4/8/2023

Dr. S.Sarvanan
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli - 15.

SURFACE WATER COMPONENTS

• Runoff Generation Mechanisms
Infiltration Excess
Saturation Excess

• Runoff (Overland flow)

• Unit Hydrograph
Properties, Assumptions and limitations

• Geomorphological and Synthetic Unit Hydrograph

• Direct Surface Runoff Hydrograph (DSRO)

• Storm Flood Hydrograph

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HYDROLOGY | watershed |
Topography
characteristic factors Topography determines the speed with which the runoff will reach a river.
Clearly rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will reach the river
faster than flat or gently sloping areas.

Shape
Shape will contribute to the speed with which the runoff reaches a river. A
long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a circular catchment.

Size
Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the
larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding.

Soil type
Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river.
Sandy soils are very free draining and rainfall on sandy soil is likely to
be absorbed by the ground.
Clayey soils can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on clay
soils will runoff and contribute to flood volumes.

Land use
Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a
similar way to clay soils. For example, rainfall on
roofs, pavements and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no
4/8/2023
absorption into the groundwater.

COMPONENTS OF HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

1. The hydrologic cycle is
often called the water
cycle. It is the vertical and
horizontal movement of
water as either vapor,
liquid, or solid between the
earth’s surface, subsurface,
atmosphere, and oceans.

2. A critical issue is how to

determine exactly what
comprises runoff. One
component is the water
visibly flowing across the Simply stated, runoff is that portion of
ground surface. rainfall that does not infiltrate into the
soil.
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3. As water infiltrates, some water will flow just below the surface.
This is called interflow, or subsurface flow.

4. That portion of rainfall percolating to lower layers becomes part of

the groundwater.

5. Groundwater flow to a stream or river is termed baseflow.

baseflow supports the streamflow during non–storm periods.

Rainfall – runoff models have been developed to estimate the

stream flow.
Determination of Surface runoff is one of the complex part in
water balance /Rainfall-Runoff modeling
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FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

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RUNOFF GENERATION MECHANISM

Infiltration Excess
Saturation Excess

INFILTRATION EXCESS RUNOFF MECHANISM

Overland flow is a phenomenon that appears when the rain

intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity of the soil.

• Natural soils with an increased hydraulic conductivity in

temperate and humid climate have an infiltration capacity
inferior to the maximum intensity of rain.
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• At the beginning of the shower, the infiltration capacity is generally

superior to the rain intensity; water will be completely infiltrated.

• Rain is retained in the soil until the soil saturation capacity is achieved.
The submersion time (ts), can be defined as the duration between the
beginning of rainfall and the instant when the soil achieves saturation
capacity.

• The submersion time also indicates the flow beginning. For soils the
submersion time is variable and depends on rainfall intensity and initial
soil humidity.

SATURATION EXCESS RUNOFF MECHANISM

The flow on saturated surfaces is produced when it exceeds the
soil capacity to retain water and the capacity to transmit laterally
the water flux.

• Runoff process exceeds the infiltration capacity water flows

laterally and intersect the terrain and produce the runoff
• Mostly humid and semi-arid climate conditions.

Smaller intensity of
! rainfall also produce
significant stream flow.

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HYDROGRAPH / HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES

• Hydrological response analysis
The way a catchment reacts when it is subjected to a rainfall
event is called hydrological response.

uniform intensity over tw

1 unit

! Multiply unit hydrograph

by Peff to get storm
hydrograph
Assumption:
0.12 IUH
Weff = Qef
0.1
0.08
IUH (m3/S)

0.06
0.04
Qef
0.02
0
A graph drawn between time 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
to discharge amount Time (hrs)

• A shower that falls on a catchment can have a powerful effect by

modifying the flow regime. The hydrological response can be:

• fast - important in case of surface flow

• delayed - important in case of subsurface flow
• total - hydrological response is composed of the surface and
subsurface flow

• Hydrological response on a catchment is influenced by many factors

that are related to:
• climatic conditions of the environment
• rain (spatial and temporal distribution, intensity and rain duration)
• catchment morphology (shape, dimension, slopes' orientation)
• physical properties of the catchment (soil nature, vegetal
coverage)
• structure of the hydrographic network (dimensions, hydraulic
properties)
• previous soil humidity state.
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Influence of the Rainfall Duration

Uniform rainfall of 10 mm / 1 hour (i = 10 mm/h) on the catchment
Uniform rainfall of 2.5 mm / 4 hour (i = 2.5 mm/h) on the catchment

The influence of spatial distribution

The average rainfall of 10 mm / 1 hour is equally distributed over the
catchment.
•

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Influence of intensity variations

The total rainfall of 10 mm / 1 hour is uniformly distributed over the

catchment, but it is not equally distributed in time.
Figure below shows the influence of intensity variations over the
hydrograph form. Hyetograms are represented on the left side and
hydrographs on the right side.

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Influence of Catchment Shape and Morphometric parameters

The shape of a watershed influences the shape of its characteristic

hydrograph. For example, a long shape watershed generates, for the
same rainfall, a lower outlet flow, as the concentration time is higher. A
watershed having a fan-shape presents a lower concentration time, and it
generates higher flow.

•
Qp

Qp

Tp Tp 15

Importance of initial humidity conditions

A rainfall defined in time and space that falls on a catchment produces a
hydrograph. Figure shows defines certain essential elements of the
hydrograph resulting from a hyetogram.

The hydrologic response depends also on the initial soil moisture state of
the catchment. In relating effective rainfall to surface runoff, the amount
of effective rainfall depends on the state of the catchment before the
storm event.
If the ground is saturated or the
catchment is impervious, then a high
proportion of the rain becomes
effective runoff. By absorbing rainfall
an unsaturated ground• has a certain
capacity before responding to
effective rainfall that contributes to
the surface runoff. Once the ground
deficiencies have been made up the
rainfall becomes fully effective. 16

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Relationship between rainfall - runoff

To describe the processes that occur when the rain is transformed into a
flow hydrograph (by Horton's postulate), we apply two functions called
production function and transfer function.
The production function allows determination of the net rain hyetogram
starting from the total rain.
The transfer function allows determination of the hydrograph resulting
from the net rain. The net rain represents the part of total rain that
contributes to the flow process.

The hydrograph describes the

whole time history of changing
! rate of flow from a catchment
due to a rainfall event.

UNIT HYDROGRAPH
Unit hydrograph is the hydrograph of surface runoff resulting from a rain
that falls in a unit of time (1 hour or 1 day) and produced uniformly in
space and time over the total catchment area (Sherman, 1942).

