5th Semester B.TECH.

[ CIVIL ENGINEERING ]
WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING
The Need

water is curative in indigestion, water is nourishing after digestion;

water is appetizing during food, and ill-affects immediately after food.
ajIrNe bheShajam vAri, jIrNe vAri balapradam |
bhojane chAmRitam vAri, bhojanAnte viShapradam ||
Water - the least appreciated thing, right before air. We just take it for granted. There was a time,
not too long ago, when you could drink water from pretty much any tap in india, or a well, river.
There would be water sheds called 'pyaaoo' on road sides, sponsored by local businessman or
charitable person, manned by local hands. You would get some of sweetest natural water, along
with some jaggery and roasted grams (at least in hot and dry Rajasthan), easing your travelrelated travails. Thanks to recent decades of industrial progress, even in india it is difficult to
find drinkable water from free natural resources. And the rivers, the life line of any civilization,
are terribly polluted as well like the Brahmani, GangA ( ) and YamunA (
).
WATER WATER WATER WATER EVERY WHERENOT A DROP OF WATER
TO DRINK!!!
BEFORE THIS HAPPENS, LET US GET UP AND GIVE DUE PRESTIGE TO WATER.
HENCE IS THE COURSE IMPORTANT FOR THE ENGINEERS, WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE WELBEING OF THE SOCIETY.

MODULE 1:

Instructional Objectives
After completion of this Module, the student shall know about
1. Hydrologic cycle and its components
2. Distribution of earths water resources
3. Distribution of fresh water on earth
4. Rainfall distribution in India
5. Land and water resources of India; water development potential
6. Need for development of water resources
7. Forms and Types of precipitation
8. Methods of Measurement of Precipitation
9. Presentation and interpretation of rainfall data
10. Abstractions from Precipitation

INTRODUCTION
Water on the surface of earth is available in the atmosphere, the oceans, on land
and within the soil and fractured rock of the earths crust. Water molecules from
one location to another are driven due to the solar energy transmitted to the surface
of the earth from Sun. Moisture circulates from the earth into the atmosphere
through evaporation and then back into the earth as precipitation.
Hydrology:
It is the study of physical geographic which deals with the origin, distribution and
properties of water present in earth surface.
Hydrological Cycle:Precipitation

Condensation

Formation of Clouds

Evaporation

Ocean

Water Budget Equation:Mass inflow Mass outflow = Change in storage

P R G E T = S
Where,
P = Precipitation
T = Transpiration
G = Ground water Resources
R = Runoff
E = Evaporation
S = Chang in Storage

Catchment Area:River
Streams

World Water Balance:Total quantity of water in the world is estimated to be about 1386 million cubic
kilometer (M Km3). About 96.5% of this water is contained in the oceans as saline
water. Some of the water on the land amounting to about 1% of the total water is
also saline. Thus, only about 35.0 M Km 3 of fresh water is available. Out of this
about 10.6 M Km3 is both liquid and fresh and the remaining 24.4 M Km 3 is
contained in frozen state as ice in the polar regions and on mountain tops and
glaciers.
PRECIPITATION
INTRODUCTION:
The term precipitation denotes all forms of water that reach the earth from the
atmosphere. The usual forms are rainfall, snowfall, hail, frost and dew.
The magnitude of precipitation varies with time and space. For precipitation to
form: (i) the atmosphere must have moisture, (ii) there must be sufficient nuclei
present to aid condensation , (iii) weather conditions must be good for
condensation of water vapour to take place, and (iv) the products of condensation
must reach the earth.
FORMS OF PRECIPITATION:
Some of the common forms of precipitation are rain, snow, drizzle, glaze, sleet and
hail.
1. Rain

It is the principal form of precipitation in India. The term rainfall is used to

describe precipitation in the form of water drops of sizes larger than 0.5mm. The
maximum size of a raindrop is 6mm. Any drop larger in size than this tends to
break up into drops of smaller sizes during its fall from the clouds. On the basis of
its intensity rainfall is classified as follows:
Light rain: trace to 2.5 mm/hr
Moderate rain: 2.5mm/hr to 7.5mm/hr
Heavy rain: > 7.5mm/hr
2. Snow
Snow is another important form of precipitation. Snow consists of ice crystals
which usually combine to form flakes. When fresh, snow has an initial density
varying from 0.06 to 0.15g/cm3 and it is usual to assume an average density of 0.1
g
/cm3. In India, snow occurs only in the Himalayan regions.
3. Drizzle
A fine sprinkle of numerous water droplets of size less than 0.5mm and intensity
less than 1mm/hr is known as drizzle. In this, the drops are so small that they
appear to float in the air.
4. Glaze
When rain or drizzle comes in contact with cold ground at 0 0C, the water drops
freeze to form an ice coating called glaze or freezing rain.
5. Sleet
It is frozen raindrops of transparent grains which form when rain falls through air
at sub freezing temperature. In Britain, sleet denotes precipitation of snow and rain
simultaneously.
6. Hail
It is a showery precipitation in the forms of irregular pellets of lump of ice of size
more than 8mm. Hails occur in violent thunderstorms in which vertical currents are
very strong.
WEATHER SYSTEMS FOR PRECIPITATION:
For the formation of clouds and subsequent precipitation, it is
necessary that the moist air masses cool to form condensation. This is normally
accomplished by adiabatic cooling of moist air through a process of being lifted to
higher altitude. Some of the terms and processes connected with weather systems
associated with precipitation are given below.
1. Front
A front is the interface between two distinct air masses. Under certain favorable
conditions when a warm air mass and cold air mass meet, the warmer air mass is
lifted over the colder one with the formation of front. The ascending warmer air
cools adiabatically with the consequent formation of clouds and precipitation.
2. cyclone

A cyclone is a large low pressure region with circular wind motion. Two types of
cyclones are recognized: tropical cyclones and extra tropical cyclones.
(a) Tropical cyclone:
A tropical cyclone, also called cyclone in India, hurricane in USA and
typhoon in south East Asia, is a wind system with an intensely strong
depression with MSL pressures sometimes below 915 m bars. The normal
areal extend of cyclone is about 100-200 km in diameter. The isobars are
closely spaced and the winds are anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.
The center of the storm called the eye, which may extend to about 10-50 km
in diameter, will be relatively quiet. However, right outside the eye, very
strong winds/reaching to as much as 200 km per hr exist. The wind speed
gradually decreases towards the outer edge. The pressure also increases
outwards. The rainfall will normally be heavy in the entire area occupied by
the cyclone.
(b)Extra tropical cyclone:
These are cyclones formed in locations outside the tropical zone. Associated
with a frontal system, they possess a strong counter clockwise wind
circulation in the northern hemisphere. The magnitude of precipitation and
wind velocities are relatively lower than those of a tropical cyclone.
However, the duration of precipitation is usually longer and the areal extend
is also larger.
(3)Anticyclones:
These are regions of high pressure, usually of large areal extent. The weather
is usually calm act the center. Anticyclones cause clockwise wind
circulations in the northern hemisphere. Winds are of moderate speed, and at
the outer, cloudy and precipitation conditions exist.
(4) Convective precipitation:
In this type of precipitation, a packet of air which is warmer than the
surrounding air due to localized heating rises because of its lesser density.
Air from cooler surroundings flows to take up its place, thus setting up a
convective cell. The warm air continues to rise, undergoes cooling and
results in precipitation. Depending upon the moisture, thermal and other
conditions, light showers to thunderstorms can be expected in convective

precipitation. Usually, the aerial extent of such rains is small, being limited
to a diameter of about 10km.
(5) Orographic precipitation:
The moist air masses may get lifted up to higher altitudes due to the
presence of mountain barriers and consequently undergo cooling,
condensation and precipitation. Such a precipitation is known as orographic
precipitation. Thus, in mountain ranges, the windward slopes of heavy
precipitation and the leeward slopes have light rainfall.
ANNUAL RAINFALL:
Considerable areal variation exists for the annual rainfall of the magnitude of
200cm in Assam and north-eastern parts and Western-Ghats, and scanty rainfall in
eastern Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The average
annual rainfall for the entire country is estimated as 118.3cm.
It is well known that there is considerable variation of annual rainfall in time at a
place. The coefficient of variation,
Cv= (100* standard deviation)/ Mean
Of the annual rainfall varies between 15 and 70, from place to place with an
average value of about 30. Variability is least in regions of high rainfall and largest
in regions of scanty rainfall. Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan have large
variability of rainfall.
Some of the interesting statistics relating to the variability of the seasonal and
annual rainfall of India are as follows:
A few heavy spells of rain contribute nearly 90% of total rainfall.
While the average annual rainfall of the country is 118 cm, average
annual rainfall varies from 10 cm in the western desert to 1100 cm in the
north-east region.
More than 50% rain occurs within 15 days and less than 100 hours in a
year.
More than 805 of seasonal rainfall is produced in 10-20% rain events,
each lasting 1-3 days.
MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION
1) Rainfall
Precipitation is expressed in terms of the depth to which rainfall water would stand
on an area if all the rain were collected on it. Thus, 1cm of rainfall over a
catchment area of 1km2 represents a volume of water equal to 10 4 m3. In the case of

snowfall, an equivalent depth of water is used as the depth of precipitation. The

precipitation is collected and measured in a rain gauge. Terms such pluviometer
ombrometer and hyetometer area also sometimes used to designate a rain gauge.
A rain gauge essentially consists of a cylindrical vessel assembly kept in the open
to collect rain. The rainfall catch of the rain gauge is affected by its exposure
conditions. To enable the catch of rain gauge to accurately represent the area in the
surrounding the rain gauge standard settings are adopted. For setting up a rain
gauge the following considerations are important:
The ground must be level and in the open and the instrument must present a
horizontal catch surface.
The gauge must be set as near the ground as possible to reduce wind effects but it
must be sufficiently high to prevent splashing flooding etc.
The instrument must be surrounded by an open fenced area of at least 5.5 m * 5.5
m. No object should be nearer to the instrument than 30 m or twice the height of
the obstruction.
Rain gauges can be broadly classified into two categories as
(i) Non recording gauges (ii) Recording gauges.
A. Non-recording Gauges
The non recording gauge extensively used in India is the Symons gauge. It
essentially consists of a circular collection area of 12.7 cm (5.0 inch) diameter
connected to a funnel. The rim of the collector is set in a horizontal plane at a
height of 30.5 cm above the ground level. The funnel discharges the rainfall catch
into a receiving vessel. The funnel and receiving vessel are housed in a metallic
container. Fig below shows the details of the installation. Water contained in the
receiving vessel is measured by a suitably graduated measuring glass, with
accuracy up to 0.1mm.
Recently, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has changed over to the
use of fiber glass reinforced polyester rain-gauges, which is an improvement over
the Symons gauge. These come in different combinations of collector is in two
sizes having areas of 200 and 100 cm 2 respectively. Indian standard (IS: 52251969) gives details of these new rain-gauges.
For uniformity, the rainfall is measured everyday at 8.30a.m.(IST) and is recorded
as the rainfall of that day. The receiving bottle normally does not hold more than
10cm of rain and as such, in the case of heavy rainfall, the measurements must be
done more frequently and entered. However, the last reading must be taken at 8.30
a.m. and the sum of the previous readings in the past 24 hours entered as the total
of that day. Proper care, maintenance and inspection of rain-gauges, especially
during dry weather to keep the instrument free from dust and dirt, is very
necessary. The details of installation of non-recording rain-gauges and
measurement of rain are specified in Indian Standard (IS:4986-1968).

