 175 0 58.3
16 130 175 305 30 91.7
20 170 305 475 85 130
24 180 475 655 175 160
28 160 655 815 305 170
32 110 815 925 475 150
36 60 925 985 655 110
40 35 985 1020 815 68.3
44 20 1020 1040 925 38.3
48 8 1040 1048 985 21
52 0 1048 1048 1020 9.3
56 1048 1040 2.7
60 1048 1048 0
64 1048 1048 0

Given below is a 12-hr UH. Derive 6-hr UH.

t (hr) 0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120
3
UH(m /s) 0 103 279 165 78 36 20 11 5 3 0

Solution:
Required duration of UH (D’) =6 hr
Given duration (D) =12 hr
n = D’/D = 0.5 (real)
Here, D’<D. To derive UH of 6 hr, the interval of ordinates of given UH should be at least 6hour.
Plot given UH versus t on a graph paper and get the values of UH at 6 hour interval.
S-curve addition = Ordinate of S-curve at (t-D)
Ordinate of S curve (S1) = ordinate of UH+ S-curve addition
S2 = S1 lagged by 6 hour
6-hr UH = (S1-S2)/(D’/D) = (S1-S2)/0.5

Computation of 6-hr UH
S curve 6-hr UH
t (hr) UH(m3/s) addition S1 S2 6-hr UH (corrected)
0 0 0 0 0
6 48 48 0 96 96
12 103 0 103 48 110 110
18 191 48 239 103 272 272
24 279 103 382 239 286 286
30 238 239 477 382 190 190
36 165 382 547 477 140 140
42 117 477 594 547 94 94
48 78 547 625 594 62 62
54 53 594 647 625 44 44
60 36 625 661 647 28 28
 66 27 647 674 661 26 26
72 20 661 681 674 14 14
78 15 674 689 681 16 10
84 11 681 692 689 6 6
90 8 689 697 692 10 4
96 5 692 697 697 0 0
102 4 697 701 697 8 0
108 3 697 700 701 -2 0
114 2 701 703 700 6 0
120 0 700 700 703 -6 0
126 703 700 700 0 0

The UH of 6 hour should be corrected manually from 90 hour onwards to make it smooth.
 Chapter 6: Statistical Hydrology
Dr. K.N. Dulal
6.1 Introduction
Random variable
 Variable whose outcome varies from trial to trial as the experiment is repeated.
 Two types - discrete and continuous.
 Probability distribution (discrete random variable, represented by histogram, table, formula) or
probability density function (continuous random variable, area under the curve).

Discrete Random Variable

 A random variable which may take on only a countable number of distinct values
Continuous Random Variable
 A random variable which takes an infinite number of possible values.
Independent Random Variables
 Two random variables X and Y say, are said to be independent if and only if the value of X has
no influence on the value of Y and vice versa.
Sample
 A set of observations of random variable
Population
 Hypothetical infinite set having constant statistical properties
Variable
 The characteristics of sample, for example the depth of rainfall.
Variate (x)
 An individual observation or the value of any variable.

Why is the concept of probability important in hydrology

 Due to random nature of hydrological phenomenon

Objectives of statistic in hydrology

1. Interpretation of observation
2. Search for hydrologic probabilistic regularities.
3. Extraction of maximum information from hydrologic data.
4. Presentation of hydrologic information.

Various Measures in statistics

Measures of central tendency

 Mean: average
 Median: Middle value in rank
 Mode: Most frequent value
Measures of dispersion (precision)
 Range: Difference between largest and smallest
 Variance: spread
 Standard deviation: square root of variance
Measures of association
 Correlation
Frequency
For discrete random variable, the number of occurrences of a variate is generally called frequency. When
the number of occurrences of a variate, or the frequency, is plotted against the variate as the abscissa, a
pattern of distribution is obtained. The pattern is called the frequency distribution.