• Peak discharge of the unit hydrograph, Qp;

• Base time tb is the total duration of the unit
hydrograph;
• Increase time or time to peak tp is the time
between the start point of the hydrograph
and the peak;
• Concentration time tc is the time between
the end of rainfall and the end of the
hydrograph;
• Lag time tlag is the time between the gravity
centre of rainfall and the peak of the
hydrograph. 18

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ASSUMPTIONS FOR A UH

▪ The effective rainfall has a constant intensity within the effective

duration.
▪ Effective rainfall is uniformly distributed over the whole watershed.
▪ •The shape characteristics of the unit hydrograph are independent of
time. (Time invariant)
▪ The ordinates of all DRH’s of a common time base are directly
proportional to the total amount of direct runoff.
▪ Ordinates of unit hydrograph are proportional to total runoff
(linearity)
▪ Unit hydrograph represents all characteristics of watershed (lumped
parameter) and is time invariant (stationarity)

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PROPERTIES OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

• A shower that falls on a catchment can have a powerful effect by

modifying the flow regime. The hydrological response can be:
• Linearity
• Super position
• Stationarity

Linearity hypothesis of the unit

hydrograph Principle of superposition
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LIMITATIONS OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

• The primary assumption of unit

hydrograph theory is that the
rainfall has uniform distribution,
both in space – with minimal
variations across the basin – and in
time; in other words, the rainfall
rate did not vary much during the
event.
Spatially varying rainfall intensities
• The influence of rainfall intensity is
not considered

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DETERMINE DURATION

The duration of a unit hydrograph

refers to a continuous time period
during which one unit of excess
precipitation occurred. If it took 6
hours for the one unit of excess to
occur, we have a 6–hour unit
hydrograph. Remember, the unit
hydrograph duration does not refer
to the duration of the streamflow
response.

The difficult part of determining the duration of a unit hydrograph is

estimating which portion of the entire precipitation event actually
contributes to excess precipitation.

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DETERMINE DURATION

Recall that the water that infiltrates

and percolates into deeper storage
and baseflow is not part of excess
precipitation.

We can estimate this portion of the

precipitation by applying a constant
loss function to the rainfall.

Recall that we have already

calculated the depth of the excess
precipitation to be 2.0 cm . Now, we
need to know how long it took for
that excess to occur.

DETERMINE DURATION

So we move this loss function line such that

the amount of precipitation above the line
is equal to the depth of excess
precipitation that we already calculated
for the basin.
Below that line the precipitation goes to
long–term storage. Above the line is the
excess precipitation.
At the end of these steps, we have a 6–
hour unit hydrograph. It shows the
streamflow response to 6 hours of excess
precipitation that produced one unit of
depth.
Once a UH is derived, it can be
used/applied to find direct runoff and
stream flow hydrograph from other storm
events.

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UNIT HYDROGRAPH COMPONENTS

Duration
Lag Time
Time of Concentration
Rising Limb
Recession Limb (falling
limb)
Peak Flow
Time to Peak (rise time)
Recession Curve
Separation
Base flow
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- The flood hydrograph is formed as a result of uniform rainfall of

duration, Tr,. over a catchment.

1. The Hydrograph (Figure 6.1) has three characteristic regions:

2. the rising limb AB, joining point A, the starting point of the rising curve and
point B, the point of inflection,
3. the crest segment BC between the two points of inflection with a peak P in
between,
4. the falling limb or depletion curve CD starting from the second point of
inflection C.
5. tpk : the time to peak (Qp) from the starting point A,
6. lag time TL : the time interval from the centre of mass of rainfall to the centre
of mass of hydrograph,
7. TB : the time base of the hydrograph

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FACTOR INFLUENCING THE HYDROGRAPH

1. Watershed Characteristics such as
size, shape, slope, storage
2. Infiltration Characteristics - Generally, the climatic factors
soil and land use and cover control the rising limb
3. Climactic Factors - catchment characteristics
determine the recession limb
- rainfall intensity and pattern
- aerial distribution
- duration
- type (rainfall vs snowmelt)
Concentration Recession curve
(ii)
curve

the essential components of a

hydrograph are:
(i) the rising limb, (iii)
(i) Qt=Qoe-at
(ii) the crest segment, and
(iii) the recession limb.
Time

Rising Limb
▪ The rising limb of a hydrograph (concentration curve) represents the increase in discharge
due to the gradual building up of storage in channels and over the catchment surface.
▪ As the storm continues more and more flow from distant parts reach the basin outlet. At
the same time the infiltration losses also decrease with time.
Crest
▪ The peak flow occurs when the runoff from various parts of the catchment at the same
time contribute the maximum amount of flow at the basin outlet.
▪ Generally for large catchments, the peak flow occurs after the end of rainfall,
▪ the time interval from the centre of mass of rainfall to the peak being essentially
controlled by basin and storm characteristics.
Recession Limb
▪ It extends from the point of inflection at the end of the crest segment to the start of the
natural groundwater flow
▪ It represents the withdrawal of water from the storage built up in the basin during the
earlier phases of the hydrograph.
▪ The starting point of the recession limb (the point of inflection)
represents the condition of maximum storage.
▪ Since the depletion of storage takes place after the end of rainfall, the shape of this
part of the hydrograph is independent of storm characteristics and depends entirely on
the basin characteristics.
▪ The storage of water in the basin exists as
surface storage, which includes both surface detention and channel storage,
interflow storage, and groundwater storage, i.e. base-flow storage.

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The definition of a unit hydrograph implies the following:

▪ It relates only the direct runoff to the rainfall excess. Hence the volume of water
contained in the unit hydrograph must be equal to the rainfall excess.
▪ As 1 cm depth of rainfall excess is considered the area of the unit hydrograph is
equal to a volume given by 1cm over the catchment.
▪ The rainfall is considered to have an average intensity of excess rainfall (ER) of l/D
cm/h for the duration D-h of the storm.
▪ The distribution of the storm is considered to be uniform all over the catchment.

A typical 6-h unit hydrograph.

Here the duration of the rainfall
excess is 6 h

Area under the unit hydrograph

= 12.92 X 106 m3/(Area of
the watershed)

SYNTHETIC UH’S METHODS OF DEVELOPMENTS

• Synthetic hydrographs are derived by
– Relating hydrograph characteristics such as peak flow, base time etc. with
watershed characteristics such as area and time of concentration.
– Using dimensionless unit hydrograph
– Based on watershed storage

• From Streamflow Data

• Snyder UH
• SCS unit hydrograph
• Geomorphological Instantaneous Unit hydrograph
• Time-area (Clark UH)
• Time-Area (Clark, 1945)
• “Fitted” Distributions

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SYNTHETIC UHS

• Need for synthetic UH

– UH is applicable only for gauged watershed and for the point on the
stream where data are measured
– For other locations on the stream in the same watershed or for
nearby (ungauged) watersheds, synthetic procedures are used.
• Synthetic hydrographs are derived by
– Relating hydrograph characteristics such as peak flow, base time etc. with
watershed characteristics such as area and time of concentration.
– Using dimensionless unit hydrograph
– Based on watershed storage

HYDROGRAPH / HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES

Synder (1938)- based on study of large catchment in eastern US
developed a set of empirical equation for synthetic UH.
.