This rain-gauge can also be used to measure snowfall. When snow is expected, the
funnel and receiving bottle are removed and the snow is allowed to collect in the
outer metal container. The snow is then melted and the depth of resulting water
measured. Antifreeze agents are sometimes used to facilitate melting of snow. In
areas where considerable snowfall is expected, special snow-gauges with shields
(for minimizing the wind effect) and storage pipes (to collect snow over longer
durations) are used.
B. Recording Gauges
Recording gauges produce a continuous plot of rainfall against time and provide
valuable data of intensity and duration of rainfall for hydrological analysis of
storms. The following are some of the commonly used recording rain-gauges.
(a)Tipping-Bucket Type
This is a 30.5 cm size rain-gauge adopted for use by the US Weather Bureau. The
catch from the funnel falls onto one of a pair of small buckets. These buckets are
so balanced that when 0.25 mm of rainfall collects in one bucket, it tips and brings
the other one in position. The water from the tipped bucket is collected in a storage
can. The tipping actuates an electrically driven pen to trace a record on the
clockwork-driven chart. The water collected in the storage can is measured at
regular intervals to provide the total rainfall and also serve as a check. It may be
noted that the record from the tipping bucket gives data on the intensity of rainfall.
Further, the instrument is ideally suited for digitalizing of the output signal.
(b)Weighing-Bucket Type
In this rain-gauge, the catch from the funnel empties into a bucket mounted on a
weighing scale. The weight of the bucket and its contents are recorded on a
clockwork-driven chart. The clockwork mechanism has the capacity to run for as
long as one week. This instrument gives a plot of the accumulated rainfall against
the elapsed time, i.e. the mass curve of rainfall. In some instruments of this type,
the recording unit is so constructed that the pen reverses its direction at every
preset value, say 7.5 cm (3inch)so that a continuous plot of storm is obtained.
(c) Natural-Syphon Type
This type of recording rain-gauge is also known as float-type gauge. Here, the
rainfall collected by a funnel-shaped collector is led into a float chamber causing a
float to rise. As the float rises, a pen attached to the float through a lever system
records the elevation of the float on a rotating drum driven by a clockwork
mechanism. A siphon arrangement empties the float chamber when the float has
reached a preset maximum level. This type of rain-gauge is adopted as the standard
recording-type rain-gauge in India and in details is described in Indian Standard
(IS: 5235-1969).

RAINGAUGE NETWORK:
NETWORK DENSITY
Since the catching area of a rain-gauges very small compared to the
areal extent of a storm, it is obvious that to get a representative picture of a storm
over a catchment, the number of rain-gauges should be as large as possible, i.e. the
catchment area per gauge should be small. Economic considerations restrict the
number of gauges to be maintained.
ADEQUACY OF RAINGAUGE STATIONS
Optimum number of stations that should exist to have an assigned percentage of
error in the estimation of mean rainfall is obtained by:
N=(Cv/)2
N= optimal number of stations
= allowable degree of error in the estimate of the mean rainfall
Cv= coefficient of variation
If there are m stations in the catchment each recording rainfall values P 1, P2,
P3, PiPm in a known time, the coefficient of variation Cv is calculated as:
Cv=(100m-1/ P)
m-1=[(Pi- P) 2/m-1]1/2
m-1= standard deviation
Pi=precipitation magnitude in the ith station
P=
(P i)/m=mean precipitation

PREPARATION OF DATA
Before using any rainfall data in application, its very necessary to check the
data for consistency and continuity.
The continuity of record may be broken with missing data due to many
reasons such as damage or fault in the rain gauge during a period.

Procedure of missing data estimation:

1. Statement of the missing data problem:
Given the annual precipitation values P1,P2,P3,Pm at neighboring M
stations 1,2,3,..,M resp, it is required to find the missing annual
precipitation P at a station X not included in the above M station.

Further, the normal precipitations N1,N2,N3,Ni, at each of the

above (M+1) stations, including station X, are known.
2. Procedure:
i. If the normal precipitations at various stations are within about

10% of the normal annual precipitation at station X then Px is

calculated as:
Px=[P1,P2,P3,Pm]/M
ii.

If the normal precipitation varies considerably then Px is

estimated by weighing the precipitation at various stations by
the ratios of normal annual precipitations. This method is
known as the normal ratio method:
Px=Nx[P1/N1,P2/N2,P3/N3,Pm/Nm]/M

Presentation of Rainfall Data

MASS CURVE OF RAINFALLThe mass curve of rainfall is a plot of the accumulated precipitation against time,
plotted in chronological order. Records of float type and weighing bucket type
gauges are of this form. A typical mass curve of rainfall at a station during a storm
is shown in the fig2.9. Mass curves of rainfall are very useful in extracting the
information on the duration and the magnitude of a storm. Also, intensities at
various time intervals in a storm can be obtained by a slope of the curve. For nonrecording rain gauges; mass curves are prepared from knowledge of the
approximate beginning and end of a storm and by using the mass curves of
10
adjacent
recording gauge stations as a guide.
9

Cumulative Rainfall (in.)

8
7
6
5
3.07 in

8.2 in

30 min

5.56 in

2
1 hr

2 hr

0
0

30

60

90
Time (min.)

120

150

Mass Curve of Rainfall

HYETOGRAPH
A hyetograph is a plot of the intensity of rainfall against the time interval. The
hyetograph is derived from the mass curve and is usually represented as a bar chart
(fig.2.10).It is a very convenient way of representing the characteristics of a storm
and is particularly important in the development of design storms to predict
extreme floods. The area under a hyetograph represents the total precipitation
received in the period .The time interval used depends on the purpose ,in urbandrainage problems small durations are used while in flood-flow computations in
larger catchments the intervals are of about 6h.

0.8

Incremental Rainfall (in per 5 min)

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2
POINT
RAINFALLPoint rainfall, also known as station rainfall, refers to the rainfall data of a
0.1
station .Depending upon the need, data can be listed as daily, weekly, monthly,
seasonal
or annual values for various periods .Graphically, these data are
0
5
15 20
25 30 of
35 40
45 50 55 60 vs
65 70
75 80 85 90 95 100
105 110in
115 the
120 125form
130 135 140
represented10 as
plots
magnitude
chronological
time
of 145a 150bar
Time (min)
diagram. Such a plot however is not convenient for discerning a trend in the
rainfall as there will be considerable variations in the rainfall values leading to
rapid changes in the plot. The trend is often discerned by the method of moving
averages, also known as moving means.
MOVING AVERAGEMoving average is a technique for smoothening out the high frequency fluctuations
of a time series and to enable the trend, if any, to be noticed. The basic principle is
that a window of time range m years is selected. Starting from the first set of m

years of data, the average of the data for m years is calculated and placed in the
middle year of the range m .The window is next moved sequentially one time unit
(year) at a time and the mean of the m terms in the window is determined at each
window location .The value of m can be 3 or more years; usually an odd value.
Generally the larger size of the range m, the greater is the smoothening .There are
many ways of averaging and the method described above is called CENTRAL
SIMPLE MOVING AVERAGE.
Mean Precipitation Over An Area:
To convert the point rainfall values at various stations into an average value over a
catchment, the following 3 methods are in use:
Arithmetical-mean method
Thiessen-mean method
Isohyetal method
ARITHMETIC-MEAN METHOD:- When the rainfall measured at various stations
in a catchment show little variation over catchment area I taken as the arithmetic
mean of the station values. Thus, if P1P2PiPn are the rainfall values in a
given period in N stations within catchment then the value of the mean ppt. p over
the catchment by the arithmetic mean method is
P==
THIESSEN-MEAN METHOD:
In this method, the rainfall recorded at each station is given a weightage on the
basis of an area closest to the station. The procedure of determining the weighing
area is as follows: Consider the catchment area as in Fig. below containing six rain
gauge stations.

There are three stations outside the catchment but in its neighbor-hood. The
catchment area is drawn to scale and the positions of the six stations marked on it.
Stations 1 to 6 are joined to for a network of triangles. Perpendicular bisectors for
each of the sides of the triangle are drawn. These bisectors form a polygon around
each station. The boundary of the catchment, if it cuts the bisectors is taken as the
outer limit of the polygon. Thus for station1, the bounding polygon is abcd. For
station 2, kade is taken as the bounding polygon. These bounding polygons are
called Thiessen polygons. The areas of these six Thiessen polygons are determined
either with a planimeter or by using an overlay grid. If P 1,P2,..,P6 are the rainfall
magnitudes recorded by the stations 1,2,,6 respectively, and A 1,A2,,A6 Are the

respective areas of the Thiessen polygons then the average rainfall over the
catchment P is given by

Thus,in general,for M stations,

P==
The ratio Ai/A is called weightage factor for each station. The Thiessen-polygon
method for calculating the average precipitation over an area is superior to the
arithmetic-average method as some weightage is given to the various stations on a
rational basis. Further, the rain-gauge stations outside the catchment are also used
effectively. Once the weightage factors are determined, the calculation of P is
relatively easy for fixed network for stations.
ISOHYETAL METHOD:
An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall magnitude. In the isohyetal
method, the catchment area is drawn to scale and the rain-gauge stations are
marked. The recorded values for which areal average is to be determined are then
marked on the plot at appropriate stations. Neighboring stations outside the
catchment are also considered. The isohyets are then drawn by considering point
rainfalls as guided and interpolating between them by eye.
The area between two adjacent isohyets are then determined with a planimeter. If
the isohyets go out of catchment, the catchment boundary is used as the bounding
line. The average value of the rainfall indicated by two isohyets is assumed to be
acting over the inter-isohyet area. Thus P1,P2,..,Pn are the values of isohyets and
if a1,a2,.,an-1 are the inter-isohyet areas respectively, then the mean
precipitations over the catchment of area A is
P=
It is superior to the two methods.

DEPTH-AREA-DURATION (DAD) CURVE:DAD analysis is carried out to obtain a curve relating the depth of precipitation D,
area of its coverage A and duration of occurrence of the storm D. A DAD curve is a
graphical representation of the gradual decrease of depth of precipitation with the
progressive increase of the area of storm, away from the storm center, for a given
duration taken as the 3rd parameter. This gives a direct relationship between depth,
area and duration of ppt. over the region for which the analysis is carried out. The
purpose of DAD analysis is to determine the maximum precipitating amounts that
have occurred over various sizes of drainage during the passage of storm periods of
say 6h, 12h, 24h or other durations. There are two methods available for carrying
out DAD analysis1. Mass curve method
2. Incremental-isohyetal method
Probable maximum precipitation (PMP):

It is defined as the estimate of the extreme maximum rainfall of a given duration

that is physically possible over a basin under critical hydrological and
meteorological conditions. This is used to compute flood by using suitable rainfall
runoff model.
Two methods of PMP estimation are:
1. Statistical procedure
2. Meteorological approach
The statistical approach of PMP by using Chows equation
PMP = P + k
Where P is the mean of annual maximum values, the standard deviation and k is
the frequency factor which varies between 5 to 30 according to rainfall duration.

ABSTRACTIONS FROM PRECIPITATION

LOSSES FROM PRECIPITATION
For a surface water resource engineer, precipitation runoff =losses
Precipitation surface runoff = total losses
Total losses = Evaporation + Transpiration + Interception + Depression storage +
Infiltration
Evaporation and its estimation : Continuous natural process by which a substance changes from liquid to
gaseous state.
In arid regions, 90% loss is due to evaporation.
So evaporation may otherwise be defined as loss of water to the atmosphere
over the period under consideration.
The main source of evaporation is solar radiation.
1 gm of water requires about 597cal of heat at 0 0c or 1gm of ice at 0 0c
requires about 677cal for vaporization. This heat is latent heat of water and
supplied by sun.
Equivalent molar wt. Of air = 28.95,water vapour is = 18
So water vapor is 62% lighter than air.
Due to heat radiation, KE of water surface molecules increases . The surface
tension and cohesion force cant hold the water molecules .They project into
the atmosphere and due to lighter weight than air ,they can rise up to height
where they condense .

The net evaporation takes place during warm periods.

