CHAPTER IV: Quantity of Urban Stormflow

Rational Method
Objectives:
To apply the Rational Method or Formula in estimating peak runoff
To state the limitations of the method
To identify and define the variables used in the formula

I. The Rational Method for Calculation of Peak Storm Water Runoff Rate

The Rational Method is used to calculate the peak surface runoff rate for design of storm
water management structures, like storm drains, storm sewers, and storm water detention facilities.
Values for the runoff coefficient, drainage area, time of concentration and design return period are
needed.
The Rational Method is widely used to estimate the peak surface runoff rate for design of
a variety of drainage structures, such as a length of storm sewer, a storm water inlet, or a storm
water detention pond. The Rational Method is most suitable for small urban watersheds that don't
have storage such as ponds or swamps. It is best for areas less than 100 acres, but is sometimes
used for up to 2 mi2 areas.

The Rational Method Equation

Q=CfCiA

Where:

Q = peak flow in cubic feet per second (cfs)

Cf = runoff coefficient adjustment factor to account for reduction of infiltration and other

losses during high intensity storms

C = runoff coefficient to reflect the ratio of rainfall to surface runoff

i = rainfall intensity in inches per hour (in/hr)

A = drainage area in acres (ac)

The equation that is the centerpiece of the Rational Method is: q = CiA, where q is the peak surface
runoff rate in cfs, from a watershed of area, A acres, and runoff coefficient, C, due to a storm of
intensity, i in/hr. The units on peak runoff rate, q, are actually acre-in/hr, but the conversion from
acre-in/hr to cfs is very nearly one, so the more common unit, cfs, is tyically used for q. In order
to calculate a value for peak runoff rate for a given drainage area, values are needed for the three
 parameters, A, C, and i. Each of these parameters will be discussed separately in the next three
sections.

1.1 The Drainage Area, A

The drainage area, A, is often determined from a map which includes the
drainage area of interest. It may be necessary to first determine the boundaries of the drainage area
using a contour map. Once the boundaries are known, the area can be determined using the map
scale. Since the area must be in acres for use in the Rational Method equation, a useful conversion
factor is 43,560 ft2/acre. A map with a drainage area outlined is shown at the left.

1.2 The Runoff Coefficient, C

The runoff coefficient is the fraction of rainfall striking the drainage area that becomes runoff from

that drainage area. It is an empirically determined constant, dependent on

the nature of the drainage area surface. An impervious surface like a concrete parking lot will have
a runoff coefficient of nearly one. A very tight clay soil will also have a relatively high runoff
coefficient, while a sandy soil would have more infiltration and a lower runoff coefficient. In
addition to the nature of the surface and the soil, the slope of the drainage area has an effect on the
runoff coefficient. A greater slope leads to a higher runoff coefficient. There are many tables of
values for runoff coefficient for a variety of types of drainage areas in handbooks, textbooks and
on the internet. The table at the right shows some typical ranges of values for runoff coefficient.
The article, "Runoff Coefficients for Use in Rational Method Calculations." more details on the
runoff coefficient and a more comprehensive rational method runoff coefficient table of values.

1.3 The Design Rainfall Intensity, i

The design rainfall intensity is the intensity of a constant intensity design storm with the
specified design return period and duration equal to the time of concentration of the drainage
area. Once the design return period and duration are determined, the design rainfall intensity can
be determined from an appropriate intensity-duration-frequency graph or equation for the
location of the drainage area. As you can see, determining a value for i is the most complicated
part of using the Rational Method. The procedure for doing so is covered in a separate article,
"Calculating Design Rainfall Intensity for Use in the Rational Method."
Example Calculation

Consider a section of a downtown business area of 35,400 square feet that drains to a particular
storm water inlet. The runoff coefficient for this drainage area has been estimated to be 0.85. Based
on a specified design return period and the time of concentration of the drainage area, the design
storm intensity has been determined to be 5.1 in/hr. What is the peak runoff rate from this area to
be used for design of the storm water inlet?
Solution: q = CiA = (0.85)(5.1)(35,400/43,560) cfs = 3.52 cfs.
One use for the Rational Method is in calculating design storm water runoff rate for storm sewer
design. For an article with a downloadable Excel spreadsheet template for making storm sewer
design calculations, see "Stormwater Sewer Design using Excel Formulas in a Spreadsheet
Template."