𝑡𝑝 = 𝐶1 𝐶𝑡 𝐿 ∙ 𝐿𝑐 0.3 ℎ𝑟
Lmain = 4.45 km 𝑡𝑟 = 𝑡𝑝 /5.5 = 0.7 ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑝𝑅 = 𝑡𝑝 + 0.25 𝑡𝑅 − 𝑡𝑟
𝐶2 𝐶𝑝 𝐴
Lc = 2.0km 𝑄𝑝𝑅 =
𝑡𝑝𝑅
Area = 5.42 km2

0.12 IUH
0.1
0.08
IUH (m3/S)

0.06
0.04

Qef 0.02
0
A graph drawn between time 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
to discharge amount Time (hrs)

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SNYDER'S SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

A watershed has a drainage area of 5.42 mi 2;
the length of the main stream is 4.45 mi, and
Follow the procedure of table 8.4.1
the main channel length from the watershed
• L = main channel length = 4.45 Km
outlet to the point opposite the center of • Lc = length to point opposite centroid = 2.0 Km
gravity of the watershed is 2.0 mi. Using Ct = • A = watershed area = 5.42 Km2
2.0 and Cp = 0.625, determine the standard • 𝑡𝑝 = 𝐶1𝐶𝑡 𝐿 ∙ 𝐿𝑐 0.3 ℎ𝑟 = 1 ∙ 2 ∙ 4.45 ∙ 2 0.3 = 3.85 ℎ𝑟
synthetic unit hydrograph for this basin.What • 𝑡𝑟 = 𝑡𝑝 /5.5 = 0.7 ℎ𝑟
is the standard duration? Use Snyder’s • 𝑡𝑝𝑅 = 𝑡𝑝 + 0.25 𝑡𝑅 − 𝑡𝑟 = 3.85 + 0.25 0.5 − 0.7 =
method to determine the 30- min unit 𝟑. 𝟖 𝒉𝒓
hydrograph parameter.
𝐶2 𝐶𝑝 𝐴
• 𝑄𝑝𝑅 = 𝑡𝑝𝑅
= 640 ∗ 0.625 ∗ 5.42/3.8 = 𝟓𝟕𝟎 𝑪𝒎𝒔

• Widths
𝐶75 440
(4.05,570) • 𝑊75 = 1.08 = = 2.88 ℎ𝑟
𝑄𝑝𝑅 /𝐴 570/5.42 1.08
𝐶50 770
• 𝑊50 = = = 5.04 ℎ𝑟
(3.09,427.5) (5.97,427.5) 𝑄𝑝𝑅 /𝐴
1.08
570/5.42 1.08
𝐴 5.42
W 75 • 𝑇𝑏 = 2581 𝑄 − 1.5 𝑊50 − 𝑊75 = 2581 570 − 1.5 ∗
𝑝𝑅
(2.37,285)
(7.41,285) 5.04 − 2.88 = 14.1 ℎ𝑟
W 50
1/3 2/3
(14.1,0)

THE SCS UNIT HYDROGRAPH

1. For large watersheds, time of concentration tc  duration

(D) of constant rainfall intensity
2. Rainfall cannot last long enough that the peak flow, Qp, will
occur at time tc
3. Instead, the peak flow, Qp, will occur at time tp, which is a
function of rainfall duration D and the watershed
characteristics represented by tc
4. Ideally, unit hydrographs are developed for individual
watersheds, but SCS has proposed a universal approach for
estimating hydrographs if no other data are available.

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A SYNTHETIC RUNOFF HYDROGRAPH USING THE SCS

UNIVERSAL UNIT HYDROGRAPH
The approach specifies a universal pattern for hydrograph shape as fcn of time and
magnitude of peak Q.

484 A
Qup =
tp

Drain
tp = + tL
2

tL = 0.6tc

Qp is peak ‘unit’ runoff, in m3/s per inch of total runoff; A in Km2, tp in hr; for units of m3/s
per cm, km2, and hr, coefficient is 2.08

To develop unit hydrograph for desired duration, multiply values on x and y axes of standard,
dimensionless SCS hydrograph by tp and Qup, respectively. (Applicable for D  tc/6.)

A SYNTHETIC RUNOFF HYDROGRAPH USING THE

SCS UNIVERSAL UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Example.An urban watershed has a projected area of 0.63 Km2 and a time of
concentration of 1.25 hr. Develop the 10-min unit hydrograph for the watershed,
using the SCS universal unit hydrograph.

Estimate lag time: tL = 0.6tc = 0.6 (1.25 hr ) = 0.75 hr

Dr 0.167 hr
Estimate time to peak flow: tp = + tL = + 0.75 hr = 0.84 hr
2 2

Qup  =
(
 ft 3 /s  484 A  mi 
2

=
)
484 ( 0.63)
= 363
Estimate peak unit flow:  t p  hr 
 in  0.84

Multiply x and y values of unit hydrograph by tp and Qup to develop graph

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CLARK UNIT HYDROGRAPH (UH) COMPUTATION

• Based on the use of time-area method.
• Concept of instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH )

Figure shows the shape of different

hydrographs for different D values.

As D is reduced, the intensity of rainfall

excess being equal to 1/D increases and
the UH becomes more skewed.

A finite UH indicated as D → 0.
The limiting case of UH of zero
duration is known as instantaneous unit
hydrograph (IUH).

Time Inc. Inc. Inst. IUHG 2-hr

(hrs) Area Translate UHG Lagged 2 UHG

CLARKE IUH (1)

(mi2)
(2)
d Flow
(cfs) (4)
hours
(5)
(cfs)
(6)
(3)
0 0 0 0 0
TAi = 1.414 Ti1.5 for (0  Ti  0.5) 2 14 4,515 1391 0 700
4 44 14,190 5333 1,391 3,360

1 − TAi = 1.414 (1 − Ti )1.5 for (0.5  Ti  1.0) 6 53 17,093 8955 5,333 7,150
8 79 25,478 14043 8,955 11,500
10 0 0 9717 14,043 11,880
IUH i = cI i + (1 − c) IUH ( i −1) 12 6724 9,717 8,220
14 4653 6,724 5,690
2 t
c= 16 3220 4,653 3,940
2 R + t 18 2228 3,220 2,720
20 1542 2,228 1,890
✓ Dt = the time step used n the calculation 22 1067 1,542 1,300
of the translation unit hydrograph 24 738 1,067 900
26 510 738 630
✓ The final unit hydrograph may be found 28 352 510 430
by averaging 2 instantaneous unit 30 242 352 300
32 168 242 200
hydrographs that are a Dt time step 34 116 168 140
apart. 36 81 116 100
38 55 81 70
40 39 55 50
42 26 39 30
44 19 26 20
46 13 19 20
48 13

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TIME-AREA METHOD LINEAR RESERVOIR

C0 = (Δt/K)/[2+(Δt/K)]
C1 = C0
C2 = [2-(Δt/K)]/[2+(Δt/K)]
O2 = C0I2 + C1I1 + C2O1
Oi = CIi + (1-C)Oi -1
C = (t/(K+0.5t))

The IUH can be converted to a unit hydrograph

of same unit duration as routing interval simply
averaging two instantaneous hydrographs lagged
by the selected duration that is,
Qi = 0.5(Oi + Oi-1)

Table 2. Time-area method of watershed routing.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Partial flows (km2-cm/hr)
Time-
for indicated rainfall increments
area Outflow
Time Outflow
histogram (km2-
(hr) (m3/s)
subareas 0.5 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 cm/hr)
(km2) cm/hr cm/hr cm/hr cm/hr cm/hr cm/hr

0 - 0 - - - - - 0 0
1 10 5 0 - - - - 5 13.9
2 30 15 10 0 - - - 25 69.4
3 20 10 30 20 0 - - 60 166.7
4 40 20 20 60 15 0 - 115 319.4
5 - 0 40 40 45 10 0 135 375
6 - - 0 80 30 30 5 145 402.8
7 - - - 0 60 20 15 95 263.9
8 - - - - 0 40 10 50 138.9
9 - - - - - 0 20 20 55.6
10 - - - - - - 0 0 0
Sum 100 - - - - - - 650 -