Therefore the temperature of water surface is maintained at lower level.
In a hydrologic cycle, evaporation takes place from all stages , even from the
falling raindrops .
Average annual rainfall in India is about 1120mm which is equal to 370
million hector-m of water.
Total runoff by all the rivers of the country = 170 million hector-m
Ground water recharge = 37 million hector-m
So loss due to evaporation and transpiration = 163 million hector-m

Factors responsible for evaporation :1. . Meteorological factors :

A) Vapour pressure
B) Solar radiation
C) Air temperature
D) Wind velocity
E) Atmospheric pressure
2. Nature of evaporating surface (Heat storage in water bodies )
3 .Quality of water (Presence Soluble salts )
Vapour pressure
As per Daltons law of evaporation, The rate of evaporation is proportional to
the difference between saturated vapour pressure at the water temperature (e w)
and the actual vapour pressure in the air (ea).
EL=C(ew-ea)
Where EL=Rate of evaporation (mm/day)
C=Constant
ew,ea (in mm)
Evaporation continues till ew=ea .If ew > ea , condensation takes place.
Temperature
Rate of evaporation is directly proportional to increase in water temperature.
Slight increase due to increase in air temperature also.
Thus for the same mean monthly temperature ,it is possible to have evaporation
to different degrees in a lake in different months.
Wind
Wind helps in removing evaporated water vapour from the zone of evaporation
and creates more scope for further evaporation.
But it continues up to a certain increase in wind speed i.e critical speed beyond
which no effect on evaporation.
If the water surface is having larger area ,then high speed turbulent winds are
required for maximum evaporation.

Atmospheric pressure
Decrease in barometric pressure at higher altitudes increases evaporation
remaining the other factors same.
Quality of water (presence of soluble salts)
When a solute is dissolved in water, the vapour pressure of the solution
becomes less than that of pure water .That causes reduction in evaporation.
The % reduction in evaporation corresponds to % increase in specific gravity.
e.g. Evaporation from sea water < 2-3% from fresh water.
Nature of evaporating surface: (Heat storage in water body)
Deep water bodies have more heat storage capacity than shallow.
Deep lake may store radiation energy received in summer and release it in
winter causing less evaporation in summer and more in winter compared to
shallow lake in same condition.
The effect of heat storage is essentially to change the seasonal evaporation
rate but the annual evaporated rate is not affected.
Evaporimeters
Evaporation is estimated by
Measurement using evaporation pans
Empirical equations
Analytical methods
Water balance method
Energy budget method
Mass transfer method
Types of Evaporimeter
Class A evaporation pan
ISI standard Pan
Colorado sunken pan
US geological survey floating pan.
Class A evaporation pan :
Pan is normally made up of unpainted galvanized iron sheet.
Evaporation is measured by measuring the depth of water with a hook
gauge in a stilling well.
Top surface is open to atmosphere.
Due to absence of top wire mesh, evaporation is 14% extra.
ISI Standard Pan (Modified Class A Pan): Made up of copper sheet, tinned inside and painted white outside.
Paint gauge is used for water level measurement.
Calibrated cylindrical measure is used to add or remove water maintaining
the water level in the pan.

Top surface is covered with a hexagonal wire netting of galvanized iron to

protect the water in the pan from birds.
Due to presence of wire mesh, evaporation is 14% less than that of class A
pan.
Colorado Sunken pan: Its size is less than the above two pans.
It is made up of unpainted galvanized iron sheet and buried into the ground
within 100m from top.
Advantages:Its major advantage is that its radiation and aerodynamic characteristics are
similar to those of lake.
Disadvantage: It is very difficult to detect any leak.
Extra care is required to keep the surrounding free from tall grass, dust etc.
It is very expensive to install.
Atmometer is sometimes used for measuring evaporation
It consists of a porous bulb drawing water from a container.
Evaporation takes place from the bulb.
A coefficient when multiplied to the depth of evaporated water from the porous
bulb gives the required evaporation data of the data.
Evaporation recorded by a pan differs from that of a lake or reservoir due to:

Depth of exposure of pan above ground.

Colour of the pan.
Height of the rim.
Heat storage and heat transfer capacity with respect to reservoir.
Pan diameter

Variation in vapour pressure, wind speed, water temperature.

We have to reduce the evaporation recorded by pan to that of the lake or reservoir
by multiplying a pan coefficient between 0.6 to 0.8.
Lake Evaporation=Cp* Pan Evaporation
Where Cp=Pan co-efficient.

Pan types

Avg values of
Cp

Class A Land Pan

0.70

Range of
Cp
0.6-0.8

ISI Standard pan

0.80

0.65-1.10

Colorado Sunken Pan

0.78

0.75-0.86

USGS Floating Pan

0.80

0.70-0.82

EMPERICAL EQUATION:
a) General equation:
EL =K f(u) (ew ea )
EL=Lake evaporation (mm /day)
ew=saturated vapour pressure of water
ea= actual vapour pressure of air
f(u)=wind speed correction function
K=coefficient
b) Meyers formula:
EL= KM (ew-ea)(1+u9/16)
U9 = monthly mean wind speed at kmph at 9m above ground
KM = 0.36 for large deep lakes
0.50 For small shallow lakes
c) Rhowers formula
EL=0.771(1.465-0.000732Pa)(0.44+0.0733u0)(ew-ea)
Pa=mean barometric reading in mm Hg
U0=mean wind velocity in kmph at ground level=velocity at 0.6 m height
above the ground
In the lower part of atmosphere, up to a height of about 500m above the
ground level , the wind velocity can be assumed to follow the 1/7 power law
as
Uh=CH1/7
Uh=wind velocity at height h above ground
C=constant
If uh is given then this equation can be used to determine velocity at any
desire level.
ANALYTICAL METHODS:1) Water budget method
Simplest of the 5 method and least reliable.
Involves hydrological continuity equation for the lake evaporation
determination.
Considering the daily average values for a lake ,the continuity
equation:
P+Vis+Vig=Vos+Vog+EL+S+TL
P=daily precipitation

Vis=daily surface inflow into lake

Vig=daily groundwater inflow
Vos=daily surface outflow from the lake
Vog=daily seepage outflow
EL=daily lake evaporation
S=increase in lake storage in a day
TL=daily transpiration loss
All quantities are in unit of volume (m3) or depth (mm)
2) Energy budget method
Application of the law of conservation of energy
Energy available for evaporation is determined by considering the
incoming energy, outgoing energy and energy stored in the water
body.
Energy balance to the evaporating surface in a period of one day is:
Hn=Ha+He+Hg+Hs+Hi-----------(1)
Where, Hn=(Hc-rHc)-Hb
=Hc(1-r)-Hb
Hn=net heat received by the water surface in which, H c(1-r) = incoming solar
radiation into a surface of reflection coefficient r
Hb=Back radiation (long wave) from water body
Ha=Sensible heat transfer from water body
He=Heat energy used up in evaporation
=LEL, =density of water, L=latent heat of evaporation
EL=evaporation in mm
Hg=Heat flux into the ground
Hs=Head stored in water body
Hi=net heat conducted out of the system by water flow (advected energy)
All energies are in cal per sq mm per day
If the time period is small, Hs, Hi can be neglected
Ha cant be measured directly. It is estimated using Bowens ratio
=Ha/LEL=6.110-4a{(Tw-Ta)/(ew-ea)}---------(2)
where, a=Atmospheric pressure in mm of Hg
Tw=Temperature of water surface in oC
Ta=Temperature of air
From eqn(1) and (2),EL=(Hn-Hg-Hs-Hi)/{L(1+)}
3) Mass transfer method:
Based on theories of turbulent mass transfer in boundary layer to
calculate the mass of water vapour transferred from the surface to the
surrounding atmosphere.
n
Eq proposed by Thornthwait and Holtzman(1939),

E={0.000119(e1-e2)(u2-u1)}/[P{loge(h2/h1)}2]
Where, u1,u2=wind velocity in m/s at heights h1 and h2 meter respectively
e1,e2=vapour pressure of air in Pa (1Pa=1N/m2)
P=Mean atmospheric pressure in Pa between lower height h1and upper height h2
Height h1is taken close to water surface.

Module 2 (Runoff, Stream Flow, Flood Design)

RUNOFF
RUNOFF
It means the draining/flowing off of precipitation from catchment area through a surface
channel.

Otherwise it represents the output from the catchment in a basin unit of time.
BASIN:
Area bounded by the highest contour called ridge line from where precipitated
water is collected by surface and subsurface flows & drained out through the
natural river.
The
ridge
line
divides
one
basin
from
the
other
basin/catchment/watershed/drainage basin.
Watershed discharge Q can be related to the area A as
Q=x.Ay
Where x, y = parameters (Depending on this values Q = peak flow min. or mean
flow.
STREAM:It is a natural flow channel in which water from a basin is collected and drained out to the
water body.
OVERLOAD FLOW & SURFACE RUNOFF After meeting all the losses, the excess rain water flows over the land surface in
the form of a sheet of water to join the nearest stream and is called over land flow.
The surface runoff is considered as overland flow so long as it does not join the
nearest stream.
Lof =
Lof = Length of overland flow
Ds = Stream density
SURFACE RUNOFF
The flow where it travels all the time over the surface is overland flow and through the
channels as open channel flow and reaches the catchment outlet is called surface runoff.
SUBSURFACE RUNOFF
Otherwise known as interflow/ subsurface flow/ through flow/Storm seepage/

quick return flow.

The part of precipitation which infiltrates into the ground and moves laterally/
horizontally in the soil and returns to the surface at some location away from the
point of entry into the soil is called as interflow.
Depending upon the time delay between the infiltration and outflow,
Prompt (with least time log)

Interflow
Delayed
GROUND WATER FLOW
Another

route for the

infiltrated water is to
undergo deep resolution
and reach the ground
water storage in the soil.
The part of runoff is called
ground water runoff/ flow.
STREAM FLOW
The total runoff consisting of surface flow, subsurface flow, ground water or base

flow & the precipitation falling directly in the stream is the stream flow/ total
runoff of a basin.
Effluent stream (When the ground water table is higher than
the water level of stream, then the stream receives water from
ground water reservoir)
Stream
Influent stream (When the position of ground water table is
lower then the water level of stream, s.t. water from the
stream contributes to the ground water storage. e.g. In early
part of rainy season all rivers of India.
Based on the time delay between the precipitation and the runoff,
Direct runoff
Runoff
Base flow
DIRECT RUNOFF
Direct/storm runoff is that part of stream flow occurring promptly as precipitation
starts & contributes for an acceptable period after the storm ceases.
Contribution from subsurface flow is considered constant during the period.

BASE FLOW
It is that part of stream flow available mainly from ground water reservoir and
delayed sub-surface flow appearing during dry period.
Direct runoff and base flow are distinguished by mainly on time of arrival
of flow to the catchment.
RAINFALL EXCESS:
The part/percentage of precipitation which is equal to the vol. of direct runoff from
a basin is called rainfall excess.
Effective rainfall = Direct runoff volume + subsurface runoff = Rainfall excess +
Subsurface runoff
Effective rainfall > Rainfall excess

CHANNEL STORAGE
At any instant, the water content of a stream within its defined c/s n is known as

channel storage.
HYDROLOGIC YEAR
The period of one year starting with the time when the ground and surface

water storage of a basin is usually the minimum & called as hydrologic year/
water year.
In India it is taken as just before the onset of monsoon to the same period of
next year (1st June to 31st May)
FACTORS AFFECTING RUNOFF:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(i)

Climatic factors
Basin characteristics
Basin geology
Basin infiltration characteristics
CLIMATIC FACTORS :
a.i.1.a.i. Intensity (rainfall intensity & runoff)
a.i.1.a.ii. Duration (Duration Runoff volume)
a.i.1.a.iii. Aerial distribution (Area of catchment

contributing)
a.i.1.a.iv. Direction of storm movement (If U/s to

(ii)

d/s then more)

a.i.1.a.v. Forms of precipitation (Liquid form >
more runoff)
a.i.1.a.vi. Evapotranspiration (Evapotranspiration rate 1/
runoff vol.)
BASIN CHARACTERISTICS :
(a.i.1.i)
Size (peak flow per unit area 1/Area
period of surface runoff area)
(a.i.1.ii) Shape
(a.i.1.iii) Slope
(a.i.1.iv) Drainage density
(a.i.1.v) Topography
(a.i.1.vi) Geology

SHAPE

An elongated catchment has lower peak and longer runoff than that of a fan
shaped.
In a carrot shaped catchment early peak then other.
Sometimes multiple peaks depending upon the catchment shape.
SLOPE

A catchment having extensive flat area gives rise to low peak and less runoff with
respect to steep slope catchment.