Interpretation of probability
 Classical interpretation
o Outcome: each possible distinct result, event: collection of outcomes
o P(Event E) = Number of favorable outcomes/Total number of outcomes
o Assumption: All outcomes equally likely
 Relative frequency interpretation
o If an experiment is conducted n different times and event E occurs on ne of these
trials, the probability of event E is approximately
ne
PEvent E  
n

Sample Population
Relative frequency function Probability density function
Cumulative frequency function Probability distribution function

Relative frequency function

If the number of observations ni in interval i is divided by the total number of observations, the result is
called relative frequency functionfs(x)
fs(x) =ni/n
This is also called the probability of a function.

Cumulative frequency function

The sum of values of the relative frequencies up to a given point is the cumulative frequency function
Fs(x).
𝒊

𝑭𝒔 (𝒙𝒋 ) = ∑ 𝒇𝒔 (𝒙𝒋 )
𝒋=𝟏
𝑃(𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑏) = 1 − 𝑃(𝑥 < 𝑎) − 𝑃(𝑥 > 𝑏)

Cumulative Distribution Function(CDF)

 Function giving the probability that the random variable X is less than or equal to x, for every
value x.
F x  P X  x for    x  

 For a discrete random variable, the cumulative distribution function is found by summing up the
probabilities.
 For a continuous random variable, the cumulative distribution function is the integral of its
probability density function.
 Properties of CDF

 0  CDF  1
 Continuous, has derivative
 Non-decreasing function

Probability Density Function(PDF)

 Representation of randomness for continuous random variable
 Equal to the derivative of the cumulative distribution function
 Can be integrated to obtain the probability that the random variable takes a value in a given
interval.

dF x 
f x  
dx

Flood frequency
Flood frequency refers to the probability of occurrence of a flood. If a flood of certain magnitude occurs
m times in n years, then frequency of flood is m/n.

Recurrence interval or return period (T)

Return period is defined as the average interval of time T within which an event of given magnitude will
be equalled or exceeded at least once. In hydrology, it is the average interval between the occurrence of
flood equal to or greater than a given magnitude. The return period is widely used in hydrologic
frequency analysis.

Risk (R)
The probability of occurrence of event (x≥ xT) at least over a period of n successive years is called the risk
(R). R represents probability of failure of a structure.
1 𝑛
𝑅 = 1 − (1 − )
𝑇

Formulae
a. Probability of an event (P) with return period T is given by (Probability of occurrence in any year)
1
𝑃=
𝑇
1
b. Probability of not occurrence of event = 1- P = 1 − 𝑇
1 𝑛
c. Probability of not occurrence in n years (Pn) = (1 –P)n = (1 − 𝑇)
1 𝑛
d. Probability of occurrence of event at least once in n year = 1 – Pn = 1 − (1 − )
𝑇

Test of significance

Larger samples tend to follow normal curve and properties of the normal curve are used to test the
significance of difference two samples.
A level significance: - A difference in sample means greater than 2 is considered significant because
the probability of this occurring by chance is less than 5%.
The t test
When number of observation in a sample is small i. e. when n  30, the distribution of the ratio (x –μ)/s is
generally not normal and the tests (𝜒 2 test, AIF tests) fails. In such cases student’s t test is used, which is
written under the pseudonym of student.
(x  ) n
t
s
Where, n = size of the sample
 = Mean of the population
x = Mean of the sample
s = standard deviation
x
t for calculation
s2
n
If calculated value of t is smaller than that of obtained from the table, then the difference is not
significant.

Design flood

A flood used for the design of a structure on considerations of its safety, economy, life expectancy and
probable damage considerations is called design flood.
Depending upon the magnitude, the flood can be classified into the following three classes.
a. Ordinary flood:- The floods that are sure to be equalled in magnitude once or more times in the
estimated life of the project.
b. Frequency based flood (FBF): design flood estimated using flood frequency analysis
c. Standard Project Flood (SPF): - The flood that is likely to be exceeded in magnitude only at rare
occasion. Generally, it is equal to 40 to 60 % of probable maximum flood (PMF). SPF is computed from
standard project storm that have occurred over the project area under consideration or on the adjoining
areas with similar hydrometeorological and basin characteristics
d. Probable Maximum Flood (PMF):- PMF is a flood that might occur under the worst meteorological and
hydrological conditions. In other word, PMF is extreme flood that is physically possible in a region as a
result of severe most combinations.