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[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Time-area hydrograph Partial flows (Eq. 3) (km2- Outflow from the linear
Time Outflow
ordinates cm/hr) reservoir
(hr) (km2-cm/hr) C 0 I2 C 1 I1 C2 O1 (km2-cm/hr) (m3/s)
0 0 - - - 0 0
1 5 1 0 0 1 2.78
2 25 5 1 0.6 6.6 18.33
3 60 12 5 3.96 20.96 58.22
4 115 23 12 12.58 47.58 132.17
5 135 27 23 28.55 78.55 218.19
6 145 29 27 47.13 103.13 286.47
7 95 19 29 61.88 109.88 305.22
8 50 10 19 65.93 94.93 263.69
9 20 4 10 56.96 70.96 197.11
10 0 0 4 42.58 46.58 129.37
11 0 0 0 27.95 27.95 77.64
12 0 0 0 16.77 16.77 46.58
13 0 0 0 10.06 10.06 27.94
14 0 0 0 6.04 6.04 16.77
15 0 0 0 3.62 3.62 10.07
16 0 0 0 2.17 2.17 6.03
17 0 0 0 1.3 1.3 3.62
18 0 0 0 0.78 0.78 2.17
19 0 0 0 0.47 0.47 1.3
20 0 0 0 0.28 0.28 0.78
21 0 0 0 0.17 0.17 0.47
22 0 0 0 0.1 0.1 0.28
23 0 0 0 0.06 0.06 0.17
24 0 0 0 0.04 0.04 0.1
25 0 0 0 0.02 0.02 0.07
Sum 650 - - - 650 -

S- HYDROGRAPH METHOD.
The theoretical S-hydrograph is that resulting from a continuous excess rainfall at a
constant rate of 1 cm/h (or 1 in/h) for an indefinite period. This is the unit step response
function of a watershed system. The curve assumes a deformed S shape and its ordinates
ultimately approach the rate of excess rainfall at a time of equilibrium. This step response
function g(t) can be derived from the unit pulse response function h(t) of the unit
hydrograph, as follows.From Eq. (7.2.4), the response at time t to a unit pulse of duration
Δt beginning at time 0 is

Similarly, the response a time t to a unit pulse beginning at time Δt is equal to h(t - Δt ),
that is, h(t) lagged by Δt time units:

and the response at time t to a third unit pulse beginning at time 2 Δt is

Continuing this process indefinitely, summing the resulting equations, and rearranging,
yields the unit step response function, or S-hydrograph, as shown in Fig. 7.8.1(a):

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S CURVES

From Mays, 2011, Ground and Surface Water Hydrology

S CURVE TO DEVELOP 2 HR UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Time (hr) Unit hydrograph (cfs) S Diff 2 hr Unit Hydrograph
1 10 10 10 5 700
2 100 10 110 110 55
3 200 100 10 310 10 300 150 600
4 150 200 100 10 460 110 350 175
5 100 150 200 100 10 560 310 250 125 500
6 50 100 150 200 100 10 610 460 150 75
400
7 0 50 100 150 200 100 10 610 560 50 25
8 0 50 100 150 200 100 610 610 0 0 300
9 0 50 100 150 200 610 610
10 0 50 100 150 610 610 200
11 0 50 100 610 610
100
12 0 50 610 610
13 0 610 0
14 700 610 0 2 4 6 8
600
250
500
200
400

300 150

200
100
100

0 50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0
0 2 4 6 8

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1 2 3 4 5
0.5-h unit Lagged S- 1.5-h unit
Time S-hydrograph
hydrograph hydrograph hydrograph
g(t - Δ
t (h) h(t)(Cumec) g(t)(Cumec) h'(t) (Cumec)
t')(Cumec)
0.5 404 202 0 135
1 1079 742 0 495
1.5 2343 1913 0 1275
2 2506 3166 202 1976
2.5 1460 3896 742 2103
3 453 4123 1913 1473
3.5 381 4313 3166 765
4 274 4450 3896 369
4.5 173 4537 4123 276
5 0 4537 4313 149
5.5 0 4537 4450 58
6 0 4537 4537 0
1 2 3 4 5

NASH INSTANTANEOUS UNIT HYDROGRAPH MODEL

▪ In the Nash model the catchment is assumed to be made up of a series
of n identical linear reservoirs each having the same storage constant K.

▪ The first reservoir receives a unit volume equal to 1 unit of effective

rain from the catchment instantaneously.

▪ This inflow is routed through the first reservoir to get the outflow
hydrograph. The out flow from the first reservoir is considered as the
input to the second; the outflow from the second reservoir is the input
to the third and so on for all the n reservoirs.

▪ The outflow hydrograph from the nth reservoir is taken as the IUH of
the catchment.

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LINEAR MODELS OF BASIN RESPONSE (2)

INPUT transfer OUTPUT

I(t) functio q(t)
n
linear time invariant
• under the condition of stationarity and
linearity
• if p(t) and q(t) are respectively the input (net rainfall) and the output (runoff) functions
⤷ it can be demonstrated that the response of the system to a continuous
input p(t) can be treated as a sum of infinitesimal inputs
the response q(t) can be written as solution of a linear system with constant
coefficients
d nq d n−1q dq
I (t ) = a0 + a1 n−1 + ... + a n−1 + an q
dt n dt dt
t

which can be solved with q(0) = q0 = 0, q(0) = q0 = 0, ... q(t ) =  u (t − ) I ()d CONVOLUTI
ON
as 0
INTEGRAL
h(t-τ) is the basin response function, which describes the runoff
concentration 4
7
S.Saravanan

IMPULSE RESPONSE FUNCTION IUH

IMPULSE RESPONSE
FUNCTION u(t)
defines the response
of a linear system to
an instantaneous unit
input applied
t
at time τ

Q(t) = I (τ)u(t − τ)dτ
τ=0

convolution integral

δ(t) applied after τ à response shifted by τ à δ(t-τ) à

h(t-τ) 4
8
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IMPULSE RESPONSE FUNCTION OF IUH, UH

𝒊(𝝉)𝑑𝜏 Pm= ‫𝑚׬‬

𝑚∆𝑡
I(𝜏)d𝜏

CONVOLUTION
𝝉 ∆𝑡
continuous 𝒅𝝉 𝑚∆𝑡

-- impulse response function

-- IUH U(t-𝝉)
U(t-𝝉)

discrete (t−𝜏)
-- pulse response function (𝑛 − 𝑚 + 1)∆𝑡

-- UH with duration Δt 𝑛≤𝑀

𝑄𝑛 = ෍ 𝑝𝑚 𝑈𝑛−𝑚+1
𝑚=1
𝑡
Q(t) = ‫׬‬0 I(𝜏)U(t−𝜏)d𝜏
Q(t)
Q(t)

(t) 𝑛∆𝑡

S.Saravanan

INSTANTANEOUS UNIT HYDROGRAPH

(IUH) - PROPERTIES
• u(t) is defined only in 
  u (t )dt = 1
0
⤷ u(t) > 0 ∀t > 0
t t+dt
U (t ) =  u (t )dt   u (t )dt = U (t + dt )
t
• because of continuity
0 0
• U(t) à U (t ) =  u (t )dt  1; 0