Rate of infiltration from a flat catchment is more which affects the velocity of
overland flow. Therefore the time of arrival of peak flood at the outlet is late and
so is the total time period of runoff for such that shaped catchment.
For a high intensity and long duration of storm, the effect of basin slope is
pronounced.
DRAINAGE DENSITY (Dd)

Ratio of total length of all streams of the catchment divided by its area.
It indicates the drainage efficiency of the basin.
The higher the value, quicker is the runoff and lower is the infiltration & other
losses.
Dd = Ls/A

STREAM DENSITY (DS)

Defined as the No. of streams Ns of given order per Sq. Km computed by
dividing the total No. of streams of the same order of the basin with the catchment
area.
Ds = Ns/A
Lo = 1/2Ds
(Ds = Stream density)
(Lo : Length of overland flow)
TOPOGRAPHY
Shape factor (Bs)
Ratio of Sq. of watershed length L to the watershed over A
Bs = L2/A 1
For a sq watershed Bs = 1
CHANNEL SLOPE
It affects the velocity and flow carrying capacity at given location at the basin outlet.
Incorporated in mannings, chezys eqn.
Slope(S) = =
FORM FACTORS (FS)
Horton expressed it as the ratio of watershed area A to the square of its length L 2.
Also defined as the ratio of the width of the basin W b to its aerial length Lb
measured between the stream outlet to the most remote point on the basin.
o Ff = A/L2 = Wb/Lb < 1
Ff = 1/Bs

BASIN GEOLOGY

Responsible for the rate of infiltration during a storm of good aquifer material
forms the basin then surface runoff will be less due to high infiltration rate.
But for an impervious basin runoff will be highly peaked.
Presence of cracks, fissures results in the diversion of storm water to a new
location may be to an adjoining basin as watershed leakage.
BASIN INFILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS
Main features are :

(i) Nature of the surface of catchment

(ii) Surface storage characteristics.

Vegetation forces a good quantity of storm water to infiltrate & responsible for the

reduction of surface runoff.

Cultivation activities also decrease the runoff.
Small depressions to large lakes reduce the amount of runoff from a basin because

they hold water during storm.

RUNOFF COMPUTATION
Total runoff from a project catchment over the period of 1 year is called the annual yield.
It represents the total runoff volume from the catchment.
Various methods used for the runoff analysis are
a) Extension of flow data
b) Rainfall- runoff correlation
c) Empirical relations
d) Runoff simulation models
e)
EXTENSION OF FLOW DATA (minimum 12 years of runoff data required)
1) Thomas - Fiering Model
2) Harmonic analysis Model
3) Correlation with the Adjoining station
4) Regression Techniques
5) Longbeins Method
6) Flow duration curve method
THOMAS-FIERING MODEL
The model has been applied successfully to generate sequentially the monthly, 10daily or weekly volumes of discharges from a serially dependent series.

 This is an extension of Markov Model which assumes a monthly or 10-daily

variable is dependent only on the just recent one or two variables involving nonstationary both in mean & std. devn.
Eg : Flow vol. of July are dependent on the vol. of June to some extent, the mean
and std. devn of all June months are diff. to that of July.
Qj+1 = Qavj+1 + bj,j+1 (qj-qavj) + ZjSj+1
Which Qj+1, Qj = Discharge volumes during (j+1) th & jth month
Qavj+1, Qavj = Mean monthly discharge volumes for (j+1)th and jth months
Sj+1, Sj = Std devn for (j+1) &jth months
rj, rj+1 + Correlation coefficient between the months j and (j+1)
Zj = Random independent variable with zero mean and unit variance
bj,j+1 = rj,j+1 (Sj+1/Sj)
If j for June then (j+1) for July
REGRESSION TECHNIQUES
Most common method is to fit a linear regression line between R & P and to accept the
result if the correlation coefficient is unity
The eqn. of the straight line regression between runoff R & rainfall P is
R = aP +b
Where a = & b =
In which N = No. of observation sets R &P
Coefficient of correlation, r
R=
The value of R lies between 0 & 1 as R can have only +ve correlation with P.
0.6 < r < 1 => good correlation
R0
For large catchments, sometimes exponential correlation is advantageous.
R = Pm
where m, = constants
It can be reduced to linear form
lnR = mlnP + ln
here m, can be determined by the formula discussed earlier.

Flow duration curve method

FLOW DURATION CURVE

It is well known that the stream flow
varies over a water year. One of the
popular methods of studying this
stream flow variability is through
flow duration curves. A flow duration
curve of a stream is a plot of
discharge against the percent of time
the flow was equaled or exceeded.
The curve is also known as
discharge-frequency curve.
The stream flow data is arranged in a
descending order of discharges, using class intervals if the number of individual values is
very large. The data used can be daily weekly, ten daily or monthly values. If N number
of data points are used in this listing the plotting position of any discharge (or class value)
Q is
Pp = m/N+1 x 100%
Where m is the order number of the discharge (or class value) Pp = percentage
probability of the flow magnitude being equaled or exceeded. The plot of the discharge Q
against Pp is the flow duration curve (Fig 5.10). Arithmetic scale paper or semi-log or loglog paper is used depending upon the range of data and use of the plot. The flow duration
curve represents the cumulative frequency distribution and can be considered to represent
the stream flow variation of an average year. The ordinate Q p at any percentage
probability Pp represents the flow magnitude in an average year that can be expected to
be equaled or exceeded Pp percent of time and is termed as P p & dependable flow. In a
perennial river Q100 = 100% dependable flow is a finite value. On the other hand, in an
intermittent or ephemeral river the stream flow is zero for a finite part of the year and as
such Q100 is equal to zero.
The following characteristics of the flow duration curve are of interest.
The slope of a flow duration curve depends upon the interval of data selected. For
example, a daily stream flow data gives steeper curve than a curve based on
monthly data for the same stream. This is due to the smoothening of small peaks in
the monthly data.
The presence of a reservoir in a stream considerably modifies the virgin-flow
duration curve depending on the nature of flow regulation. Figure 5.9 shows the
typical reservoir regulation effect.
The virgin-flow duration curve when plotted on a log probability paper plots as a
straight line at least over the central region. Form this property, various
coefficients expressing the variability of the flow in a stream can be developed for
the description and comparison.
The chronological sequence of occurrence of the flow is masked in the flow
duration curve. A discharge of say 1000 m 3/s in a stream will have the same
percentage Pp whether it has occurred in January or June. This aspect a serious

handicap, must be
kept in mind while
interpreting a flow
duration curve.
The flow duration
curve plotted on a
log-log paper (fig
5.12) is useful in
comparing
the
flow characteristic
of
different
streams. A steps
slope of the curve
indicates a stream with a highly variable discharge. On the other hand, a flat slope
indicates a slow response of the catchment to the rainfall and also indicates small
variability. At the lower end of the curve, a flat portion indicates considerable base
flow. A flat curve on the upper portion is typical of river basins having large flood
plains and also or rivers having large snowfall during a wet season.
Flow duration curves and considerable use in water resources planning and
development activities.
Some of the important uses are
1) In evaluating various dependable flows in the planning of water resources
engineering projects.
2) Evaluating the characteristics of the hydropower potential of a river
3) Designing of drainage systems
4) In flood-control studies
5) Computing the sediment load and dissolved solids load of stream
6) Comparing the adjacent catchments with a view to extend the stream flow data.

STREAMFLOW MEASUREMENT
Stream-flow represent runoff phase of a hydrologic cycle. So this is the basic

data required.
Precipitation, Evaporation, Evapotranspiration, all is difficult to measure
exactly and accurately.
Interestingly only stream-flow part of hydrologic cycle can be measured with
accuracy.
Stream can be defined as flow channel into which the surface runoff from a
specified basin drains.
Stream-flow measurement has the same unit as discharge (m3/s)

 Discharge from a stream plays an important role in hydrometry (science &

Practice of water measurement).

Stream-flow can be measured :
Area velocity method
Dilution technique
Direct method

Electro magnetic method

Ultrasonic method
By hydraulic Structure

Indirect method
Slope area method
Direct method
It is difficult to measure directly the discharge
So this is a 2 step method
Step-1
Plot a relation between stage and discharge
Step-2
Measure the stage and relate it to discharge
Stage measurement is easy, economic & continuous Stage measurement
(i) Manual Gauge
Staff gauge
Weir gauge
Wei
(ii) Automatic guage

Float gauge
Bubble gauge

Velocity measurement through current meter

(a) Vertical axis (b) Horizontal axis

This velocity is used in area-velocity method. So this method is otherwise known as

standard current meter method

(1.) AREA VELOCITY METHOD

This method consists of measuring the area of Cross section of the river at a selected
section called gauging site & measuring the velocity of flow through the Cross
sectional area.
The site must be selected so that the stage-discharge curve is reasonably const over a
long period of about a few year.
The Cross section of the stream should be well defined which does not
charge in various seasons.
Should be easily accessible in all seasons.
Site should be in a straight stable reach.
Site should be free from backwater effects in the channel.
At the selected site the section line is marked off by permanent survey markings and
the Cross section is determined.
Depth at various locations is measured by sounding rods or sounding weights.
For accurate depth measurement, electro acoustic instrument called echo-depth
recorder is used.
In this a high frequency sound wave is sent down by a 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 of the bed is obtained & recorded in the
instrument. Advantageous in high-velocity streams, deep streams & streams with
soft or mobile beds.
For discharge estimation, the Cross section is divided into a large No. of subsections by verticals.
The velocity in these sub-sections is measured by current meters.
Accuracy & discharge estimation increases with the No. of subsections used. But the
effort, time & expenditure will also be involved.
Guidelines for selecting sub-sections are
Segment width should not be greater than 1/15 th to 1/20th of the width of
the river.
Segment discharge < 10% of total discharge
Difference in velocity in adjacent segments not greater than 20%.
Area velocity method using current meter is called as standard current meter
method

CALCULATION OF DISCHARGE
In this cross section (N-1) verticals are drawn
The velocity averaged over the vertical at each section is known.
Considering the total area to be divided into (N-1) segments, the total discharge is

calculated by the method of mid-sections:

Where Qi = Dischage in the ith

segment
=Area x velocity
=(width x Depth) x velocity
= (Depth at the ith segment ) x (
width to left + to right) x (Avg.
velocity at the ith vertical)
x Velocity
For i= 2 to (N-2)
For the 1st & last sections, the
segments are taken to have triangular
areas and
Area = A1 = W1.Y, & AN-1 = WN-1
. YN-1
Where W1 = (W1+ )
WN-1 = (WN-1+ )
A1 =
AN-1 =
Q1 = V1 A1 & QN-1 = VN-1 AN-1

INDIRECT METHODS
It includes the methods which make use of the relationship between the flow

discharge and depths at specified locations.

The field measurement is restricted to the measurements of these depths only.
(1) Flow measuring structure
(2) Slope Area method
(1) Flow measuring structure.
Structures are notches, weirs, flumes and sluice gates for flow measurement
in lab.
Basic principles governing the use of these structure is
These structure produce a unique control section in the flow.
At these structure discharge Q is a function of water surface
elevation measured at a specified u/s location
i.e Q = F(H)
(1) where H = Water surface elevation measured from
a specified datum.
For weirs, Q = KHn --------------------- (2)
Where H = head over the weir, Kn = system constant
Eqn (1) is applicable till the water level is below a certain limiting water level
known as modular limit.
Flows which are independent of the d/s water level are known as free flows.
If the tail water conditions do affect the flow, that flow is known as drowned or
submerged flow.