Binomial distribution
 Each trial has 2 possible states: occurrence or non-occurrence of event
 Probability of occurrence is constant for all trials
 Trials are statistically independent
Probability of occurrence of event r times in n successive years is found by Binomial distribution.
𝑛!
𝑃𝑟,𝑛 = 𝐶(𝑛, 𝑟)𝑃𝑟 𝑞 𝑛−𝑟 = 𝑃𝑟 𝑞 𝑛−𝑟
(𝑛 − 𝑟)! 𝑟!
Where q = 1-p
6.2 Continuous probability distribution commonly used in Hydrology
a. Normal distribution
The normal distribution arises from the central limit theorem, which states that if a sequence of random
variables Xi are independently and identically distributed with mean µ and variance σ2 , then the
i n
distribution of the sum of n such random variables y   Xi tends towards the normal distribution with
i 1 ,
mean nµ and variance nσ2 as n becomes large.

The PDF of normal distribution is given by

 x   2 
f x  
1
exp     x  
 2  2 2

where𝜇 = population mean and 𝜎 = population standard deviation are parameters of the distribution. The
value of the parameters are
  x,   S x
where𝑥̅ = sample mean and 𝑆𝑥 = sample standard deviation
x
If z  and Z  N 0,1 , it is called standard normal distribution.

Properties of normal distribution
 Bell shaped
 Symmetric about mean
 Unbounded
The curve in which mean, median and the mode value coincide is the normal curve. The normal or
Gaussian frequency distribution is the most important in statistical theory. Most hydrological data are not
normally distributed, but they can sometimes be normalized by various methods like using logarithms or
cube root of the sample. Hydrological variables, such as annual precipitation, calculated as the sum of
effects of many independent events tends to follow normal distribution.

b. Lognormal distribution
If the random variable Y=logX is normally distributed, then X is said to be normally distributed. The PDF
of Lognormal distribution is given by
 y   y 2 
f x  
1
exp  
x 2 2 y 
2

Where y = logx
x0
The parameters of the distribution are
 y  y,  y  S y
where𝑦̅ = sample mean and 𝑆𝑦 = sample standard deviation

Properties of Lognormal distribution

 X ranges from 0 to  (lower bounded)
 X is positively skewed.
 Distribution tends to be symmetric as  decreases
c. Exponential distribution
Exponential distribution is useful for instantaneously and independently occurring events, e.g. occurrence
of precipitation, occurrence of flood. The PDF of exponential distribution is given by
f  x    e  x
x0
where𝜆 = parameter, which is given by
1

x
d. Gamma distribution
The probability distribution function for gamma distribution is given by
𝜆𝛽 𝑥 𝛽−1 −𝛽𝑥
𝑓(𝑥) = Γ𝛽
𝑒 for𝑥 ≥0
where𝜆 and 𝛽 are parameters.
𝑥̅ 1
𝜆 = 𝜎2 , 𝛽 = 𝐶 2, Γ𝛽 = (𝛽 − 1)!
𝑣
The symbol Γ is called gamma function.