⤷ S-curve = response to unit step input

(constant intensity, infinite duration) I, U(t)
I(t) t

• tH = baselength of the hydrograph tR

• tR = rainfall duration u(t)
• tUH = IUH baselength tUH
q(t)
⤷ tH = tR +tUH
tH

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IMPULSE RESPONSE FUNCTION À UH

Example
n≤M
Qn = ∑ Pm Un−m+1
m=1

M − pulses of input (P1, P2 , P3 )

Q0 = 0
Q1 = P1 U1−1+1 = P1 U1
Q2 = P1 U2−1+1 + P2 U2−2+1 = P1 U2 + P2 U1
Q3 = P1 U3−1+1 + P2 U3−2+1 + P3 U3−3+1 = P1 U3 + P2 U2 + P3 U1
...
Q6 = P1 U6 + P2 U5 + P3 U4
Q7 = P2 U6 + P3 U5
Q8 = P3 U6
Q9 = 0

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UNIT HYDROGRAPH - INTERPRETATION

• u(t) as “memory” or “weight” function
• ⤷ memory of q(t) for the input I(t), which occurred (t-τ) before

• ⤷ influence (“weight”) on q(t) due to the input I(t), which occurred (t-τ) before

• u(t) as probability density function

• ⤷ probability that a raindrop occurred at time t=0 in any place of the basin has to reach
the outlet between t and t+dt

• U(t) as cumulative distribution function

• ⤷ • tpt=0=intime
probability that a raindrop occurred at time anytoplace
peakof the mode has
à basin of the pdf
to reach
the outlet within a time t. • up = peak intensity à mode value
up • tL = time lag à mean of the pdf
u(t)
t
⤷ tL =  t dt = E < h(t ) /
tUH

tp tL t  u()
tUH 0

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UH IDENTIFICATION
Two options
• de-convolution given observed q(t) and p(t) solve for h(t) the convolution integral
⤷ q(t ) =  tu (t − ) I ()d à u(t) = …
0

• synthetic unit hydrographs (linear parametric)

⤷ empirical à generally characterised by prescribed shape and by functions of the time to
peak
peak intensity
and
h(t)
e.g. triangular unit
hydrograph
t
⤷ conceptual based on lumped parametric descriptions of the runoff concentration
mechanisms
e.g. basin storage and transferP(t)represented by the hydraulic analogue of the linear
reservoir
W(t) W(t) = k⋅Q(t) H(t)
Q(t)
t
e.g. basin response parameterised on the basis of the river network topology

13

S.Saravanan

UH IDENTIFICATION

• synthetic unit hydrographs (non-linear parametric)

LINEAR SYSTEM I(t) u(t)Basin

U(t) q(t) RP of I(t) = RP of q(t)
Char

u(t, p)
U(t,p)
NON LINEAR SYSTEM I(t) q(t) RP of I(t) ≠ RP of q(t)
Basin Char

non-linearities decrease with increasing areas of basins and with increasing amount of precipitation

two approaches:

geomorphoclimatic UH: quasi linear, i.e. linear scheme different from storm to storm

non linear analogues: e.g. linear-exponential reservoir

14

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LINEAR RESERVOIR IUH

Hypothesis: p(t)
• synchronous transfer throughout the network à W = W[h(q)] ⇒ W(q)

• linear dependence of W on Q à W(t) = k⋅q(t) (•)

• mass continuity à p(t ) − q(t ) = dW (t ) (••)
dt
q(t)
(•) + (••) à k dq(t ) + q(t ) = p(t )
dt

h(t ) =k 1 e −k

where the parameter k 1/k h(t)

is a storage constant

and tp = 0 ;hp = 1/k ;tL = k ;tUH ➞ ∞

15

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LINEAR RESERVOIR IUH

h(t) h(t)
constant rainfall intensity, constant rainfall intensity,
infinite duration finite duration ϑ

t t

p(t) p(t)

p* p*
t t p*

ϑ
q(t) q(t)
Qmax Qmax
p* p*
p*
t t
ϑ

(
Qmax = p * 1 − −ϑ k
) à
q(t ) = p * 1 − e− t k
( )
e
rising limb q(t ) = p * e
à ( −t k −etk
falling limb −ϑ
Qmax = p* is reached for t à ∞ )−
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LINEAR RESERVOIR IUH

RESERVOIR IN SERIES (NASH MODEL)
To better modulate the basin response through the storage effects n
reservoirs of equal storage constant k can be used in a cascade
p(t) q t = 1 e−t k = I ( )
•for a unitary à p(t)=1 à ( 1) 2
k
pulse t
outflow from inflow to the
q1 the first second
reservoir reservoir
• by applying the q2 (
t
) t ∫0 I 2 ( ) t h( t
q2 convolution integral for
1− −τt k 1 ) −(t −τ)
t

qn-1
the second linear à = =
∫0 e k⋅ k dτ =
e
reservoir, one obtains k
t −t
= 2 e
k k
qn

•by repeating for n

reservoirs as serious
∞
+
where Γ (α = ∫ x α−1 − xe is the Gamma function
0
dx
17
)
S.Saravanan

LINEAR RESERVOIR IN SERIES (NASH MODEL)

n2
n1<n2
Q n1 Q tp1<tp2

t t
tp1
tp2

n=2
n=3
The characteristics of the
n=4 Nash model depend on the
n=5 value of the parameters, n
n=7 n=10
Q (or α) and k

n and k values may be

Time (hr) integer or non integer

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DETERMINATION OF n & k (Method Of Moments)

NR.t
t t
𝑛𝐾 = 𝑀1𝑄 − 𝑀1𝐼

h(t) 𝑛(𝑛 + 1)𝐾 2 + 2𝑁𝐾. 𝑀1𝐼 = 𝑀2𝑄 − 𝑀2𝐼

M 1Q − M 1I
n=
K
Q
M 2Q − M 2 I
K= − ( M1Q − M 1I )
t M1Q − M 1I

( n −1)  −t 
1  t   
Q (t ) = .  .e K 
K .n  K 
t 3t 5t
  
2 2 2

NQ.t

GEOMORPHOLOGIC INSTANTANEOUS UNIT

HYDROGRAPH (GIUH) MODEL

• GIUH is a type of synthetic unit hydrograph

which links geomorphological characteristics
of the catchment to its response to rainfall.

• This method does not involve parameter

transfer from adjacent gauged and
physiographical similar catchment to the
ungauged catchment under consideration or
does not require development of a regional
equation which relates the catchment
characteristics to the hydrograph
characteristics.

• Instead, the GIUH models relate the

geomorphological characteristics of the
catchment to its response to rainfall
Strahler ordering of a river network (after
Leopold, Wolman and Miller, 1964).

