Hydrology and the Hydrologic Cycle

Group No. 1
December 4, 2019

Name of Members:
1. Arjhill V. Alviola
2. Jamaica Grace Bonilla
3. Aj Angelo Ramos
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYDROLOGY AND HYDRAULICS
What is Hydrology?
by: Arjhill V. Alviola

 The study of water.

 A science related to water; science for observation and measurement of water in
the atmosphere, on land and below the land surface.
 Study or science of transforming rainfall amount into quantity runoff.
 In terms of environmental measurements, hydrology refers to the physical
movement of a body of water, including changes in water level, flow, and other
dynamic processes.
Terminology:
Runoff - is the quantity of water discharged in surface streams. Runoff includes
not only the waters that travel over the land surface and through channels to
reach a stream but also interflow, the water that infiltrates the soil surface and
travels by a means of gravity.

Branches of Hydrology:

 Chemical Hydrology - study of chemical characteristics of water.

 Ecohydrology - interaction between organisms and hydrologic cycle.
 Hydrogeology - study of the presence and movement of groundwater.
 Hydroinformatics - is the adaptation of information technology to hydrology and
water resource applications.
 Hydrometeorology - is the study of transfer of water and energy between land
and water body surfaces and the lower atmosphere.
 Isotope Hydrology - is the study of isotropic signatures of water (origin and age of
water).
 Surface water Hydrology - is the study of hydrologic processes that operates at
or near earth’s surface.
 Groundwater Hydrology - the study of underground water.
 Drainage Basin Management - it covers water storage in a form of reservoir and
flood protection.
 Water Quality - includes the chemistry of water in rivers and lakes, both of
pollutants and natural solutes.

What do Hydrologists do?

According to the bureau of labor statistics, hydrologist perform a wide range of duties,
including the following:

 Measuring volume, stream flow and other properties of bodies of water.

 Collecting and testing water and soil samples to test for certain properties,
including pH or pollution levels.
  Analyzing data on the environmental impacts of pollution, erosion, drought, and
other issues.
 Researching strategies for minimizing the impacts of these issues on the
environment.
 Forecasting future water supplies, the spread of pollution, floods, and other
events using computer models.
 Evaluating the feasibility of hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems,
wastewater treatment facilities, and other water-related projects.
 Prepare reports and presentations on their findings.

How do you define hydraulics?

 The study or science of the motion of liquids in relation to disciplines such as fluid
mechanics and dynamics.
 It is a branch of science concerned with the practical applications of fluids,
primarily liquids, in motion; it is related to fluid mechanics which in large part
provides its theoretical foundation.
 Hydraulics deals with such matters as the flow of liquids in pipes, rivers, and
channels and their confinement by dams and tanks. Some of its principles apply
also to gases, usually in cases in which variations in density are relatively small.
 Consequently, the scope of hydraulics extends to such mechanical devices as
fans and gas turbines and to pneumatic control systems.
 In hydraulics, a large force can be generated using incompressible fluids. The
basic principle behind the working of every hydraulic equipment is Pascal’s law.

The important components of Hydraulic System:

 A reservoir to store hydraulic fluid.

 A pump to suck the fluid from the reservoir.
 Valves for directing the flow of fluid and controlling system pressure.
 Filters to eliminate foreign particles
 Pipings for transferring fluids from one part to another.
 Motors for converting mechanical energy to hydraulic energy. The hydraulic fluid
used in the system will vary depending on the applications.

Examples of Hydraulics:

o Hydraulic lifts
o Construction Equipments like cranes, excavatoes, bulldozers, backhoes, etc.
o Hydraulic brakes
o Power Steering
o Hydraulic Jacks

In all these applications, only a small force is applied for moving, lifting or holding
a large object.
In summary:

Hydrology is defined as the circulation of water and its constituents through the
hydrologic cycle, or the quantification of flows that are ultimately produced by
precipitation.

Alternatively, the term hydraulics is defined as the study of the mechanical

behavior of water in physical systems.

Importance of Hydrology in Civil Engineering

 Hydrology is used to find out maximum probable flood at proposed sites e.g.
dams.
 It helps us to know the required reservoir capacity to assure adequate water for
irrigation or municipal water supply in droughts condition.
 Engineering hydrology enables us to find out the relationship between
catchments’ surface water and groundwater resources.
 The expected flood flows over a spillway, at a highway at a culvert' or in an urban
storm drainage system can be known.