The gamma distribution is useful to find the time taken for a particular event to occur in a Poisson process
(instantaneously and independently occurring event). The gamma distribution has a smoothly varying
form and is useful for describing skewed hydrological variables without the need for log transformation,
for example, distribution of depth of precipitation in storms. The distribution has lower bound at zero,
which is a disadvantage for applications to hydrological variables that have lower bound larger than zero.

e. Pearson type III (Three parameter gamma) distribution

The PDG of Pearson type III distribution is given by
 x    e   x  
 1

f x  
 
x
Where 𝜆, 𝛽 and 𝜀 are parameters.
2
Sx  2 
 ,     ,   x  S x 
  Cs 
This distribution is also called three parameter gamma distribution as it includes one more parameter 𝜀 in
the gamma distribution. By the method of moments, three sample moments (mean, standard deviation and
coefficient of skewness) can be transferred to where 𝜆, 𝛽and 𝜀. This distribution can be used to describe
distribution of the annual maximum flood.

f. Log-Pearson type III (LPIII) distribution

If logX follows a Pearson type III distribution, then X is said to follow Log-Pearson type III distribution.
The PDF of LPIII distribution is given by
  y    e   y  
 1

f x  
x 
where y = logx
logx  
2
Sy  2 
 ,     ,   y  S y 
  C s  y  
The log transformation reduces the skewness of the transformed data. This distribution is widely used for
the frequency analysis of the annual maximum floods.
The detailed explanation of this distribution is given in section 8.12.

g. Gumbel (Extreme value type I) distribution

The PDF of Gumbel distribution is given by
 xu  x  u 
f x  
1
exp   exp  
     
  x  
6S x
 , u  x  0.5772


6.3 Statistical techniques for Frequency analysis

Hydrologic extremes: floods, drought, severe storms
Objective of frequency analysis: to relate the magnitude of extreme events to their frequency of
occurrence through the use of probability distribution
Application of result of frequency analysis
 For the design of dams, bridge, culverts, and flood control structures
 To determine the economic value of flood control works
 To delineate flood plains

Commonly used Statistical techniques based on probability distribution

I. Gumbel’s distribution
Gumbel’s distribution (extreme value typeI) is the most widely used distribution for analysis of flood,
maximum rainfall etc. It is general practice to use extreme value type I distribution also known as
Gumbel’s distribution to fit the flood discharges of various rivers. Gumbel (1941) proposed this concept.
He defined the largest of 365 days flow as the flood.

Probability distribution function for Gumbel’s distribution is

F x  exp exp y 
x u
where y  ,   x  

Parameters
6S x
  0.78S x , u  x  0.5772  x  0.5772 * 0.78S x  x  0.45S x

𝑥̅ and Sx are mean and standard deviation of flood series.

𝑃(𝑥 ≤ 𝑋𝑇 ) = 𝐹(𝑥)
𝑃(𝑥 ≥ 𝑋𝑇 ) = 1 − 𝐹(𝑥)
1
= 1 − 𝐹(𝑥)
𝑇
 𝑇−1
𝐹(𝑥) =
𝑇
𝑇−1
exp[− exp(−𝑦𝑇 ) =
𝑇
where yT = reduced variate
𝑇
𝑦𝑇 = − [𝑙𝑛. 𝑙𝑛 ]
𝑇−1
Value of variate for recurrence interval T
𝑥𝑇 = 𝑢+∝ 𝑦𝑇

Flood frequency study using Gumbel’s method

Value of variate xT with return period T is
𝑥𝑇 = 𝑥̅ + 𝐾𝜎
xT = value of a variate with return period T
𝑥̅ = mean of variate
σ = standard deviation of variate
K = frequency factor

1 n
x  xi
n i 1

 
2
1 n
  xi  x
n  1 i 1

Computation of K
Method 1: Using mean and standard deviation of reduced variate
𝑦𝑇 − ̅̅̅
𝑦𝑛
𝐾=
𝑆𝑛
yT = reduced variate which is given by
𝑇
𝑦𝑇 = − [𝑙𝑛. 𝑙𝑛 ]
𝑇−1
̅̅̅
𝑦 𝑛 = reduced mean
Sn = reduced standard deviation
𝑦𝑛
̅̅̅and Sn: both function of sample size N, obtained from tabulated values