 Discharges under drowned

condition are obtained by

applying a reduction factor to
the free flow discharges.
The submerged flow over a
weir is estimated by
Villemonte Formula,
Qs = Q1[1-n]0.385 ---------- (3)
Where Qs = submerged
discharge, Q1 = free flow
discharge under head H1.
H1 = u/s water surface
elevation measured above the
weir crest
H2 = d/s water surface elevation measured above the weir crest.
n = exponent of head in the free flow head discharge relation
For a rectangular weir n = 1.5
Q = KH1n, n = 1.5
K = CdL 2g
Q = CdL H3/2 2g

Various flow measuring structure can be broadly classified under 3 categories

(1)Thin plate structure

Usually made from a vertically set metal plate
Eg:- V-notch, rectangular full width and contracted notches
(2) Long base weirs : Otherwise known as broad- created weirs
Made up of concrete or masonry
Used for large discharge values
(3) Flumes : Made of concrete, masonry or metal sheets depending upon their use and
location.
Primarily depend upon the width constriction to produce a control section.
(2)

SLOPE AREA METHOD

The resistance eqn for uniform flow in an open channel, (Mannings eqn) can be

used to relate the depths at either ends of a reach to the discharge.

In figure longitudinal section of the flow in a river between section (1) & (2).

 To estimate the discharge, water surface elevation should be known.

Applying the energy equation to sec (1) & (2)

Z1 + Y1 + = Z2 + Y2 + +hL
Where hL = head loss in the reach
hL = hf + he
Z+Y=h

where hf frictional loss

he = eddy loss
h = water surface elevation above date

h1 + = h2 + + he + hf
hf = (h1 h2) +( -he -------------------- (4)

If L = Length of the reach,

By mannings formula for uniform flow,
=Sf =Energy slope = -------------------------------------------- (5)
Where K = Conveyance of the channel = AR2/3
In non-uniform flow, an average conveyance is used to estimate the avg.
energy slope.
= Sf =
Where K = K1.K2 ; K1 = A 1R12/3, K2 = A2R22/3
Eddy loss he = Ke | --------------- (6) Eq. (4), (5) (6) along with continuing eqn. Q = A1V1
= A2V2 enable the discharge Q to be estimated for known values of h, channel c/s
properties and n.
(1) Assure V1 = V2 => V12/2g = V22/2g so equation (4) hf = h1-h2 = F = Fall in water
surface between sec (1) and (2)
(2) Using equation (5) calculate discharge Q.
(3) Compute V1 =Q1/A1,V2 =Q2/A2 calculate velocity heads & eddy loss(he).
(4) Now calculate a refined value of hf & go to step-2
Repeat the calculation till 2 successive calculations give values of discharge (or
hf) differing by a negligible margin.
This method of estimating the discharge is known as the slope area method.
It requires
Selection of a reach in which c/s properties including bed elevations ae known
at its ends.
The value of mannings n
Water surface elevations at the 2nd sections
APPROXIMATE AREA-SLOPE METHOD
During very high floods, a site may become inaccessible or the gauge discharge

setup may be fully inundated under such situations this method is adopted.
The previous peak flood stages at two locations can be collected from the flood
marks in the river course which gives the water surface slope of the peak flood.

 By knowing the distance between the 2 points along the river, slope S f can be

computed.
Q = (1/n). AR2/3 Sf1/2 where Sf = Slope of the energy line between 2 points
The area of c/s may vary between the 2 sections and also the slope of the energy
line Sf for various flood heights.
n value for natural channel may very 0.02-0.10
STAGE-DISCHARGE RELATIONSHIP
Measurement of discharge by direct method involves a 2 step procedure.
Development of stage discharge relationship (G-Q)
Then after measuring stage (G), discharge Q can be calculated from the (G-Q)

relationship
Thus the aim of current meter and other direct discharge measurements is to
prepare a (G-Q) relationship for the channel gauging station.
This curve is otherwise known as Rating Curve.
The measured value of discharges when plotted against the corresponding sages
gives relationship that represents the integrated effect of a wide range of channel
and flow parameters.
The combined effect of these parameters is termed as control.
If the (G-Q) relation is const for a gauging station & does not change with time,
the control is permanent.
If it changes with time it is called shifting control.

PERMANENT CONTROL
Majority of streams and rivers especially non alluvial rivers exhibit permanent

control.
For this the relationship between stage and discharge is a single valued relation
which is expressed as
Q = Cr (G-a)
-----(7)
Q = Stream discharge
G = Gauge Height
a = Constant which represents stage @ zero discharge
Cr, : Rating curve constant

 This relationship can be expressed graphically by plotting the observed relative

stage (G-a) against the corresponding discharge values in an arithmetic or

logarithmic plot.
The best values of Cr and in equation for a given range of stage are obtained by
the least square-error method. By taking logarithms
Log Q = Log (G-a) + Log Cr
(8)
Or, Y = X + b
(9)
In which the dependent variable = Y = log Q
Independent variable = X = log (G-a)
b = log Cr
For the best fit straight line of N observations of X & Y, by regressing
X = Log (G-a) on Y = log Q
=
b=
r=
r reflects the extent of linear relationship between 2 data sets.

 For a perfect co-relation r =1. r = 0.6-1 is

good
Here Q (G-a) => r is +ve => +vely corelated
Equation 7 is called rating equation of the
stream and can be used for estimating the
discharge of the stream for a given gauge
reading G within range of data used in its
derivation.
STAGE FOR ZERO DISCHARGE
Q = Cr (G-a)
In this equation Constant a = Stage (gauge ht.) for zero discharge in the stream
This is a hypothetical parameter & cant be measured in field.
The alternative methods for determining a are
1. Plot Q vs G on an arithmetic graph paper and draw a best fit curve. By
extrapolating the curve through eye judgment find a as the value of G
corresponding to Q = 0
Using the value of a plot logQ vs log(G-a) and verify whether the data plots
as a straight line. If not, select another value in the neighbourhood of
previously assumed value and by trial and error find an acceptable value of a
which gives a straight line plot of logQ vs log(G-a)
2. Q vs G data are plotted in arithmetic scale.
A smooth curve is drawn
Three points A, B & C are selected such that their discharges are in GP Q A/QB
= QB/QC
At A,B, vertical lines are drawn and at B,C horizontal lines are drawn
Their intersections are D,E points respectively.
Two straight lines ED and BA are extended so that they will intersect at F.
The ordinate at F, is the required value of a the gauge height corresponding to
zero discharge.
This method assumes the lower part of Rating curve to be a parabola.
3. Plot Q vs G to an arithmetic scale and draw a smooth good-fitting curve by

eye- judgment.
Select three discharges Q1, Q2 and Q3 s.t.
Q1/Q2 = Q2/Q3
Note from the curve, corresponding values of gauge readings G1, G2,
and G3.
From equation (7)
=
a = --------- (8)

4. A

No.
of
optimization
procedures are available to
estimate the best value of a. A
trial & error search for a
which gives the best value of
the co-relation co-efficient is
one of them.

EFFECT OF CHANGING STAGE ON

STAGE DISCHARGE CURVE
The discharge measured for a particular given stage is different for a changing stage

than for a constant stage.

The stage of a river may be constant, may be rising or may be falling
During the rising stage of a river, the measured discharge is more that for a const
stage. (reverse in case for falling stage)
While plotting a stage-discharge curve, the values of discharges must be taken for a
constant stage. But practically these discharges are measured either at rising or at
falling stage.
During a rising stage, the measured discharge > true discharge for a given gauge
height.
So in order to make this observed point fall on the true discharge curve, either the
discharge should be reduced or the gauge height should be increased.
Hence a ve correction should be applied to the discharge value or a +ve correction
to the gauge reading for a rising river stage.
(Reverse case for falling stage)
The results of discharge measurements for a rising stage fall to the right side and that
for a falling stage to the left side of the true discharge curve.
The amount of deviation from the true discharge curve does not depend upon the total
rise or fall but depends upon the rate of change of stage.
Graph can be plotted between the rate of change of stage and the % correction
applied to the observed discharge values in order to obtain true discharge.
This curve is different for rising & falling stages generally the relation is found to be
a st. line or a very flat curve as shown above.
These corrections (+ve for falling stage & -ve for rising) can be applied to the
observed discharge values.

EFFECT OF SHIFTING CONTROL ON DISCHARGE VALUES

A control does not always behave as a permanent control while fixing a velocity
area station.
Due to this shift, the observed discharge values are not true values
For a fixed control either the discharge should fall right side or left side of true value
as rising or falling stage.
But if on plotting, if it is found that the points are not falling on true or rising or
falling i.e. if for a rising stage, the observed points fall to the left side or for falling
to the right side or for a const. stage, the observed points dont fall on the true
discharge curve then there may be possibility of change in control.
If the control is changing, then we have to find out the speed of changing.
If the control is changing very slowly or only at the time of floods, then the best
method to deal with the problem is to draw a new rating curve. This new curve is
then applied for a period till sufficient deviation due to change in control is again
detected.
Almost once a year, the rating curve has to be changed.
But on many other rivers, the control changes quite rapidly and constantly. In this
case daily discharge records are obtained and corrected.

DESIGN FLOOD
A flood used for the design of a structure on consideration of its safety, economy,
life expectancy & probable damage consideration is called design flood.
The flood selected for design of such structure should probably be the highest one.
Frequency based flood (FBF)
Design flood
Probable maximum flood (PMF)
Standard project flood (SPF)
FBF (Frequency based flood)
A design flood estimated using flood-frequency analysis for an accepted return
period is called FBF.
PMF (Probable max. flood)
It is the extreme flood, which is physically possible in a region due to the most
severe combination of critical meterological and hydrological factors that are
reasonably possible over the region under consideration.
It is used to design of all important structures with virtually no-risk criteria.
SPF (Standard Project flood)
A flood computed from the standard project storm (SPS) that have occurred over the
project area under consideration or on the adjoining areas with similar

hydrometerological and basin characteristics without its maximization as in PMF is

called SPF
It usually varies between 40% to 60% of the PMF
Computation of design flood
Rational approach (<50 km2) small size catchment
Empirical equation
UH Technique (<50000 km2) moderate size)
Flood freq. studies
The use of particular method depends upon (i) desired object (ii) available date (iii) Importance
of the project.
RATIONAL METHOD
It is used for calculating peak discharge for small catchments (<50 km 2)
The formula is called rational because of the units of the quantities considered

being numerically consistent.

Original formula was in FPS unit. (Rainfall-inch, Area-Acre)
The runoff gradually increases form zero to peak when rainfall duration reaches
the time of concentration tc and thereafter it becomes const. for the remaining
period of rainfall excess (t-tc) i.e. from time tc onwards. After the cessation of rain,
the runoff recedes gradually to become zero at time tc from the end of the peak. In
rational formula a certain % of rainfall is considered as runoff.
In FPS unit, Qp = CIA ---- (1) where Qp = peak discharge
In SI units Qp = 0.278 CIA

C= Runoff Coefficient = runoff/Rainfall

I = Rainfall intensity in mm/h
A = Area of catchment in km2
C varies 0.05-0.95, it represents the cumulative effect of the watershed losses.
FACTORS AFFECTING VALUE OF C:

Initial losses
Depression storage
Nature of the soil
Surface slope
Degree of saturation
Rainfall intensity
Geology of the catchment
Geo-hydrological characteristics of basin
Cw = (CiAi)/A, Value can be used in equation (2)
General form correlating intensity duration-return period is
I = K.Ta/(tc+b)n
I = intensity of rainfall (cm/h)

T = Return period (yrs)

