ECW 557:

ENGINEERING HYDROLOGY

INTRODUCTION

Dr. Nuryazmeen Farhan Binti Haron

Semester: March-July 2019

WEEK 1 – INTRODUCTION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the week, students should be
able to:
o Identify and explain various components of hydrological
processes (CO1);
o Define a hydrological problem using the watershed concept
(CO1);
o Apply the water budget equation to solve hydrological
problems (CO2).
 WHAT IS HYDROLOGY?
Hydrology is an earth science that treats the waters
of the earth,
• their occurrence, distribution, movement
• their interaction with the environment, including
interaction with living things and, in particular,
human being.
It is tied to disciplines of climatology, meteorology,
oceanography, geography, geology, environmental
science, physics and hydraulics.
 QUESTIONS…

•How much water is there?

•Where the water comes from?
•Where the water is heading to?
•What if the amount of water is insufficient?
•What if the amount of water is too much?
•How to solve the relevant predicament?

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 ENGINEERING HYDROLOGY

Engineering hydrology is mainly concerned with

quantifying amounts of water
• at various locations (spatially),
• as a function of time (temporally)
for surface water applications.

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 Variability in Hydrological Modeling
Hydrologic systems are inherently random because
the major input is precipitation, a phenomenon that
varies with time and space.
In addition, the surface and soil of the watershed
contains enormous number of possible paths with
different shape, slope and surface roughness at
different location. Soil moisture content also varies
with time and space.
Knowledge of the physical system helps in
developing a good model and verifying its accuracy.

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 How hydrology is studied?
Hydrology is basically an interpretive science.
Experimental work is restricted due to the scale of
natural events.
The fundamental requirement is observed and
measured data on all aspects of precipitation, runoff,
percolation, river flow, evaporation etc.
The data is then analyzed using statistical methods
and probability analysis for recognizable trends, and
in particular, the extremities, to facilitate
engineering problems solving.

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 Hydrological Analysis

Statistical approach plays a prominent role in

hydrologic analysis.
A hydrologist must be able to interpret data about
these processes and to predict from his studies the
most likely quantities involved in the extreme cases
of flood and drought.
He must also be able to express opinion about the
likely frequency with which such events will occur
so that feasible hydraulic engineering design can be
formulated.
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 Historical Data
Reliable historical data is needed to describe
precipitation, streamflows, evaporation, soil
moisture, snowfields, sedimentation, transpiration,
infiltration, water quality, air, soil and water
temperature, and other variables of the hydrologic
system.
Where the required data is not available or in doubt,
hydrologist will have to first implement a data
collection program with the ultimate aim of
supporting a reliable modeling effort.

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 Why learn hydrology?
• understand how water is affected by and how
water affects ecosystems manipulations.

?
Input SYSTEM Output

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 Why learn hydrology?
• to plan and manage water resources for the
sustainability of life

MANAGE

Input SYSTEM Output

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 Why learn hydrology?
• design and operation of engineering facilities like
drainage, hydraulics structures, reservoirs, canals,
hydropower generation etc

Input SYSTEM Output

FACILITIES

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 Why learn hydrology?
• to control the use of water, to regulate streams
and rivers, to control flood, to control erosion
and sedimentation, to control pollution, to store
and distribute waters, and more.

Input SYSTEM Output

CONTROL

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 Hydrology vs Hydraulic
Hydrology is concerned with quantifying the
water, identifying where the water comes from and
where it goes to.
Quantity

Hydraulic is concerned with containing,

conveying and control of the expected quantity of
water so as to ensure that it does not pose any threat
or inconvenience and can be used for the good of
the public.
Structure

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 Issues today…
•Flood flows due to urbanization are much larger
than pre-development.
•Floods tend to devastate much larger areas of
populated settlement causing huge damages and
economic losses.
•Many places now use water at a rate near the
maximum available supply.
•Groundwater sources are being depleted and new
methods of recharging need to be considered so that
the sources can be properly managed.

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 A “Single” Resource – has no substitute
 A Limited Resource
 A Scarce Resource with Social, Economic, and
Environmental Value
 Finite & indestructible (impossible to destroy)

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 Every organism, individual, and ecosystem on the
planet depends on water for survival.
 Water impacts all aspects of life on the planet
 Poor water management and water shortages can lead
to disease, malnutrition, reduced economic growth,
social instability, conflict, and environmental disaster.