Method 2: Computation of K from K-T relationshipfor large samples

For large samples (>100), K can be computed by chow’s formula. (Note: If table or values of ̅̅̅
𝑦𝑛 and Snis
not given, also use this formula assuming large samples.)
√6 𝑇
𝐾=− {0.5772 + 𝑙𝑛 [𝑙𝑛 ]}
𝜋 𝑇−1
𝑇
Or, 𝐾 = − [0.45 + 0.78𝑙𝑛 (𝑙𝑛 𝑇−1)]

Alternatively, As y , Yn  0.577, Sn1.2825

So, for n tends to infinity, K can also be computed from
 YT  0.577
K
1.2825

Procedure to estimate the flood magnitude for given return period using Gumbel’s method
1. Compute mean, 𝑥̅ and standard deviation, σ of the given data.
2. Compute frequency factor K using method 1 for small sample size or method 2 for large sample size.
3. Compute xT.

To verify whether the given data follow the assumed Gumbel’s distribution
 Plot value of xT for different values of return period in semi-log or log-log or Gumbel
probability paper and see whether the plot is straight line.

For large N, T =2.33 for mean annual flood

Confidence limit
 Limit within which the true value is expected to lie with a given probability based on
sampling errors

Formula to compute confidence limit

Confidence limit for variate xT

𝐶𝐿 = 𝑥𝑇 ± 𝑓(𝑐)𝑆𝑒
CL = confidence limit
xT = value of variate for given return period T
f(c) = function of confidence probability c (obtained from table)
Se = probable error, which is given by
𝜎
𝑆𝑒 = 𝑏
√𝑁
𝑏 = √1 + 1.3𝐾 + 1.1𝐾 2 where K is frequency factor
σ = standard deviation of sample
N = Sample size

Confidence interval, c % f(c)

50 0.674
68 1
80 1.282
90 1.645
95 1.96
99 2.58

II. Log-Pearson type III (LPIII) distribution

Log Pearson III distribution is extensively used in USA for frequency analysis of annual maximum
floods. In this method the variate is first transferred into logarithmic form base 10.

Steps for computation of flood using Log-Pearson type III

 First transform peak discharge (X) to logarithm of base 10. (y = log X)
 Compute mean (𝑦̅), standard deviation (𝜎) and coefficient of skewness (Cs) of y.
∑𝑦
𝑦̅ = 𝑛

∑(𝑦𝑖 −𝑦̅)2
𝜎=√ 𝑛−1
𝑛 (𝑦𝑖 −𝑦̅)3
𝐶𝑠 = (𝑛−1)(𝑛−2) 𝜎3

 Obtain the value of frequency factor (KT) for CS and the required return period (T) from the table for
Log Pearson type III distribution or by using formulae.
 Compute YT
𝑌𝑇 = 𝑦̅ + 𝐾𝑇 𝜎
 Flood of return period T (XT) = antilog(YT)

Formulae to compute KT
p = 1/T
1 1/2
𝑤 = [𝑙𝑛 ( 2)]
𝑝
2.515517+0.802853𝑤+0.010328𝑤2
𝑧=𝑤−
1+1.432788𝑤+0.189269𝑤2 +0.001308𝑤3
k = CS/6
1 1
𝐾𝑇 = 𝑧 + (𝑧 2 − 1)𝑘 + (𝑧 3 − 6𝑧)𝑘 2 − (𝑧 2 − 1)𝑘 3 + 𝑧𝑘 4 + 𝑘 5
3 3

6.4 Graphical method for frequency analysis

Probability plotting

 Special probability paper or preparation of plot in graph for linearization

 Fitting the data with straight line for interpolation and extrapolation.