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GIUH MODEL INPUT PARAMETER

Determine RA,RL &

RB
Determining Total
Number Of Possible
Paths
Check Velocity V

Determine n Determine k

Determine IUH of Nash

model using Velocity
Determine the IUH from n and K
correction

Determine GIUH and

Nash UH

Compare with
Determine 1 hr DSRO by
Observed
GIUH and Nash IUH
Hydrograph

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL BASIN CHARACTERISTICS

20

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL LAWS – STREAM ORDERING

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF STREAM NETWORKS -

HORTON

HORTO STRAHER
N

SHREVE SCHEIDEGGE
R 21

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL LAWS – HORTON’S LAWS (1)

22

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL LAWS – HORTON’S LAWS (2)

23

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL LAWS – HORTON’S LAWS (3)

24

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL LAWS – HORTON’S LAWS (4)

25

S.Saravanan

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INSTANTANEOUS UNIT

HYDROGRAPH (GIUH)

1 1 1
1
BASIN RESPONSE 1
2

is regulated by the 1 2 2
2
1
1
topological structure of the 1
1
3
2 1

river network 2
2
2
1
3 3

1
4

26

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INSTANTANEOUS UNIT

HYDROGRAPH (GIUH) - 1
DEFINITION

The GIUH is the probability density function of a

drop‘s travel time in a basin Rodriguez-Iturbe and
Valdes (1979), Gupta et al. (1980) 1 1 1
1
The path of a drop, s : 1
2
1 2 2 1
transitions 2 1
a r r+1 r 1 2 1
1 3
hillslope region stream of given order 2
2
1 2
3 3
CDF of the time a drop takes to travel to the outlet TB: 1

P(TB  t) =  P(Ts  t)P(s)

4

sS
where Ts is the travel time in a path s:

Ts = Ta + Tr + Tr + ...+ Tr
  +1 

27

S.Saravanan

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INSTANTANEOUS UNIT

HYDROGRAPH (GIUH) - 2
assuming that T‘s in Ts are independent we get the convolution integral
for the pdf of Ts :
fT (t) = fT (t)* fT (t)* fT (t)*...* fT (t)
s a r r+1 r
 1 1 1
and the probability of following a given path s, P(s) is: 1
1
2

P(s) =  P,+1P+1,+2...P−1, 1 2 2
2
1
1
1 2 1
- θω is the probability that a drop will start its travel in a 1 3
2
hillslope segment draining into a stream of order ω 2
1 2
3
- Pi,j are the tansition probabilities from streams of order i to j 3
1
4
Function of network topology only !!!
GIUH = pdf of TB

dP(TB  t)
hB (t) = =  fT (t)* fT (t)* fT (t)*...* fT (t)P(s)
dt sS
a r r+1 r

28

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NASH INSTANTANEOUS UNIT HYDROGRAPH MODEL

Figure 6 linear reservoirs in series

GEOMORPHOLOGIC BASED CLARK

INSTANTANEOUS UNIT HYDROGRAPH MODEL

▪ The coupling of the quantitative hydrologic characteristics of the

catchment with the geomorphologic parameters is the main idea of
this approach.

▪ Rodriguez-Iturbe & Valdes (1979) first introduced the GIUH, which

led to the renewal of research in Hydro geomorphology.

▪ The concept was re-stated by Gupta, et al. (1980). The Horton’s

morphometric parameters including area ratio (RA), bifurcation ratio
(RB) and length ratio (RL) are mainly used to develop the
geomorphological instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH).

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LΩ is the length in kilometers of the highest order and V is the expected peak
velocity in m/s.

GEOMORPHOLOGIC BASED NASH

INSTANTANEOUS UNIT HYDROGRAPH MODEL
▪ The Nash model is based on the concept that IUH can be derived by
routing the instantaneous inflow through a cascade of linear
reservoirs with equal storage coefficient.

▪ The outflow from the first reservoir is considered as inflow to the

second reservoir, and so on. For derivation of IUH, the Nash model
uses two parameters; number of linear reservoirs (n), which is
dimensionless and storage coefficient (k) in hour.

▪ The complete shape of the GIUH can be obtained by linking and of

the GIUH with the scale (k) and shape (n) parameters of the Nash
IUH model.These parameters can be determined from the relation

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Drainage characteristics of the Basin

U Nu logNu
1 55 -
2 22 -
3 9 -
. . .
. . .
. . .
n 1 - OR

N1
Rb(1,2) = − b = log N u +1 − log N u
N (u + 1) − u
R b(2,3) = N2 b = log
Nu
= log R
N3 N u+1

Theiraverage€ R b = log b

Rb of basin

BIFURCATION RATIO (RB)

The number of channels of a given order in a drainage basin is a function of the nature
of the surface of that drainage basin. In general, the greater the infiltration of the soil
material covering the basin, the fewer will be the number of channels required to carry
the remaining runoff water. Moreover, larger the number of channels of a given order,
the smaller is the area drained by each channel order. A dimensionless parameter based
on the number of channels with respect to their order is termed as bifurcation ratio
and is useful in defining the watershed response.The bifurcation ratio is given as follows

1 Nu
Bifurcation Ratio =
1
2
R=
b
1 N u +1
3
1 Nu and Nu+1 are the number of streams
1 2 of orders u and u+1, resp.
3
4
1
2 3 Where: RB is the bifurcation ratio, and
Ni and Ni+1 are the numbers of streams in
1 order i and i+1 respectively, i = 1, 2 … Ω
2
2 where Ω is the highest stream order of the
4 order
th
order 5 watershed. The value of bifurcation ratio; RB
basin for watersheds varies between 3 and 5.

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STREAM LENGTH RATIO (RL)

The average length of channels of each higher order increase as a

geometric sequence, which can be further explained as: the first order
channels are the shortest of all the channels and the length increase
geometrically as the order increases. This relation is called Horton’s law of
channel length.The RL is mathematically expressed as follows.

Where, is the average length of channels of order i and is

Generally RL varies between 1.5 and 3.5.

STREAM AREA RATIO (RA)

The Channel area of order i, Ai is the area of the watershed that

contributes to the channel segment of order i and all lower order
channels.The area ratio among different orders can be quantified as:

RA is the stream area ratio, The value of RA for watersheds varies between
3 and 6.

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79

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INSTANTANEOUS UNIT

HYDROGRAPH (GIUH) - 3
We have to make an assumption for the pdf‘s of Tr:
fTr (t) = K exp(− K t)


Rodriguez-Iturbe and Valdes (1979)

à suggest estimating K as the mean travel time: K = v / L
à v is the DYNAMIC PARAMETER, the characteristic velocity constant
throughout the basin
à assuming a triangular GIUH we get the following relations between
peak hp and time to peak tp by regression among parameters

- v is in m/s
1.31 0.43
hp = RL v - L is in km
hp
L
- hp is in 1/hr
0.55
0.44L  RB 
tp =   RL −0.38
v  RA 
tp tb
29

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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INSTANTANEOUS
UNIT HYDROGRAPH (GIUH) - 4

Rosso (1984), Rodriguez-Iturbe (1993)

• Assuming a Gamma GIUH we get the following relations between peak
• Gamma distribution parameters and basin properties

• connection between hydraulic behaviour (Nash cascade) and

geomorphology
n−1−t
1 t
h(t) = e
k (n)  k 
k

 - v is in m/s
0.78
 RB  - L is in km
n = 3.29   RL 0.07
 RA  - k is in 1/hr
0.48 - n is dimensionless
L  R  1000
k = 0.7   A 
v  R BR L  3600 30

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GEOMORPHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

CATCHMENTS
Linear (Bif) Linear (Ra) Linear (Rl)
7 7
𝑘 = 0.44 · 𝐿𝑤 · 𝑅𝐵0.55 · 𝑅𝐴−0.55 · 𝑅𝐿−0.38
6 6
1.31 0.43
𝑞𝑝 = · 𝑅𝐿 · 𝑣

Number of Streams (Nu)