Tc = time of concentration (hr)
K,a,b,n = const
TIME OF CONCENTRATION (TC)
No. of empirical equation available for the estimation of tc
1) US practice
For small basins, tc = tp=Ctl ((LLca)/s)n
Where Ctl, n = Basin Const
S = Basin slope
(LLca)/s) = Catchment parameter
L = Basin length measured along the water course from the basin divide to the
gauging stn.
Lca = dist along the main water course from the gauging station to a point app to
the watershed controlled (Km)
2) KIRPICH Equation
The formula relates the tc of the length of travel and slope of the catchment as
tc = 0.01947L0.77 S-0.385
L = max length of travel of water
S = slope of catchment H/L
This equation can easily be written as tc = 0.01947 K1 0.77
Where K1 = (L3/H)
RAINFALL INTENSITY (I OR ITC,P)
The rainfall intensity corresponding to a duration t c and the desired probability of
exceedence P, (Return period T=1/P)
itc,p = kTx/(t+a)n
k,x,a,n = Area specific co-efficient
RUNOFF CO-EFFICIENT (C)
C Represents the integrated effect of the catchment losses and depends upon the nature
of the surface, surface slope and rainfall intensity.
Equation (2) assumes a homogenous catchment surface. If it is non homogenoous, then it
can be divided into subareas each having diff. runoff coefficients & then each coefficient
is calculated separately & then merged.
If the non-homogenous sub areas cant be separated, then equivalent Ce is used
Ci = R.C. for subarea i having area Ai

EMPERIAL FORMULAE
Flood Peak area relationship

The simplest relationship is those which relate the flood peak to the drainage area.
The max flood discharge Qp from a catchment area A is given by Qp = f (A)
Dickens formula
Where Qp = Cd A
Qp= Max flood discharge (m3/s)
Cd = Dickens const (6-30)
A = Catchment area (km2)
Dickens formula is used in the central and northern parts of the country.
Ryves formula
Qp = CRA2/3
where Cr = Ryves coefficient
used in Tamilnadu and parts of Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh
CR = 6.8 for areas within 80 Km from the east loc.
8.5 for areas which are 80-160 Km
= 10.2 for limited areas near hills

INGLIS FORMULA
Based on flood data of catchments in Western Ghats in Maharashtra
Qp = 124A/ ( (A+10.4))
OTHER FORMULAE
Some other formulae are these which relate the Qp with A along with flood frequency
Fullers formula (QTP = CfA0.8 (1+0.8logT)
Where QTP = Max 24 h flood with a frequency of Tyr in m2/s
Cf = Const with values between 0.18-1.88
ENVELOPE CURVES
Qmp = 3025A/(278+A)0.78
Qmp = max flood discharge (m3/s)
A = Catchment Area (km2)

HYDROGRAPH
INTRODUCTION
It is the total response or output of a watershed being with precipitation as
input.
A hydrograph comprises three phases namely surface, subsurface, and base
flow .
Schematic representation of runoff is given below:

The factors affecting the hydrograph at a place being complex and

interrelated a basin may not produce two exact flood hydrographs with two
similar precipitations as input, nor can two basin of the same drainage area
produce the same flood hydrographs with similar precipitation.
When large number of hydrographs of a basin at a location is analyzed, their
irregular shapes representing completely of the storm and the catchment
character can be noticed.
To being with a hydrograph resulting from a single storm is taken and its
components are studied.

HYROGRAPH CONCEPT:

Let us assume a basin area having uniform basin character with the entire
area subjected to uniform rainfall and the condition of the catchment
producing runoff are also uniform.

The areas OA1A1,A1A1A2A2, A2A2A3A3,.. are so divided that

water takes one hour to reach from one boundary to the next below.
First examine the hydrograph resulting from the first hour of the storm.
Rainfall over the area OA1A1 is occurring for first hour. The runoff from
line A1A1 takes one hour to reach at O . The hydrograph from the
catchment area OA1A1 is shown as triangle 012. At the end of first hour
when the runoff from the point O is still continuing at the catchment
outlet, contribution from the boundary line A1A1 has started arriving. At
this time all the area lying in boundary OA1A1 is contributing at O due
to one hour rainfall. So the peak runoff resulting from the area
OA1A1due to one hour rainfall occurs at the end of the one hour storm
from the line A1A1takes one more hour to reach the at outlet O, that is at
the end of second hour , when the last drop of the water from the
boundary line A1A1 reaches at O ,the runoff hydrograph becomes zero .

It may be noted that the whole area contributed for one hour only at the
outlet due to one hour rainfall.
Runoff from the boundary area A1A1contributed at O from the end first
hour to end of second hour and runoff from Oat O is available for one
beginning and ending with storm period from zero to one hour
Next imagine that rainfall for one hour occur only in the area A1A1A2A2
which has started contributing to the outlet O after end of one hour and
continued till the end of third hour .The resulting hydrograph is a triangle
123 as shown in the fig. with peak of flow at the second hour . Similarly
if a second hour rainfall is imagined to have occurred in the area OA2A2
then the resulting hydrograph at O is the large triangle in fig(c).
Similarly a three hour rainfall concentration over the area OA3A3 will
produce a hydrograph of shape shown in fig (d) .
Thus the hydrograph produced by one hour rainfall in the area are
triangle at lags shown in figure. The combined effect will be when the
total area is subjected to an uniform rainfall.
The resulting hydrograph is the observed discharge from the catchment at
outlet O . Any rainfall exceeding this time with the same intensity will
produce a larger time base hydrograph. However the peak of the
hydrograph will be of same magnitude and of longer time equal to the
total rainfall period minus the time of travel of the drop of the water from
extreme boundary point to the basin outlet.
FACTORS AFFECTING FLOOD HYDROGRAPH
Two types of factors
1. Physiographic
2. Climatic
Climatic factors control the risking limb and recession limb is
independent of storm character, only determined by catchment character.

1. Shape of the basin

Shape of the basin influences the time taken for water from the remote

part of the catchment to arrive at the outlet. So the occurrence of the peak
and hence the shape of the hydrograph are affected.
For semi circular shaped basin high peak and narrow hydrograph.
Elongated catchment Broad and low peaked hydrograph.

2. Size of the basin

In small catchment overland flow phase dominates channel flow. Hence land

use and intensity of rainfall have important role on the peak flood.

 In large basin, these effects are suppressed as channel flow is dominant. Peak

discharge is directly proportional to the A^ n ,where A=area of the basin ,

n=exponent <1 (0.5 taken)
Time base for large basin is greater than that of the smaller basin.
Duration of the surface runoff from the time of occurrence of the peak is
directly proportional to the A^ m ,where m=0.2
3. Slope

The slope of the main stream controls the velocity of the velocity of
the flow in the channel.

Recession limb represents the depletion of storage, hence slope has

pronounced effect on it.

Large stream slope Quicker depletion Steeper recession limb

Smaller time base

4. Drainage density
Drainage density = (total channel length) / (total drainage area)
Large drainage density Quick disposal of runoff Pronounced peak
Small drainage density Squat hydrograph with slowly rising limb
5. Land use
Vegetation increase infiltration retards overland flow reduces peak flow
The effect is more pronounced in small catchment (<150Km^2) and small

storms.
This is the only factor which can be manipulated.
6. CLIMATIC FACTOR
Three types 1.Intensity , 2.Duration , 3.Direction
For a given duration, peak and volume of the surface runoff is directly

proportional to the intensity.

For small catchments shape of the hydrograph can also be affected by
intensity.
For a given intensity, duration of the storm is directly proportional to the
volume of the run-off , effect of duration is reflected in the rising limb and
peak. If rainfall of given intensity i lasts sufficiently long enough; Q is
directly proportional to the iA will be reached.
If the storm direction is u/s to d/s =Quicker concentration at
outlet basin = Peaked hydrograph results

 If the storm direction is d/s to u/s = lower peak and larger time

base
Long and narrow catchment = hydrographs are most sensitive
to storm movement direction.

COMPONENTS OF HYDROGRAPH

Component of a hydrograph are

1.
2.
3.

Rising limb
Creast segment
Recession limb

Rising limb (A to B)
Also known as concentration curve and represents the increase in discharge
due to gradual increase in channels and over the catchment.
It mainly influenced by storm and basin character.
Generally it is concave, rising slowly in the early stage of the flood , but
more rapidly to the end of the portion and this is due to high and variable initial
losses at early stage.

 The rising limb is attributed due to contribution of more and more area at the

gauging site over time, and also due to decrease in losses over time.
It gradually reaches the peak when maximum area contributes their runoff at
given outlet.
Creast segment ( B to C )
Most important portion as it contains peak flow.
This is the portion between two inflection points of rising and falling limb.
Peak occurs when various part of basin contribute simultaneously to the outlet
at maximum rate.
Generally peak flow occurs after cessation of rainfall.
Multiple peaked complex hydrographs in a basin occur when two or more storm
occurs in succession.
Recession limb ( C to D )
This limb is the convex curve representing the withdrawal of water from the
storage build up in the basin up in the basin with max at C.
Since the depletion of the storage takes place after the recession of rainfall ,
the shape of the hydrograph is independent of the storm character and depends
entirely on the basin character.
Point D represents where the contribution to the channel is purely from
ground water.
When he storm concentrates more near to the outlet , then the length of this
curve is shorter where as if rainfall concentrates at the far end of the catchment
the recession limb is channel storage.
The curve is mathematically represents as :
Qt =Qo (Kr ^ t)
{Where, Qt =discharge at time t
Qo = discharge at time t=0
Kr =recession constant <1 }
Otherwise ,
Qt =Qo (e^ -at) where a = -ln Kr

This equation is good for the lower portion of the curve where the
contribution is mainly from ground water.

In the upper part of the curve, contribution from surface storage,

subsurface storage and ground water.
Kr =Krs . Kri .Krb
Krs =recession constant for surface storage
Kri =recession constant for interflow

Krb =recession constant for base flow

When time in days,
Krs =0.05 to 0.2
Kri =0.5 to 0.85
Krb =0.85 to 0.99
When interflow is not significant, Kri =1
If at 2time instances t1 &t2
(Q1/Q2) = Kr ^ (t1 t2)
(Q1/Q2) = e ^ -a(t1-t2)
Time to peak (tp)
It is the time lapse between the starting points of the rising limb (A) to

the peak of the hydrograph (P).

It is represented in days for large basins for and hours for small basins.
Factor affecting tp are rainfall distribution over the basin , storm
duration , travel time of water and other catchment character
Time lag (tl)
It is the interval between center of mass of rainfall hyetograph to the

centre of mass of runoff hydrograph, measured from the same axis.

Otherwise it can be taken as time lapse between the centre of mass of the
effective rainfall hyetograph and peak of hydrograph.
Time of concentration (tc)

It is the time taken by the raindrop at farthest point of the

catchment to reach at outlet.

It can estimated by Kirpich formula

(tc)=0.000323*L^0.77*S^-0.385
(tc) =time of concentration (hr)
L =max length of travel of water (m)
S =sloe of channel =H/L
H =elevation diff bet^ remote point in the channel and
outlet point
Basically time to peak +storm duration =tc =tp+tr
(tc) =1.42*tl

Time base of hydrograph (Tb)

 It is considered as the time bet^ the starting of the runoff hydrograph

(A) to the end of direct runoff (D) due to storm.

Tb = tc +tr
Direct runoff
It is the part of precipitation which appears quickly as flow in the

river.
DR = surface runoff +sub surface runoff
Base flow
The part of runoff represented by a hydrograph which receives water from

the ground water storage is called as base flow.

Natural springs and river banks contribute to base flow in non rainy periods.
Total Runoff = Direct runoff + base flow
When a storm hydrograph is available , after separation the base flow , the
residual left is DRH.
Base flow separation

 The relationship bet^ the surface flow hydrograph and the effect rainfall is to

be established.
The surface flow hydrograph is established by deducting the base flow from
the storm hydrograph.
Method:1 (Straight Line Method)

It is the simplest method of base flow separation which is obtained by

joining the beginning point of DRH (A) to the end of DRH (D) through a
straight line.

Point A is easily identified by noticing the sharp charge in the

runoff rate at that point.

Point D is located empirically as N days from peak.