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

by: Jamaica Grace Bonilla

Hydrologic Cycle (or water cycle) is the

continuous movement of water in the air, on
the surface of and below the Earth. This
cycle is the exchange of energy which
influences climate. When water condenses,
it releases energy and warms the
environment. When water evaporates it
takes energy from the surrounding
environment, dropping temperatures.

The hydrologic cycle is composed of two

phases:
1. The atmospheric phase- which describes water movement as gas (water
vapor) and liquid/solid (rain and snow) in the atmosphere.
2. The terrestrial phase - which describes water movement in, over, and
through the Earth.
 Atmospheric Phase Terrestrial Phase

Processes:
1. Evaporation.It is the process by which water is converted from its liquid state to
the gaseous state, also known as water vapor. In other words, water leaves the
Earth's surface and enters the atmosphere as a gas.
2. Transpiration. This is the discharge of water vapor from the leaves of plants into
the atmosphere. It is also the reason why there is higher humidity in places with
lots of vegetation cover.
*Evapotranspiration. It is a term used when there is also evaporation of
moisture from the soil, together with that from the leaves of the plants. It
accounts for about 10% of vapor in the atmosphere.
3. Sublimation. The process of snow and ice changing into water vapor in the air
without first melting into water.
4. Condensation.It is the process by which matter changes from a gas (or vapor)
phase into a liquid phase. It is very important to our weather and climate because
it is what is responsible for cloud formation.
5. Precipitation. When cloud (water molecules) particles become too heavy to
remain suspended in the air, they fall to the earth as precipitation.
6. Surface Run-off.Water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over
the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle.When the ground
is saturated, the water flows into lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans.
7. Infiltration.It is the process by which precipitation or water soaks into subsurface
soils and moves into rocks through cracks and pore spaces.
8. Percolation.Water flows horizontally through the soil and rocks under the
influence of gravity.
TRIVIA! Imagine? Only 3% of the world’s water is safe for human consumption.
HUMAN EFFECTS ON THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
Hydroelectricity. Rivers must be dammed, which can affect the function of the river
both upstream and downstream – lakes are usually formed from the water accumulating
above the dam and a build-up of silt can occur, while the amount of water is reduced
further downstream. This can be problematic for any plants and animals that may find
themselves with too much or too little water, and migrating fish cannot get through the
dams. Seriously mismanaged dams can result in droughts downstream, with smaller
streams completely drying up, leaving areas of unwatered land.

Emitting air pollutant that dissolves in water changes the nature of precipitation and
decreases cleansing. Atmospheric pollution is when small particles (such as smog)
travel up to the atmosphere until they meet wind. Those particles are carried around the
world by wind and reach the ground with rainfall. This is also called “acid rain”. Acid rain
is when coal-burning factories emit pollutants into the air. Acid rain has a high
concentration of pollutants.
Deforestation. Normally, trees release water vapour when they transpire, producing a
localised humidity. This water vapour then evaporates into the atmosphere where it
accumulates before precipitating back to the Earth as rain, sleet or snow. Deforestation
in one area can therefore affect the weather in another area because if trees are cut
down, there is less water to be evaporated into the atmosphere and subsequently less
rain.
Irrigation. The problem with irrigation is that it removes water from its natural source
and often causes leaching and run-off where it is used. This removal of nutrients results
in farmers using more fertilisers to keep their pastures productive while the waterways
become polluted. Another problem is that salt is brought up from lower levels
(salination).
OTHER TERMS:
• Eutrophicationis a process in which bodies of water (lakes, ponds, and rivers)
receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive growth algae
• Groundwater. The water that is filtered through the soil and remains under the
ground for plants to use.Is a major source of drinking water as well as agricultural
irrigation.
• A watershed is an area of land that feeds all the water running under it and
draining off of it into a body of water. It is simply a place where water drains into
one spot, such as a lake or ocean.