5.34
𝐿𝑤 5 5

Mean Stream Length(Kms)

4.58
0.44 4.27
𝑡𝑝 = · 𝐿𝑤 · 𝑅𝐵0.55 · 𝑅𝐴−0.55 · 𝑅𝐿−0.38 4 3.91 4

𝑣 3.58
0.78
R  3 3
N = 3.29  A  RL
 RB 
2.49
2.30
2 2
1.79

1 1.10 1
A
RA =
A −1 0 0.00 0
1 2 3 4 5
RL = L − L −1 Watershed Order

N
RB =
N −1
QGIS extracted Horton’s parameters for Temur Catchments

Mean Horton’s Ratio

Strea Mean
Catchme No of stream
m stream
nt stream length (Rb) (Rl) (Ra)
order area
(km)
1 209 246.84 226.11 0 0 0
2 50 285.56 111.92 4.18 2.75 1.67
Temur 3 12 214.01 8.682 4.17 2.73 3.60
4 3 438.29 71.65 4.00 2.13 1.99
5 1 518.67 23.73 3.00 1.62 1.35
RA = 4.7, RB = 3.6, RL=1.9 Avg. Value- 3.84 2.31 2.15
IUH
0.12

0.1

0.08
IUH (m3/S)

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time (hrs)

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ESTIMATION OF THE VELOCITY PARAMETER,V

Rodriguez-Iturbe & Valdes (1979)
• mean flow velocity
Rodriguez-Iturbe et al. (1979)
• velocity at peak flow
meaning
• average in space (throughout the channel network) and in time (throughout the
flood event)
in practice:
• e.g. computed on the basis of the uniform flow given a known hydraulic
geometry and a reference flow (e.g. the bankfull discharge) throughout the
network and averaged
velocity distribution --> mean, mode, median
35

S.Saravanan

ESTIMATION OF THE VELOCITY PARAMETER,V

Al-Wagdany and Rao (1997)

• velocity as function of the precipitation and geomorphology

where P is the excess rainfall depth, β0 and β1 are linear regression coefficient related
to basin characteristics

and SA is the slope-area parameter AT being the drainage

, area
and being the cumulative mean slope

with = mean elevation difference observed for streams of order i

36

S.Saravanan

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GEOMORPHOCLIMATIC INSTANTANEOUS
UNIT HYDROGRAPH (GCIUH) - 1
The Transfer function depends on the average precipitation during on
the event
Kinematic transfer throughout the network “Regular” geometry
Qp
ത 𝐿 𝑎𝛺3Τ2
𝑃𝐴𝑅 ത 𝐿 𝑎𝛺3Τ2
𝑃𝐴𝑅
𝑄𝑝 = 0.161 𝑄𝑝 = 0.161 Τ
𝐿5𝛺 2
Τ 𝐿5𝛺 2
tp
Τ
𝐿5𝛺 2
𝑡𝑝 = 3.169
ത 𝐿 𝑎3Τ2
𝑃𝐴𝑅 𝛺

𝐿𝛺 , 𝑏𝛺 m 𝑎𝛺 m-1/3s-1
Strickler’s Average Average
𝑝ҧ m/s Qp ms-1 Coefficient Slope of width of
tp s (Roughness) the Max. the Ω)
𝐴𝛺 m2
order(Ω) channel
𝑘𝑆𝛺 m1/3s-1 channel 39

S.Saravanan

GIUH – EXAMPLE (3)

RIETHOLZBACH BASIN

RA = 5
Travel time distribution
RB =4
1
t= l RL = 2
v
v = 1 (m / s)
Hillslope versus channel flow
L = 3 (km)
v = vchannel
v = vhillslope =  vchannel
 1

33

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ESTIMATING QMAX USING THE RATIONAL METHOD

( Ln )
0.6 From table, for urban residential areas (>6
tc = 0.94 houses/ac), n = 0.08;
i 0.4 S 0.3 L and S are given, but i must be determined.

14.24
tc (min) = 0.4
i (in/hr)

T&E approach:
• Assume a value for i or tc
• If tc was guessed, assume storm duration D = tc
• Determine D or i from IDF curve (whichever was not assumed)
• Compute tc from Henderson & Wooding
• Repeat until D = tc

ESTIMATING QMAX USING THE RATIONAL METHOD

Guess tc = 5 min; For D = 5 min, i for 10-yr storm is 2.20 in/hr
14.24
tc = = 10.4 (min)
2.200.4
Guess tc = 10 min; For D = 10 min, i for 10-yr storm is 1.75 in/hr
14.24
tc = = 11.4 (min)
1.750.4
Guess tc = 12 min; For D = 12 min, i for 10-yr storm is 1.60 in/hr
14.24
tc = = 11.8 (min)
1.600.4

From Table of runoff coefficients, C for dense residential area with rolling terrain is
0.75 (for Q in cfs, i in in/hr and A in ac). Using tc = D = 12 min, i = 1.60 in/hr:

Qpeak = CiA = ( 0.75)(1.6 in/hr )(1.24 ac) = 1.5 cfs

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ESTIMATING QMAX USING THE RATIONAL METHOD

( Ln )
0.6 From table, for urban residential areas (>6
tc = 0.94 houses/ac), n = 0.08;
i 0.4 S 0.3 L and S are given, but i must be determined.

14.24
tc (min) = 0.4
i (in/hr)

T&E approach:
• Assume a value for i or tc
• If tc was guessed, assume storm duration D = tc
• Determine D or i from IDF curve (whichever was not assumed)
• Compute tc from Henderson & Wooding
• Repeat until D = tc

DERIVATION OF UNIT HYDROGRAPHS

• The area under each DRH is evaluated and the volume of the direct runoff
obtained is divided by the catchment area to obtain the depth of ER.

• The ordinates of the various DHRs are divided by the respective ER values to
obtain the ordinates of the unit hydrograph.

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7) Derive a flood hydrograph from a 1 cm – 1 h unit hydrograph for the storm of

excess rainfall of 2 cm/h for 1 h followed by 4cm/h for 2 h then there is a gap of 1
h then 1 cm/h for 1 h. The 1 cm – 1 h unit hydrograph coordinates are as follows:

Time (hr) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Discharge(m3/s) 0 6 13 22 16 11 7 4 2 1 0

Solution:
The calculations for the flood hydrograph are as per the table below. It may be
noted that the precipitation of 4 cm/hr for 2 hr is split into 2 parts each of 4 cm/hr
for 1 1 hr and their hydrographs worked separately. The hydrographs due to 1
cm/hr precipitation is taken after a gap of 2 hr since there is a gap of 1 hr after
the 4 cm/hr precipitation.

In the table; A = 1 cm- 1 h unit hydrograph

B = Hydrograph due 2 cm/hr precipitation
C = Hydrograph due 4 cm/hr precipitation
D = Hydrograph due 4 cm/hr precipitation
E = Hydrograph due 1 cm/hr precipitation
F = Resulting flood hydrograph.