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 Global Water Budget
Item Area Volume % of % of
(106 km2) (km3) total water fresh water
Oceans 361.3 1,338,000,000 96.5

Groundwater
Fresh 134.8 10,530,000 0.76 30.1
Saline 134.8 12,870,000 0.93
Soil Moisture 82.0 16,500 0.0012 0.05
Polar ice 16.0 24,023,500 1.7 68.6
Other ice and snow 0.3 340,600 0.025 1.0
Lakes
Fresh 1.2 91,000 0.007 0.26
Saline 0.8 85,400 0.006
Marshes 2.7 11,470 0.0008 0.03
Rivers 148.8 2,120 0.0002 0.006
Biological water 510.0 1,120 0.0001 0.003
Atmospheric water 510.0 12,900 0.01 0.04
Total water 510.0 1,385,984,610 100

Fresh water 148.8 35,029,210 2.5 100

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 Global Freshwater
Global Water 87% Not Accessible
97% Seawater 13% Accessible (0.4% of global)
3% Freshwater

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A challenge to water management

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 Dynamic equilibrium
While the total volume of water remains a constant
in the global hydrologic cycle, its distribution
continually changes on continents, in regions and
within local drainage basins.
The dynamic equilibrium is attributed to weather
pattern and physical changes in topography, geology
and vegetation, most of which as a result of human
activities.
Consequently, the availability of fresh water supply
varies with time and space and shall continues to be
a challenge to engineers in catering to this very
basic human needs. 22
 Hydrologic cycle
Hydrologic cycle describes the continuous process
controlling the distribution and circulation of water
between the three sub-systems, namely:
•Atmospheric water system
•Surface water system
•Sub-surface water system.
This global water transport system is driven by the
sun, which furnishes the energy required for
evaporation.

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Hydrologic Cycle

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 Atmospheric water system

sublimation transpiration precipitation evaporation

Surface water system

interception

SNOW VEGETATION
melt throughfall
stemflow
LAND SURFACE (DEPRESSIONS)
overland flow
SURFACE WATER BODIES
surface runoff
STREAMS OCEANS

exfiltration infiltration interflow groundwater flow

Subsurface water system

SUBSURFACE WATER
capillary rise percolation
GROUNDWATER (AQUIFERS)
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 Hydrological processes
• precipitation
• interception, throughfall, stemflow
• storage, depression storage
• overland flow
• infiltration, percolation
• interflow, baseflow, surface runoff
• evapotranspiration

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Trans-boundary Flow

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EXAMPLE :

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Although the concept of the hydrologic cycle is
simple, the phenomenon is enormously complex and
intricate.
It is indeed a large cycle comprising many
interrelated cycles of continental, regional and
local extent.

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For most practical problems, only a few processes of
the hydrologic cycles are considered at a time and
only considering a small portion of the earth’s
surface.
This smaller subsystem within the entire hydrologic
system may be studied based on geographical area
water budget using the method of control volume.

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 Watershed Hydrologic System
Watershed, catchment or drainage basins refer to
the topographic area that collects and discharges
surface runoff as streamflow through one outlet.

Precipitation

Watershed boundary
Watershed
surface

Outflow

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 Watershed Hydrologic System
They accurately define surface water boundaries and
can be pictured in a pyramidal fashion as the
runoff from smaller basins (subsystems) combine to
form large basins and the runoffs from these basins
in turn combine to form even larger basins, and so
on.

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Urban Catchment

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Catchment = the land area over which rain falls;
Watershed = the land area that contributes surface
runoff to any point of interest;
Drainage basin = the tract of land, both surface and
subsurface, drained by a river and its tributaries of
both surface runoff and groundwater discharge.

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 Watershed Control Volume
It is not necessary to know the precise flow pattern
inside the control volume, nor the biological,
chemical and physical processes taken place in the
system, but the flow across the control surfaces.
Precipitation

System boundary
(Control surfaces)

Watershed boundary
Watershed
surface
Rainfall excess

Outflow
Contributing area
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 Water Budget Equation
(Mass Balance)

Inflow – Outflow = Storage for a given time period.