Interrelationships of phases of hydrologic cycle

by: Aj Angelo Ramos
Introduction
Water cycle and hydrological cycle are not the same, though they involve the
same subject which is water.In water cycle, the water goes through molecular
transformation from liquid, through evaporation, to gaseous state, i. e. vapor, as it is
warm, rises into the atmosphere. It gets condensed as clouds in the atmosphere. It
eventually cools enough to fall back as rain, or snow, depending on which part of the
world the condensation takes place, and what time of the year.
Hydrological cycle is the movement, storage, and pattern of surface and
groundwater of water on and under the earth. Essentially, here, there is usually no
significant molecular transformation of the water into vapor throughout the distribution or
storage process; water remains liquid, or at some time, solid such as ice. The cycle is
also defined as “the sequence of events which mark the movement of water from the
water bodies as well as earth surface to the atmosphere and back to the earth and
subsequently to water bodies via surface, subsurface routes.”
Water is circulated on the planet earth mainly by solar and planetary forces. To
understand the complicated relationship between precipitation and runoff, it is
imperative to get a complete insight into the hydrologic cycle
Components of the Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle is composed of two phases, the first of which is the
atmospheric phase, which describes water movement as gas (water vapor) and
liquid/solid (rain and snow) in the atmosphere. The second phase is the terrestrial
phase, which describes water movement in, over, and through the Earth. The terrestrial
phase is often broken down into the surface water phase (runoff, streamflow) and the
groundwater phase (infiltration, percolation, aquifer recharge).
Precipitation
Precipitation is any type of condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls
under gravity and includes rain, snow, sleet, hail, and fog. The amounts and types of
precipitation affect soil development, vegetation growth, and the generation of runoff,
which transports soils, nutrients, and pollutants. Water that evaporates (or sublimates)
from the Earth’s surface is stored as water vapor in the atmosphere before returning to
the Earth’s surface as precipitation. As rain falls from the atmosphere, some is caught
by vegetation (trees, grass, crops), and this is called “interception.” A portion of
intercepted rainfall is evaporated back to the atmosphere from the plant surfaces and
never reaches the ground. The rainfall that does reach the soil surface is referred to as
net rainfall.
Evapotranspiration (evaporation + transpiration)
Evapotranspiration is the combined effect of evaporation (movement of water
directly into the atmosphere as water vapor from a surface, such as the soil or a water
body) and transpiration (the process by which plants carry water from the soil into
leaves, where it is released to the atmosphere as water vapor). Due to the difficulty in
separating the processes of evaporation and transpiration, the two processes are
generally considered together and referred to as “ET.” This term includes the water that
evaporates directly from soil, water, and plant surfaces and the water that is pulled from
the soil by plant transpiration. As much as 75 percent of the water that enters the soil
can be returned to the atmosphere through ET. High wind, solar radiation, and heat can
greatly increase the ET rate, whereas a high-water vapor percentage in the air (high
relative humidity) can decrease the potential for ET
Infiltration
Once precipitation has reached the soil surface, some of it can infiltrate the soil.
Infiltration is the downward entry of water into the soil. The amount of water that
infiltrates and how quickly it infiltrates varies widely from place to place and depends on
soil properties such as soil moisture content, texture, bulk density, organic matter
content, permeability, porosity, and the presence of any restrictive layers in the soil.
Permeability is a measure of how fast water flows through the soil. Infiltration and
permeability are greater in porous materials, such as sands or gravels, than in clay
soils. Porosity is a measure of the total amount of open space or voids in a soil that are
capable of retaining water. Water retained in the soil pores is part of the soil storage, a
portion of which is available to plants during transpiration. Additionally, plants can utilize
water stored in the soil at a later time, providing a buffer capacity for plants between
rains. Therefore, soil structure is an important consideration in agroecosystems and can
be managed with various tillage practices or soil amendments.
Percolation and Groundwater Recharge
Aside from plant uptake, another path that water can take after it enters the soil is
percolation. Percolation is the downward movement of water that has infiltrated out of
the root zone under the pull of gravity. Generally, percolation is beyond the reach of
plant roots. Water that percolates downward through the soil, below the plant root zone
toward the underlying geologic formation, is responsible for recharging aquifers.
Groundwater can be a very important source of irrigation water for agriculture. While
much of the irrigation in the Mid-Atlantic Region relies on surface water supplies, there
is considerable infrastructure in place to utilize groundwater for irrigation. Many