N=0.83*A^0.2 ; where A=Drainage area

N=time in days
Method:2
Here base flow curve existing prior to the commencement of surface
runoff (AA)is extended till it intersects the ordinate drawn from peak at
Pi.
Join Pi to D by a straight line.
This method is most widely used.
Method:3
In this method , the base flow recession curve after the depletion of
the flood water (ED) is extended back word till it intersects the ordinate
at the point of the inflection.
Point A and F are joined by an arbitrary smooth curve.
This method is realistic when ground water contribution is significant
and the stream quickly.
The surface runoff hydrograph after the separation of base flow is
known as runoff hydrograph (DRH).
Unit hydrograph:
An unit hydrograph or unit graph is the hydrograph of direct runoff resulting
from unit depth of 1cm rainfall excess generated uniformly over the basin for a
specified duration (D hrs) at a uniformly rate.
The unit depth of rainfall excess mean excess rainfall over and above all
losses in the basin under consideration.
The duration is the period of the rainfall excess which is assumed to be
uniformly distributed over the basin.
The specified duration is important as the shape and the peak of hydrograph of
a basin depends on it. e.g.- 3hr rainfall excess means 3h-UH

 An UH of D hr means, it is the duration of rainfall excess giving rise to the

UH,but not duration of occurrence of UH.

Assumptions and conditions in UH:
1. Time Invariance:
This is the first basic assumption which says that direct runoff response to a
given effective rainfall in a catchment is time invariant.
The DRH for a given ER in a catchment is always
Same irrespective of the time when it occurs.
2.Linear Response :
The direct runoff response to the rainfall excess is assumed to be linear.
Most important assumption of UH theory.
It means if an input X1(t)causes output Y1(t) and X2(t) Y2(t) , then X1(t)
+X2(t) gives Y1(t)+Y2(t) Consequently if X2(t) = r*X1(t) ; Y2(t)=r*Y1(t)
Thus, if a rainfall excess in a duration D is r times the unit depth , the
resulting DRH will have ordinates bearing ratio r to those of the
corresponding D-hr . The base will same but the area of DRH will be
increased r times that of UH.

Application of UH:

 The number of isolated storm hydrographs caused by short spells

rainfall excess, each of approx same duration (0.9 to 1.1 Dh) are selected.
For each storm hydrographs, the base flow is separated.
The area under each DRH is evaluated and the volume of the direct
runoff obtained is divided by catchment area to obtained the depth of ER.
The ordinate of various DRH are divided by the respective ER value
to obtain the ordinate of the UH.
Flood hydrograph used in the analysis should have the following
features:
Storm should be isolated i.e occurring individually
Rainfall should be fairly uniform during the duration and
should cover the entire catchment area.
The duration of rainfall should be 1/5 to of the basin
lag.
The rainfall excess of the selected storm should be high.
(Range :1to 4 cm preferred)
A number of UH of a given duration are derived by above method and
plotted on a common pair of axes.
Mean of such curves as the UH is adopted.
While deriving the mean curve, the average of peak flows and time to
peaks are first calculated.
Then a mean curve of best fit is drawn through the average peak on an
average base length.
The volume of DRH is calculated and any departure from unity is
corrected by adjusting the value of the peak.
The average ERH is drawn of unit depth to indicate the type and
duration of rainfall causing the UH.
UH from a complex storm :

 When simple isolated storms are not available, data from complex

storms of long duration are used for UH.

1st to decompose a measured composite flood hydrograph into its
components DRH and base flow.
A common UH of appropriate duration is assumed to exist.
Let a rainfall excess of 3 duration of D-h and ER of R1 , R2 , and R3
interval 1D ,2D ,3D from the short of ERH.
Let the ordinates of UH be U1,U2 ,U3 . And ordinates of
composite DRH be Q1, Q2, Q3
Then
Q1=R1u1
Q2=R1u2+R2u1
Q3=R1u3+R2u2+R3u1
Q4=R1u4+R2u3+R3u2

From the above equations u1, u2, u3 can be determined. In this method, error
propagate and huge calculation.

Distribution Graph:

Introduced by Bernard (1935)

Shows variation if the UH.
It is a D hr with ordinates showing the % of the surface runoff occurring in

successive periods of equal time intervals of D hr.

The duration ER is taken as unit interval and distribution graph ordinates are
indicated at successive such intervals.
In fig. interval =4 hr
Total area under the distribution graph =100%
The use of distribution graph is to generate a DRH for a known ERH is
exactly the same as that of UH.
These are used to compare the runoff character of different catchment.
Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (IUH):
UH are named as per their duration of rainfall excess.
With decrease in duration, peak will shifted towards left axis.
In a limiting case , when the duration of rainfall excess becomes
infinitesimally small e.g 1cm of ER is spread over the catchment uniformly and
instantaneously , the resulting DRH is know is known as 1UH.(D-0)
The notation of 1UH is U(0,t) where as for UH is U(D,t).

 Since it is impossible for a basin to get 1 cm ER in 0 time so 1UH concept is

purely theoretical and defined as a fictitious UH representing the surface

hydrograph from a basin resulting from instantaneous rainfall excess volume of
1cm over the basin.
The advantages of 1UH is the eliminated of a major parameter the duration
of effective rainfall from the UH.
The ordinate of DRH at time t , derived from an 1UH is
Qt= U(t-T) I(T) dT
U(t-T) = IUH ordinate at time T
I(T) = rainfall excess function of duration to at the time T
dT = extreme small element of ERH
t =t
when t<to
t =to
when t>to
This Eq^ is called convolution integral or Duhamel integral in which the
IUH , U(t-T)is called Kernel function
Convolution of IUH and I(T) is shown in fig. where the shape of the IUH
resembles a single peaked hydrograph.
Here an instantaneous rainfall function I(t) of duration to get DRH from a
catchment whose discharge at any time t is given by the integral.
If UH is represented by U(D,t) where D is the unit duration or simply the
duration of ER and t represents the time , then the ordinate of UH is represented
as U or U(D,t)
For an IUH , D=0 the ordinate of IUH at time t is U(0,t) or simply U(t)
Properties of IUH are :
U(t)>0 ,when t>0
U(t)=0 ,when t<0
U(t)---0 when t---
U(t) dt =unit depth of catchment
U(t) t dt = the time lag of IUH (tl)
tp of IUH <time of the centroid of the curve

Derivation of IUH :
IUH can be derived by :
1.
From S-Hydrograph
2.
From conceptual models
3.
By fitting harmonic series to DRH and ERH
4.
Theorytically from Laplace transform function
From S hydrograph:

When 2S hydrographs are separated by dt hr , then dt hr ordinate =

(S1-S2)/(dt/D) =(S1-S2)/(i*dt) ,i=1/D cm/hr

In a limiting case where case where dt0, then the time of ER is

infinitesimally small and the result will be IUH.

So the IUH ordinate at any instant t is given as:

U(t)= S/(i*t) =S/t =ds/dt

This means that when a S-hydrograph derived from an UH of 1 hr ER

i.e 1cm/hr , then the slope of the S-hydrograph gives IUH ordinate at any
time t from the origin of the S-hydrograph.
Derivation of UH from IUH :
IUH is derived from any conceptual model then it can be used for UH
derivation in the following steps:
Prepare a table in which col (1) contains and col (2) contains IUH ordinates
In col(3) enter the IUH ordinates of step(2) by lagging D hr , the required
duration of UH.
Col(4)= col(2) + col(3)
Col(5)=col(4)/2 (this col shows UH of D hr duration)

 It is to be noted that the D hr UH obtained by the above process should not

be >3hr
If larger duration is required, then the process of S-hydrograph or method of
superposition may be adopted.
The ordinate of UH at any instant (t) is (S1-S2)/(i*dt)
If the intensity of rainfall for the UH from which S-hydrograph is derived is
i=1cm/hr i.e S hydrograph his derived from a 1hr UH ,then U(t)=s/t ,is
approx the slope of S-hydrograph is derived .Ina limiting case where dt0,then
ER time will be small.
As S becomes very small, the slope of S-curve at any instant t is the
ordinate of IUH.
U(t)=ds/dt as dt0
ds=U(t) dt
=ds=U(t) dt
=S2-S1=U(t) dt
=1/2 [u(t2)+u(t1)](t2-t1)
As bet^ 1&2 we can always take
U(t)=1/2[U(t2)+U(t1)]
(S2-S1)/(t2-t1)=1/2 [U(t2)+U(t1)]
Thus by taking average of IUH ordinate at dt =(t2-t1) gives a dt hr UH.
Dt<1hr because bet^ t2 and t1, the profile of hydrograph is curvilinear and for
large diff of time it may error in its average value.

FLOOD ROUTING

Flood routing is the technique of determining the flood hydrograph at a

section of a river by utilizing the data of flood flow at one or more upstream
sections.

Useful for flood fore-casting, flood protection, reservoir design, spillway

design etc.

Flood routing is of two types :1. Reservoir routing

2. Channel routing

RESERVOIR ROUTING
Here the effect of a flood wave entering a reservoir is studied.

Knowing the volume-elevation relation of reservoir, outflow-elevation

relation and spillways, the effect of a flood wave entering the reservoir is
studied to predict the variations of reservoir elevation and outflow discharge
with time.

This is essential
1. For design capacity of spillways and other outlet structures.
2. In the location and sizing of the capacity of reservoir to meet specific

requirements
CHANNEL ROUTING
Here the change in the shape of a hydrograph as it travels down a channel is
studied.

By considering an input hydrograph at upstream end, it helps to predict

flood hydrographs at various reach.

Provides information on the flood peak attenuation and the duration of high
water levels obtained by channel routing which help in flood forecasting.
ROUTING METHODS

It is of two types:1. Hydraulic routing

2. Hydrologic routing

Hydrologic routing methods employ only the equation of continuity whereas

the hydraulic routing methods employ the continuity as well as equation of
motion of unsteady flow.

Basic differential equation used in hydraulic routing is known as st. venant

equation.

BASIC EQUATIONS
Flood hydrograph through a reservoir is an unsteady flow phenomenon.

Equation of continuity used in all hydrologic routing as the one degree

equation which states that the difference between the inflow and outflow rate
is equal to change of storage i.e
Where I = inflow rate
Q = outflow rate
S = storage
If t = small time interval
I t Q t = S
I = average inflow in time t
Q = average outflow in time t
S = change in storage
By taking I = (I1 + I2) / 2, Q= (Q1 + Q2)/2, S= S2 S1
() t () t = S2 S1

In the differential form the equation continuity for unsteady flow in a reach
with no latenal flow is given by

Where T= top width of the section

Y=

depth

of

flow

The equation of motion for a flood wave is derived from the application of
the momentum equation as

Where V= velocity of flow at any section

So = Channel bed slope
Sf = Slope of the energy line

Eqn 4 is the continuity equation and Eqn 5 is eqn of motion and both are
known as st.
venant equation.
HYDROLOGIC STORAGE/RESERVOIR ROUTING
Let the inflow to the reservoir = I(t)
Outflow is a function of reservoir elevation only. Q=Q (h)
Storage in the reservoir is a function of the reservoir elevation. S = S (h).
Due to the passage of the food wave through reservoir, the water level in the
reservoir changes with time, h = h (t).And hence the storage and discharge
change with time.

It is required to find the variation of S, h and Q with time i.e find s =s(t), Q=
Q(t) and h = h(t) given I = I (t).

If an uncontrolled spillway is provided in a reservoir, typically

)
Where L = effective length of spillway crest
Cd = Coefficient of discharge
For reservoir routing, the following data should be known.
1. Storage volume vs elevation for the reservoir.
2. Water surface elevation vs outflow and hence storage vs outflow
discharge.
3. Inflow hydrograph, I = I(t)
4. Initial values of S, I and Q at time t=0.
As the horizontal water surface is assumed in the reservoir, the storage routing is
also known as level pool routing.
MODIFIED PULS METHOD

) t =
At the starting of flood routing, the initial storage and outflow discharges are
known.
In the above equation all the terms in the lhs equation are known as
beginning of a time step t.
Hence the value of the function at the end of time step is calculated by the
above equation.
The relation S= S(h) and A= A(h) are known, will enable one to determine
the reservoir elevation and hence the discharge at the end of the time step.
The process is repeated to cover the full inflow hydrograph.

ATTENUATION
Because of the storage effect, the peak of the outflow hydrograph will be
smaller than that of the inflow hydrograph. The reduction in peak value is
called attenuation.
The peak of outflow occurs after the peak of the inflow, the time difference
between the two peaks is known as lags.
In the rising part, the inflow curve is higher than outflow. So the in between
area represents accumulation of flow or storage.
In the falling part, reverse case and the area represents depletion from
storage.