Units:
•Depth e.g cm, mm
•Volume e.g m3, Mm3
•Volumetric rate e.g m3/s, Mm3/s

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 Water Budget Equation

(P – ET – F – IA) – R = S

P = precipitation
ET = evapotranspiration
F = infiltration Losses
IA = initial abstraction
R = runoff/ outflow
S (+) accumulation; S (– ) depletion

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 Assuming no change in storage,

(P – ET – F – IA) – R = S

R=CP C = runoff coefficient ( 0 < C < 1 )

= fraction of precipitation that runs off into
streams and lakes.

If C = 0, R = 0 no runoff
If C = 1, R = P no losses
Generally, R is large ( ≈ 1) in urbanized area
R is low in ( ≈ 0) natural catchment
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The system concept using control volume method
greatly simplifies the modeling of such large and
complex processes.

Effort is directed to relating inputs and outputs

rather than representing the system details which
may not be crucial or may not be known in precise.

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 Example (1)
A catchment with an area of 20,000 km2 receives
120 cm precipitation in a year. The runoff in the
river at the outlet of the catchment has a flowrate of
180 m3/s. Estimate the losses in the catchment.

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 Solution
A = 20,000 km2 (P – ET – F – IA) – R = S
P = 120 cm (P – L) – R = S
R = 180 m3/s Assume S = 0
L=? Hence L=P–R
t = 1 year

L = 1.20 m(20,000x106 m2) – 180 m3/s(3600 x 24 x 365 s)

L = 1.8x1010 m3/yr = 581 m3/s

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 Example (2)
In Example (1), if it is known that the water level in
a lake with surface area of 200 km2 within the
catchment increased by 1.2 m within the 1 year
duration, re-estimate the losses.
What conclusion can you make?

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 Solution
A = 20,000 km2
P = 120 cm
(P – L) – R = S
R = 180 m3/s
L=? Hence L = P – R – S

t = 1 year L = 1.8x1010 m3/yr = 573 m3/s

S = 200 km2 x 1.2 m

The losses is still about the same. The change in storage is

negligible because the area of the lake is very small
compared to the catchment size.
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 Example (3)
In Example (1), if it is known that the average
evapotranspiration rate is 3 cm/month, determine the
rate of seepage (infiltration). Other losses may be
ignored.

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 Solution
A = 20,000 km2 (P – ET – F – IA) – R = S
L = 1.8x1010 m3/yr L = ET + F + IA
ET = 3cm/month
= 36.5cm/yr Hence F = L – ET

t = 1 year F = 1.1x1010 m3/yr =353 m3/s

S = 0

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 Example (4)
A reservoir has an area of 900 km2. The water level
is currently 5 m below the danger level. It is
forecasted that in the following week, a large storm
will occur in the upstream catchment area of 20,000
km2, bringing a total of 25 cm rainfall within 7 days.
Determine whether the storm event will cause the
water level to rise above the danger level. Given the
reservoir maintain a flow of 200 m3/s to the
downstream.

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 Solution

A = 20,000 km2
P = 25 cm (P – L) – R = S
R = 200 m3/s Assume L=0
S = ? Hence S = P – R
t = 7 days

S = 4.9x109 m3  5.4 m in the reservoir

The water level will exceed danger level.

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 Example (5)
In Example (4), it is decided that the the water level
should be reduced to at least 6.0 m below the danger
level prior to the storm event. If the release of water
is performed over a period of 5 days, estimate the
increase in discharge downstream of the reservoir.

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 Solution

A = 900 km2
S = 1 m (P – L) – R = S
t = 5 days
Hence R = S
R = 2083 m3/s

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 Example (6)
In Example (5), the downstream river is has a main
channel which is 50m wide and 10m deep, and
carries an average flow of 500m3/s (including the
regular outflow from the reservoir).
Determine whether the release of water from the
reservoir will cause the river to overflow. The
Manning’s roughness coefficient may be taken as
0.025, and the bed slope 1:1000.

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 Solution

1
River capacity Q  AR S
2 / 3 1/ 2
= 2345m3/s
n
Total flow = 500 + 2083 = 2583m3/s > 2345m3/s !!

The river will overflow.

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