producers prefer groundwater because it is of higher quality and less prone to short-
term shortages due to the weather.
Interflow
Interflow is the lateral movement of infiltrated water in the vadose zone and is
influenced by soil, geologic, and terrain properties in the surrounding area. As water
infiltrates, some of it may reach a layer of soil or rock material that restricts downward
movement and causes a perched water table.Once water reaches a restrictive layer and
can no longer infiltrate vertically, it becomes perched over this layer and may then move
laterally as interflow above this layer if there is sufficient hydraulic head or slope
Runoff
There are many ways to describe runoff, but a simple definition is the portion of
precipitation falling on an area that is rapidly discharged from the area through stream
channels. However, in reality, runoff generation is a complex process controlled by
many factors, and there are even different types of runoff generated depending on the
conditions.
Summary
In talking about the hydrologic cycle, its most useful to think about all of the water
on earth being herd in a series of reservoirs. The ocean for instance, or the atmosphere
in the form of clouds or in polar ice caps so not only does water cycle through different
places, it also takes different forms in different places in the cycle: liquid solid or gas
and since it’s a cycle, there is no beginning and no end, so where we start our
discussion is arbitrary but were going to start it off with condensation.
Rain, hail, snow… all of that stuff is precipitation which are products of
condensation. It happens when water that’s being held in the atmosphere condenses.
Or turns from a gas into a liquid and then occasionally freezes into a solid right up in the
air. Condensation is responsible for the formation of clouds. Which happens when air
containing water vapor rises and cools, or is compressed to the point that it can no
longer be a gas. At that point, the vapor forms droplets.The opposite of condensation, of
course, is evaporation - The conversion of a liquid into a gas… and when a substance
converts straight from a solid to a gas, that’s sublimationand when it’s from a gas to a
solid that’s deposition.
Back to condensation, this is the same thing you see happening on your glass of
ice tea on a humid day. The water in the air around the glass gets cold, and turns from
gas into liquid so a cloud is just a big pile of condensed water droplets, in a sense it’s a
gigantic floating reservoir.Clouds are a handy feature of the hydrologic cycle because
as they drift over the landscape, they move water around the globe so water that
evaporates over the ocean can be deposited somewhere else. Otherwise if water
always got deposited right where It evaporated, the precipitation would be almost
always right over the ocean because that’s where most of the evaporation on earth
takes place.
Wind moves clouds, and as water keeps condensing, clouds get heavier and
heavier until gravity takes over and pulls the condensed droplets to the ground in the
form of rain, in the form of snow, or in the form of hail and now the waters on the
ground. The gravity continues to work on pulling it towards its resting place beneath the
earth surface.It either pulls the water across the surface of the land to the lowest point in
a process called runoff.
Water can be trapped or stored for a little while in places like lakes, ponds and
wetlands. But most of the water that falls as precipitation gets pulled lower and lower as
runoff though the creeks and streams and rivers until it reaches the oceans. In really
cold places, water of course freezes and hangs around as ice in places for many years
at a time like at the poles and glaciers and on mountaintops. But when it melts, most of
it too runs off into the ocean.Oceans are a big deal because they’re the reason that we
have the hydrologic cycle in the first place and they’re also the reason that we have life
on earth. The one unique characteristic about oceans though is that they’re salty… and
there is a reason for this.As waters runs to the ocean, it erodes minerals like salt from
soil and carries it to the ocean. Even though water that’s heading towards the ocean
may not taste salty, but the salt’s in there. But the thing is... When the water evaporates
again, the salt doesn’t evaporate with it. It gets left behind. And this shows that the
world’s ocean is literally the last stop for all the liquid water on earth. The only way to
get out of this is though evaporation leaving all the minerals behind.
Now living things also have their role to play in the hydrologic cycle and both
plants and animals that break down carbohydrates to produce energy, produces water
as waste product. We produce waste water through evaporation from our skin and also
exhale water vapor and of course, we urinate it out.In plants, water is sucked up through
their roots and stem and moves up to the leaves where it evaporates quickly. This
process is called evapotranspiration. And since there are so many plants here on earth,
its responsible for a good amount of the water that enters the atmosphere. This process
is also essentially the opposite of condensation in that it turns liquid water into gas. The
solar energy from the sun drives evaporation whether it’s the surface of the ocean or
from the land. And then once all of that water evaporates into the atmosphere, where
right back where we started.It’s a cycle!
PHILIPPINE WATERSHEDS: DELINEATION OF DRAINAGE AREAS