II. What are the limitations of Rational Method in calculating

runoff?
Computation of runoff is a complicated matter which depends on many factors like the ground
permeability, rainfall duration, rainfall pattern, catchment area characteristics etc. Basically,
Rational Method is a means to find out the maximum discharge suitable for design purpose. In this
method, it is assumed that the rainfall duration is the same as the time of concentration and the
return period of rainfall intensity is the same as the peak runoff. Time of concentration refers to
the time required for the most remote location of stormwater inside the catchment to flow to the
outlet. When the time of concentration is equal to the rainfall period, the maximum discharge
occurs and rainfall collected inside the catchment comes to the same outlet point.

Rational Method provides the peak discharge only and it cannot produce a hydrograph. If a more
detailed pattern of runoff is required, unit hydrograph or other methods have to be used. The
accuracy of rational method depends very much on our correct selection of runoff coefficient and
delineation of catchment area.

Rational Method is a rather conservative method. One of the basic assumptions of the rational
formula is that the rainfall intensity must be constant for an interval at least equal to the time of
concentration. For long duration of rainfall, this assumption may not hold true. Moreover, the
runoff coefficient in Rational Method is difficult to be determined accurately and it depends on
many factors like moisture condition of soils, rainfall intensity and duration, degree of soil
compaction, vegetation etc. In addition, In Rational Method the runoff coefficient is independent
of rainfall intensity and this does not reflect the actual situation.

Section 12: Rational Method

The rational method is appropriate for estimating peak discharges for small drainage areas of up
to about 200 acres (80 hectares) with no significant flood storage. The method provides the
designer with a peak discharge value, but does not provide a time series of flow nor flow volume.

III. Assumptions and Limitations

Use of the rational method includes the following assumptions and limitations:

The method is applicable if tc for the drainage area is less than the duration of peak rainfall
intensity.
The calculated runoff is directly proportional to the rainfall intensity.
Rainfall intensity is uniform throughout the duration of the storm.
The frequency of occurrence for the peak discharge is the same as the frequency of the rainfall
producing that event.
Rainfall is distributed uniformly over the drainage area.
The minimum duration to be used for computation of rainfall intensity is 10 minutes. If the
time of concentration computed for the drainage area is less than 10 minutes, then 10 minutes
should be adopted for rainfall intensity computations.
The rational method does not account for storage in the drainage area. Available storage is
assumed to be filled.

The above assumptions and limitations are the reason the rational method is limited to
watersheds 200 acres or smaller. If any one of these conditions is not true for the watershed of
interest, the designer should use an alternative method.

The rational method represents a steady inflow-outflow condition of the watershed during the
peak intensity of the design storm. Any storage features having sufficient volume that they do
not completely fill and reach a steady inflow-outflow condition during the duration of the design
storm cannot be properly represented with the rational method. Such features include

detention ponds, channels with significant volume, and floodplain storage. When these features
are present, an alternate rainfall-runoff method is required that accounts for the time-varying
nature of the design storm and/or filling/emptying of floodplain storage. In these cases,
the hydrograph method is recommended.

The steps in developing and applying the rational method are illustrated in Figure 4-8.

Figure 4-8. Steps in developing and applying the rational method

IV. Procedure for using the Rational Method

The rational formula estimates the peak rate of runoff at a specific location in a watershed as a
function of the drainage area, runoff coefficient, and mean rainfall intensity for a duration equal
to the time of concentration. The rational formula is:

Equation 4-20.

Where:

Q = maximum rate of runoff (cfs or m3/sec.)