HYDROLOGIC CHANNEL ROUTING

In reservoir routing, storage is a unique function of outflow discharge i.e S =

f(Q).
But in channel routing the storage is a function of both inflow and outflow
discharges.

Considering a channel reach having a flood flow, the total volume in storage
can be considered under two categories
1. Prism storage
2. Wedge storage

3.

PRISM STORAGE

It is the volume that exist in the uniform flow occurred at the downstream
depth i.e the volume formed by an imaginary plane parallel to the channel
bottom drawn at the outflow section water surface.
WEDGE STORAGE

It is the wedge like volume formed between the actual water surface profile
and the top surface of the prism storage.at the fixed depth at a downstream
reach, the prism storage is constant while the wedge storage changes from a
positive value at an advancing flood to a negative value during a receding
flood.
The prism storage is similar to a reservoir and can be expressed as a function
of the outflow discharge Sp = f(Q).
The wedge storage can be accounted for, by expressing it as Sw = f(I).
The total storage in the channel reach can then be expressed as

S = K [ xIM + (I x)QM ]

Where K & x = coefficients, m = constant exponent

m = 0.6 for rectangular channel
= 1.0 for natural channel
MUSKINGUM EQUATION

Using m= 1.0, in above equation, it reduces to a linear relationship for S in

terms of I and Q as

S = K [ xI + (I x)Q ]
And this relationship is known is known as muskingums equation,
Here x= weighting factor = 0 0.5
When x= 0 => S=KQ
Where S = linear storage/linear reservoir.
When x= 0.5, both I and Q are important for S calculation.
K = storage time constant (dimension same with time)
= time of travel of a flood wave through the channel required.

Estimation of K and x

1. In the figure, the outflow peak doesnt occur at the point of

intersection of the inflow and outflow hydrographs.

2. Using the continuity equation

) t () t = S2 S1
The increment in storage at any time t and time element t can be
calculated. Summation of various incremental storage values enables
one to find the channel storage S vs T.
3. In an inflow and outflow hydrograph set is available for a given reach,
values of S at various time intervals can be determined by the above
technique.
4. By choosing a trial value of x, values of S at any time t are plotted
against corresponding [ xI + (I x)Q ] values.
5. If the values of x is chosen correctly a straight line relationship given
by above equation will result. If incorrect x, then a looping curve.
6. By trial and error the x values is so selected that straight line should
be plotted.
7. The increased slope of this straight line will give the value of k.
8. For natural channels x ranges from 0 to 0.3.
For a given reach, the values of x and K are assumed to be constant.
MUSKINGUMS METHOD OF ROUTING
For a given channel reach by selecting a routing interval t and using the
muskingum eqn
The change in storage is
S2 S1 = K [ x(I1 I2 ) + (I x) (Q2 Q1 )]
Where 1,2 refer conditions before and after time interval t the continuity equation
for the reach is
) t () t = S2 S1
From above two equation, Q2 is evaluated as
Q2 = C0I2 + C1I1 + C2I1
Where

C1 +C2+ C3 = 1.

Above equation can be written as in general form for the nth time step as
Qn = C0In + C1In-1 + C2InThe above equation is known as Muskingum routing equation and provides a
simple linear equation for channel routing.
For best results, t should be so selected as
K > t > 2kx, C0 = positive

RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
->when a barrier s constructed across some river in the form of a dam , water gets
stored on the upper stream side of the barrier, forming a pool of water ,generally
called a dam reservoir or an impounding reservoir or a river reservoir or a storage
reservoir .
Depending upon the purpose of by a given reservoir they may be classified
as:
1. Storage or conservation reservoirs
2. Flood control reservoirs
3. Multipurpose reservoir
4. Distribution reservoir
Storage or conservation reservoirs: It can be retain excess supplies during periods of peak flow and can
release them gradually during low flows and when the need arises
Flood control reservoir
Otherwise known as flood mitigation reservoir.

 It stores a portion of the flood flows in such a way as to minimize the

flood peaks at the area to be protected downstream

The inflows in access is stored in the reservoir, which is then
gradually released so as to cover the storage capacity for next flood

The flood peaks at the downstream of the reservoir are thus reduced

by an amount AB
A flood control reservoir differs from a conservation reservoir only in
its need for a large sluice way capacity to permit rapid draw down
before or after flood
FLOOD CONTROL RESERVOIRS:
1. Storage reservoir/detention basin
2. Retarding basin
A reservoir having gates and valves installation at its spillway
and at its sluice outlet is storage reservoir while a reservoir with
uncontrolled and ungated outlets is retarding basin
MULTIPURPOSE RESERVOIR
A reservoir planned for and constructed to solve more than one
problem together is called multipurpose reservoir
A reservoir is designed to protect downstream areas from flood
and also to conserve water for water supply,irrigation ,industrial
needs , hydroelectric purposes etc shall be called a
multipurpose reservoir
Eg:bhakra nangal dam ,nagarjun sagar yojna

DISTRIBUTION RESERVOIR
It is a small storage reservoir constructed within a city water supply
system
Such a reservoir can supply at higher rates than inflow in critical
demand periods
They are helpful in permitting the pumps or the water treatment plant
to work at a uniform rate
ALLOCATION OF STORAGE SPACE FOR VARIOUS USES:

NORMAL POOL LEVEL/MAXIMUM CONSERVATION LEVEL

It is the maximum elevation to which reservoir water surfaces will
raise during normal operating conditions.
It is equivalent to the elevation of the spillway crest or the top of the
spillway gates
MINIMUM POOL LEVEL
The lowest water surface elevation, which has to be maintained under
normal operated conditions in a reservoir
This level may be fixed by the elevation of the lowest outlet in the
dam or may be guided by the minimum head required for the efficient
functioning of turbines

USEFUL AND DEAD STORAGE

The volume of water stored in a reservoir between the minimum and

normal pool level is called the useful storage

 Water stored in the reservoir below the minimum pool level is known

as dead storage in a multipurpose reservoir useful storage is composed

of conservation storage and flood mitigation storage
MAXIMUM POOL LEEL OR FULL RESERVOIR LEVEL: During high floods ,water is discharge over the spillway but will cause

the water level to rise in the reservoir above the normal pool level
The maximum level to which the water rises during the worst design
flood is known as the maximum pool level
SURCHARGE STORAGE
THE volume of water stored between the normal pool level and the
maximum pool level is called surcharge storage
It is an uncontrolled and temporary because it exist till the flood is in
progress and cant be retained for later use .
BANK STORAGE
When the reservoir is filled up , certain amount of water seeps into the

permeable reservoir banks .this water comes out as soon as the

reservoir gets depleted .This volume of water is known as bank
storage .
The bank storage increases the reservoir capacity above indicated by
the elevation capacity curve of the reservoir

VALLEY STORAGE
Before the construction of dam certain variable amount of water is

stored in the stream channel called valley storage.

After the reservoir is formed the storage increases and the actual net
increase in the storage is equal to the storage capacity of the reservoir
is called natural valley storage
EFFECTIVE STORAGE=USEFUL STORAGE +SURCHARGE
STORAGE VALLEY STORAGE
FIXATION OF RESERVOIR CAPACITY
Storage Capacity of a reservoir is the maximum difference between
the cumulative supply and demand during the period of the driest year
of the available records.
Two popular methods for calculation of reservoir capacity are:
(a) Flow Mass Curve/ Ripple Mass Curve
(b) Sequent Peak Algorithm
SEQUENT PEAK ALGORITHM

 It is a simple and straightforward analytical procedure, for computing

reservoir capacity & is used as an excellent alternative to the flow mass

curve method of determining reservoir capacity.
DEMERITS OF MASS CURVE

In the mass curve analysis, the reservoir is assumed to be full at the

beginning of the dry period and storage required to pass the dry
period is estimated.
If the mass curve contains only one ridge point and there are no
well defined subsequent trough points, it may become necessary to
repeat the given data for one more cycle.
Also the demand line is usually not a straight line (but assumed as
straight) because, it is generally non uniform due to seasonal
variation in demand.

The sequent peak algorithm technique helps us to device simple mathematical

solution to the problem of computing reservoir capacity.
SEQUENT PEAK ALGORITHM

It is a plot between time in X- axis and sum of (inflow- demand) in Y-axis.

(Inflow- Demand)=Net Inflow

The positive values of net inflow representing cumulative surplus of inflow,
will be plotted above X-axis while its negative values representing
cumulative deficit of inflow, will be plotted below X-axis.
The first ridge point A1 is the first peak in the figure shown above while
subsequent ridges A2, A3, A4 etc are called sequent peak.
Similarly B1 is the first trough but B2, B3 etc are sequent troughs.
The difference between first peak= Normal storage in reservoir under
normal inflows. But the maximum difference between any sequent peak and
following trough = Maximum Storage.
The Normal and Maximum storage through sequent peak algorithm is
calculated as:
1. Convert the monthly inflows into the volume units for the period of
available data.
2. Estimate the monthly volume of all the outflows from the reservoir. This
should include losses from evaporation, seepage and others.
3. Compute the cumulative inflow and cumulative outflows.

4. Compute ( Inflows-Outflows).
5. Plot a graph by taking time (months) in X-axis and (Inflow-Outflow)

on Y-axis.
6. The data will plot peaks and troughs. The 2 nd and subsequent peaks are
called sequent peaks.
7. The max difference between any sequent peak and the just following
through is the max storage required for the reservoir .
The difference between 1st pick and following through =Normal storage

RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION:
The sediment particles try to settle down to the river bottom due to the
gravitational force , but may be kept in suspension due to the
upstream current in the turbulent flow which may overcome the
gravity force .Due to these reasons, the river carries fine
sedimentation in suspension load and larger solids along the river bed
as bed load.
SEDIMENT YEILD :
It is the total flow of sediment from a watershed measured at a
location in a riverat a specified time.
EROSION:
It is the process of detachment and transportation of sediment by
erosive agent.
SEDIMENT DELIVERY RATIO:
Ratio of sediment delivered at a gauging site in a river to a total
erosion from the entire area upstream it.
BED LOAD:
The coarse sediment material moving close to the river bed by
rolling or sliding is called bed load.
E.g. material moving within 10-15 cm from bed.
SUSPENDED LOAD :
Relatively finer particle which mix and move with river water in
suspension and are found throughout the channel water in the
downstream is called suspended load.
WASH LOAD:
Fine , very fine ,and electrochemically charged soil particle carried by
river water are called wash load and dont ordinarily settle down at the
bottom of the container even after keeping it undisturbed for hours.
RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION CONTROL :
The deposition of sediment in reservoir is known as reservoir setting
or reservoir sedimentation.

 The total volume of silt deposited during the design period of dam is

estimated and approx that much volume is left unused to allow the
silting and is known as dead storage.
TOTAL CAPACITY OF RESERVOIR DEAD STORAGE =LIVE
STORAGE/EFFECTIVE STORAGE
The dead storage generally varies between 15-20% of the total
capacity.
TRAP EFFICINCY:
It is defined as the % of the sedimentation deposited in the reservoir
even in spite of taking precautions and measures to control its
deposition.
=Total sediment deposited in the reservoir /total sediment flowing in
the river
CAPACITY INFLOW RATIO:
It is the ratio of reservoir capacity to the total inflow of water in it
=f(capacity/inflow)
In order to increase the time of the reservoir it is necessary to control
the deposition of sediment.
Methods are
Pre constructing measures
Post constructing measures

PRE CONSTUCTING MEASURES:

These are the methods which are adopted before and during the
execution of the project
1. Selection of dam site
2. Construction of dam in stages
3. Construction of check dam
4. Vegetation screens
5. Construction of under sluice in the dam

POST CONSTRUCTION MEASURES:

These measures are to be taken during the operation of project.
1. Removal of post flood water
2. Mechanical stirring of the project
3. Erosion control and soil conservation.

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