Watershed (also called a drainage basin or catchment)

 A watershed is simply the

geographic area through which water
flows across the land and drains into
a common body of water, whether a
stream, river, lake, or ocean

 Watershed is defined as any surface

area from which runoff resulting from
rainfall is collected and drained
through a common point.

 It is synonymous with a drainage

basin or catchment area. A
watershed may be only a few
hectares as in small ponds or hundreds of square kilometres as in rivers. All
watersheds can be divided into smaller sub-watersheds.

 A watershed embraces physical-biological features as well as socio-economic

and political features which have to be integrated into the planning and
management process.

Why watershed is important?

 Watersheds are important because the surface water features and storm water
runoff within a watershed ultimately drain to other bodies of water.
 It is essential to consider these downstream impacts when developing and
implementing water quality protection and restoration actions. Everything
upstream ends up downstream. We need to remember that we all live
downstream and that our everyday activities can affect downstream waters.
Watershed Management

 Runoff from rainwater or snowmelt can contribute significant amounts of pollution

into the lake or river. Watershed management helps to control pollution of the
water and other natural resources in the watershed by identifying the different
kinds of pollution present in the watershed and how those pollutants are
transported, and recommending ways to reduce or eliminate those pollution
sources.
 All activities that occur within a watershed will somehow affect that watershed’s
natural resources and water quality. New land development, runoff from already-
developed areas, agricultural activities, and household activities such as
gardening/lawn care, septic system use/maintenance, water diversion and car
maintenance all can affect the quality of the resources within a watershed.

 Watershed management planning comprehensively identifies those activities

that affect the health of the watershed and makes recommendations to properly
address them so that adverse impacts from pollution are reduced.

Philippine Watersheds
According to the National Power Corporation (NaPoCor) there are 11 major
watersheds that are protected by them, these are the following:

1. North Luzon Watersheds

a. Angat Watershed
 Location: Norzagaray-San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
 Total Area: 62,309 ha
 Effective Drainage Area: 56,809 ha (586 km2)
b. Magat Watershed
 Location: Ifugao Isabela and Nueva Viscaya
 Total Area: 430,861 ha
 Effective Drainage Area: 463,100 ha (4, 631km2)
c. Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed
 Location: Nueva Ecija, Nueva Viscaya and Aurora
 Total Area: 84,500 ha
 Effective Drainage Area: 102,532 ha (1,025 km2)

d. San Roque Watershed

 Location: Pangasinan and Benguet
 Total Area: 9,500 ha
 Effective Drainage Area: 764,000 ha (7,640 km2)
e. Upper Agno Watershed
 Location: Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Nueva Viscaya
 Total Area: 123,000 ha
 Effective Drainage Area: 595,200 ha (5,952 km2)

2. South Luzon Watershed

 a. Buhi-Barit Watershed
 Location: Albay and Camarines Sur
 Total Area: 18,379 ha
b. Caliraya-Lumot Watershed
 Location: Cavite, Kalayaan, Lumban and Paete, Laguna
 Total Area: 16,319.29 ha
c. Makiling-Banahaw Watershed
 Location: Laguna, Batangas and Quezon
 Total Area: 162,000 ha
d. Tiwi Watershed
 Location: Albay and Camarines Sur
 Total Area: 17,661 ha

3. Mindanao
a. Lake Lanao Agus River Watershed
 Location: Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur
 Total Area: 193,440 ha
b. Pulangi Watershed
 Location: Bukidnon
 Total Area: 1.8 million ha
Sources:

https://dep.wv.gov/WWE/watershed/Pages/watershed_management.aspx
http://www.biodiversity.ru/programs/ecoservices/library/functions/water/doc/Kuchment.p
df
https://ext.vt.edu/content/dam/ext_vt_edu/topics/agriculture/water/documents/Hydrology
-Basics-and-the-Hydrologic-Cycle.pdf
https://pmm.nasa.gov/education/water-cycle/hydrologic-cycle
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/726-humans-and-the-water-
cycle?fbclid=IwAR3P1NOpmqIOeww4_gwddXoQuQB4SWqJBU7_FgL1eAxiX00mlINK
NerpHZg
https://www.h2odistributors.com/pages/info/info-water-cycle.asp
https://www.eschooltoday.com/water-cycle/what-is-infiltration.html
https://essc.org.ph/content/archives/tag/map-of-protected-watersheds-in-the-philippines/
https://www.napocor.gov.ph/index.php/services/watershed-management/watershed-
areas