Introduction to Hydrology

Streamflow

Pohanyar. Mohammad Noor Shaida

Asia Higher Education Institute
Engineering Faculty
Department of Civil, Herat Afghanistan
 Introduction
Streamflow is expressed as volume per unit time, usually cubic
meters per second, cubic feet per second, sometimes cubic
kilometers per second, or acre-feet per second or day.
Streamflow varies tremendously with time. Short term controls
include rainfall, snowmelt, and evaporation conditions. Long term
controls include land use, soil, groundwater state, and rock type.
Streamflow is measured at gauging stations, where the stream is
routed into an artificial channel of known cross section, often a V, or
the dimensions of the channel have been measured (and need to be
re-measured as channels shift and sediments accumulate...) The
height in the channel is recorded continuously, and converted into
stream flow.

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Introduction

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Introduction
Quantity and Quality of stream flow is requist for
o Municipal
o Industrial
o Agriculture
o Water supply
o Flood control
o Reservoir design and operation
o Hydroelectric power generation
o Water based recreation
o Navigation
o Fish and wildlife management

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Drainage Basin Effect
Drainage Basin

A river system that collects rainwater and comprises of

streams and river.
A drainage basin is the topography region from which a
stream receives runoff, througfall, and groundwater
flow.
Drainage basins are divided from each other by
topographic barriers called a watershed.
A watershed represents all of the stream branches that
flow to some location along the stream channel.

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Drainage Basin Effect

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 The Hydrograph
Graph of stream discharge as a function of time at a given location on
the stream
A graph of flow vs. time is called a hydrograph. The shape of a
hydrograph depends on rainfall, landuse, geology, and soils.

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Measuring and Recording
Streamflow
Control Section

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Measuring and Recording
Streamflow

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Measuring and Recording
Streamflow
Stream bank
0.6D

r
Q = ∫V ×dA
- Velocity measurements V
A
Pygmy Meter
Price Meter

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Measuring and Recording
Streamflow

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida

 Measuring and Recording
Streamflow

Pohanyar Mohammad Noor Shaida