Time (hr) UH (m3/s) UH*2 UH*4 UH*4 UH*1 DSRO

(m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
0 0 0 - - - 0
1 6 12 0 - - 12
2 13 26 24 0 - 15
3 22 44 52 24 - 120
4 16 32 88 52 0 172
5 11 22 64 88 6 180
6 7 14 44 64 13 135
7 4 8 28 44 22 102
8 2 4 16 28 16 64
9 1 2 8 16 11 37
10 0 0 4 8 7 19
11 - - 0 4 4 8
12 - - - 0 2 2
13 - - - - 1 1
14 - - - - 0 0

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8) The ordinates of the 6-h unit hydrograph of a basin are given:

If two storms, each of 1-cm rainfall excess and 6-h duration occur in succession, calculate
the resulting Flood hydrograph of flow. Assume the base flow to be uniform at 10m3/s.
Time h 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
Ordinate 3
m /s 0 20 60 150 120 90 66 50 32 20 10 0
of 6-h UH

C1 C2 C3=C2*1 C4=C2*1 C6 C7= C5+C6

DRH due to 1 C5= C3+C4 Ordinates of
Ordinate DRH due to1.
Time cm ER lagged by Base flow flood
of6-h UH cm ER
6-h hydrograph
3
h m /s m3/s m3/s m3/s m3/s m3/s
0 0 0 0 10 10
6 20 20 0 20 10 30
12 60 60 20 80 10 90
18 150 150 60 210 10 220
24 120 120 150 270 10 280
30 90 90 120 210 10 220
36 66 66 90 156 10 166
42 50 50 66 116 10 126
48 32 32 50 82 10 92
54 20 20 32 52 10 62
60 10 10 20 30 10 40
66 0 0 10 10 10 20
72 0 0 10 10

300
Flood Hydrograph
250
Discharge (Cumec)

200

150

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (h)

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9) Derive a 12-h unit hydrograph for the catchment.

Time (h) 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
Ordinate of
0 20 60 150 120 90 66 50 32 20 10 0
6-h UH (m3/s)

1 C2 C3 C4= C2+C3 C5 = (C4/(12/6))

Ordinate of Ordinates of 6-h UH C5 = (C4/2)
Time
Ordinates of 12-h
6-h UH lagged by 6-h
UH
h m3/s m3/s m3/s m3/s
0 0 0 0
6 20 0 20 10
12 60 20 80 40
18 150 60 210 105
24 120 150 270 135
30 90 120 210 105
36 66 90 156 78
42 50 66 116 58
48 32 50 82 41
54 20 32 52 26
60 10 20 30 15
66 0 10 10 5
72 0 0 0

Compute a 4-h unit hydrograph ordinate and plot: (i) the S-curve (ii) the 4-h UG
Time(h) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
2-h UH
0 25 100 160 190 170 110 70 30 20 6 0 0 0
Ordinates(m3/s)

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 = C4-C5 C7 = C6/ (4/2)

2-h UH S2 curve S2 curve lagged DRH of (4/2)= 2 4-h UH
Time (H) S curve addition
Ordinates m3/s ordinate by 4 h cm m3/s Ordinates m3/s
0 0 0 0 0 0
2 25 0 25 25 12.5
4 100 25 125 0 125 62.5
6 160 125 285 25 260 130
8 190 285 475 125 350 175
10 170 475 645 285 360 180
12 110 645 755 475 280 140
14 70 755 825 645 180 90
16 30 825 855 755 100 50
18 20 855 875 825 50 25
20 6 875 881 855 26 13
22 0 881 881 875 6 3
24 0 881 881 881 0 0
26 0 881 881 881 0 0

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11) The runoff data at a stream gauging station for a flood are given below. The drainage
area is 40 km2. The duration of rainfall is 3 h. Derive the 3-h unit hydrograph for the basin.

Date Time(h) Discharge (m3/s) Base flow (m3/s)

1-3-2017 2 3 4
2 50 50
5 47 47
8 75 46
11 120 45
14 225 45
17 290 45
20 270 46
23 145 48
2-3-2017 2 110 50
5 90 53
8 80 54
11 70 57
14 60 60
17 55 55
20 51 51
23 50 50

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 4/8/2023

• ΣDRO= 986 cumec

TRO- Total runoff ordinate
BFO- Base flow ordinate
DRO- Direct flow ordinate= TRO-BFO
UGO- Unit Hydrograph ordinate.
UGO = DRO/Pnet;
986(3∗60∗60)
Pnet = Σ DRO.t/A = 40∗106
= 26.6 cm

DRO/(26. Time from beginningof

Date Time TRO BFO UGO surface runoff (hr)
(hr) 6)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1-3-2017 2 50 50 - - -
5 47 47 0 0 0
8 75 46 29 1.09 3
11 120 45 75 2.82 6
14 225 45 180 6.77 9
17 20 45 245 9.23 12
20 270 46 224 8.44 15
23 145 48 97 3.65 18
2-3-1970 2 110 50 60 2.26 21
5 90 53 37 1.39 24
8 80 54 26 0.98 27
11 70 57 13 0.49 30
14 60 60 0 0 33
17 55 55 - - -
20 51 51 - - -
23 50 50 - - -

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EXAMPLE

The 1- hr unit hydrograph for a watershed is given below.

Determine the 2 hr unit hydrograph.

Time ( hr) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Unit hydrograph ( cfs) 10 100 200 150 100 50

PROBLEM

Suppose the 4-hr unit hydrograph for a watershed is

Time (hr) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Unit hydrograph (m3/s/10 mm) 0 15 45 65 50 25 10 0

a) Determine the 2-hr unit hydrograph

b) A design storm has 1 cm/hr in first 2 hr and 0.5 cm/hr in the second 2 hr.
Baseflow = 10 m3/s. Calculate the total runoff hydrograph

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PROBLEM

Cum. Instantaneous
Time Rain Runoff
4:00 0 0
4:30 30 0.3
5:00 80 4.2
5:30 90 11.3
6:00 95 13
6:30 127 34
7:00 130 45.3
7:30 132 21.2
8:00 9.3
8:30 4.8
9:00 2.5
9:30 1.4
10:00 0.8
10:30 0

PROBLEM 8.2.4.

Cum. Instantaneous Inc Vol Inc Depth

Time Rain Runoff (m3) (mm)
4:00 0 0
4:30 30 0.3 270 0.032 Instantaneous Runoff (m^3/s)
5:00 80 4.2 4050 0.482 50
5:30 90 11.3 13950 1.661
6:00 95 13 21870 2.604 45
6:30 127 34 42300 5.036 40
7:00 130 45.3 71370 8.496
7:30 132 21.2 59850 7.125 35
8:00 9.3 27450 3.268 30
8:30 4.8 12690 1.511
9:00 2.5 6570 0.782 25
9:30 1.4 3510 0.418 20
10:00 0.8 1980 0.236
10:30 0 720 0.086 15

10
31.74
5

0
3:36 4:48 6:00 7:12 8:24 9:36 10:48

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DETERMINING THE  INDEX AND EXCESS RAINFALL

HYETOGRAPH

Phi . DT 26.75 60

Excess
Incremental Rainfall 50
Rainfall (mm) (mm)
0 40
30 3.246674 3.246674
50 23.246674 23.24667
10 -16.753326 30 0
5 -21.753326 0
32 5.246674 5.246674
20
3 -23.753326 0
2 -24.753326 0
10
Sum positive 31.74
0
3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30

DESIGN FOR RUNOFF CONVEYANCE

• Qmax from the SCS (NRCS) Method

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TYPES OF USAID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS

4/8/2023 Fundamental Concepts of Environmental Impact Assessment 109

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