C = runoff coefficient
I = average rainfall intensity (in./hr. or mm/hr.)
A = drainage area (ac or ha)
Z = conversion factor, 1 for English, 360 for metric

Rainfall Intensity

The rainfall intensity (I) is the average rainfall rate in in./hr. for a specific rainfall duration and
a selected frequency. The duration is assumed to be equal to the time of concentration. For
drainage areas in Texas, you may compute the rainfall intensity using Equation 4-21, which is
known as a rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relationship (power-law model).

Equation 4-21.
Where:

I = design rainfall intensity (in./hr.)

tc = time of concentration (min) as discussed in Section 11
e, b, d = coefficients for specific frequencies listed by county in the EBDLKUP-
2015v2.1.xlsx spreadsheet lookup tool (developed by Cleveland et al. 2015). These
coefficients are based on rainfall frequency-duration data contained in the Atlas of Depth-
Duration Frequency (DDF) of Precipitation of Annual Maxima for Texas (TxDOT 5-1301-
01-1). Also see video/tutorial on the use of the EBDLKUP-2015v2.1.xlsx spreadsheet tool.

The general shape of a rainfall intensity-duration-frequency curve is shown in Figure 4-9. As

rainfall duration tends towards zero, the rainfall intensity tends towards infinity. Because the
rainfall intensity/duration relationship is assessed by assuming that the duration is equal to the
time of concentration, small areas with exceedingly short times of concentration could result
in design rainfall intensities that are unrealistically high. To minimize this likelihood, use a
minimum time of concentration of 10 minutes when using the coefficients presented in the
hydrology document. As the duration tends to infinity, the design rainfall tends towards zero.
Usually, the area limitation of 200 acres should result in design rainfall intensities that are not
unrealistically low. However, if the estimated time of concentration is extremely long, such as
may occur in extremely flat areas, it may be necessary to consider an upper threshold of time
or use a different hydrologic method.

Table 4-10: Runoff Coefficients for Urban Watersheds

Type of drainage area Runoff coefficient

Business:
Downtown areas 0.70-0.95
Neighborhood areas 0.30-0.70
Residential:
Single-family areas 0.30-0.50
Multi-units, detached 0.40-0.60
Multi-units, attached 0.60-0.75
Suburban 0.35-0.40
Apartment dwelling areas 0.30-0.70
Industrial:
Light areas 0.30-0.80
Heavy areas 0.60-0.90
Parks, cemeteries 0.10-0.25
Playgrounds 0.30-0.40
Railroad yards 0.30-0.40
Unimproved areas:
Sand or sandy loam soil, 0-3% 0.15-0.20
Sand or sandy loam soil, 3-5% 0.20-0.25
Black or loessial soil, 0-3% 0.18-0.25
Black or loessial soil, 3-5% 0.25-0.30
Black or loessial soil, > 5% 0.70-0.80
Deep sand area 0.05-0.15
Steep grassed slopes 0.70
Lawns:
Sandy soil, flat 2% 0.05-0.10
Sandy soil, average 2-7% 0.10-0.15
Sandy soil, steep 7% 0.15-0.20
Heavy soil, flat 2% 0.13-0.17
Heavy soil, average 2-7% 0.18-0.22
Heavy soil, steep 7% 0.25-0.35
Streets:
Asphaltic 0.85-0.95
Concrete 0.90-0.95
Brick 0.70-0.85
Drives and walks 0.75-0.95
Roofs 0.75-0.95
 Figure 4-9. Typical Rainfall Intensity Duration Frequency Curve

In some instances alternate methods of determining rainfall intensity may be desired,

especially for coordination with other agencies. Ensure that any alternate methods are
applicable.

Runoff Coefficients

Urban Watersheds

Table 4-10 suggests ranges of C values for urban watersheds for various combinations of land
use and soil/surface type. This table is typical of design guides found in civil engineering texts
dealing with hydrology.

Rural and Mixed-Use Watershed

Table 4-11 shows an alternate, systematic approach for developing the runoff coefficient. This
table applies to rural watersheds only, addressing the watershed as a series of aspects. For each
of four aspects, the designer makes a systematic assignment of a runoff coefficient
component. Using Equation 4-22, the four assigned components are added to form an overall
runoff coefficient for the specific watershed segment.

