SCS TR-55

Urban Hydrology for Small

Watersheds

Time of
Concentration
Presented by: G. Windsor Tracy, PLS
March 2016
 Presented by:
G. Windsor Tracy, PLS
• 30 years experience
• Licensed in 1993
• 10 years self employed
• Performed Hydraulic & Hydrologic Studies for various
size projects

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Introduction
• Time of Concentration
• Travel time ( Tt ) is the time it takes water to travel
(distance) from one location to a Point of Interest (POI)
in a watershed.
• Tt is a component of time of concentration ( Tc )
• Time of concentration ( Tc ) is the sum of Tt values for
the various consecutive flow segments:
• Tc = Tt1 + Tt2 + Tt3 + ….. [eq. 3-2]

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 • Time of Concentration
• Tc influences the shape and peak of the runoff
hydrograph.
• Urbanization usually decreases Tc, thereby
increasing the peak discharge.
• Tc can be increased as a result of:
• ponding though inadequate drainage
systems
• reduction of land slope through grading
• Minimum Tc is 0.1 Hours

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 • Other Factors effecting Time of Concentration
• Surface roughness
• Smooth – Concrete
• Moderate – Grass
• Rough – Woods
• Channel Shape
• V shape vs. Trapezoid
• Slope
• Flat vs. Steep

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 • Travel Time Computations
• Water moves through a watershed as:
• Sheet flow
• Shallow concentrated flow,
• Open channel flow
• Or some combination of these.

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 • Travel time ( Tt ) is the ratio of flow length to flow
velocity:
Tt = L / 3600V [eq. 3-1]
• Where:
• Tt = travel time (hr)
• L = flow length (ft)
• V = average velocity (ft/s)
• 3600 = conversion factor from seconds to hours.

• Time of Concentration must be in HOURS

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 Demonstration of
paved vs.
unpaved in time
of concentration

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 • Sheet Flow
• Flows over plane surfaces
• Usually occurs at or near the headwaters of the drainage
area
• Sheet flow is limited to 300 feet in maximum length by
TR55
• Important as sheet flow is the most sensitive component
of the TC.
• Manning’s Roughness Coefficient
• Ground surface slope
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 • Shallow Concentrated Flow
• More concentrated flow than sheet flow
• Begins after a maximum of 300 feet of sheet flow, flow
becomes shallow concentrated flow
• Travel time ( Tt ) is :
Tt = L / 3600V [eq. 3-1]
• Where:
• Tt = travel time (hr)
• L = flow length (ft)
• V = average velocity (ft/s)
• 3600 = conversion factor from seconds to hours
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 • Average velocity is determined in figure 3-1

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 • Open Channels
• Determined by Manning’s equation or
water surface profile information
• Average flow velocity is usually determined
for bankfull elevation

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 • Geometric Elements of Channel Sections

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 • Trapezoidal Swale Example
• Given:
• Base 10 feet
• Depth is 4 feet, flow is 3 feet
• Side slopes are 4:1
• Calculate to determine velocity

• Given:
• Concrete Swale
• Slope = 3%
• Length = 1000’

• Calculate Tc

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