Probability paper
Ordinate: Value of x, e.g. flow
Abscissa: return period or exceedence probability or reduced variate
Ordinate and abscissa are so designed that the fitted data appear close to straight line
Purpose of plot: linearization of data for interpolation, extrapolation and comparison

Plotting position
Probability value is assigned to each piece of data to be plotted.
Method
 Arrange the data in descending order and give rank (m) starting from 1.
 Compute plotting position , P (X≥xm) and T (T=1/P)
 Plot given data versus P or T
 Fit a straight line

California formula for plotting position: P (X≥xm) = m/n : simplest formula

Weibul formulafor plotting position: P (X≥xm) = m/n+1 (widely used)
where m = rank, n = total number of values
Preparation of Gumbel probability paper on ordinary graph paper and finding flood of required frequency

The relationship between given variable such as discharge (x) and the reduced variate (yT) is linear. For constructing
Gumbel probability paper, return period T can be computed for different values of reduced variate YTas shown in
table below.

YT -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
T 1 1.1 1.6 3.2 7.9 20.6 55.1 149 403.9 1097

First mark value of discharge on Y-axis and value of YT(say from -2 to 7) on X-axis. For corresponding value of YT,
return period, T (as shown in table above) is marked on the X-axis below YT. Prepare a table for plotting position
and plot the data on the graph. Fit straight line and extrapolate it for finding flood of different frequencies.

1.0 1.1 1.6 3.2 7.9 20.6 55.1 198.8 403.9 1097.1

2.0 5 10 50 100 500 1000

Return period (T) years
(Alternatively, return period on log scale and discharge on linear scale will also plot as straight line.)
6.5 Rational Method
Rational method is commonly used method for computing peak discharge for small basins. The idea
behind this method is that if a rainfall of intensity i begins instantaneously and continues indefinitely, the
rate of runoff will increase until the time of concentration (tc), when all of the basin is contributing to flow
at the outlet. After tc, runoff becomes constant for the period of rainfall excess (t-tc). After the cessation of
rain, the runoff recedes gradually to become zero at time tc from the end of the peak.
The product of rainfall intensity i and basin area (A) is the inflow rate for the system. The peak discharge
is given by

Qp =CiA (in FPS unit)

Where Qp = peak discharge

C = runoff coefficient
A = basin area in
i = mean intensity of rainfall for a duration equal to time of concentration (t c) and an exceedence
probability P
C: runoff coefficient. It is ratio of runoff to rainfall, represents total cumulative effect of watershed loss. It
depends on initial losses, depression storage, nature of soil, surface slope, degree of saturation, rainfall
intensity, geology of the basin, geohydrological characteristics of the basin.
C varies from 0 to 1.

Rainfall
Runoff and rainfall

End of rainfall
Peak value

Recession
rates

Runof
f Time (t)
Runoff hydrograph due to uniform rainfall

With SI unit (Computing Q in m3/s, given i in mm/hr and A in km2)

𝑖 𝐶𝑖𝐴
Qp =Ci A = 𝐶𝑥 1000𝑥3600 𝑥𝐴𝑥106 = 3.6
=0.278 Ci A
If A is in hectors (ha), i is in mm/hr, then Q in m3/s is
𝑖 𝐶𝑖𝐴
Qp =CI A = 𝐶𝑥 1000𝑥3600 𝑥𝐴𝑥104 = 360

Assumptions
 The computed peak rate of runoff at the outlet point is a function of the average rainfall rate
during tc.
  tc employed is the time for runoff to become established and flow from the most remote part of
the basin to the outlet.
 Rainfall intensity is constant throughout the storm duration.

To get Qp, we need tc, i and C.

Table7. 1: Runoff coefficients for rational formula

Type of basin C
Rocky and permeable 0.8 – 1.0
Slightly impermeable, bare 0.6 – 0.8
Cultivated or covered with vegetation 0.4 – 0.6
Cultivated absorbent soil 0.3 – 0.4
Sandy soil 0.2 – 0.3
Heavy forest 0.1 – 0.3