The runoff coefficient for rural watersheds is given by:

Equation 4-22.

Where:

C = runoff coefficient for rural watershed

Cr = component of coefficient accounting for watershed relief
Ci = component of coefficient accounting for soil infiltration
Cv = component of coefficient accounting for vegetal cover
Cs = component of coefficient accounting for surface type
Table 4-11: Runoff Coefficients for Rural Watersheds

Watershed
characteristic Extreme High Normal Low
0.28-0.35 0.14-0.20 0.08-0.14
0.20-0.28
Steep, rugged terrain Rolling, with Relatively flat
Relief - Cr Hilly, with average
with average slopes average slopes of 5- land, with average
slopes of 10-30%
above 30% 10% slopes of 0-5%
0.08-0.12
0.12-0.16 0.04-0.06
Slow to take up 0.06-0.08
No effective soil Deep sand or other
water, clay or Normal; well
cover; either rock or soil that takes up
Soil infiltration - Ci shallow loam soils of drained light or
thin soil mantle of water readily; very
low infiltration medium textured
negligible infiltration light, well-drained
capacity or poorly soils, sandy loams
capacity soils
drained
0.08-0.12 0.06-0.08 0.04-0.06
Poor to fair; clean Fair to good; about Good to excellent;
0.12-0.16
cultivation, crops or 50% of area in good about 90% of
No effective plant
Vegetal cover - Cv poor natural cover, grassland or drainage area in
cover, bare or very
less than 20% of woodland, not more good grassland,
sparse cover
drainage area has than 50% of area in woodland, or
good cover cultivated crops equivalent cover
0.04-0.06
0.10-0.12 0.06-0.08
Much surface
Negligible; surface 0.08-0.10 Normal;
storage, drainage
depressions few and Well-defined system considerable
system not sharply
Surface Storage - Cs shallow, of small surface depression,
defined; large
drainageways steep drainageways, no e.g., storage lakes
floodplain storage,
and small, no ponds or marshes and ponds and
large number of
marshes marshes
ponds or marshes
Table 4-11 note: The total runoff coefficient based on the 4 runoff components is C = Cr + Ci + Cv + Cs

The designer selects the most appropriate values for Cr, Ci, Cv, and Cs from Table 4-11.

While this approach was developed for application to rural watersheds, it can be used as a check
against mixed-use runoff coefficients computed using other methods. In so doing, the designer
would use judgment, primarily in specifying Cs, to account for partially developed conditions
within the watershed.
 Mixed Land Use

For areas with a mixture of land uses, a composite runoff coefficient should be used. The
composite runoff coefficient is weighted based on the area of each respective land use and can
be calculated as:

Equation 4-23.

Where:

CW = weighted runoff coefficient

Cj = runoff coefficient for area j
Aj = area for land cover j (ft2)
n = number of distinct land uses
Refeences:

References and Image Credits

References for further information:
1. Bengtson, Harlan H., Hydraulic Design of Storm Sewers, Including the Use of Excel, an online,
continuing education course for PDH credit.
2. McCuen, Richard H., Hydrologic Analysis and Design, 2nd Ed, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1998.
3. Knox County Tennessee, Stormwater Management Manual, section on the Rational Method
Image Credit - Westminster College_Storm Drains

http://www.brighthubengineering.com/hydraulics-civil-engineering/60842-the-rational-method-
for-calculation-of-peak-storm-water-runoff-rate/
http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/hyd/rational_method.htm

http://www.engineeringcivil.com/what-are-the-limitations-of-rational-method-in-calculating-
runoff.html
 NEGROS ORIENTAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
BAJUMPANDAN, DUMAGUETE CITY

CE 524 SEWERAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL

CHAPTER 4

QUANTITY OF URBAN STORMFLOW

Group No. 4

List of Members

ENQUIG, ROSE MAE G.

ESCOTON, DAISYREE C.
TRUNO, MARK
VIOLETA, NOLFE BOY L.

2ND Semester

T-TH 7:30 am 9:00 am

SY 2017-2018

DR. IRISMAY T. JUMAWAN

Instructor