For non-homogeneous basin, divide into sub-basins, get C for each sub-basin and compute weighted
∑𝐶 𝐴
average C. (𝐶 = 𝑖 𝑖 )
𝐴
∑ 𝐶1 𝐴1 + 𝐶2 𝐴2 + 𝐶3 𝐴3 + ⋯ .
𝐶=
𝐴1 + 𝐴2 + 𝐴3 + ⋯ .
In the absence of data on rainfall intensity, i shall be estimated by

𝐾𝑇 𝑎
𝑖=
(𝑡𝑐 + 𝑏)𝑛
T = return period = 1/P, where P = probability of exceedence
tc = time of concentration
K, a, b, n: constants

K, a, b and n are to be defined for the particular site. For Nepal, their values may be assumed as those for
Northern India, i.e. K = 5.92, a = 0.162, b = 0.5 and n = 1.013. For use in above equation, the time of
concentration tc, in hours, shall be estimated by Kirpich formula

tc = 0.019478L0.77S-0.385

where L is the maximum length of travel of water in m and S is the slope equal to H/L, H being the
difference in elevation between the remotest point of the basin and the outlet in m.
Applications of rational method: for design of storm sewers, channels, and other drainage structures

Limitations of rational method

 Applicable to small basins (up to 50 km2)
 Duration of rainfall intensity>tc
 Gives only peak, does not give complete hydrograph
 C assumed to be same for all storms
 Rainfall intensity must be constant over the entire basin during tc.
6.6 Empirical Methods
All regional formulae are based on statistical correlation of the observed peak and important catchment
properties.
QP =f (A) where Qp = peak discharge and A = area
Empirical formulae shall be used only when a more accurate method for flood prediction cannot be
applied because of lack of data. For flood prediction in ungauged basins of Nepal, the empirical formulae
discussed in the following sections may be used with great caution and proper justification.

Modified Dicken’s Method

Using Dicken’s method, the T year flood discharge QT, in m3/sec, shall be determined as
QT  C T A 0.75
where A is the total basin area in sq. km and CT is the modified Dicken’s constant proposed by the
Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee, India, based on frequency studies on Himalayan rivers. This
constant shall be computed as
 1185 
C T  2.342 log( 0.6T ) log    4
 p 
a 6
p  100
Aa
where a is perpetual snow area in sq. km. and T is the return period in years.

Fuller’s Method
Although developed for basins in the United States of America, Fuller’s formula may be used to estimate
flood discharges in the ungauged basins of Nepal for comparison purposes. Using this method, the
maximum instantaneous flood discharge Qmax in m3/s shall be estimated as
0.3
  A  
Qmax  QT 1  2  
  2.59  
where QT is the maximum 24 hour flood with frequency once in T years in m3/s and A is the basin area in
sq. km. QT shall be given by
QT  Qav 1 0.8 log T 
in which Qav is the yearly average 24 hour flood over a number of years, in m3/s, given by
Qav  C f A0.8
where Cf is Fuller’s coefficient varying between 0.18 to 1.88. For Nepal, Cf may be taken as the average
of these values, i.e. equal to 1.03.

Horton’s Formula
Horton’s formula may be used to compute the flood qtr, in m3/s/sq. km, equaled or exceeded in a T year
return period using the relation
T 0.25
qtr  71.2
A 0.5
where A is the drainage area in sq. km.
WECS Formula
In Nepalese context, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) developed empirical
relationships for analyzing flood of different frequencies.
The formula for 2 year return period is
𝑄2 = 1.8767(𝐴3000 + 1)0.8783
The formula for 100 year return period is
𝑄100 = 14.63(𝐴3000 + 1)0.7342

where A3000 = Basin area (Km2) below 3000m elevation

For other return period,
𝑄𝑇 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝(𝑙𝑛𝑄2 + 𝑆𝜎)
where QT = Flood of T year return period (m3/s), S = standard normal variate, σ = parameter
𝜎 = ln(𝑄100 /𝑄2 ) /2.326
Value of T and S
T (years) S
2 0
5 0.842
10 1.282
25 1.645
50 2.054
100 2.326
500 2.878
1000 3.09
10000 3.719